Agenda item

Context:

To provide members of CYP Select Committee with an appraisal of current

issues and key challenges within Children’s Services. To appraise members of a proposal for a service improvement programme which addresses these challenges. The report is for members to receive and scrutinise the information concerning key challenges within the service and the proposed service improvement programme.

          Key Issues:

The primary aim of Children’s Service is to work together with others to ensure that Monmouthshire’s children and young people reach their full potential and live free from the harmful effects of abuse and neglect. We aim to provide responsive, family orientated services which ensure that our most vulnerable children are effectively safeguarded.

Over the last year, Monmouthshire Children’s Services has continued to deliver services in an increasingly challenging and complex context. The work plan for the service from April 2015 - March 2016 was extensive and required the whole service to pull together in developing systems and processes; improving practice and building partnerships.

There remains much to be done and in some areas we are not as far along our path to improvement as others. These areas include:

- Continued increase in our Looked After Children population

- Continued significant budgetary pressure

- Achieving a confident, competent and stable workforce

- Ensuring vulnerable families have access to the right services at the right time, recognising a deficit in family support services - Implementing intelligent commissioning including families first and core funding.

- To articulate our service model and ensure that our model, operating procedures and pathways of care are clear, embedded in practice and widely communicated.

- Continued development of our partnership working

- Embedding a consistent quality assurance framework for the service that drives continuous self-assessment, analysis and improvement.

Addressing these challenges will require a programme approach which captures the interrelatedness of many of the areas for development. This will require the commitment of the whole service together with on-going support from the council. Additional capacity through the commissioning of outside expertise, as well as continued collaboration activity with partners and maximising the use of regional and national support will be of benefit.

Member Scrutiny:

Members expressed how impressed they were with the report and how encouraging they found it as it was long recognised that a change was needed in Children’s Services.

Members impressed upon the Officers how important it was to be out in the heart of the community with whole place support and welcomed the change of culture.

It was asked why Officers decide to work with IPC and it was explained that the Institute of Public Care were chosen due their wealth of experience and their research based approach, they also provided Officers with instances of best practice and examples of how other authorities have tackled issues.

A Member said that after reading the report it was obvious Officers had acknowledged issues and were trying to rectify problems but the concern was raised that these issues had been acknowledged before and it was asked how Officers will ensure things actually change on this occasion. It was answered that Officers also felt this frustration previously and that now the service had been stripped back to basics with a forensic approach. Staff had been asked their opinions, external help had been sought and this has led to a brand new strategy being in place,

It was asked after seeing Social Services go through a cultural change, what did staff think and we were told that staff had been unhappy, but were now engaged and listened to which led to improved teamwork.