To provide an update to cabinet on the children's improvement plan.

The Strategic Improvement Plan forms part of the council’s response to the non-statutory improvement notice issued by the Department for Education (DfE) on 18 May 2021.

The cabinet member children and families introduced the report. She highlighted that this was the first in a series of quarterly updates on the improvement journey. The improvement plan was a live document and was in the process of being refreshed and simplified. The new version of the plan would be included with the next quarterly update.

Group leaders and representatives gave their comments and questions. It was noted that:

·       There was still a long way to go and the council needed to remain vigilant in its assessment of progress;

·       The next update would have much more detail, reflecting a new approach to data management and reporting;

·       It was important to support staff working in this difficult area and recognise that they were experiencing considerable change.

The chairperson of the children and young people commented on the report, noting that progress was being made and a more bottom up focus on the experience of children and families was evident. He highlighted that the committee had received four detailed reports at its recent meeting, including a report on workforce issues.

It was resolved that:

Cabinet members, having reviewed progress against the Children and Families Strategic Improvement Plan v1.0 following the 18th May 2021 DfE non-statutory notice to improve, have not identified any additional actions to support delivery of improvements.