Agenda and draft minutes

Agreed:- That the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 21^st May, 2014, be approved as a correct record.

Looked After Children’s Council Update

Youth Cabinet Update

(1) Elective Home Education

It was noted that the Council will shortly introduce a revised policy relating to the Elective Home Education of pupils. The cases of the two children now mentioned will be investigated by Children and Young People’s Services.

(2) Foundation Years’ Service for Young Children

It was noted that a report on this issue will be submitted to the next meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership, to be held on 24^th September 2014.

(3) Looked After Children’s Council – Update

Consideration was given to a report, submitted by Lisa Du-Valle (Integrated Youth Support Service), describing the participation of the Looked After Children’s Council in Voice and Influence training and development sessions. The activities included:-

: sessions on team building, self-awareness and self-esteem;

: open evening with foster carers;

: residential event in Portugal and subsequent presentation to the Corporate Parenting Panel;

: training day with the Rotherham Youth Cabinet and the UK Youth Parliament;

: various celebrations at Easter;

: Youth Voice Vehicle Training Day;

: Looked After Children’s Council open evening event;

: annual Looked After Children’s Council peer consultation and feedback;

: Youth Voice Vehicle – overnight residential at Habershon House on 23^rd and 24^th July, 2014.

(4) Rotherham Youth Cabinet – Launch of Manifesto

The Rotherham Youth Cabinet manifesto is to be launched at a meeting to be held on Thursday, 16^th October, 2014, at the Town Hall.

Agreed:- That the report be received and the information noted.

Joyce Thacker, Strategic Director, Children’s and Young Peoples Services, informed the meeting of the following update:-

: the annual report on Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham will be submitted to the meeting of this Council’s Cabinet to be held on Wednesday, 6th August, 2014;

: a training session about Child Sexual Exploitation will be held on 28th July 2014 for the recently elected Borough Councillors, as part of their induction to the Council;

: training about Child Sexual Exploitation for head teachers of secondary schools and special schools has taken place recently;

: during September 2014, there will be a training session on Child Sexual Exploitation for primary school head teachers.

In addition, discussion took place on the range of issues which were considered at the recent meeting of the Child Sexual Exploitation sub-committee of the Rotherham Local Safeguarding Children Board.

Agreed:- That the information be noted.

- Clair Pyper to report

Clair Pyper, Interim Director of Safeguarding Children and Families, presented a report about the child sexual exploitation risk indicators. The report stated that the indicators are a guide for all professionals to assist them in determining the level of risk of child sexual exploitation in a consistent manner. The assessment then allows the appropriate referral pathways to be progressed. This model is based on the Continuum of Need, but does not replace the wider safeguarding children multi-agency threshold descriptions.

Discussion took place on the application of the risk indicators, which will be very useful in respect of:-

: assisting staff involved in the multi-agency safeguarding hub co-location of services, scheduled to take place during the Autumn 2014;  and

: enabling the Council’s partner agencies to progress referrals of cases appropriately.

Agreed:- (1) That the information about the child sexual exploitation risk indicators, now submitted, be noted.

(2) That the following issues be considered at the next meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership to be held on 24^th September 2014:-

(a) examples of the application of the risk indicators to individual case studies; and

(b) the up-to-date protocol applicable to the use of the risk indicators.

- Clair Pyper / Sue Wilson to present

Consideration was given to a report, presented by Sue Wilson, Performance and Quality Manager (CYPS), concerning the proposed peer review due to take place during the week beginning Monday 8th September 2014, about the impact of childhood neglect in the Borough area.  The report also described the current profile of childhood neglect cases in Rotherham. The peer review will be led by the Director of Children’s Services, Doncaster, alongside social care professionals from North Lincolnshire and an Assistant Director of Education from York.

The focus of this peer review will be childhood neglect, the impact that it has on the lives of children and on what is happening in the Rotherham Borough area to combat childhood neglect. It is anticipated that the peer review will investigate the way in which the Council’s partner organisations respond to this issue, as well as the role of schools.

