Venue: Sparkenhoe Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield. View directions
Contact: Anna Poole (0116 305 0381) Email: anna.poole@leics.gov.uk
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 5 June 2017 were taken as read, confirmed and signed. |
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Question Time. Minutes: The following question, received under Standing Order 35, was put to the Chairman of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Question by Ms Sue
Whiting, resident: “Statistics released by the Government on 27th July 2017 show that Leicestershire primary schools had 699 identified children with specific learning difficulties (dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty) in the academic year 2016-2017. Parents still contact me about lack of provision in Leicestershire primary schools for teaching dyslexic children. Could the chair please tell me what arrangements have been made for dyslexia awareness week 2nd-8th October to involve primary schools and parents?” Reply by the
Chairman: “This year during Dyslexia Awareness Week, the Learning Support Service is planning to run a dyslexia awareness workshop for Leicestershire schools. This will include information about dyslexia and will showcase/demonstrate some multi-sensory approaches and resources for use at targeted level for pupils who require extra support. The event will also include a question/surgery slot for attendees to ask questions on an individual basis. There will be at least seven qualified specialist dyslexia tutors present to facilitate this session. This will take place on Tuesday 3rd October 2017 at County Hall.” Ms Sue Whiting asked
the following supplementary question in relation to the question: “Are parents and children going to be invited to the workshops?” The Director of Children and Family Services, on behalf of the Chairman, undertook to respond to this question in writing. |
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Questions asked by members under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). |
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Urgent Items. Minutes: There were no urgent items for consideration. |
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Declarations of Interest. Minutes: The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting. Mrs D Taylor CC declared a personal interest in all items on the agenda as her step grandson was subject to care services in Leicester City. |
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Declarations of the Party Whip in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. Minutes: There were no declarations of the party whip. |
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Presentation of Petitions under Standing Order 36. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no petitions had been received under Standing Order 36. |
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Funding Requirements to deliver the OFSTED Continuous Improvement Plan. PDF 255 KB A copy of the report to be
submitted to the Cabinet at its meeting on 15 September 2017 is attached. The
Committee is invited to comment on the proposed plan. The views of the
Committee will be reported to the Cabinet. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee
considered a report of the Director of Children and Families concerning
progress to date and future funding requirements to deliver the OFSTED
Continuous Improvement Plan. A copy of the report, marked “Agenda Item 9” is
filed with these minutes. Arising from
discussion, the following points were raised: i. Members
were informed that the proposed investment was significant but necessary to
meet the recommendations in the OFSTED report. Whilst being mindful of the financial
situation facing the Council, the investment would provide a good basis for
addressing the OFSTED recommendations to achieve the ‘good’ rating from OFSTED; ii. OFSTED
did not give a definitive standard for Social Worker caseloads. The County Council
would aim to follow the standards set out by CIPFA and best practice of
Authorities who had been rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED; iii. The
County Council would seek to introduce manageable caseloads for social workers
to address the OFSTED recommendations as this was crucial in moving to a ‘good’
rating from OFSTED. Caseloads would be audited to ensure that there was consistency and good quality outcomes; iv. The
number of Looked After Children had increased
significantly since 2010/11, as had the complexity of the cases involved. This
required a properly financed legal service to meet demand and, as such, a sum
of £500,000 had been included in the request to Cabinet; v. Outline
timeframes were included in the Action Plan now presented to the Committee. If
the request for investment was approved by Cabinet, then the action plan would
be amended to include more detailed timelines and milestones. RESOLVED: a.
That
the comments of the Committee be forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration at
its meeting on 15 September 2017 and that the Cabinet be advised that the
Committee supports the approval of the growth bid for Children and Family
Services for £2.5m for the 2018/19 financial year; b.
