Agenda item

To submit a report by the Head of Children’s 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 made by the Children and Families’ Services against the SIP were considered. The Committee noted that local performance against key performance indicators had improved significantly over recent months and that significant progress had also been made in implementing the SIP. The Committee further noted that progress had been made in implementing the revised Workforce Strategy for Children’s Services with one post continuing to be filled by an agency Social Worker. The Committee was clear about the financial pressures on Children’s Services primarily as a result of an increase in the number of children who are looked after, with the service forecast to overspend by approximately £2m at year end. The contribution of the Children’s Services Improvement Panel towards the improvement process was noted by the Committee which recognised the need for the Panel to continue with its work from April, 2019 onwards. Having considered all the information presented including clarifications provided by Officers to points raised, the Corporate Scrutiny Committee confirmed that it was satisfied both with the pace of progress in implementing the SIP and the improvements made to date within Children’s Services.

The Executive thanked the Corporate Scrutiny Committee for its comments. In recognising the distance travelled by the Children’s Services in terms of the extent of the improvements made since the original CIW inspection of November, 2016, the Executive emphasised the need to keep up the momentum and to ensure that the changes made endure over time bearing in mind that a recurring issue in the past has been staff turnover, Social Work being a challenging career path where the pressures on individuals can sometimes be high. The Executive sought assurance therefore that the Service’s Work force Strategy adequately  addresses the retention factor and also that the Service will in the long-term be able to sustain and maintain the process and practice improvements it has made which is reflected by the 13 Green areas in the SIP.

The Chair in her capacity as Chair of the Children’s Services Improvement Panel said that the need to ensure that in bringing the current Service Improvement Plan to a close the changes made are not lost or allowed to slip has been recognised and was discussed by the Panel at its last meeting. The next revised Service Improvement Plan will contain the improvements which are on-going as well as incorporating actions that will enable the Service to make further improvements. In addition, the Children’s Services Improvement Panel will continue with its scrutiny and monitoring work beyond the completion of the current SIP in order to support and ensure ongoing improvement.

The Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Social Services said that two of the foremost elements of successful Social Work practice are support and direction – the new structure implemented in Children’s Services ensure that these elements are now available to the Service’s staff. The creation of smaller Practice Groups headed by a Practice Leader has led to reduced caseloads and means that every Social Worker has access to regular guidance and supervision where they can discuss any issues arising from their cases. Although caseloads have increased slightly recently, partly as a result of the re-examination of legacy cases which has resulted in more children needing to be looked after, this process is now nearing completion.

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.