Agenda and minutes

Apologies received from members of the Panel were Mr B Allbut, Ms T Onslow, Ms S A Webb.

Derek Benson, Independent Chairman of the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Board had also sent apologies.

None.

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 Friday 11 August 2017).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 June 2017 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Children and Families, the Director for Children, Families and Communities and the Assistant Director Safeguarding Services (Children's Social Care) attended the meeting to provide an update on the Children's Social Care Service Improvement Plan (SIP).

As Councillors were aware Ofsted’s inspection of the County Council’s Children’s Services Report in January 2017 rated the services as 'inadequate' and highlighted ‘widespread and serious failures’. 

On 13 March 2017, prior to the local Elections, the previous Panel was  provided with an update on the peer learning from other Local Authorities, an outline of the governance arrangements for the SIP and an early progress update.

Since the last update, a number of notable meetings/events had taken place directly relating to the SIP:

·       On 30 March 2017, a small cohort of Looked after Children and Care Leavers took-over the Council's Leadership Exchange event. The session focused on Corporate Parenting responsibilities and was planned and delivered by Looked after Children and Care Leavers

·       As a result of the session, a series of 'pledges' were identified to represent part of the Council officers' commitment to Corporate Parenting.  The pledges were owned by the Wider Leadership Team, with support provided from across all Directorates within the Council.  This represented the start of the journey to develop a culture that ensured children and young people were at the heart of everything.  Progress would be reported to the children and young people on a regular basis 

·       In March, the DfE appointed Trevor Doughty (DCS at Cornwall Council) as the Children's Commissioner for Worcestershire. They asked him to advise on possible alternative delivery and governance arrangements for children's social care, outside of the operational control of the local authority, taking account of local circumstances and the views of the Council and key partners

·       The Review took place over 2 weeks at the end of March and beginning of April and was submitted to the DfE by 9 June 2017.  Unfortunately, the General Election on 8 June 2017 impacted on Ministerial appointments nationally, and the report had not been made public.  It was expected to be published later this year. The review had set out  concerns about the Authority's ability to make improvements

·       During April and June, a series of Partnership Locality Events were held across all six Districts, led by the Assistant Director: Safeguarding Services.  A range of partner agencies attended to receive an overview of the challenges faced in helping to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and messages were tailored to address local context.  These events would be held on a quarterly basis in the future to enhance children's practitioner networks between partner agencies and improve the quality of professional conversations, and to share best practice.  A key theme for the events held between April and June was to raise awareness and understanding around the Local Safeguarding Children Board's (LSCB) thresholds guidance document around levels of need.  Ofsted reported that understanding and consistency of application was a key issue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 283.

The Assistant Director - Safeguarding Services (Children's Social Care) explained to the Panel how Family Front Door (FFD) worked and copies of the FFD Pathway was circulated to the Panel.  Members queried how non-professionals could understand the trigger points for different levels of service and the Director explained the threshold guidance used.  It was a challenge to provide access to all 4 threshold levels of service in the community.  In some cases partners did not have the resources to support the lower levels of access, which increased the risk of variable levels of service across the county. The Panel were advised that if they wished to visit the FFD, arrangements could be made for them to do so.