Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Town Hall, Huddersfield. View directions

Contact: Jodie Harris  Email: jodie.harris@kirklees.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

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.

 

 

2.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon 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.

 

 

3.

Interests pdf icon PDF 20 KB

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.

4.

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.

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5.

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.

 

6.

Public Question Time

The Board will hear any questions from the general public.

Minutes:

No public questions were received.

 

7.

One Adoption West Yorkshire Annual Report pdf icon 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:

 

  • OAWY had experienced some change during the reporting period, including interim appointments within the management and senior management team.
  • This created some instability, but staff retention and recruitment remained positive, and staff sickness levels were low.
  • Hybrid working arrangements had been implemented following consultation with staff and this was working well.
  • OAWY continued to build on a strong working relationship with Kirklees Council; with Kirklees representatives as members of OAWY management Boards and operational leads meetings.
  • There were also regular joint meetings between the Council and OAWY at a service manager/team manager level to maintain effective communication.
  • During the reporting period there had been considerable change in the Multidisciplinary Team staffing which had impacted capacity.
  • The Clinical Psychology Lead left the team in early 2022 and a new Psychology Lead had now been appointed.
  • Discussions were ongoing with commissioners around the future of the Multidisciplinary Team and funding arrangements.
  • Challenges relating to Medical Advisor capacity (not within Kirklees but in other authorities) and the issues around GP’s progressing medicals for prospective adopters continued. These challenges had been escalated and raised in the relevant platforms.
  • In terms of performance, 112 adopters were approved during the reporting period, which was a slight decrease from the previous year. 
  • Across West Yorkshire 197 children had an adoption plan, and 17 were in Kirklees.
  • OAWY approved 27 households for sibling groups and 19 households who were open to offering early permanence.
  • There were also 143 children across West Yorkshire with a placement order.
  • OAWY continued to have challenges around sufficiency in West Yorkshire and there were more children with an adoption plan than approved families.
  • 73% of children were placed with OAWY approved adopters which was an increase on 66% in the previous year.
  • There was an improvement in the timeliness of children coming into care and being placed for adoption and from placement order to being matched with adopters.
  • Continuing to improve performance in relation to timeliness in this area was a key priority.
  • In relation to front door arrangements for prospective adopters, 2 team managers had oversight of all enquiries which improved the consistency of decision making.
  • During the reporting period OAWY had a ‘mystery-shopper exercise’ and the feedback, which was very positive, highlighted that OAWY were very open and welcoming to prospective adopters and actively sought to remove any barriers.
  • Adoption Panels continued online and had increased to 8 panels per month. 2 Panel Chairs had also been recruited which increased flexibility and improved capacity.
  • Online Adoption Panels also increased diversity in Panel membership.
  • The adoption support offer had been increased and both online and in person support options were available.
  • 624 applications were made to the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) during the reporting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Children's Performance Highlight Report pdf icon 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:

 

  • There had been a slight decline in relation to the performance data for Visits, and the service, continued to maintain oversight of this.
  • The decline was partly due to delays in the recording of information or declined visits where there were no safeguarding concerns.
  • Declined visits were a result of some children living with connected carers, who wanted the Council to afford them normal family life.
  • Where this was the case, the service ensured there was clear oversight and no safeguarding concerns.
  •  The service also worked to ensure that children were safe through clear connections with the fostering service and schools.
  • Some delayed visits were also planned, i.e.- where a social worker was off work the visit was delayed by a day, to allow a young persons regular social worker to visit and maintain consistency where it was safe to do so.

 

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:

9.

Children's Services Annual Complaints Report pdf icon 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.

10.

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
Louise Hallas, Virtual School Head Teacher

 

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:

 

  • At the last meeting of the Virtual School Governing Body, the new virtual school dashboard was considered.
  • This was highlighted as positive in giving clarity to areas of focus, and sharing this information with Governors to enable their support and challenge.
  • The action plan was the Virtual School Head Teachers key pieces of work to improve the education for children in care.
  • An area welcomed by the Governing Body was the good relationship between the Virtual School and social care and the joint work undertaken around improving education for children in care.
  • Unauthorized absence and persistent absence were key areas of focus as well as reducing number of children not in full time education.
  • Another area discussed was finance and new commissions including the new post 16 pupil premium pilot.
    • This included a programme embedded with Kirklees College around helping college age children achieve their English and Maths qualifications as well as how to use these skills practically.
    • Kirklees College had committed to be a trauma informed college; the council had delivered training around emotional coaching in the college. 
    • Pupil Premium was also being given directly to young people where needed in post-16 whilst the pilot was in place.
  • Around improving aspirations for care leavers work was being undertaken around supporting young people into employment, further education and training.
  • This included the commissioning of a careers event for younger children and their carers.

 

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. 

 

11.

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)
Tom Brailsford, Service Director ( Resources, Improvement and Partnerships)

 

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.

 

 

12.

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:

  • (17th November 2022) Childrens Emotional Wellbeing Partnership Event.
  • (18th November 2022) Foster Carer Celebration Event.
  • (25th November 2022) Online conference - Supporting fathers separated from children, and single fathers.
  • (1st December 2022) Kirklees Families Together meeting.
  • (2nd December 2022) a visit to the Rainbow baby bank to discuss the development of a new hub to form a drop-in centre for parents.  
  • (12th December 2022) a meeting of the Childrens Ambition Board.
  • (13th December 2022) a meeting of the Yorkshire and Humber Lead member network as the Chair.
  • (14th December 2022) a meeting of the Yorkshire and Humber Children’s Improvement Board as the Chair.
  • (20th December 2022) the Kinship Carers Christmas event.
  • (6th January 2023) a meeting with Locala in respect of the Children’s Nursing Team.
  • (9th January 2023) a meeting of the Schools Organisation Advisory Group (SOAG).
  • (17th January 2023) a virtual meeting of the Children’s Assurance Panel
  • (18th January 2023) Training with the LGA.

 

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. 

 

13.

Corporate Parenting Board Agenda Plan 2022/23 pdf icon 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:

  1. The items highlighted during the meeting be added to the document for the Boards consideration. 
  2. The child’s voice report be presented at the next meeting of the Board.

The plan around the inclusion of the child’s voice be brought forward and added to the agenda plan as soon as possible