Agenda and minutes

The Chair referred to the recent death of Councillor Michael Clarke.

The Panel held a minute’s silence as a mark of respect.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

There were no questions from members of the press or the public.

There were no issues to report at this meeting.

The Chair welcomed Gani Martins, the Director of Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting Services and Dorothy Smith, the Senior Director for Schools and Lifelong Learning to their first meeting of the Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Panel together with Councillor Lakin who had recently taken over the position of Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services.

Caroline Webb announced that a recruitment process was to be undertaken in respect of new co-optees to the panel.  She added that this would not affect any of the existing parent governor representatives or those representing the diocese.  She confirmed that an update would be given to PSOC next week and it was hoped that the newly recruited co-optees would be attending the next meeting of the Panel on 2^nd July.

Caroline Webb, Senior Scrutiny Adviser introduced the submitted report detailing this Scrutiny Panel’s proposed work programme for the 2010/2011 Municipal Year.

A comment was made in respect of the suggested review of Alcohol and Substance Misuse and it was suggested that this could be offered also to the Adult Services and Health Scrutiny Panel for them to be part of the review.  It was agreed that this would be taken to PSOC for further discussion.

Resolved:- (1) That the draft work programme be received.

(2) That the Review of Alcohol and Substance Misuse be referred to PSOC for discussion as to the whether members of the Adult Services and Health Scrutiny Panel could be involved in the Review.

(Summary and findings of 2008 Scrutiny Review of Future Challenges of the Youth Service)

Consideration was given to a report presented by Chris Brodhurst-Brown, Youth Services Manager concerning the proposed Review of Youth Services Provision.

A previous Scrutiny Review of the Youth Services had recommended a future review of Youth Service provision, including reference to buildings used by Rotherham Youth Service, in order to deliver 21^st Century Youth Provision as envisaged by the Government agendas within Youth Matters and Aiming High: a ten year strategy for positive activities.

A considerable amount of background work had taken place with regard to this recommendation, including benchmarking against similar authorities and detailed discussions with the Transforming Rotherham Learning initiative in order to ensure congruence with Rotherham’s Building Schools for the Future Programme.

In April 2010, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People considered a report which laid out findings, which included:

·                There was inconsistency and inequity in the level of provision available to young people across the borough, although the actual level of resource allocated in financial terms to each locality was remarkably consistent.

·                Provision was not always based on need.

·                Some centres were in the wrong place.

·                Some centres were understaffed with limited sessions of opening. Additional load was also being placed upon centres as a result of the drive for Friday evening and weekend opening.

·                Whilst a good deal of progress had been made in terms of building condition under the Premises Strategy, there were some centres in need of further support. Most buildings were in reasonable condition, but there were some key buildings that needed major work.

·                Although the buildings were in generally reasonable condition there were issues with how attractive they were to young people in terms of decor and equipment.

On the basis of this report two key recommendations were agreed:

• That a strategy for the next stage of the Youth Service review be commissioned
• That a Business Case for the Outdoor Learning Service be prepared.

The Strategy would focus on:

·                Integration in the Area Planning Process in Area Assemblies

·                The development of a Youth Work ‘Quality Charter’ to benchmark provision in the voluntary and community sectors.

·                The identification of gaps in provision in the locality, including an audit at Area Assembly and Parish Council

·                The expressed wishes and needs of local young people

·                Equality of access to a consistent Youth Offer Borough wide

·                The priorities of local communities

·                Building requirements in terms of the Early Intervention and Support agenda

·                Workforce development requirements, including the creation of “Centres of Excellence”, high achieving Youth Centres where trainee youth workers are placed for the duration of their training.

The Strategy would be informed by:

·                The use of the buildings by young people; frequency and numbers

·                The number, condition, location and suitability of the buildings

·                The cost of running the buildings and levels of staffing

·                Personal knowledge and understanding of the provision and local communities.

·                Premises condition reports and the outcomes of Youth Service Systems Inspections.

·                Staffing Team Trees and financial data, married to attendance figures to arrive at an indicative Unit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

With reference to Minute No. 141 of 9^th April 2010, further consideration was given to a report presented by Joyce Thacker, Strategic Director for Children and Young People’s Services concerning the Machinery of Government.

Reference was made to 6^th form provision in Rotherham and that there was a need to create a smaller number of larger 6^th forms, offering a wider range of courses for students.  It was confirmed that this would be reviewed but that it would be a difficult piece of work to undertake.

A discussion took place around the governance of the 16-19 cluster, who would audit organisations and how this was monitored.  Confirmation was given that the 14-19 Board, which was chaired by the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services had responsibility for this.

Concern was raised about the transition from Main Stream schools to 6^th form as it was felt that this was lacking somewhat.  The Strategic Director for Children and Young People’s Services confirmed that there was guidance and support in place in relation to this but would welcome any feedback if this was not giving the assistance it was meant to be.

