Great stories from our children and families social work teams

May 2025

Outstanding Ofsted Report!

On May 13 2025 Durham Children's social care  Ofsted ILACS was published and we have been  graded overall outstanding - you can read the full report and detail at Ofsted website. We are so proud of our practitioners and leaders and the babies, children, young people and families we work alongside.  We also feel it demonstrates our readiness to embrace the implementation of the care reforms - Durham cares !

Here are some quotes from the report:

"Despite rising demand, strong and aspirational senior leaders have continued to improve and innovate services. There is an unwavering corporate commitment to improving and enriching the lives of children and their families evidenced by the significant and sustained investment in children's services. This has enabled the development of a wide range of very successful initiatives that are having a positive impact on children and their families, whatever their level of need. A number of bespoke projects are having a palpable, positive impact on the lives of children."

"The focus on keeping children at the heart of everything has led to the development of highly effective services that are having a lasting impact on the lives of many children, particularly children in care and care leavers. Children are influential in the development of the service. Staff at all levels are valued and very well supported, resulting in a positive culture where workers can practise safely and make a positive impact on children's lives."

"Opportunities for workforce learning are well established. Durham's leadership academy has continued to develop and provides high quality training for operational managers. Inspectors saw a number of strands to the academy, including workshops, mentoring and advice. The supervision framework has also been refreshed so that there are clearer expectations around how to capture the depth of reflection that takes place in these sessions. Effective training and supervision are helping to ensure a high level of consistent, strong social work practice across most service areas."

"Children benefit from an increasingly experienced, permanent workforce. Social workers know their children well. The retention of workers has significantly improved. Managers at all levels are now permanent employees and a high proportion of the workforce are experienced practitioners. Caseloads have reduced; they are balanced and reasonable for most workers. Social workers have time to spend with children, their visits are purposeful, and they capture children's views about their lived experience. Social workers told inspectors that Durham is a great place to work. Their words and actions convey a sense of belonging and they view Durham as their employer of choice."

April 2025

Eid 2025 Celebration

This month the UASC Teams came together for an Eid 2025 celebration. There were well over 40 young people in attendance! It was lovely to see some of our Care Leavers from the Next Venture Fund Panel as well as Ray Addai come along and join in the celebrations. Everyone had an amazing time. The young people got involved in the cooking of food and were in charge of the music.  Big thankyou to the UASCteam (who helped with food prep) including Handcrafted who made this event happen.

Eid Mubarak!  How wonderful to see everyone coming together in celebration.

March 2025

Celebrating World Social Work Day

In March it is Social Work England: Social Work Week and on Tuesday 18 March it is World Social Work Day 2025 - This year's theme is 'Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Wellbeing', which emphasises the importance of caring and respecting across generations to build strong societies, sustain the environment, and share wisdom for a better future.

If you use social media perhaps you could join in with international colleagues and share any positive posts about social work, in celebration to acknowledge the difference every individual who works/volunteers within Social Care make every day in the lives of children young people and families.

February 2025

Celebrating Practice Week 2025 - voice and change!

Last Monday, 10 February, over 800 of you joined together with Luke Rodgers BEM to celebrate voice and change and taking the first steps of Durham Cares building on the amazing work achieved by residential colleagues. There will be plenty of opportunities for social care practitioners to get involved to help co-produce this over the coming months!

Tracy Shaw (Team Manager) shared with us that everyone's generosity in buying cakes and crafts from our care leavers hub stall raised £933.51, and Luke and The Care Leaders have offered to match fund - wowzer!  This was such a simple idea, but this really helps colleagues feel connected, a sense of giving back and gratitude - a small idea, but massive ripples as this money can go a long way for activities in the hubs around the county.

Follow Luke Rodgers BEM on LinkedIn and The Care Leaders on LinkedIn for further updates from them.

January 2025

Care leavers Christmas 2024

We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas break!

Our young care leavers had a great time over the Christmas period with a Christmas party at the Stanley Care Leavers Hub. They were over the moon and super grateful for their Christmas Eve hamper boxes, and prizes from their games of festive bingo, quizzes and more games. They also enjoyed the pool table in the hub and ping pong along with Christmas crafts which they all got involved in.

A couple of young care leavers who have recently turned 18 attended and one of them bought her young baby. It was great for the other young people to see they are still supported within Durham. The party helped the young people who had not been to the Hub before become familiar with it.

All involved should be extremely proud of helping throughout this period and pulling this off. The faces of the young care leavers when they received the gifts was just evidence of how important these events are to them. One young care leaver was brought to tears while telling us how kind and grateful she was. 

Well done to all involved it truly made such a difference to our young care leavers who have limited networks around them.

December 2024

Care-ols service 2024

Thank you to all of those that helped make Care-ols such a huge success. It was a very emotional evening and enjoyed by all involved. A personal note of thanks to our singers, those who supported children and young people to participate, our social worker and foster carer who learned to sign to Silent Night, to those who read, shared their stories, welcomed guests, made tea, handed out mince pies, played instruments and all those that attended on the night. Elvet Methodist Church sounded beautiful. It was wonderful to work with our friends in Durham Music Service, Rebecca Turner, and Elvet Methodist Church to bring our whole service together to celebrate care at Christmas with our kinship and fostering families and residential children's homes. The ripples are massive and way beyond what we could have imagined and truly highlight the healing power of relationship-based practice, connection, play and music to bring people together.

