Agenda item

Report of the Strategic Director, Care, Wellbeing and Learning

The Committee received a report and presentation on the six month update of performance and delivery for the period 1 April 2018 to 30 September 2018 in relation to the Council’s Thrive agenda for the indicators and activity linked to children and young people.

The report provided a performance overview linked to the 29 strategic indicators for children and families which currently fall under the three pledges of “Put people and families at the heart of everything we do”, “Tackle inequality so people have a fair chance” and “Work together and fight for a better future for Gateshead”.

Putting people and families at the heart of everything we do

The Committee were advised that in the latest period improvements in 6 indicators have been demonstrated, 2 have remained the same and 3 have declined.

Improvements noted in number of eligible 2 year olds accessing free early learning places, levels of development at age 5, key stage 1 and 2 attainment in reading, writing and mathematics.

Declined performance in the proposition of children offered preferred primary school place (remained the same for secondary) and attainment and progress 8 scores at key stage 4.

Achievements, Challenges and Actions were outlined as follows:

·         Permanent exclusions for the 17/18 academic year have continued to decline and work continues to work effectively and in partnership with schools to implement the Behaviour Action Plan.

·         Enhanced pre-diagnosis support for parents of children showing challenging behaviour, by introducing a parent/carer support pathway for those with a child undergoing assessment for ADHD and/or autism

·         Plans underway to embed the ‘This is Me’ tool for identifying and recording the voice of the child in casework

Tackle Inequality so people have a fair chance

The Committee were advised that in the latest period performance has improved for 5 indicators, 1 has remained the same and 5 have declined.

Improvements noted in the attainment 8 and progress 8 scores for disadvantaged pupils, progress 8 scores for children with SEN support, number of families engaged with Troubled Families, excess weight for 10-11 year olds and % of children low income families (in poverty)

Declined performance in progress 8 scores at key stage 4 for LAC and those subject to a EHCP, overall NEET figure for those aged 16-18 % of mother smoking at time of delivery and excess weight in 4-5 year olds.

Achievements, Challenges and Actions were outlined as follows:

·         Early help have introduced nee Practice Standards and guidance on what ‘good’ looks like for CAF assessments and support plans, to improve the quality of practice and impact with families

·         Improvements have been made with timelines for the completion of Education, Health and Care plans (EHCP), meaning families will benefit from receiving support earlier, first 6 months performance stands at 99% - a considerable improvement

·         The LAC and YP service has been restructured to improve service delivery through improved management arrangements and increased capacity within the Personal Assistant (PA) team to work directly with young people

·         Work is underway to embed the Enhanced Case Management (ECM) model and Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) research into every day practice in the Youth Offending Team (and the wider group)

·         Focus is continuing on improving the quality of the pathway plans for care leavers, and making all plans outcome focused, smart by working with other local authorities to assess and develop practice in this area

Work together and fight for a better future for Gateshead

The Committee were advised that in the latest period performance has improved for 4 indicators, and 3 have declined.

Improvements were noted in the number of first time entrants to the youth justice system and use of custodial sentences for 10-18 year olds.  A reduction in the number of 10-24 year olds admitted to hospital for self harm. And the numbers of Care Leavers in EET.

Decline in performance noted in an increase in the number of children who are the subject of a Child Protection Plan, a slight reduction in the proportion of care leavers in suitable accommodation and the number of young carers offered support.

Achievements, Challenges and Actions were outlined as follows:

·         Working with Education colleagues the pilot phase of the Team Around the School (TAS) model in Whickham School has been completed. Evaluation of outcomes has been completed and recommendations are being considered for wider rollout

·         The Domestic Abuse Team was established from 1 August 2018 following a review of previous Domestic Abuse service within the Local Authority. The outcome of the review was to bring together Domestic Abuse workers from across the Council into a cohesive team working with medium to high risk victims of domestic abuse.

·         Work is now being undertaken to consider how the Domestic Abuse team can work more effectively with partner agencies to deliver the best possible outcomes for those affected by Domestic Abuse in Gateshead. With an aim to align delivery with relevant organisations to avoid duplication and maximise the impact of available resources.

·         Children and Families service audited 22 children on repeat CP Plans and as a result processes and procedures were reviewed and measures taken to mitigate against repeat CP Plans. These included changes to the procedure for discontinuing CP Plans at the 4 month review and ensuring consistency of IROs when a family comes back to ICPC to avoid ‘starting again’, which is better for partners and families.

Update on actions from previous reports

Achievements were outlined as follows:

·         Work to embed the Early Help model and development of evidence based interventions continue.

·         Business support workflow and electronic case recording developed for Rapid Response and Child with Complex Needs teams which is helping to evidence impact and savings to the local authority.

·         The Regulation 44 visit recording system is now live and information is now being reported into the Children and Families Peformance Clinic.

·         IRAT – Integration and interface with identified service areas has taken place

·         The pilot phase of the Team Around the School (TAS) model has ended and evaluation exercise completed

·         Supported accommodation for young people and care leavers new service model has been developed, commissioned and is now in place

Ongoing work were outlined as follows:

·         SEND Service review complete which has enhanced the support available to meet statutory deadlines for EHCPs. Linked to this as part of our work across the group to reconfigure the CIN offer, a review of Children with Disabilitiesteam is now underway, to ensure a seamless support offer and achieve the best possible outcomes for this vulnerable group.

On Hold

·         Committee were also advised that Alternative Education Offer – SEND and Post 16 – agreed to be put on hold and review in January 2019.