Agenda item

To consider current performance trends and budget 2020/21 including actions being taken in response to Covid-19.

The Head of Strategy and Operations presented the report. The key points of the report were highlighted to members and a power point presentation was shown. Key priorities of the service plan were:

·         To support families to help them to look after their children, preventing escalation into statutory services

·         To lead the work to keep children safe and protect them from harm, abuse and neglect. To support families to help them to look after their children, preventing escalation into statutory services.

·         Where children cannot safely stay at home, provide permanence through a range of other alternatives.

Key business activities were:

·         Deliver the Children and Families Brach Transformation programme.

·         Ensure that children are assessed and receive appropriate services in a timely manner.

·         Ensure that children receive services from suitably experienced and qualified staff and that their case loads are appropriately managed.

·         Ensure that children archive permeance and experience stability of care arrangements without undue delay, with reunification planned where this is safe to do so.

·         Ensure that children, parents and carers have the opportunity to fully participate in the way the service is developed and the way their individual needs are addressed.

·         Ensure effective and robust performance management and quality assurance of children and families branch is in place and informs strategic management of services.

·         Deliver robust management oversight of budget and savings strategy

Key areas of the transformation phase:

·         Hampshire and Isle of Wight Approach

·         Multi-disciplinary working – RAFT

·         Facilitating effective social work

·         Replacement ICS (Case management System)

Key areas of performance:

·         Maintained vacancy rate at 12% below England average of 16%

·         Maintained turnover rate at 7.1% below England average of 16%

·         Maintained agency worker rate at 12%, below the England average of 16.4%

Areas for continuous improvement:

·         Enhancing consistency of analysis in assessments

·         Increasing placement choice-including number of foster carers.

·         Health of children in are, assessments and use of health information including mental health

·         Education attendance and attainment for all vulnerable children, including children in care

·         Continued focus on recruitment and retention of social workers

·         Increase evidence of reflective supervision

The conclusion to the presentation:

·         Continued multiple layers of management oversight-robust management grip

·         Robust Covid / lockdowns response to safeguard children

·         Increased focus on quality of practice and services as well as performance with Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

·         Culture change for transformation-strengths based, family focused.

·         Annual self-evaluation and annual conversation. We know ourselves the next steps to improve.

·         We are in a continuous readiness state for inspection and ambitious to be outstanding

Questions from members were then invited. A member asked that the budgetary pressures are taken to the cabinet sooner rather than later to try and alleviate them as best as soon as possible. The Director of Children Services explained that this is already in motion and are currently well positioned for it. The cabinet member for Children Services explained to the committee that the budget this year is looking better than it has in other years and assured the committee as cabinet member he will fight hard for the budget.

Report was noted.