Report of Interim Strategic Director, Care Wellbeing and Learning

Committee received a report on the recruitment and retention of Social Workers in Gateshead. It was reported that Government has tried to understand and learn from situations within social care and in July 2016 the DFE published a strategy to transform Children’s Services and support local authorities. The strategy was a three pronged approach; people and leadership, practice and systems and governance and accountability.

There are key reforms around the knowledge and skills that Social Workers are expected to have. The DfE intends to test Social Workers to ensure they are meeting standards through accreditation, a consultation is currently out on this.

It was noted that recruitment and retention of Social Workers is influenced by a number of factors, for example Ofsted outcomes, where failing Council’s will haemorrhage Social Workers. The market offer is a key influencing factor, with agencies upping their offer to entice Social Workers away from local authorities. It was acknowledged that Social Workers tend to stay in the same area, therefore recruiting takes place from a relatively small pool.

Gateshead has a solid reputation in terms of student placements and is doing well in relation to the Step Up programme and Frontline project.

It was reported that, following an inadequate Ofsted inspection, Sunderland was able to offer more than Gateshead could, this resulted in the loss of 16 Social Workers. Since then, 10 Social Workers have been recruited, 9 of which are newly qualified, therefore there has been reliance on a high number of agency staff to plug the gap. There are threats that there could be a similar response in the near future as local authorities in the area continue to be inspected. It was recognised that the service is working to attract and retain Social Workers and develop succession planning, in order to avoid being in a vulnerable position in the future. There are six outcomes that have been developed to recruit and retain Social Workers in Gateshead;

·         A competitive salary

·         A recruitment process in line with Knowledge and Skills statements

·         A clear programme of development

·         A clear progression structure

·         Manageable caseloads

·         A unique selling point

It was questioned how much is paid out for agency Social Workers. It was noted that this varies week to week but is approximately £250,000. It was confirmed that a memorandum of agreement has been made with the local authorities in the region to agree hourly rates and terms and conditions.

It was queried whether the cost of agency staff could have been better used to offer a better financial package to retain the 16 Social Workers who left. It was confirmed that management responded immediately to attempt to make a better offer but that due to the channels that decisions have to go through in local government this was ineffective. It was also confirmed that a report is due to Cabinet this month around competitive salaries for Social Workers so that the authority is not in a similar position in the future.

It was questioned what the authority does to nurture Social Workers and what is its unique selling point. It was noted that the unique selling point is around systematic practice and techniques in working with children and families, to play to the strengths of families, which came out of the Munro report. It is expected that the whole workforce will be trained in this technique and specialist training will be offered to Social Workers. This training will not have been delivered outside of the London Boroughs. It was noted that the management work strongly with staff relationships to make them feel safe and reassured. It was recognised that Social Work is a complex job and there is a need to show leadership, encourage and check on welfare of staff.

The point was made that this issue was raised previously when the situation was predicted, at the time Committee suggested making changes to issues such as parking, essential car user allowance. It was confirmed that a review of the pay and structure has been taken into account as well as essential care user allowance, this will go to Cabinet this month.

It was questioned whether there is any scope to establish a Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) for children’s services in Gateshead.  It was confirmed that there are a number of models for managing demand that could be looked at, including a MASH, however as yet it is not clear whether this is needed in Gateshead.

RESOLVED    -           (i)         That the Committee continue to champion the work

undertaken by the Council’s Children’s Social Workers.

                                    (ii)        That the Committee noted the content of this report.

                                    (iii)       That the Committee agreed to receive regular reports

from the Children’s Principal Social Worker regarding the progress of work against the six outcomes articulated above.