Venue: Council Chamber - Town Hall, Huddersfield. View directions
Contact: Jodie Harris Email: jodie.harris@kirklees.gov.uk
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Membership of the Board/Apologies To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.
Minutes: The Board thanked Elaine McShane, Service Director - Family Support and Child Protection for her contributions to the Board and welcomed Vickey Metheringham as a Board member as the new Service Director - Family Support and Child Protection.
The Board noted that apologies had been received from Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director – Learning and Early Support and Gill Addy, Designated Nurse for Looked After Children.
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Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 335 KB To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 15 November 2022. Minutes: The Board considered the Minutes of the last meeting held on 15 November 2022.
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the previous meeting be approved as a correct record.
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The Board Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have disclosable pecuniary interests, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items, or any other interest. Minutes: No interests were declared. |
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Admission of the Public Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private. Minutes: It was agreed that all agenda items would be held in public session. </AI3>
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Deputations/Petitions The Board will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.
Minutes: No deputations or petitions were received.
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Public Question Time The Board will hear any questions from the general public. Minutes: No public questions were received.
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One Adoption West Yorkshire Annual Report PDF 517 KB The Board will consider the One Adoption West Yorkshire Annual Report.
Contact:
Michelle Rawlings, Interim Head of One Adoption West Yorkshire
Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board considered the One Adoption West Yorkshire Annual Report which was presented byMichelle Rawlings, Interim Head of One Adoption West Yorkshire (OAWY). Michelle summarised the work and developments of OAWY from April 2021 to March 2022 as set out in the report. It was highlighted that:
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Children's Performance Highlight Report PDF 584 KB The Board will consider a report giving key highlights from the latest Performance Monitoring data for the Children’s Service
Contacts:
Ophelia Rix, Head of Service for Children in Care, Care Leavers and Looked After Children Louise Hallas, Virtual School Headteacher Gill Addy, Designated Nurse for Looked After Children Ian Mottershaw, Head of Service –Contextual Safeguarding and Y.E.S, Family Support and Child Protection
Minutes: The Board considered the latest Children’s Performance Highlights Reportgiving key highlights on Performance Monitoring data for Children’s Services. Ophelia Rix, Head of Service for Children in Care, Care Leavers and Looked After Children presented the key highlights in relation to Children Looked After Reviews and Missing and it was highlighted that:
The Board noted the update and asked in respect of Children Looked After Reviews and Missing and in the discussion to follow asked a number of questions.
Responding to a question from the Board about the number of foster carers for out of area placements and whether the figure presented in the report (55) related to in house or IFA’s foster carers, Tom Brailsford, Service Director (Resources, Improvement and Partnerships) agreed that the data would be provided to the Board to follow.
Responding to points highlighted by the Ex-officio, including staffing challenges in social work and continuing to keep children safe whilst managing the additional pressure on staff, Ophelia Rix reassured the Board that social worker vacancies were being managed through recruiting other practitioners who could bring additional skills to provide a network of support to children and young people. This included Family Support Workers and Youth Engagement Officers who would work alongside social workers to ensure that children were visited, and that the service continued to build good quality relationships with young people. In relation to education, employment and training, work was undertaken to ensure that there was a network of practitioners not just within social work but within the wider Council who could continue to build those relationships and ensure children and young people were seen in a variety of settings, including the home, and schools.
Responding to a question from the Board about the number of foster carer vacancies, Tom Brailsford advised that this information was managed on a weekly basis through the new Dashboard and agreed that this information would be provided to the Board to follow.
Ophelia Rix, presented the monitoring data in relation to Care Leavers and highlighted that:
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Children's Services Annual Complaints Report PDF 218 KB The Board will consider the Children’s Services Annual Complaints Report
Contacts:
Helen Sanderson, Complaints and Compliments Manager, Yasmin Mughal, Complaints and Compliments Manager, Kate Richardson, Complaints and Compliments Manager,
Additional documents: Minutes: The Board considered the Childrens Services Annual Complaints Report which was presented by Sara Miles, Head of Service – Resources, Improvement and Partnerships.
The Board noted the annual report set out the compliments and complaints regarding Children’s Social Care during the period of 01 April 2020 to 31 March 2022 and that:
· During 2021-22, 60 contacts (of 261) were made to team relating to 3 service areas of Care Leavers, Children Looked After and the Fostering Service · Of the 60 contacts, 41 were complaints and 7 were made by children and young people (C&YP) · All complaints made by C&YP were resolved to their satisfaction though the local resolutions process. · This was positive for both the C&YP and in terms of learning how best to engage C&YP. · C&YP were supported by the Children’s Rights Team through the process of raising a complaint. · Section 9 of the report detailed the nature of the complaints raised, with effective communication being one of the main areas where a complaint was raised by C&YP. · Section 10 highlighted the outcomes of the complaints, (i.e., upheld, partial upheld or not upheld). · Section 12 of the report highlighted the learning from any complaints, around information sharing, implementation of new policies and the timeliness of decisions. · The Children’s rights team worked closely with the responding managers across the 3 services areas to ensure responses were strengthened and to learn from the voice of C&YP. · There was an action plan around areas for development going forward Alongside this the team were looking to hold a practice learning day to further strengthen learning.
