Agenda and minutes

Resolved to appoint Councillor Michael Savage as the Vice Chair of the Committee for the 2023/24 municipal year.

·  As the Chair of the Committee, Councillor Naim Salim, was absent, the Vice-Chair, Councillor Michael Savage, chaired the meeting.

Councillor Naim Salim  -  unwell

Councillor Maria Watson  -  unwell

Councillor Adele Williams  -  work commitments

None

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2024

The Committee confirmed the Minutes of the meeting held on 10 July 2024 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, and Ailsa Barr, Interim Corporate Director of Children and Education Services, presented a report on the progress made in the delivery of the Children’s Integrated Services Improvement Plan. The following points were raised:

a)  Following Ofsted’s full inspection of Children’s Services in July 2022, five monitoring visits have taken place – with the latest (in July 2024) returning to focus the ‘front door’ services (which had been reviewed previously during the first monitoring visit in February 2023). Individual monitoring visits do not provide a new rating for the Service, but Ofsted does publish its findings in a formal letter. As such, although the July 2022 rating of ‘inadequate’ remains in place, the most recent monitoring visit identified clear evidence of tangible progress being made – including in investment in frontline capacity, the steps being taken to ensure that the workforce feels more supported, reductions in individual caseloads, and the development of stronger relationships between caseworkers and the children and young people that they support (particularly the most vulnerable).

b)  New data dashboards have been implemented to ensure the proper prioritisation of key tasks so that they can be completed in a timely way. The quality assurance framework and performance monitoring processes have been strengthened so that areas for improvement and development can be identified clearly and easily. However, the monitoring visit did identify some inconsistency in the frequency and quality of supervision – with some children and young people experiencing too many changes to their Social Worker. As much work as possible is being done to address this, but there are problems around the recruitment and retention of staff, which is currently a significant challenge for Local Authorities nationally.

c)  ‘Front door’ services have been strengthened since the last monitoring visit, with increased stability leading to a greater consistency of work with families. Decision-making at the ‘front door’ is timely and appropriate, to ensure that the right support is delivered quickly. Where a child is identified as being significantly at risk, strategic meetings between the relevant partners are held quickly, with clear measures and expectations in place for the delivery of assessments and proportionate plans. The ‘out of hours’ emergency duty response has been strengthened.

d)  Close partnership work is underway with the Police on how they exercise their powers of protection to keep children safe. Local Authorities have a significant role and responsibility for ensuring that a child is safe when they receive concerning information from families, partners or anyone else. Usually, consent from parents is required for the Service to be able to work with a child, unless there is a clear risk of imminent harm. As a result, a great deal of activity has been carried out across the wider system to strengthen and develop the Early Help intervention offer, particularly with health and education partners.

e)  It is anticipated that the next monitoring visit will take place before the end of the year, with a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

Report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, Ailsa Barr, Interim Corporate Director of Children and Education Services, and Lee Kimberley, Head of Sold Services to Schools, presented a report updating the Committee on progress made in delivery of the Children’s and Education Services 2024/25 budget savings programme, and the delivery of transformation within Children’s Services. The following points were raised:

a)  Both Children’s and Education Services needed to put forward savings towards achieving the Council’s 2024/25 budget, while continuing to deliver an ongoing major transformation programme. Nevertheless, ensuring that Nottingham is a Child-Friendly City remains a clear objective of the current Strategic Council Plan.

b)  Within Education, activity is taking place to ensure the delivery of ongoing efficiencies as part of managing the overall budget. The provision of School Catering services have been reviewed to ensure that best value is achieved, with a slight uplift in pricing coming into effect. Properties within the Education estate that are no longer required are being sold and, instead of being provided though general funds, the School Uniform Grant is now being supported through the specific Household Support Fund. Discretionary elements of the Education Partnership Service have been reduced, along with Education Psychology costs. Income from the Health and Safety in Schools service is being maximised. The Colwick Park Activity Centre has been closed, but work is underway to find an alternative provider for this outdoor activity resource.

c)  It has not been possible to secure additional national grant funding to support dedicated transport for pupils with special educational needs and disability, but alternative means of delivering the savings target have been identified. A full review of commissioned high-cost school transport routes is underway as part of the Council’s general fleet review, to seek to develop in-house provision wherever possible.

d)  Within Children’s Integrated Services, a restructure of staffing, roles and responsibilities has taken place within the Youth Justice Service, to ensure that it operates more efficiently. The closure and disposal of the Ridge Adventure Playground and the Bulwell Play and Youth Centre is moving forward, with youth services now being targeted directly to the young people in most need, wherever possible. The overall transformation work is on target in helping the Service operate more efficiently, and resources for administrative support work have been reduced.

e)  Steps are being taken to decrease care placement costs as much as possible. As part of this work, there is a substantial focus on the delivery of effective early support and prevention, to seek to lower the demand for high-cost intervention services – particularly the requirement to bring children into care. As much as possible is being done to address needs effectively in the shortest period of time, with Social Workers being deployed only to cases where they are required. The recruitment and retention of foster carers is being increased, with an outreach campaign taking place in partnership with other Local Authorities in the area.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion:

f)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To note the latest responses received to the Committee’s recommendations

The Chair presented the latest responses received in relation to the recommendations made by the Committee to the Council’s Executive.

The Committee noted the Recommendation Tracker.

Report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer

The Chair presented the Committee’s current Work Programme for the 2024/25 municipal year. The following points were discussed:

a)  The Committee noted that childcare provision was delivered through a number of community centres, some of which could now be at risk of closure – so it queried how the review of community centres had taken into account how childcare needs were being met through them.

b)  The Committee considered that, following its discussion of the issue at its meeting on 15 May 2024, an item on the partnership strategy and arrangements in place to prevent child exploitation should return to the Committee by May 2025. The Committee also considered that an item on the Early Help Strategy should be included as part of its 2025/26 work programme.

c)  The Committee noted that Jill Colbert would start at the end of September as the new Corporate Director for Children and Education Services, and that Ailsa Barr would return to her substantive role as Director of Children’s Integrated Services. The Committee thanked Ailsa Barr for her hard work as the interim Corporate Director.

The Committee noted the Work Programme.