Martin Henderson, Headteacher of Westmorland Primary School, will attend the meeting and make a presentation to members.
Minutes:
Martin Henderson and Jacky Shore (Westmoreland Primary School) attended the meeting and made a presentation in respect to Integration and Partnership working at the school. Martin explained that Westmoreland had played an important role in shaping services for the Local Authority especially in relation to the Supporting Families project and often piloting new projects. He further explained that Jacky was the School Safeguarding Manager and that there were a further two full time co-ordinators who reported to her. In addition a relate counsellor provided sessions on a Thursday and Friday morning. The school had held in excess of 400 safeguarding meetings in the last academic year working with 24 different social workers on a variety of cases The School and its Safeguarding Team acted as the first port of call for many parents who were experiencing difficulties. They explained/reported on the following:-
· How families and children are reported to the safeguarding team.
· How the school helps parents to take ownership of their problems in an effort to make things better.
· The various agencies and partners who work with the school to support families through Team Around the Child (TAC) meetings.
· The benefits associated with further integration and partnership working including areas for development.
Following the presentation, the following comments were made/issues raised:-
Helping parents to take ownership and making things better
· One to one support enabled both parents and children to develop better self- esteem, this also enabled parents to see how well their children are progressing because they have engaged.
· The introduction of Thank You cards following TAC meetings was a positive step as it reminded parents of their responsibilities and what actions they had committed to taking but also what actions each agency would take.
· Relate counselling was provided in the school environment and parenting course were provided which could be tailored to specific needs.
· It would help significantly if schools could refer parents to the services provided by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) rather than having to be referred by a GP. It was further suggested that once a child has been referred to CAMHS, the service should liaise with the child’s school to gain further information on the child.
· It was suggested that schools should be used as a vehicle to break down barriers with Head Teachers being used to introduce families to Social Workers and to liaise with other agencies who have access to the home.
Which Partners Support Families through TAC Meetings
· The benefits of bringing teams together working on a locality basis was a key driver of success or failure. Providing families with the opportunity to engage in their local community was imperative to the Support Families model.
· School buildings could be utilised better – there were 13 weeks a year when they would be available for agencies to use them as a local base to provide support services and to meet with families. Families are often resistant to travel outside of their community for support and schools provided an excellent facility to address that problem.
· Greater Manchester Police, CAMHS, RELATE, Stockport Homes, Health Visitors and School Nurses all have an integral role to play alongside schools and the Local Authority for providing support to those families in need.
· Operation Challenger……..
· SKIPS……..
Measuring effectiveness of Interventions
· The use of staff log books was a simple but highly effective way of monitoring any concerns relating to individual pupils and they often revealed patterns of behaviour which were of concern and so prompt intervention. It was strongly recommended that all schools should adopt a similar system.
· Concern was expressed in relation to the impact of the changes to the Schools Funding Formula and the potential impact that this will have on schools in priority areas particularly in respect to the pastoral care offered to pupils and whether school will be able to safeguard their children adequately.
· Safeguarding meetings and the daily log book were a good measure of things getting better. The tracking of children’s academic progress, attendance, punctuality, personal appearance and hygiene were other obvious measures which were monitored.
Benefits of Integration and Partnership Working
· There was better sharing of information between partners and families could be traced better – enhances opportunity to signpost families to various agencies with increased opportunities to provide support
· The relationships forged between the school and other agencies was integral to the effort to focus on the child. The other agencies were able to access the home and monitor children during school holiday times.
· Date sharing was integral to determining is children had made progress and were benefiting from interventions.
· Westmoreland School would happily welcome in and meet with representatives of other schools who wish to see how the school manages and deal with safeguarding issues.
Areas for Development
· The sharing of information at a systematic level remained a concern. Many agencies (including schools) did not have access to the Tribal System which contained a vast amount of potentially important information on each child. It would be helpful to further a common language and to make every attempt not to work in silos.
· Greater Manchester Police and NHS Trusts often took up to a fortnight to share important information with schools.
· Concern was expressed in relation to the reduction of Council budgets which had resulted in the reorganisation of Council Teams; the same concerns applied to the movement of health workers.
· It was suggested that Head Teachers be provided with further clarity of the thresholds for social care intervention.
· The support provided to parents with low level mental health issues and learning difficulties was insufficient and as a consequence the children of those parents were being adversely affected.
RESOLVED – That Martin Henderson and Jackie Shore be thanked for their and attendance and presentation and that issues raised and comments made during the course of the discussion be addressed in the draft final report and recommendations.