Issue - meetings

To submit a report by the Interim Head of Children’s Services.

It was resolved to confirm that the Executive is satisfied with the steps and pace undertaken by Children’s Services in relation to the progress made with the Service Improvement Plan.

The report of the Interim Head of Children’s Services setting out the progress made to date with the Service Improvement Plan was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

The Portfolio Member for Social Services reported that progress has been made against many of the themes in the Service Improvement Plan; the service has been re-structured to introduce smaller Practice Teams and new appointments to Practice Leader posts have been made and have come into effect at the beginning of this month. Progress is being closely monitored and scrutinised by the Children’s Services Improvement Panel.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Governance and Business Process Transformation/ Statutory Director of Social Services) said that the new structure and the additional appointments made as part of the restructuring process will help bring stability to the service at management levels and will lead to greater consistency in Social Workers’ practice thereby enabling them to move forward with the required improvements. Considerable work has also been undertaken with the Service’s partners both within and outside the Council. It is expected therefore that all the steps taken hitherto will produce tangible improvements very shortly.

The Executive noted the progress made but noted also that the report acknowledges under quality assurance, that performance remains inconsistent. The Executive sought an explanation for the continuing inconsistency several months on from the receipt of the post inspection report and asked whether the Quality Assurance framework will lead to more consistent performance. The Assistant Chief Executive (Governance and Business Process Transformation/ Statutory Director of Social Services) said that there are examples of very good practice within areas of the service but that these are not replicated throughout the service as a whole. The introduction of smaller practice teams and the implementation of the Supervision Policy will make a difference in terms of facilitating supervision and enabling Social Workers to become more familiar with their caseloads. Whilst the process is ongoing, improvements should be seen from October onwards.

It was resolved to confirm that the Executive is satisfied with the steps and pace undertaken by Children’s Services in relation to the progress made with the Service Improvement Plan.