Agenda item

RESOLVED that:

1.    The report be noted

2.    Domestic Violence be suggested as an item for the CYP Select Committee’s work programme in the municipal year 2020/21.

Lucie Heyes, Director of Children’s Social Care (CSC), introduced the report and clarified that the report reflected the current position rather than that of 5 months ago when the inspection took place.

In response to questions from the Committee it was noted that:

1.    The service was 1 year into a 3 year improvement programme, and this was the most difficult part of the improvement journey.

2.    Achieving 100% consistency would be hard to achieve.

3.    Ofsted had recognised that improvements were being made. The service had made good progress in the timescale.

4.    Problems with the corporate ICT provision were impacting negatively on service delivery.

5.    Service-specific ICT issues were being managed and were reducing. The case management system was being redesigned and an ICT Board had been set up.

6.    In response to Ofsted’s finding that internal audits had been too positive, internal plans had been reviewed to address this. Audit now involved a moderation process to ensure better accuracy of self-assessments.

7.    A Domestic Violence (DV) specialist social worker was being recruited. This would also enable DV upskilling within the existing workforce.

8.    DV affects the whole community, not just children. CSC works with Community Safety, and DV is part of the Early Help (EH) Strategy as well as the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, which is currently under review.

9.    The Committee was advised to look at DV as an item for the work programme in the next municipal year, perhaps jointly with the Safer Stronger Communities Select Committee.

10. There is a strong link between social worker caseloads and retention. Caseloads were high at the time of the inspection. Caseloads fluctuate quickly, depending on the number of MASH referrals and thresholds, and can vary by 200 children from one month to the next. Meanwhile staffing levels are static. Caseloads are monitored weekly, and further work is being done to reduce workloads.

11. Caseloads are being monitored to see if resource needs to be moved.

12. A peer review was scheduled for early 2021.

13. It was anticipated that a Joint Targeted Area Insection (JTAI) would take place later this year.

14. Consideration was being given to bringing Family Support Services (FSS) in-house. At present, there was no specific FSS. A wide range of edge-of-care family support was being spot purchased from a range of providers. Creating an in-house FSS would mean better quality assurance.

15. Work needed to be done on the cost implications (both set-up and ongoing) of bringing the FSS in-house.

16. The quality of written plans, whether Child in Need, Child Protection or Care plans, is not always clear and understandable by the family. The issue is how it is written rather than the quality of the information. Plans are monitored through internal audit, then feedback is sought from the family. The Independent Child Protection Chair and the Independent Reviewing Officer also scrutinise the quality of the plans.

17. The minimum frequency of visits under each of the plans is as follows:

a.    Child in Need – every 4 weeks

b.    Child Protection – every 10 working days

c.    Child Looked After – depends on the stability of the placement. Usually 4 weekly but can be extended to 6-8 weekly with the agreement of the child and carer.

18. External services in the community can be useful in terms of preventative work and meeting cultural needs, but less useful for child protection work, which is usually mandated whereas voluntary organisations do not have the same legal obligations.

RESOLVED that:

1.    The report be noted.

2.    Domestic Violence be suggested as an item for the CYP Select Committee’s work programme in the municipal year 2020/21.