Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director for People

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People introduced the report on Children’s Integrated Services Ofsted Focused Visit and Improvement Programme to the Committee. Catherine Underwood, Corporate Director for People gave a presentation outlining the background to the visit and the actions identified. She highlighted the following points:

(a)  In November 2018 a full Ofsted inspection on Nottingham City Council’s Children’s services concluded that they required Improvement to be good.  It noted the need to improve the capacity of the workforce to meet the complexity and demand of the workload;

(b)  A focused visit in February 2020 looking specifically at children in need and focused on those at risk of neglect. Two priority actions were identified

·  To address failure in social work practice to ensure that planning and intervention improved children’s experiences and that emerging risks are identified and responded to; and

·  Stabilise the workforce and address the shortfall in capacity to ensure social workers can respond effectively to children in need and of help and protection

(c)  The first step in response was to bring in more  staff to increase capacity. An action plan was formed to and submitted to Ofsted to address the identified priority actions. The Council has also spent time working with other Councils in the East Midlands, and the Department for Education to formulate a Children’s Services Improvement plan;

(d)  Nottingham City Council has been working with Essex County Council as part of the Partners in Practice scheme, supported by the Department for Education, to address the issues raised by Ofsted and to ensure that Children are at the heart of the journey;

(e)  To drive and support the Improvement Programme  the Council has established the Children at the Heart Improvement board which is chaired by the Interim Chief Executive, with Councillors, senior officers and partners.  The ambition is to achieve good quality children’s services.

(f)  The first priority for the Council is to stabilise the workforce. Pay and development opportunities have been revised to ensure that the Nottingham City Coucil offer is competitive and that the city has an attractive offer for candidates. The offer is not just about salary it also incorporates opportunity for further development;

(g)  At present there are a number of agency staff filling gaps within teams to increase the capcity. It is recognised that ageny staff is not the best way to create stability but they increase capacity whilst substantive recritument takes place. It is hoped that agency staff will see the exciting opportunities that Nottingham City Council can offer and will choose to become Council employees;

(h)  Additional management have been recruited to offer better oversight of work. With the programme leads there has been a relaunch of the practice model and standards across all social work teams and a particular focus on development and launch of a Neglect Practice Guidance and Toolkit. All practitioners will be receiving this training throughout June and July to ensure a strong understanding of the model of practice;

(i)  A refresh of the audit system has also been put into place, initially to ensure that work can continue to be monitored during the current pandemic and now to ensure good practice and continuous improvement;

(j)  The delivery plan is well underway with strong engagement from practitioners. Ofsted is expected to visit again in the Autumn to assess progress. Underpinning good services is sustainability of social care. There are significant consequences for services with reduced capacity as has been noted by Ofsted in their last two visits.

Following questions and comments from the members of the Committee the following additional information was highlighted:

(k)  The issue of pay has been a factor affecting stability in recent years. The Council has recruited newly qualified Social workers, trained and developed them and then they have moved on to other authorities offering better packages. Pay packages have been improved in Nottingham and are now competitive. Retention rates are improving although there is still a way to go;

(l)  There are currently more agency staff in position that would be optimal for the service. However they provide a capacity whilst substantive recruitment take place. A piece of work is taking place to ensure that Nottingham is a place where social care can thrive and that opportunities for professional development are strong;

(m)Supporting social care colleagues in their practice is vital.  Access to IT systems has been improved to a degree but more is needed and business support staff have been brought in to teams to help reduce admin time for Social Workers allowing them time to practice;

(n)  Workforce stabilisation is a national issue. There is competition across the country for social work staff. The Grow Our Own scheme has been running for a number of years now and is having an positive impact;

(o)  The Improvement Programme does need investment. There has been £1.4million invested so far. The aim is to reduce costs associated with agency staff as substantive recruitment takes place. All work of the improvement plan is being carried out with value for money in consideration;

(p)  Case File audits continue to take place and our audit framework is being further developed.  Learning from Children services is being linked to the Adult Social Service’s teams where applicable;

(q)  Prior to Lockdown the Portfolio Holder for Children and young people had been visiting the teams and talking to staff in terms of their concerns and issues. An anonymous staff questionarie had been circulated which highlighted that IT access was an issue. The Lockdown has helped to expedite some IT access;

(r)  The issues of finding fostering and residential placements for children and young people is also a national issue. The LGA is reporting a rise demand for services since lockdown began in March with changes to guidance meaning that 18 year olds remain in care, the adoption process has slowed down and following the relaxation of lockdown demand will increase again due to hidden harm becoming visible and the additional deprivation anticipated due to job losses across so many sectors;

(s)  It is possible for urban areas to have good quality services despite the issues they face with deprivation and poverty and this is Nottingham’s ambition. Leeds City Council have Children’s Services rated good;

(t)  Training was initially focused on the field work teams and is now being rolled out to all teams. Training is given as a team to ensure that practitioners are comfortable asking questions and understand the model as a team as well as, as individuals. All teams will have completed the training by the first week in August;

Resolved to:

(1)  Note the outcome of the Focused Visit; and

(2)  Note and support the actions being undertaken to address the two priority actions, including the establishment of a Children’s Services Improvement Board, commitment to an improvement fund and the contribution of the wider Council