Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Ian Hopwood and Bryan Allbut.

Item 5 – Prevention Policy and 0-19 Services Commissioning Plan

Councillors Lynne Duffy and Bob Banks declared non-pecuniary interests in the early help providers in their areas and Councillors Fran Oborski and Paul Denham declared an interest as they were Board Members of Children's Trust's.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by e-mail indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 29 January 2016).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

The Independent Chairman of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB) was invited to the Meeting to provide an update to the Panel on the progress made in relation to the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board’s (WSCB) Action Plan underpinning the Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and Trafficking Strategy 2015-17.

At its meeting on 22 May 2015, the Panel received an update from the Independent Chairman of the WSCB on the strategic approach to CSE and on 25 June 2015 discussed the Action Plan underpinning these priorities in advance of Cabinet consideration on 16 July 2015.

The Independent Chairman of the WSCB highlighted the following:

·         WSCB had established a Strategic Group which met every 4 – 6 weeks to oversee the implementation of the CSE Strategy Action Plan. This Strategic Group was chaired by Detective Chief Inspector Steve Eccleston, West Mercia Police.

·         The WSCB key priorities were:

ØPrevention and Education

ØRecognition and Identification

ØIntervention and Support

ØPursue and Disrupt

·         Discussion and consideration was taking place in respect of the appointment of a dedicated CSE Co-ordinator jointly funded by the Police and the Local Authority.

·         During the first three quarters of this year (April - December) there were 52 referrals around possible CSE risks and 45 CSE Strategy Meetings. Children and young people at risk of CSE were being identified and being referred for their protection, although of course this didn't mean that all those at risk were being identified

·         The specific key areas in the Strategy Action Plan were:

Ø Public awareness campaign – initially, this was planned to be rolled-out from January 2016 but had been delayed due to the conditions of use of materials was awaited

ØSchools

ØTraining – this had been refreshed and approved

ØIdentification and risk assessment

ØStandards – were due to be issued

ØGovernance

ØVoluntary Sector

ØTaxi drivers and operators

·         Progress was being made in a number of ways, albeit more slowly than desired. CSE was a complex issue that required a multi-faceted approach as reflected in the Strategy and Action Plan. It was a priority area for WSCB and had a dedicated group of members to oversee the implementation of the Strategy with the Board receiving regular reports on progress. Awareness was being raised and children and young people were being referred and managed through an agreed pathway.

During the ensuing discussion, the following points were made:

·         Some of the timescales in the Action Plan had been ambitious and in order to do things properly had consequently slipped.

·         It was unknown whether the 52 referrals received during the first three quarters of this year (April – December) were indicative of expected trends as this would only become apparent over time.

·         In response to Members concern about where the hotspots in Worcestershire were: they were advised that hotspots could be anywhere where there were young people and sometimes grooming started online.

·         Although awareness raising was starting in mainstream schools, the programme would be broadened to include faith  ...  view the full minutes text for item 228.

The Strategic Commissioner (Early Help and Partnerships) and the Head of Public Health were invited to the meeting to brief Members on the development of the All-age Prevention Policy and the new 0-19 integrated prevention service for children, young people and families.

On 19 November 2015 Cabinet considered a report on Demand Management, Prevention Policy and 0-19 Services Commissioning Plan and agreed that the All-age Prevention Policy should replace the existing Early Help Strategy and approved a consultation on the design of a new 0-19 integrated prevention service for children, young people and families, including the use of buildings to provide the service.

The Panel received a presentation to update them on the latest developments and potential next steps following the closure of the recent conclusion exercise.

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

• There were 2 separate consultations:

Ø  Children Centre's Building's Consultation

Ø  Survey for parents and children & young people to help shape the new 0-19 Prevention Service Model

·         2000 responses had been received to the Children's Centres Buildings Consultation and the process had included engagement with Partners and the NHS.

• The analysis of the Consultations' was taking place at the moment.
• The new service would meet the Council's statutory duties which included:

Ø  Childcare Act 2006 to improve well-being and reduce inequalities of young children

Ø  Health and Social Care Act 2012, to improve health and well-being and reduce health inequalities

• The Service would go through the usual commissioning process and was currently in the design stage.
• The new Policy would encourage those who could help themselves to do so and to be more resilient.
• It was suggested that the terminology 'Prevention' was confusing.
• The Needs Assessment found that there was some good work going on in Worcestershire but:

Ø  Inequalities were still there and more focus was needed on people in disadvantaged areas;

Ø  Services and workforces were not joined up well enough;

Ø  Families and communities needed more help to be able to help themselves and information and advice needed to be improved;

Ø  All services needed to based on a clear evidence base.

• The new service would offer a basic service to everyone eg Midwife, Health Visitor and then targeted support to those who needed it most.
• The school readiness measure was discussed and it was confirmed that it was a weighted measure that took into account late summer birthdays.
• The point was made that there was a danger that if support was targeted where needed most and not available in a wider early help way,  then eventually when people were assessed as needing help the problems were likely to be more complex and cost the service more in the long run.
• It would be important when commissioning the services to take into account local need, especially for those contracts being delivered by a national service provider.
• In response to the Panel's request for clarification about what would happen to the current Children Centre's buildings and providers, they were advised that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 229.