The Corporate Director of Children’s Services introduced the report which provided the Committee with a further update following the inspection which took place in February 2016. 

The Chair expressed her view that it was pleasing to see an increase in permanent staff.  She queried the figures within the action plan, and why Recommendation showed recurring scores of “3” but was deemed as “improving”.  Members were advised that the ratings ranged from 1 (achieved) to 5 (a long way to go).  The Recommendation in question, recommendation 3, was part of a broader issue around the quality of assessments.  There had been a bid to the innovation fund for assistance in introducing the intervention model ‘Signs of Safety’ however the bid had been unsuccessful.  This model was not the only element however.  It was a matter of quality assurance, of the quality of practice and the day-to-day work of social workers.  It had been rated 3 rather than 1 as other works had been carried out and there was still work to be done around Signs of Safety.  Awareness raising work had been undertaken and full training would be held in October both within the service and for external agencies.  The Chair asked whether there was confidence that everything was going according to plan around Ofsted recommendations.  The Corporate Director of Children’s Services stated that he was cautiously optimistic that Ofsted would agree there had been lots of progress.

Councillor Redsell asked what training social workers would receive that they did not currently, and whether the service would join up with education to ensure children could not “slip through the net”.  She also asked how many children in foster care opted to stay with the family whilst at college or university.  The data around “staying put” would be circulated outside of the meeting.  The Corporate Director of Children’s Services agreed that a joined up system was crucial, to ensure departments were sharing information and supporting each other.  The service was working decrease the risk of children “slipping through” with early offers of help and joining up with children’s’ centres.  The intervention model aimed to work alongside families for the best outcomes for children.  Signs of safety had a positive track record of better engagement and better outcomes.

Councillor Snell echoed previous comments around the improvement shown.  He recalled a major issue within the budget had been agency staff and was pleased to see increased retention of permanent staff and foster carers.  He asked what impact InPower had made.  InPower had offered deep analysis of the systems in place, which was sometimes more effective from a removed perspective.  Their input had been invaluable and as a result there had been in depth work undertaken to ensure the service supported families in difficulty before a crisis occurred to prevent children entering care unnecessarily.

Councillor Sheridan referred to the introduction of volunteers in the assessment service and asked whether they would receive full training.  The Strategic Leader Early Years, Families & Communities explained that initial scoping, based on other Local Authorities, had been undertaken but a final decision had not yet been made.  Members were assured however that if volunteers were introduced it would be subject to full training, full checks and robust supervision.

RESOLVED:

1)    That Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee consider the current progress and direction of travel in completing the requires actions from the Ofsted Action Plan

2)    That Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive assurance that action plan continues to deliver the required improvement