Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Kyle Daisley, Jo Monk and Tony Muir, Parent Governor, Mark Hughes, Church Representative Tim Reid and the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Health and Wellbeing Karen May.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance 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 16 September 2022).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 7 July 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(Indicative timing: 2.05 – 2.55pm)

The Panel received a report about the Supporting Families First Service (SSF). The Director of Children’s Services/Chief Executive of Worcestershire Children First introduced the SFF Team who were in attendance to provide members with further information on any aspect of the service.

The Director of Children’s Services introduced the report and highlighted the following main points:

·         The SFF had first been developed in January 2020 as a multidisciplinary service to families on the ‘edge of care’. The first year had proved successful with positive feedback received and sustained positive changes being achieved. It was decided therefore that the service would be developed in its second year to adopt the learning and effectiveness of the ‘Edge of Care’ model into prevention of escalating risk and need for child protection for the Children in Need (CIN) Cohort.  Following a pilot, this model of intervention was fully implemented in September 2021.

·         The SFF Service continued operating throughout the pandemic, with an increase in both numbers and the complexity of cases being identified.

·         Looking at the data for March 2022, a positive intervention outcome rate of 92% had been achieved, with 8% becoming looked after or being escalated to child protection. 

·         Attention was drawn to the effective and sustainable outcomes achieved with the first year’s cohort, whereby 25 months on from the original outcome, 35 of the original 51 children remained closed to social care, which represented a 69% sustained success rate.

·         The use of the Webstar enabled children and parents to self-assess the impact of the SFF Service on key aspects of their own lives. The Webstar was usually completed at the start and the end of an intervention, and most families identified a range of positive outcomes.

·         The SFF team had been working with the ‘Virtual Headteacher’ looking at the education needs and experiences of CIN and those on the ‘edge of care’ following the pandemic and the impacts upon the child at home and their attendance at school. The Virtual Headteacher was seeking to expand their links with schools to be able to offer some support for these children.

Members praised the work of the SFF team for the positive difference they were making to the lives of children and families. Members were given the opportunity to ask questions and the following main points were raised:

·         Further detail on the Webstar was requested, and it was explained that it was an outcome-based method being used to enable children and parents to self-report in relation to 8 different domains, including their emotional health, happiness, and safety. The Director of Children’s Services and the Group Manager both confirmed they were very pleased with the outcome scores, as their aim was always to try and prevent an escalation of a situation.

·         It was noted that all referrals came through the Family Front Door and could be received from any source including schools, the Police, health services and families themselves. The Group Manager advised that a family was then referred to one of the 3  ...  view the full minutes text for item 546.

(Indicative timing: 2.55 – 3.45pm)

The Panel was updated on performance and financial information for services relating to children and families.

Performance Information

The Director of Children’s Services briefed the Panel on highlights of the performance data for Quarter 1 (April to June 2022). The following main points were made:

·         Contacts at the Family Front Door (FFD) had established a consistent pattern to the previous 3 quarters, with an average of 3,500 per quarter. Whilst the number of contacts converting to a social work assessment had slightly reduced, concerns for children’s welfare remained high, with important information being received which was relevant to triangulate with other known factors. The Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership had agreed to help fund the increased staff capacity required to effectively manage this extra demand.

·         The effectiveness of permanency planning was demonstrated by the care figures which showed that 31% of children in care had achieved permanence out of care in less than 12 months and 48% in less than 2 years, despite the impact of Covid.

·         There was currently a focused recruitment drive for foster carers. The numbers of kinship carers recruited had increased, which was very positive, with placement breakdown being much less frequent in such cases.

·         Management capacity of the Care leavers Team had been increased which would bolster and stabilise the service following a period of instability.

·         Child protection cases were rising and were now in line with the England average. The cases were also of an increasingly complex nature.

·         The Panel was informed of the challenges of Social Worker recruitment. The permanency in Team Manager roles was good which provided a supportive environment for social workers in the teams. The financial draw of agency work continued to be a difficult challenge to compete with.

Members were given the opportunity to raise questions and the following main points were raised:

·         A Member highlighted that the school attendance figures, particularly at secondary level, were not yet rising following the pandemic. The Director of Children’s Services highlighted that this was a national problem and that local authorities now had new responsibilities in this area. Efforts were ongoing to seek improvement in this area.

·         With reference to a query regarding the length of placements in foster care, the Director of Children’s Services explained that some could be short term if a child was going through care proceedings, though most would be longer term.  In order to prevent breakdowns in foster care placements, a ‘Buddy Carer’ initiative had been developed and was actively being recruited to, this would enable foster carers to have a regular break, whilst continuity was maintained for the child with them being cared for by their regular ‘Buddy Carer’.

·         With regard to numbers of agency workers currently used, the Director of Children’s Services advised that this currently stood at 35. It was noted that there was a regional agreement in place with 14 local authorities, setting an agreed cap on agency payments. As referred to earlier, the significant pay differential involved, at roughly three times higher, proved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 547.

(Indicative timing: 3.45 – 3.55pm)

The Panel reviewed its work programme and it was agreed that:

·         The ‘School Nurse Service and Well Being Practitioners’ would be scheduled for January 2023 meeting.

·         Following the inspection of SEND services* taking place this week, an update on the findings would be requested (*confirmed as the DfE/NHS 6-month Inspection of the SEND Accelerated Action Plan).