Call for graduates - NPQICL graduates
Many of you will be all too aware of the loss of children’s centres across the country and the severe financial constraints faced by those that continue to operate, starkly highlighted in recent research published by The Sutton Trust.
Between 2008-2013, CREC delivered the NPQICL programme to over 400 children’s centre leaders, during which time high-quality, integrated services for the most disadvantaged children were developed.
Despite the cuts, many of our colleagues from the NPQICL era continue to service disadvantaged communities and utilise the skills they learned throughout the programme, however, there is a very real danger that the learning and achievements of these people will be lost.
It is, therefore, quite timely that the editors of Children’s Centre Leader (CCL) are attempting to reach NPQICL graduates to run a series on what happened next ― set within the context of a very different children's centre/early help backdrop.
We feel that this request is an opportunity to highlight some of the exceptional practice that is still going on in the face of considerable adversity, and we need your help!
Sue Webster and Vicki Lant started CCL as a community for NPQICL graduates with the aim of sharing research, ideas, practice and policy for leaders in early help and children's centres.
That original community has now grown to over 4,000 free subscribers and the CCL has published articles ranging from projects helping parents into work, to articles highlighting reflection and resilience among children's centre staff. They've also showcased partnerships where teams and organisations are working really well together to help families, for example, birth registrations in children's centres.
CCL is looking for submissions from past NPQICL students that include answers to the following questions:
> How was the NPQICL experience for you ― reflecting back from now?
> What have you taken from it; how does it inform your practice now?
> What are your thoughts about the role of children's centres in this changing environment ― thoughts for the future?
Submissions should be approx. 500-600 words for a one-page article or 1000-1200 words for a double page spread.
You will need to include a 50-word bio and a separate large jpeg profile picture, as well as a couple of pictures to illustrate your article.
The copy deadline for the next issue is the first week of August 2018.
All article submissions should be sent directly to the editor, James Hempsall, via email: cclr@hempsalls.com
If you are interested in reading any of the previously published articles in CCL, they are all available online: https://medium.com/@ChildrensCentreLeader or you can download PDFs here: www.ccleaderreader.com