We’re interested in investing the Charter Gold package what do we do?
You can contact Eva Ogden and she will provide you with further details and answer any questions you may have. We are able to arrange a free consultation to provide a general overview of the Charter process and discuss the bespoke package most suitable for your organisation.
What are the benefits of becoming a Charter Service/Provider?
It will help you:
- Build stronger relationships with parents, carers, children and young people
- Reduce parental concerns and complaints
- Identify good practice and how to make positive changes
- Provide recognised effective parent partnership for Ofsted and other bodies
- Improve well-being and outcomes
Who can be the Charter Champion?
Any member of staff able to influence change at a strategic and practical level can be the Charter Champion, and it often helps to have more than one to enable representation of people with different roles. The Charter Champion will need time and opportunity to undertake discrete elements of work so you should to consider how much time will be needed to for the role.
For services and providers it is anticipated that users such as parents, carers, children or young people will be intrinsically involved in the whole process and may also take on the role of a Charter Champion.
Is the Charter Champion solely responsible for the success of the Charter?
The Charter Champion‘s role is to have an overview of the Charter process and elements of work needed to achieve Charter Gold. It is essential that it is seen as a whole organisation project and every member of staff should see the importance of their own contribution. It is a good idea to have the Charter as a standard agenda item for staff and governor (or equivalent) meetings. This should ensure that everyone is informed about and able to contribute to developments along your Charter journey.
What support is offered to Charter Champions along their Charter journey?
The Charter User group meets termly and provides a useful forum for those schools, colleges and settings going through the Charter process and those that have already achieved Charter Gold. It enables the sharing of good practice as well as mutual support so Charter Champions are encouraged to attend. It also provides the Charter Team with the opportunity to gather feedback about how any aspects of the process might be improved.
How do we gather feedback?
This is a key element in the process and will be discussed and planned with the support of your Charter Implementation Team. The approach you take needs to be adapted to suit the needs of your users and your organisation. The feedback will inform your development plan and may be summarised in a formal report.
When do we get consultation visits and what do they involve?
Your Charter Implementation Lead will discuss the detail of this with you. The consultation visits are informal meetings to discuss how you are doing in terms of embedding and making sustainable your Best Charter Practice and areas you have decided to develop further based on your action plan. The visits also guide us in deciding with you when you are likely to be ready for a full Gold Accreditation visit. Helping you prepare for Accreditation is the focus for your second consultation visit.
How do we make a portfolio of evidence for the final Gold Accreditation day?
The Implementation Team will support you throughout the Charter Gold Accreditation process. We have examples of portfolios created by schools, settings and our pilot service but how you choose to present yours can be flexible and unique. Anything relevant to your Charter journey might be included, for example photographs, letters, completed surveys, feedback forms, interviews and newsletters. It is important to stress that achieving Charter Gold should be a process involving the whole organisation so the provision of evidence is an opportunity for everyone to illustrate their good practice.
The Team will look for evidence of Best Practice under each of the four Charter principles so this is a good way to organise the Portfolio. Use of the Charter Promise interactive tool is advised as a way of demonstrating your journey through the development plan but your portfolio can be creative and also include a range of other evidence that will bring your Charter practice to life. A hard copy is an ideal way to showcase what you are doing with parents, carers, children and young people.
There should be some indication within the Portfolio of how the Charter work is sustainable within your service and embedded in systems, and what you are doing to include and involve your whole community of users including those who may be harder to reach.
Your Portfolio will be needed by the Team about four weeks prior to the Gold Accreditation visit, and you will also be asked to choose three or four examples of your Best Charter Practice.
What happens during the Gold Accreditation process?
The Accreditation day involves a new Charter Accreditation team which has not previously worked with the service. The team will work with the original Charter Implementation team to explore excellent Charter practice in partnership with users, for example parents, children and young people.
Charter Gold services are celebrated at an annual Charter Gold Celebration Event. This is a fabulous event showcasing excellent Charter practice.