In response to a question from the Board around any significant thematic complaints, Helen Sanderson, Complaints and Represent Manager, Family Support and Child Protection advised that a key element was managing C&YP’s expectations about what can practically be achieved through the complaints system. The Complaints Team had been working closely with the Children’s Rights Team to address how to manage expectations from the start of the process.
The Board welcomed news of a practice learning day and noted the value in hearing the voices of children and young people noting previous Board discussions around this.
Ophelia Rix, Head of Service for Children in Care, Care Leavers and Looked After Children responded to advise that a plan was being developed in relation to the inclusion of C&YP’s voice in the work of the Corporate Parenting Board, which was to be presented to the Board at the appropriate time. This involved working in collaboration with partner organisations and the Children’s Rights Team to find a variety of avenues (such as a ‘takeover week’) to enable this, including arranging meetings at a time that was convenient to enable C&YP’s participation. Linking into complaints, it was important to set clear expectations and appropriate timescales around the approach.
In response, the Board acknowledged comment about timescales but highlighted that the Board would be willing to be flexible about times of meetings to progress ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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Virtual School Governing Body Update The Board will receive a verbal update from the Chair of the Virtual School Governing Body.
Contacts:
Councillor Carole
Pattison, Chair of the
Virtual School Governing Body
Minutes: The Board considered the Virtual School Governing Body Update, which was introduced by Councillor Carole Pattison, who highlighted the continuous positive work of the Virtual School Team and the resulting above average statistics. The appointment of a new Virtual School Team Manager had allowed for the Virtual School Head Teacher to focus on the virtual school action plan; and the consideration of the new dashboard, and the post-16 pupil premium plus pilot were noted as key highlights of the last meeting of the Governing body.
Louise Hallas, Virtual School Head Teacher presented a verbal update in respect of the Virtual School Governing Body, and it was noted that:
The Board noted the update and in respect of the Post-16 Pupil Premium Pilot highlighted it would be interesting to follow the cohort of children who were a part of this to monitor its impact in the long-term. The Board also asked about how the pilot funding could be accessed for children?
In response, Louise Hallas advised that the funding could be accessed through the electronic PEP system as in the same way as it was for statutory school age children. Though funding would be discussed at termly PEP’s, Louise further highlighted that the Virtual School was also working with providers to discuss potential funding if required in between PEP’s.
RESOLVED: The Board noted theVirtual School Governing Body Update,and it was agreed that consideration be given to following the cohort of children who were a part the Post-16 Pupil Premium Pilot to monitor its impact in the long-term.
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Children's Ambition Board Update The Board will receive an update in relation to the Children’s Ambition Board.
Contacts:
Elaine McShane, Service Director (Family
Support and Child Protection)
Minutes: The Board considered a verbal update in respect of the Children’s Ambition Board which was presented by Tom Brailsford, Service Director (Resources, Improvement and Partnerships) who advised that 3 key improvement strategies were discussed, the Improvement Strategy for Social Care, the SEND Improvement Plan and the Kirklees Futures Learning Strategy. Service Directors presented the key data points both positive and areas of concern before considering the Kirklees Futures Learning Strategy in more depth.
RESOLVED: The Board noted the Children’s Ambition Board update and it was agreed that the Minutes of the meetings of the Board be circulated to the Corporate Parenting Board.
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Updates from Board Members on interaction with services The Board will consider verbal updates from Board Members in relation to progress and key issues following interaction with Services and partners to challenge the role of the Corporate Parent.
Contact: Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer
Minutes: The Board noted verbal updates from Members in respect of interactions with Services. The Chair of the Board reported attendance at:
Councillor Elizabeth Reynolds also reported attendance at the Foster Carer Celebration Event and had been invited to attend a Mockingbird meeting in the coming weeks. Tom Brailsford, Service Director (Resources, Improvement and Partnerships) reported a visit to the Independent Visitors who gave a presentation around how they developed relationships with young people. Tom further suggested it would be helpful to invite the Independent Visitors to share this presentation with the Board. In response the Board added that Board members would welcome invitations to visit the Independent Visitors team also. The Chair of the Board further welcomed suggestions of other areas to visits from Board Members.
RESOLVED: The Board noted the update on Interactions with Services, and it was agreed that 1. Independent Visitors be invited to share their presentation around developing relationships with young people with the Board. 2. Board members visit the Independent Visitors Team.
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Corporate Parenting Board Agenda Plan 2022/23 PDF 539 KB The Board will consider the agenda plan for 2022/23.
Contact:
Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer
Minutes: The Board considered its agenda plan for 2022/23. It was noted there were new items arising from the meeting to be added to the Plan.
RESOLVED: The Board noted the agenda plan for 2022/23 and it was agreed that:
The plan around the inclusion of the child’s voice be brought forward and added to the agenda plan as soon as possible |