That
the Director for Children and Family Services submit a report to the next
meeting of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee setting
out details of timeframes and milestones related to the actions in the OFSTED
Continuous Improvement Plan. |
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Leicestershire and Rutland Local Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report 2016/17. PDF 323 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee
considered a report of the Independent Chair of the Local Safeguarding Children
Board concerning the Leicestershire and Rutland Local Safeguarding Children
Board Annual Report 2016/17. A copy of the report, marked “Agenda Item 10” is
filed with these minutes. Arising from
discussion, the following points were raised: i. The final report would be presented to
Cabinet on 15 September 2017 and would be signed off by the Leicestershire and Rutland
Local Safeguarding Children Board at its meeting on 20 October 2017; ii. There was strong partnership working across
Leicestershire regarding Child Sexual Exploitation; although further
improvements could be made in the leadership and governance arrangements by
more consistent representation at Board level; iii. The changes to the arrangements for
safeguarding children brought in by the Children’s Social Work Act which came
into force in 2017 would be addressed in next year’s report; Government
guidance was expected in November 2017; iv. The additional resource introduced to
address the volume of initial assessments had reduced caseloads and improved
the quality of assessment; v. There had been a rise in the number of home
educated children which reflected the regional and national trend. Systems were
in place to monitor all children who were home educated, as part of the
monitoring systems in place for all children not in education; vi. New software was being introduced to support
officers with the work already underway to interrogate performance data; vii. Safeguarding training programmes and the
accreditation of Social Workers was now being introduced as this was
highlighted by OFSTED as an area for improvement; viii.
Another
key aspect of the OFSTED report was management oversight and the Chairman of
the Board welcomed the investment referred to in the earlier paper (OFSTED
Continuous Improvement Plan). ix. With regard to concerns about initial health
assessments, the Chairman of the Board advised that he had written to all
health providers and Clinical Commissioning Groups seeking an update. RESOLVED: That the comments
of the Committee be forwarded to the Cabinet for
consideration at its meeting on 15 September 2017 and that the Cabinet be
advised that the Committee noted the Leicestershire and Rutland Local
Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report 2016/17. |
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Quarter 1 2017/18 Performance Report. PDF 168 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee
considered a report of the Director of Children and Families which provided an
update on departmental performance at the end of quarter 1 of 2017/18. A copy
of the report marked “Agenda Item 11” is filed with these minutes. Arising from discussion,
the following points were raised: i.
A range
of provision was now offered to support young people with their emotional
health and wellbeing needs and plans were in place to further improve
performance and quality of service delivery. The Strengths and Difficulties
Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to identify Looked After Children who were at risk
of developing such difficulties. The completion rate for the SDQ was improving
year on year, although officers acknowledged that further improvement was
needed; ii.
The
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) pilot undertaken during the
previous year, provided support to social workers and foster carers who cared
for a child with emotional health and wellbeing needs and gave a recommendation
around suitable therapy for the child. Members acknowledged that it was
important to identify and address such issues early to prevent a cumulative
effect moving forward; iii.
Significant
progress had been in reducing the number of children who became subject to a
Child Protection Plan (CPP) for a second or subsequent time. Procedures to
ensure resources were in place to support children when they came off a CPP
were improving. This included routine auditing of cases by the quality
assurance team, close working with Leicestershire Police to address mental
health, substance misuse or domestic abuse issues within families which were
risk factors for children becoming subject to a Plan; and new investments
following the OFSTED inspection; iv.
Members
were assured that officers constantly reviewed performance related to CPPs and
were informed that cumulative data over a longer period gave a more accurate
reflection of performance than data for quarter 1 only; v.
Members
were informed that the County Council performed well in terms of the number of
annual health checks completed, although young people had the right to refuse
the offer of a check should they wish. Regarding initial health assessments of
children and young people, Members were pleased to hear that 100% of those due
last month were completed and noted that this would not be the case for this
current month as some young people had refused the health assessment and four
children were placed out of county, which brought delays due to working with
other health authorities. Not all children received a dental check as some were
too young at under 4 years old and others had refused the offer. Members were
informed that there was close management and monitoring of each child to ensure
that checks were carried out where possible; vi.
Regarding
the variance in performance data for ‘% of Care Leavers in suitable
accommodation’ compared to the previous quarter, Members were informed that
improvements had been made to the consistency of recording methods. However,
the data was also affected by a range of circumstances, including those care
leavers who chose to return home but did not have their own room or bed and
also those young people who were in custody; both of which were deemed to be in
unsuitable accommodation; vii.
