Agenda item

Context:

To scrutinise the 2016/17 performance information under the remit of the Children and Young People Select Committee, this includes:

·                Reporting back on how well the Authority performed against the objectives which the previous Council set for 2016/17.

·                Information on how the Authority performed against a range of nationally set measures for Children’s Social Services used by all councils in Wales.

Key Issues:

The Council currently has an established performance framework, this is the way in which the Authority translates its vision - building sustainable and resilient communities - into action and ensures that everyone is pulling in the same direction to deliver real and tangible outcomes. 

Over the coming years the shape of public services in Wales is likely to change significantly influenced by two very significant pieces of Welsh legislation, The Well-being of Future Generations Act and The Social Services and Well-being Act, as well as financial pressures, demographic changes, changes in customer needs and expectations and regulatory and policy changes. Services need to continue to think more about the long-term, work better with people and communities, look to prevent problems before they arise and take a more joined-up approach.

The Council has recently completed two substantial assessments of need as a result of this legislation. This information has provided a much deeper evidence base of well-being in the County and, as required by the Future Generations Act, this has been used to produce the Council’s well-being objectives and statement 2017.

The shift in focus in the well-being objectives means that activities will need to be focused on longer term challenges at a community level rather than some of the internal process issues and outputs that could sometimes be found in its predecessor, The Improvement Plan. When dealing with more complex societal challenges it will take longer for measurable change to come about and longer still to be able to evidence those changes in a meaningful way. In the short-term there will continue to be milestones that can be used to track the Authority’s improvement journey. This will be supported by a range of performance reports select committee can request as part of its work programme and the structure of performance reports received by committee will be revised to reflect this emphasis.

Appendix 2 of the report sets out performance achieved in 2016/17 against the actions and performance measures approved by Council in May 2016 as part of its Improvement Plan. As well as being presented to select committees the objectives will be included alongside a further evaluation of performance in 2016/17 that will be reported to Council and published by October 2017. The Welsh Government has recently consulted on plans to repeal the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 which means this is likely to be the final plan and report in this format. 

Appendix 3 of the report provides a report card on Children’s Social Services performance in 2016/17. This presents data from the new measurement framework introduced in 2016/17 as part of the Social Services and Well-being Act and sets it within the context of the requirements of the act and contribution to the Council’s objectives. The performance measures are a blend of quantitative data and qualitative data collected through questionnaires to children and parents about their experience of social services and whether this has contributed to improving their well-being. Targets for 2016/17 were set where feasible and targets for 2017/18 have been included where available and applicable, these will be better informed when comparable local authority data is available in autumn 2017.

Activity that contributes to the delivery of some objectives cross cuts select committee remits and these have also been reported to the other relevant committees. 

Member Scrutiny:

·         It was noted that some parents are electing to not take free school meals provision for their children but instead taking universal credit. Concern was expressed that this might affect the free school meals (FSM) figures regarding attainment.   Select Committee Members were informed that the figures for attainment included those students who were eligible to receive free school meals and not just those students who were choosing to receive free school meals.

·         There is a pattern emerging in that people are making choices regarding the benefits that they receive which can exclude them from receiving school meals depending on which path they take.  This matter is being looked at collectively across the Gwent region to understand this issue better.

·         The number of children eligible for free school meals does have an effect on the schools in terms of the pupil development grant.  The lower the percentage of children in a school that is eligible for free school meals changes who the authority compares that particular school with.

·         In response to a question raised regarding performance targets, it was noted that the Education Achievement Service (EAS) works closely with schools regarding target setting and it looks at attainment of the potential of individual pupils.  Therefore, it is about setting targets that are realistic but also maximising the ability of those pupils.

·         In response to a question raised regarding the decline in the Foundation Phase performance indicator, it was noted that there has been a slight fall back.  However, the Committee was informed that the Authority is achieving at the highest level in Wales in terms of the Foundation Phase which equates to perhaps one or two children not achieving the expected level at the outcome 5. A single child in a class with special educational needs will have an impact on the performance indicator. Throughout the year officers have been talking to schools about the Foundation Phase regarding the level that is being achieved.  The expected level +1 will indicate the improvements that schools are making at the Foundation Phase.  This information will be identified in the Chief Officer’s report which will be received by the Select Committee later in the year.

·         In response to a question raised regarding the reduction in the numbers of teaching staff, it was noted that schools have been under financial pressure in recent years and schools have had to make some difficult decisions regarding their staffing structures.  Where there are children being retained in County with additional learning needs then this will be recognised and funded accordingly.  Support is not being cut back for those children that require it in main stream schools.

·         It was noted that the number of Special Educational Needs (SEN) statements have declined in light of the operation of the School Action Plus Resource Assist (SAPRA).  As the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) and Tribunal Bill progresses through the National Assembly, this will lead to an end to Statements and SAPRA and there will be Pupil Development Plans for all children with identified ALN.  In terms of where the Authority is now, there is a significant increase in requests for statements and SAPRAs from schools in advance of the change in legislation.

·         Future reports will provide actual figures alongside percentage values.

·         Free School Meals outcomes are not where the Authority would expect them to be and schools are being challenged so that the Authority knows where the Free School Meals pupils are in their development and what they need in terms of greater support to reach the expected levels.

·         In response to a question raised regarding the number of agency staff working in children’s services, it was noted that it is the intention to have a permanent and stable workforce and to ensure that the right person is appointed.  It was noted that a target of only having three agency staff working for the Authority was ambitious as there is a lot of competition to obtain social workers.  However, progress has been made.

·         In response to a question raised regarding child protection, it was noted that in comparison with other local authorities child protection figures are low within Monmouthshire and are within the Authority’s target levels.