To consider if the children's wellbeing self-assessment provides the necessary assurance for the committee. In addition to make any comments and recommendations to enable the self-assessment to be developed further.

The committee received a report concerning the updated Children’s Wellbeing Self-Assessment, copy appended to the minutes. The Director of Children’s Wellbeing introduced the report and advised the Committee that the document had been updated since it was presented at the September meeting. The document had been used in the West Midlands Association of Directors of Children’s Services self-assessment and peer challenge work in November 2017. Feedback had been received which informed the council’s improvement work and would inform the next iteration. The self-assessment provided a comprehensive overview of children’s services at the council outlining the current improvement journey, positive outcomes for children and elements which required attention.

In consideration of the self-assessment the committee raised the comments below in the discussion that followed:

·         A recurring theme within the document concerned difficulties encountered with the software Mosaic. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help confirmed that Mosaic had been introduced to replace Frameworki. As with any new system there was a period of adjustment where challenges were encountered however the introduction of Mosaic was a positive step as clarity had been brought to the element of the system concerning Looked After Children (LAC);

·         There were concerns that the recruitment of experienced social workers was a challenge. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help explained that a new HR Business Partner had recently been investigating recruitment strategies including greater use of social media. The Director of Children’s Wellbeing explained that a regional grouping of children’s services was exploring ways of improving recruitment and retention of social workers and this would be complemented by a localised approached that was being developed by the HR Business Partner.

·         The self-assessment had highlighted the need for a cultural change in respect of safeguarding; it was queried how this would be achieved. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help advised the committee that the Safeguarding and Review Team were responsible for overseeing how services were delivered to LAC and also provided a quality assurance function. The team would focus on how to ensure consistency in its operations and define its role. The positive work of the team would be developed and embedded across the council.

·         Detail had not been provided in the self-assessment as to how the high rate of reoffending would be addressed. It was explained that the recent consideration of the Youth Justice Plan at Full Council had included detail of the strategies to address reoffending rates.

·         The report referred to the poor physical environment for CAMHS but there was no detail regarding potential improvements. The Assistant Director Safeguarding and Early Help explained that the new CAMHS offer would address this and there was an intention to move away from a permanent location for the service to place an emphasis on meeting where services users preferred.

The Director of Children’s Wellbeing provided some feedback on the self-assessment which had been received from the West Midlands regional group. This included: confirmation that improvements in education and care had occurred; challenges persisted around LAC but there was acknowledgment that there had been a significant reduction in the number of children subject to child protection plans and that audit work had been carried out to reflect on this change; the voice of the child required more consistent emphasis; more information concerning current initiatives would be welcome; and the style of the document could have a more consistent approach.

Councillor CA Gandy proposed and Councillor MD Lloyd-Hayes seconded the recommendations below. The committee agreed the recommendations unanimously.

That the Committee:

·         endorses the self-assessment in its current form; and

·         agrees that the comments raised by the committee are circulated to the cabinet member.

RESOLVED: that the committee agrees those recommendations as set out in the minute above.