Agenda and minutes

Notes of meeting of October 2017 agreed

The document details the 8 recommendations deriving from the Ofsted Inspection of Stockport Family and the LSCB in June 2017, some of which have already been completed.

Workshops have been carried out around the recommendations and the improvement plan has been returned to Ofsted.

The board discussed the following:

·         AW: first 2 recommendations were about workload and resources: budgets for children and families are being reduced and this will continue to happen.  Is there anything collectively as a CTB that we should be doing now to address/improve this? 

·         Parts of this will affect the budget: social worker caseloads (numbers) reflect an increase in looked after children, thereby increasing the budget requirement.  The quality of what you give is essential to the outcome of what you achieve so increasing the numbers of social workers is of benefit to children.

·         Will Digital by Design lessen actual contact?  The plan is to be slicker digitally thereby allowing more time with families. Single view allows a social worker to view all history at one time allowing immediate knowledge about a family and less time needed to spend on investigating issues. 

·         The narrowing of the schools’ curriculum and consequent possible effect on the disengagement of certain children.  Students are becoming more complex which will increase pressure on other services as well.  Schools feel pressured by the considerable reduction in budgets and the changes Ofsted are requiring.

·         Recommendation number 5 covered referrals into MAASH:  this has already been addressed; the team is already stronger and Kate Horridge is working closely with the Digital by Design team to improve digital processes: to be completed by March 2018.

Governance of LSCB and CTB work together; there is a need for clarity of what is the business of the LSCB and that of the CTB – are we clear around who is doing what?  Ofsted were satisfied that they could see a difference being made from TAS, TAC, Stockport Families but they couldn’t see the evidence for the LSCB outcome – which is actually about the process.

We need a single approach on how we manage this and on governance and accountability that the LSCB and CTB need to return to.

There is an LSCB development day in January that will look at issues and then document to CTB in March.

There may be a SEND inspection in the near future which will also look at this.

Is there a piece of work to be carried out in looking at our KPIs?  This would also be a good thing to go to the Safeguarding development day in January, 2018.

CTB noted the report

Craig Hughes will come to the March meeting to discuss the shape of performance reporting going forwards.

Discussion points from the report included:

·         Content of performance and where the issues are – beginning with education and early years.

·         Difference in children’s success rates in Primary School and transition to Senior school, in certain areas of Stockport.

·         Case study our schools beginning next week concerning exclusion and why/who they happen to?

·         Does there need to be a question as to whether a setting is appropriate to the child.  A PRU is to be returned from, not to remain in. 

·         How do young carers fit in this? Debate to be had to look at this group of young people. 

·         Clear focus on the group that does persistently well and why?

PB to bring back to CTB in the future

·         Children with severe Mental Health issues not going to school? 

·         Duncan Weldrake: there is a need to ensure schools grow their own ability to low level support for complex issues (schools say there isn’t enough CAMHS support) and to monitor how this is being developed.  Hoping to see a development in the future. 

·         Element around mental wellbeing to be developed; there needs to be somebody on duty on a daily basis that can support schools due to the size of need. 

·         Need co-ordination in place to ensure we get this right, and don’t create in silos. 

·         CW – need to consider the links between school nurses/camhs/ how this links up – CW/DJ

Elective home education (EHE): this has increased nationally.  Barry Kirkman keeps a very close eye on this re numbers and quality.  BK to attend the next CTB with an update on Stockport’s EHE situation.

DS: CTB asked to note:

·         emotional physical health and wellbeing –

·         Smoking in mothers – slight increase, may be a statistical blip? 

·         Breastfeeding – showing some reduction.  DS to discuss with Cllr McGee to and ask if he could take forward a council motion. 

·         Substantial drop in teenage conceptions.

CML:

·         Stockport Family and schools relationship seems to be going from strength to strength – not gainsaying that we have ups and downs – but the feedback from individual schools about SWS attached has improved since last year.

·         Early help assessment – working on the quality as well as the focus outcomes – capturing quality not just quantity. 

·         Continued positive data on youth offending

Agreed that this becomes the following become part of the core of the strategic plan.

·         Partnership focus – mental health and resilience – ensure single system not fragmented;

·         Education outcomes: more work on young carers – add in something to continue our focus;

·         Attendance and appropriateness of the curriculum and the effect it has on attendance;

·         Transitions – being clear about which cohort of young people we are talking about when talking about this.

CTB noted and agreed for future performance reports

For information.  Docs will go to HWB as well.  Pge 11

CTB noted