Data
related to the rise in the number of children refused an initial assessment for
an Education and Health Care Plan had not been included in the performance
report for Quarter 1 as updated data was not available. RESOLVED: That the Quarter 1
2017/18 Performance Report be noted. |
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Annual Report of the Independent Reviewing Officer. PDF 294 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee
considered a report of the Director of Children and Families concerning the
annual report of the Independent Reviewing Officer with regard to children in
care and those subject to child protection planning, for the period 1 April
2016 – 31 March 2017. A copy of the report marked “Agenda Item 12” is filed
with these minutes. Arising from
discussion, the following points were raised: i)
A more
robust system, with increased management oversight, had been introduced to manage
the process of ending a Child Protection Plan (CPP); a number of criteria must
be met before a Plan could end. Members were assured that the improvements
introduced would positively impact on the process for ending a CPP, although it
would take some time for this to be reflected in the performance data; ii)
Officers
worked closely with the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), who now had a more
strengthened and robust position within the Children and Families Department.
The IRO was involved at the closure stage of a CPP and ensured that the correct
resources were in place moving forward; iii)
A
recent audit of CPPs which were due to end had been undertaken to identify best
practice in managing plans and supporting children; the lessons learned would
be used to target appropriate support and preventative action for Children in
Need; iv)
Following
the OFSTED inspection, Officers had developed appropriate methods of
communicating with Children in Care which encouraged them to engage with and
participate in the review process; v)
Regarding
the challenges detailed in section 1.7 of the Independent Reviewing Officer
Service Annual Report 2016-17, Members were informed that a more robust system
was in place, which included a review of all children in care who were subject
to a S20 voluntary accommodation arrangement and the requirement for Social
Workers to present to the Permanence Panel details of plans for the child
concerned; vi)
A
formal process had been developed for Special Guardianship Orders and this
would be operational from January 2018. RESOLVED:
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Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee
considered a report of the Director of Children and Families which detailed the
activity of the Leicestershire and Rutland Adoption Agency and the
Leicestershire Fostering Service during the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March
2017. A copy of the report marked “Agenda Item 13” is filed with these minutes.
Arising from
discussion, the following points were raised: i)
The
County Council operated a good quality and efficient adoption service, which
was more cost effective than other local authority areas. More adoptive
families were being sought so as to achieve best outcomes for children and
young people. An additional 70 adoptive families were required to meet demand
for placements and achieve a good match for children and work to recruit these
was well underway and making good progress; ii)
Members
were informed that the ethnicity of foster carers reflected the ethnic mix of
the children and young people seeking placements; this enabled their cultural
and language needs to be met; iii)
Officers
worked closely with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and
provided a good package of support to foster carers which included individual
training programmes, dedicated placement support and an out of hours support
line. The recruitment campaign to attract new foster carers included more
promotion of the support available to them; iv)
The
funding available to foster carers varied and reflected the skill level of the
fosterer carer required, the complexity and need of the child and the
circumstances of the placement. Recently, new foster carers had come forward
from outside of Leicestershire, prompted by the good quality support offered to
foster carers by the County Council. Plans were in place to develop the service
further in the future to continue to attract foster carers; v)
Officers
had found it increasingly difficult to find placements for children, and looked
to a wide variety of solutions to do so, which included the use of Independent
Fostering Agencies (IFA). A specialist consultant was being used to support
officers in developing and expanding the in-house fostering service to ensure
that demand could be met and where possible the use of more costly IFA
placements be avoided. Good progress was being made and the Children and
Families Service was confident of meeting its growth targets. RESOLVED:
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Dates of future meetings. Future meetings of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be held on the following dates: • 13 November 2017 at 1.30pm • 15 January 2018 at 2pm • 5 March 2018 at 2pm • 4 June 2018 at 2pm • 10 September 2018 at 2pm • 12 November 2018 at 2pm Minutes: It was noted that future meetings of the Committee were scheduled to take place at 1.30pm on the following dates: · 13 November 2017 · 15 January 2018 · 5 March 2018 · 4 June 2018 · 10 September 2018 · 12 November 2018 |