Resolved:- (1) That the transfer of 16-19 responsibilities from the LSC to the Local Authority be noted.

(2) That the preparations made by officers for the adoption of these new responsibilities and commissioning powers be endorsed.

(3) That it be agreed that the Strategic Director for Children and Young People’s Services be authorised to draw down funds from the YPLA for the purposes detailed in the report.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Gani Martins, Director of Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting concerning the Safeguarding and Looked After Children Self-Assessments.

The Self Assessments exercise was conducted in order to identify those areas of good progress and those areas where further work was required.

The findings were:-

Safeguarding – Overall grade was ‘Adequate’

From the 11 areas of assessment:-

1 was graded ‘Good’

6 were graded ‘Adequate’

4 were graded ‘Inadequate’

The 4 ‘Inadequate’ areas were:-

(a)  Partnership – Due to the number of serious case reviews judged as ‘Inadequate’

(b) Service Responsiveness – Due to the need to demonstrate that the Safe and Well Protocol and the CAF were effective and understood by agencies.

(c) Assessment and Direct Work with Children – Due to the variable quality of assessments and social work vacancies.

(d) Case Planning and Recording – Due to the need to demonstrate impact of quality assurance work.

These grades were based on the need to evidence that plans and processes were embedded and demonstrated clear improvements and outcomes.

There was an action plan in place to address those areas highlighted as ‘Inadequate’ within the assessment.

Both the self assessments would be updated each month and the grades revised as appropriate based on progress of those areas of further improvement.

A discussion ensued and the following points were raised:-

• Whether there was an action plan in place to address the “inadequate” grades.  It was confirmed that work was being undertaken in respect of these on a daily basis to make improvements.
• Were officers confident that the self assessment was correct? It was confirmed that external testing had been undertaken and mock inspections were planned.
• A discussion took place around the timelines set for achieving improvements and a short term plan had been put in place for the “quick fixes”.  It was agreed that these and medium/long term plans would be reported to a future meeting of the panel.
• The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services Manager commented that there were robust performance management procedures in place which he would be monitoring closely.

Resolved:-  That the progress in improving outcomes for Children and Young people and the plans for further improvement be noted.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Gani Martins, Director of Safeguarding and Corporate Parenting concerning the Fostering Inspection Self Assessment.

The report provided Members with details of the Self Assessment  submitted to Ofsted in preparation for the forthcoming inspection of Fostering Services in Rotherham.  The inspection is scheduled to take place on 21^st June for a period of 4 days.

The report highlighted those areas of progress and good outcomes for children and young people’s services since the last inspection in June 2009, and the plans for further improvement.

Resolved:- That the report and the progress made within the Fostering Services be noted.

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Director of Resources, Planning and Performance in respect of the DCSF Notice to Improve.

The report presented the significant progress made against the Notice to Improve which was issued in December 2009.  It covered the background to issuing the Notice to Improve, together with details of the significant improvements that had been made and the continued efforts that were being made to meet or where possible, exceed the targets set.

Resolved:- That the report be received and the position be noted.

Further to Minute No. 139 of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 9^th April, 2010, consideration was given to a report presented by the Director of Resources, Planning and Performance concerning the Children and Young People’s Services’ Notice to Improve.  Members noted that detailed regular monitoring continues to take place against a number of actions across several themes.

A discussion ensued and the following issues were raised and clarified:-

• Reference was made to the provision of laptops to staff, and a query was raised as to the impact this had made, whether data quality had improved and whether the speed at which assessments were done had improved.  The Strategic Director confirmed laptops had been issued to staff and their usage was being monitored and evaluated. 
• A comment was made about the data checks which were currently being undertaken, particularly in relation to NI 59, and a query was raised as to the findings of these checks.  It was confirmed that improvements were being made and that new structures which were in place would improve sustainability.
• A query was raised in respect of the monitoring of the Notice to Improve and how often it was reported to members.  Confirmation was given that it was currently reported every two weeks to the Improvement Panel which is chaired by the Chief Executive, although this was to be reduced to a monthly basis.
• Reference was made to the use of agency staff for social workers and a query was raised as to the measures in place to ensure that this did not have a detrimental effect on the performance grade.  It was confirmed that by September 2010 it was anticipated that most posts would be filled and therefore there would be less need for agency staff.

Resolved:- That the progress made against the targets set in the Notice to Improve be noted.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel held on 9^th April, 2010 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services held on 7^th April, 2010, 20^th April, 2010 and 28^th April 2010 be noted.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meeting of the Children’s Board held on 21^st April 2010 be noted.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meetings of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 26^th March, 2010, 16^th April, 2010 and 30^th April, 2010 be noted.