Agenda item

Including inter relationship between Children’s Improvement Board and Children’s Trust Executive and Board.

Including Inter relationship between Children’s Improvement Board and Children’s Trust Executive and Board

Tina gave an overview of the Children’s Services Improvement Plan, advising Board members of a rigorous internal review of Family Support and Child Protection Services which began in late 2015. This was due to a number of factors including a Safeguarding Board audit which was carried out in August 2015. Significant deficits were identified across the Service and were recognised as systemic and cultural. Kirklees Cabinet endorsed a report in May 2016 which outlined areas for improvement and a Development Plan was put in place.

Ofsted carried out an unannounced inspection of Child Protection Services in September 2016. Focussing on local services for children in need of help and protection - looked after children and care leavers. A Single Inspection Framework report was published by Ofsted on the 25^th November, highlighting a number of concerns about standards of practice in Kirklees. Overall judgement was ‘inadequate’ and separate judgements on a number of other areas were identified.

Ofsted have made 27 recommendations on which the Improvement Plan is based. The Secretary of State appointed a Commissioner (Eleanor Brazil) to work with the Council until the end of March 2017. Eleanor Brazil will make recommendations to the Minister (Secretary of State) about:

·         The immediate improvement of Children’s Social Care, including additional support required.

·         Review our leadership and management capability and capacity to drive the changes we need.

·         Whether alternative arrangements would be the most effective way of achieving long-term improvement.

Proposal - a clear programme needs to be in place in order to manage this large and complex scope of work, the programme has 4 key projects of work that are the 4 main themes of the Children’s Improvement Plan. Each of these projects, in turn, will deliver against multiple recommendations from the Ofsted report. These are:

·         Theme 1: Children who need help and protection.

·         Theme 2: Leadership, Management and Governance.

·         Theme 3: Children looked after and achieving permanence.

·         Theme 4: Effectiveness of the Kirklees Safeguarding Children Board.

Governance of the Children’s Improvement Plan is being politically led by the Leadership Management Team and the Cabinet via Councillor Erin Hill (Portfolio holder for Family Support and Child Protection). The governance arrangements will support a cycle of accountability that will be clearly measurable, owned and evidenced.

The Improvement Board is the key partnership body with ownership of the improvement plan and responsibility for its delivery across the district. It is made up of strategic representation from partner agencies, working to agreed terms of reference.

Getting to Good Programme Board - this is an operational group of key officers brought together to monitor, challenge, support and oversee the progress of the Kirklees Children’s Improvement Plan. Is accountable to, and reports directly into, the Improvement Board.

Sponsorship Role - each of the four improvement plan themes will be ‘sponsored’ by a Senior Leader from the Council, VCS Partnership, Clinical Commissioning Group and Police.  The sponsor is not accountable for the delivery of their sponsored area.This approach will ensure that senior leaders take an active interest and the Board fully draws on and applied their collective experience.

The governance arrangements will be underpinned by a reporting cycle that ensures detailed progress reports against the priorities and Ofsted recommendations are provided.

Improvement Plan - to ensure that the plan directly addresses the findings of our Ofsted inspection, we have structured our improvement plan around the four themes in the Single Inspection Framework, each of which clearly addresses a number of Ofsted recommendations.

Financial Implications - finance capacity will be pivotal to ensure that there is a clear and structured financial strategy that sets out the costs associated with realising the ambitions of the Improvement Plan. A financial strategy is currently being developed in conjunction with Debbie Hogg, Assistant Director for Finance and Performance, that sets out the costs of the improvement work and recognises the financial pressures these place on the Council as a whole.

Next Steps - the Improvement Plan was signed off at Improvement Board on 6th March, endorsed at Cabinet on 7th March and submitted to Ofsted and the Department for Education on 9th March 2017.

Recommendations - Members of the Kirklees Children’s Trust Board to have in view the work of the Children’s Improvement Programme and ensure the following:

·         Cascade Children’s Improvement Newsletter

·         To look at the Improvement plan once disseminated

·         Identify and understand which actions relate to areas of work linked to emerging Children and Young People’s Plan

·         Inform the Improvement Director via the Children’s Improvement Programme Manager of cross cutting work so it is captured in the project plans for the programme.

Board members accepted the recommendations and also noted that they will need to manage cross cutting issues/activity and avoid duplication of work between Boards, once the plan has been accepted.