The purpose of this report is to present cabinet with the Phase 2 Children’s Services Improvement Plan for endorsement on 13th July 24

The cabinet member for children and young people introduced the report, the improvement plan was revised by the corporate director and went to children’s improvement board in July and considered by scrutiny committee in September.  The plan focuses on 9 recommendations following the Ofsted inspection. The equality assurance framework enables the Council to understand the impact of what it does and the audit activity helps the Council understand the activity work delivered.  Noted that the plan on a page is aimed towards staff and this has been received positively. 

Councillor Fagan (chair of the Children and Young Person’s Scrutiny Committee) discussed the improvement plan on 17 September.   The Committee welcomed the focus on the improvement actions and the focus on auditing across the partnership of services for young people.  The approach to restorative practice was particularly welcomed and the committee felt this should be implemented across the partners in the County. 

The Committee recognised the achievements that had been made within the workforce and the work that continues to drive improvement in this area.  The Committee also felt that the consultation with families on the ‘right time right place thresholds of need’ and managing risk should receive far greater publicity and exposure to ensure that the county families understand and agree with the thresholds.

The initial discussions around child friendly Herefordshire were also welcomed and it was important to ensure the needs of children and young people were clearly identified in developing plans such as the Local Plan and when considering the budget.  The points made were as follows:

In Leeds they have done an audit of their child friendly Leeds and it’s shown that issues like planning and highways did not take into account the impact on the lives of young people and children. 

The new improvement plan was easy to read, the ambitions were very clear, and the actions clearly identified. 

Cabinet members discussed the report. The following comments were made:

How positive the strong steer, direction and purpose was in Children’s Services. The numbers were increasing for recruitment and retention, but assurance was sought regarding the ASYE (the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment) cohort.  There was a fluctuation in foster carers and an increase in connected care households.  There was a clear line of sight within the plan, and it was helpful that it closely connected with the Ofsted recommendation. 

In response Councillor Powell, cabinet member for Children and Young People, confirmed that caseloads are monitored across the department and the AYSE group (Assessed and Supported Year in Employment social workers) have a reduced case load with less complicated work allocated.  They are also supported by a supervising social worker. 

The cabinet member explained regarding foster carers and connected care households (also known as kinship care), it is natural for the connected care numbers to fluctuate as the restorative practice model is embedded and that reduces the need for some children to go into kinship care.  Foster care does present recruitment challenges, particularly foster carers who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24