Agenda item

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 likely focus on children in care. A full Ofsted inspection is expected from the summer of 2025.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion:

f)  The Committee queried how Social Worker caseloads were managed effectively, and how many frontline staff were required to deliver a good service. It was set out that too high caseloads would prevent Social Workers from operating effectively. Steps have been taken to ensure that all caseloads are broadly appropriate and sustainable, with each Social Worker engaging with around 15 individual children. However, there are certain peaks in demand during the year that must be addressed – particularly at the start of the school summer holidays. Action has been carried out to ensure that there are the right number of staff in each team and, though short-term cover by agency workers is sometimes required, less agency provision is needed now than was previously. The majority of staff in ‘front door’ services are permanent and feel properly supported in their work by their line managers.

g)  The Committee asked whether reductions in youth provision in the city had impacted on the ability to deliver Early Help effectively, and queried how prevention support for parents was being increased. It was reported that a number of parenting groups and classes are in place, both in person and online. However, further work is needed to coordinate delivery more effectively and ensure that the offer is fully known and understood – particularly for parents and smaller partner organisations. An Early Help Strategy has been launched with a coordinating partnership board in place. Schools are often the first to identify and respond to early needs, but it is vital that Early Help services are coordinated effectively with other partners and providers – particularly with community-based groups in the voluntary sector. Additional resourcing is being put into accessing Early Help, and learning has been taken from other Local Authorities to develop and embed a coordinated offer and an effective system of best practice.

h)  The Committee queried what work was underway to plan for the next version of the Early Help Strategy, and what the main reasons were for children presenting to the Service. It was set out that the current Strategy, which had been reviewed with Ofsted, would run to 2025. Work is underway to refresh and update the Strategy, with activity taking place now to establish a strong foundation for future versions.

i)  The Committee asked how it was ensured that all initial visits and assessments were carried out effectively and in a timely way, particularly for families at risk of being homeless. It was explained that proper processes were being established to ensure that any need for an initial visit was flagged quickly within the case management system. A stable housing situation is vital for support to be effective, so and the Service aims to work with families in the full context of their situations and engages closely with colleagues in Housing Services where required. The whole Council is working to deliver the Child-Friendly City initiative, so there is a good understanding and buy-in across all Council teams in supporting the Service and its work on child protection, where needed.

j)  The Committee asked how the Service ultimately aimed to achieve a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted. It was reported that significant improvement had been made since the July 2022 inspection, though some areas of vulnerability remained within the provision for children in care. However, development work is still ongoing and the Service is confident that this will be reflected in the outcomes of the next Ofsted inspection.

k)  The Committee sought assurance that Child Protection Investigations were carried out quickly, and that following Child Protection Conferences were held in a timely way. It was set out that all formal Section 47 Investigations are carried out within the appropriate timescales, with the following Conferences held at the right time to implement appropriate mitigations and safety plans, where required.

l)  The Committee noted that the local NHS was in a position of needing to achieve significant savings in its 2025/26 budget, so work should be done to identify and mitigate any potential service impacts that this might have across the partnership.

The Chair thanked the Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education and the Interim Corporate Director of Children and Education Services for attending the meeting to present the report and answer the Committee’s questions.

Resolved:

1)  To request that further information is provided on the most common reasons identified for children in need of protection plans, and why children are coming into contact with Children’s Services.

2)  To request that the Committee is kept updated on the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board’s current budget savings plans and the impact this might have on Children’s Services.

3)  To request that further information and assurance is provided on the timeliness and consistency of time between Section 47 Child Protection Investigations taking place and the holding of a Child Protection Conference.

4)  To recommend that the Council considers how it can expediate its initial assessment of children’s needs.