Here is a photo filled with joy from the day!

We hope you all have a good and safe Christmas and New Year, and we will see you next year!

November 2024

National Adoption Week 2024

Each year, as part of their annual National Adoption Week celebrations, Adopt Coast to Coast celebrate their adoptive families by inviting them to a family event. This year, the event took place at Adventure Valley in Durham.

Over 330 adopters and children attended the event and enjoyed the rides, farm animals and Halloween activities. Feedback from the day was positive, both the adults and children said they had had a wonderful time. Here are some photographs of the families enjoying the day.

You can find out more about Adopt Coast to Coast and National Adoption Week on their website - Adopt Coast to Coast.

October 2024

Children of Foster Carers Month

Durham Fostering Service are delighted again to be celebrating 'Children of Foster Carers Month.'  This is an annual campaign embedded by The Fostering Network.  Each October, The Fostering Network raises awareness of the important role children of foster carers play in a fostering household. You might recall that last year they changed the name from Sons and Daughters Month to Children of Foster Carers Month, ensuring inclusivity with gender-neutral language.

As a service, Durham Fostering are sending 'thank you' cards to all carer's own children, recognising the role they play in being part of a foster family. In addition to this we are working with the marketing and communications team to look at celebrating some specific children in social posts - check our Facebook page in the next few weeks!

So, what can you do to help celebrate carers children this month too? If you are visiting any foster carers with their own children, please say hello to them and acknowledge the support they play in helping their parents foster. Give them a 'thank you' and recognise this month is about celebrating them!

September 2024

Art cares

The Head of Children's Social Care had the pleasure of attending a brilliant art exhibition in Bishop Auckland this month called Art Cares and Visible Invisible. Two thought-provoking exhibitions which provide first-hand insights into the experiences of young people in care and those with disabilities in the workplace.

Art Cares brings together 29 unique artworks by young people who have experienced living in care. The artworks share the young people's thoughts, feelings, and passions, while celebrating their diversity and sending out a clear message - "We are people, not problems."

Invisible Visible, meanwhile, invites an unflinching foray into the individual and collective experiences of those with disabilities in the workplace. Created by Hope Caitlin Simpson, a 23-year-old poet, photographer and visual artist from Bishop Auckland, the exhibition details seven unique and anonymous first-hand accounts of being disabled in the workplace.

The exhibitions will be open to the public at Bishop Auckland Town Hall from Monday 23 September, 10.00am to 4.00pm, until Saturday 30 November. I would really encourage you to pop along.

Did you know that three of the art cares prints are also on permanent display at Abbey Woods office where our Children in Care Teams are based? Powerful images that remind us that children and young people can communicate their wishes, feelings and experience in many ways and not just with their words.

August 2024

Coming into care packs

Coming into care packs was an idea developed by members of the Children in Care Council, with the aim of supporting children and young people in their first few weeks of being in care. Earlier this month, young people came together to pack the first 60 'Coming into care' packs which are now on their way to reaching the children and young people who need them. 'Coming into care' packs consist of comforting age-appropriate items that will be shared with the young person to help them settle into their new home.

July 2024

Fostering Care STAR Awards

Durham's Fostering Service have been celebrating this month!

A wonderful event was held at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, joining together the children, young people, foster carers, families and supported lodgings providers who have been part of Durham's Fostering service over the years. Everybody enjoyed the red carpet experience and attendees were treated to entertainment from our 'Care to Dance' Young People.

This event was a chance to celebrate everybody involved in Durham's Fostering Service who continuously go above and beyond, providing young people with love, guidance, and a safe place to call home. Those in attendance were also recognised for their ongoing commitment and dedication to the young people they look after and support. A huge thank you and congratulations to them all!

June 2024

Next Venture Fund

At County Durham we pride ourselves in hearing the voices of our care experienced young people and our care leavers have been awarded a funding pot of £10,000 by our Chief Executive to fund projects which will benefit all our care leavers. Since this project began we have named this fund the Next Venture Fund and young people are encouraged to apply for the funding and the brilliance of the initiative is that applications are taken to a panel ran by care leavers themselves, it is they who steer the direction of the project and help administer the finances. This initiative enables our care leavers to develop a whole range of skills to support them in their future careers, whether that is by applying for the money or being involved in the panels.

The purpose of Next Venture Fund is to promote positive emotional health and wellbeing by building social networks, reducing isolation, and seeding new opportunities for care leavers to participate in. Since its introduction in March 2024, the fund has awarded almost £7,000 of activities, funding ten different projects to date ranging from funding Young People Advisors (YPAs) and care leavers to go for a day activity to build relationships. The benefit of this project is it enables professionals close to young people can be more of a friend who can support them a worker. Other projects of the result of this initiative include equipment for our baby and toddlers' groups running from the hub, start-up packs for young people moving to start university, training for young people to start applying for their own funding through the key fund and cinema passes for our care leavers.

The Next Venture fund has got off to a great start and there are many more amazing projects to come, and we cannot wait for the brilliant work that our care leavers will lead on.