Agenda item

Report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Schools, Catherine Underwood, Corporate Director for People, and Ailsa Barr, Director of Children’s Integrated Services, presented the report and delivered a presentation updating on  progress in improving outcomes for children and young people through delivery of the Children’s Integrated Services Improvement Plan. The following information was highlighted:

(a)  in July 2022 the local authority was deemed inadequate by Ofsted following a full inspection. Rather than appointing a commissioner, monitoring visits were recommended as Ofsted believed that the LA understood its weaknesses and strengths. The first visit was in February 2023, and the second in July. The first visit focused on the front door which noted evidence of progression, and the second visit focused on Children in Need and children with a Child Protection Plan;

(b)  as part of the Council’s self assessment for the July monitoring visit, it was able to demonstrate working with Newton Europe to deliver on 2 workstreams to improve the experience, intervention and outcomes for children in need of help and protection. These are supporting children to remain with their families, and ensuring ideal outcomes and strong management around plans;

(c)  the Council has changed its approach to recruitment and advertising, with recruitment and advertising campaigns and varied recruitment sources. Use of agency staff will always be needed but the Council is building good and effective relationships with agency providers to obtain value for money;

(d)  all team managers are now enrolled on Frontline management training. A case management dashboard has been created for social workers to access data and identify key tasks for their caseload and allow managers to access timely key performance information;

(e)  transformation work is seeing timelier and more focussed intervention reducing drift and the duration of support through child in need plans with a focus on needs led reviews rather than process driven reviews. Increased capacity in the Missing team which has improved the number and timeliness of return home interviews, and Increased management oversight of missing episodes;

(f)  areas for further focus and development include work with partners to improve attendance at strategy meetings convened outside the Multi-Agency Support Hub (MASH), continuing to embed the use of audits and dip samples to shape practice and continuing work to ensure timely and effective step down to early intervention services;

(g)  feedback from inspectors following the July monitoring visit concluded that there is still a lot to do, but tangible progress is being made. Practice is variable but they found examples of improvements. There is real commitment and positivity from skilled staff, who know their children well and love the direct work tool kit bags. Staff feel supported to do a good job by managers in the service;

(h)  there are no graded judgements for monitoring visits, but a narrative letter was published by Ofsted on 29th August 2023. Findings will further inform the service development plan, and oversight will continue through the Children’ Improvement Board. A further monitoring visit is anticipated before the end of the year with a further 3-4 visits during 2024;

(i)  whilst improvements are being progressed, both services are operating with high levels of vulnerability due to high staff turnover and insufficient placements. This is in line with the national picture.

In response to questions from the Committee and during subsequent discussion the following points were made:

(j)  there have been cuts to non-statutory services such as children’s centres which can provide early intervention. The new family hub model will soften the impact of this by providing a hub and spoke model. The Local Government Association have called on the government to fund early help better as reduction it will lead to an reduction in demand at a later stage, and the Council seeks external grant funding where available;

(k)  now that the Council has accurate data it knows that the majority of children are having their return home interviews within the required timeframe. There are a variety of reasons why a few may miss these requirements, such as delays over weekends, or where a child refuses to have an interview;

(l)  for Nottingham’s Care Leavers that do not live in Nottingham City, there effective links and reciprocal arrangements with services elsewhere in the country. Care leavers service part of a national group that meets regularly to develop relationships and reciprocal arrangements. The local offer for Care Leavers could be adapted to make sure that it applicable in other locations;

(m)Personal Advisors will develop a plan with Care Leavers based on their required skills and needs, which is very bespoke and individual. The Personal Advisor can help directly, or open doors to other places for support;

(n)  some agency staff will remain with the Council for a long time and some will convert to the main staff. The Council has improved the pay offer but this is still a very still competitive area. It is also looking at conditions, required equipment, and the removal of barriers to progression. It also has a ‘grow your own’ social worker scheme, allowing internal staff to train and become fully qualified as social workers.

Resolved to

(1)  assess how the Council can make the Care leaver offer more equitable for those that do not reside in Nottingham;

(2)  review how the Council actively encourages agency staff to join us on a permanent basis such as through a formal procedure.