Members of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership would have the opportunity to participate in the peer review, including attendance at focus group meetings. In addition, members were encouraged to study the Ofsted report entitled “In the Child’s Time : professional responses to neglect” (March 2014).

Discussion took place on some aspects of the way in which neglect may affect children, eg: brain development, educational attainment, diet, behavioural issues, deprivation of basic needs. There was also the impact on the family of low income and reliance upon benefit payments.

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the arrangements for the forthcoming peer review of the impact of childhood neglect in Rotherham, as now reported, be noted.

- Sue Wilson to present

Further to Minute No. 251 of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership held on 15h January, 2014, Sue Wilson, Performance and Quality Manager (CYPS) presented a report concerning the review of the Children and Young People’s Action Plan 2013 – 2016. This Action Plan underpins the Plan on a Page, which was developed around six joint key priorities and is linked into the Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

Currently there were 40 actions ranked on green, 103 on amber, 16 on red and none on blue.

An explanation was given for each of the red actions.

Discussion took place on the need to consider Speech and Language Development and also mothers maternal health for inclusion in the Children and Young People’s Action Plan.

A further report was distributed, in relation to the work on the Special Educational Needs and Disability reforms, describing Priority 7 “With parents and young people, we will transform how education, care and health partners ensure that children and young people with special educational needs or a disability are identified early and supported to achieve the best possible outcomes in adult life. We will focus on making the transition between different services as seamless as possible.”

It was noted that the Action Plan is monitored each month by the SEND Strategic Commissioning Group and that updates will continue to be submitted to meetings of this Partnership at intervals of six months.

Agreed:- (1) That the update of the Children and Young People’s Action Plan 2013 – 2016, as now submitted, be noted.

(2) That a further update of the Action Plan be submitted to the January, 2015, meeting of this Partnership.

(3) That a report on the progress of the Plan on a Page be submitted to the next meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership.

- Sue Wilson to present

Consideration was given to the joint consultation document on proposals for the integrated inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers and the joint inspections of Local Safeguarding Children Boards.  This consultation document had been jointly published by, amongst others, the Care Quality Commission and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

The document stated that the consultation on the multi-agency arrangements for the protection of children focused on local authority and partnership arrangements for children and young people who are being harmed or who may be at risk of harm, including the provision and effectiveness of early help. In respect of the services for children and young people looked after and care leavers, this was planned as a joint inspection with the Care Quality Commission, HMIP and HMIC.

The closing date for submission of responses to this consultation document was Friday 12th September, 2014.

Agreed:- That the contents of the consultation document be noted and members of this Partnership be provided with the template for responses to be submitted to Ofsted.

Sue Wilson to present

(This item links to the item numbered 285 above). Sue Wilson, Performance and Quality Manager (CYPS) reported on issues concerning the Council’s provision of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) services and the link to the Children and Young People’s Action Plan.

minutes of meeting held on 15th May, 2014

The contents of the minutes of the meetings of the Rotherham Youth Cabinet held on (a) 15^th May, 2014 and (b) 8th July, 2014, were noted. The Rotherham Youth Cabinet manifesto is to be launched at a meeting to be held on Thursday, 16^th October, 2014, at the Town Hall.

minutes of meeting held on 6th June, 2014

The contents of the minutes of the meeting of the Rotherham Local Safeguarding Children Board held on 5^th June, 2014, were noted.

Copies of the Rotherham Local Safeguarding Children Board Business Plan 2014/2015 were distributed and members were invited to submit their comments to Joyce Thacker, Strategic Director for Children and Young People’s Services.

Wednesday, 24^th September, 2014, at 2.00 p.m.

19^th November

14^th January, 2015

18^th March

27^th May

15^th July

All to commence at 2.00 p.m. in the Town Hall

Resolved:- That the next meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership be held on Wednesday, 24^th September, 2014, commencing at 2.00 p.m., at the Town Hall, Rotherham