Issue - meetings

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

It was resolved to confirm that the Executive is satisfied with the following –

·        The steps taken to progress implementation of the Service Improvement Plan and the pace of progress.

·        The pace of progress and the improvements made to date within the Children and Families’ Services.

The report of the Head of Children and Families’ Services outlining the Service’s latest progress against the Service Improvement Plan was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

The Chair and Portfolio Member for Social Services reported that many thanks are due both to the staff of the Children and Families’ Services for bringing the Service to this point wherein only 2 of the 21 action points identified as part of the Service Improvement Plan (SIP) following CIW’s inspection of Anglesey’s Children’s Services in November 2016 are still Amber in status and also to the Elected Members who have been part of and contributed to that process. Of the other 19 action points on the SIP, 13 are Green and 6 are Yellow in status. This improvement has been recognised by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) which has recently published the findings of its follow-up review of Children’s Services conducted in October, 2018. The Portfolio Member said that the Service Improvement Plan continues to be monitored and scrutinised by the Children’s Services Improvement Panel which has begun to give consideration to creating a new Plan that seeks to consolidate all the improvements to date whilst also ensuring continuous improvement for the long-term and beyond.

The Assistant Chief Executive(Governance and Business Process Transformation)/Statutory Director of Social Services said that the report summarises those areas which have been the focus of the Service’s latest work leading to improvements; these  are reflected in reduced reliance  on agency staff to cover vacant posts the Service having made several successful Social Worker appointments and also in the performance against key Performance Indicators where the improvement has been sustained from Quarter 1 2018/19 into Quarter 2 as the report  describes at paragraph 3. The Officer said that CIW’s follow-up Inspection report acknowledges that there has been significant improvements made in Children’s Services, that staff morale is high and that there is a passion and commitment at all levels to continue to work to deliver excellent services for children. However, the report also notes that there still remains work to be done; the Service too has been consistent in recognising that although a great amount has been achieved, the work is unfinished as the 2 Amber points testify to – these relate to elements that will be fully completed over the longer term and on which the Service continues to work. These areas along with the findings of CIW’s follow-up report will be considered in the New Year with a view to formulating a new Service Improvement Plan that will encompass the range of current activity as well as new innovative strategies to increase the number of placements for children with complex needs. CIW will be making a presentation to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee in January, 2019 after which the Service will discuss with the Inspectorate the next steps to be taken to make further improvements.

Councillor Aled Morris Jones, Chair of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee reported from the Committee’s meeting held on 10 December at which the latest improvements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7