Surrey News
mary lewis
Surrey’s children’s social care workers honoured in prestigious awards ceremony
Surrey’s children’s social care workers were honoured today in an awards ceremony hosted by comedian Paul Sinha from popular ITV quiz show The Chase. Fifteen coveted awards were up for grabs with categories including Children’s Social Worker of the Year, Most Outstanding Team, and the Dave Hill Lifetime Achievement Award, named in honour of the … Continue reading
Surrey County Council plans to redevelop Caterham Hill Library
Surrey County Council plans to redevelop Caterham Hill Library into a new vibrant community space, including an exciting and dynamic library, a Family Centre as well as accommodation for care leavers. This innovative transformation is part of the Council’s wider commitment to work closely with residents to drive positive change in their communities. A report … Continue reading
Brighter Future for Youth Clubs in Surrey
Local groups to be supported to make better use of Surrey Youth Centres Youth clubs owned and leased by Surrey County Council are to be opened up for use by local communities to boost activities available to young people. Surrey County Council today announced its decision to allow community, voluntary and faith groups to run … Continue reading
New family support centre opens in Tandridge
A new family centre has opened in Tandridge to offer local families a range of support options. The centre, which is being run by children’s charity Barnardo’s on behalf of Surrey County Council, offers support to the most vulnerable families with children aged 0 – 11 years, across Tandridge, providing individual outreach to families wherever … Continue reading
Over 3,000 laptops provided to Surrey’s young people with help from volunteers
Over 3,00 laptops have been provided to disadvantaged children and young people in Surrey during the coronavirus pandemic. A Department for Education (DfE) scheme allowed for children and young people to receive laptops and internet access from government to help them keep on top of their work during lockdown. The criteria for receiving a device … Continue reading
Surrey parents struggling to provide family meals urged to seek support – food is available
Surrey parents struggling to provide meals for their children during the coronavirus pandemic are being urged to seek help to access the food that they need. Easter and the school holidays, alongside the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, are likely to bring added pressure for many families. Those finding it hard to put food … Continue reading
Surrey’s children’s services substantially improved says Ofsted in latest monitoring visit
Children’s services at Surrey County Council have improved substantially over the past year according to an Ofsted report following a monitoring visit last month; the report states that “senior leaders and managers have made substantial progress in improving the response to children who are at risk of significant harm.” Ofsted observed substantial progress in Surrey’s … Continue reading
Trading standards transforms children’s garden to celebrate landmark
Trading Standards officers have joined forces with local businesses to transform a garden at a respite care home for children with disabilities. Earlier this year, Squire’s Garden Centres became the 100th firm to join Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards Primary Authority scheme. To celebrate, the two organisations joined together to transform the bland outside space … Continue reading
New safeguarding arrangements for children in Surrey
The new Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership replaces Surrey Safeguarding Children Board from September 2019. The partnership is jointly and equally led by Surrey County Council, Surrey Police and Guildford and Waverley Clinical Commissioning Group on behalf of all Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS providers in Surrey. The three safeguarding partners will form a new Executive … Continue reading
Government report published on Surrey’s Youth Offending Service
A government report has criticised the work of Surrey’s Youth Offending Service. The report highlighted that more work needs to be done to ensure we have the right response to meet the level of offending, around collecting data, staff readiness to respond to issues of safety and wellbeing, and around ensuring the safety of children … Continue reading
Guildford MP praises dedication of Surrey social workers
Education Minister Anne Milton MP congratulated Surrey County Council social workers this week for the ‘passion and energy’ they’ve shown as they strive to improve services for children and families in Surrey. The Guildford MP met staff working in the new Children’s Single Point of Access (C-SPA), which is the gateway to all support, information … Continue reading
Further improvements to delivery of Children’s Services in Surrey
This week Cabinet approved the latest enhancement to the improved delivery of Children’s Services in Surrey. Approval of a new Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) within Children’s Services is part of the council’s continuing commitment to ensuring children in Surrey get the “right help, care and protection at the right time so they can thrive”. This … Continue reading
VIDEO: Mary Lewis updates Surrey’s Cabinet on progress in improving children’s services
Watch Mary Lewis, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, update the Cabinet on progress in improving Surrey’s children’s services, including the findings of a recent Ofsted monitoring visit.
AUDIO: Surrey Cabinet Member Mary Lewis encourages people to consider fostering
In an interview on BBC Surrey & Sussex yesterday, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children Mary Lewis spoke about the amazing work foster carers do to transform the lives of vulnerable children. Mary’s interview starts at 6:30. For more information on becoming a foster carer, you can phone the council’s fostering team on 0800 … Continue reading
Former Surrey foster child backs campaign to find new carers
A former Surrey foster child who credits his foster family with turning his life around is backing a new campaign to find more carers. Lewis says his foster family gave him stability and a sense of self-worth which helped him achieve 12 GCSEs and a job he loves. He said: “My early childhood consisted of … Continue reading
Information on Coronavirus in Surrey
