Agenda and minutes

Councillor Jarvis declared a personal interest in Minute No. 103 (domestic abuse update) as she is an unpaid trustee for Rotherham Rise.

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

Visits to Barnardo’s ReachOut and the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

The Senior Adviser (Scrutiny and Member Development) reported that a visit to the ReachOut Project would take place on Tuesday 9^th January 2.00-4.00pm.

Members had been contacted by email to seek expressions of interest for the visit to the MASH which would take place in February. Confirmation of details would be communicated in due course.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the previous meetings of the Improving Lives Select Commission, held on 31^st October, 2017 and 14^th November 2017, be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

Cllr Hoddinott, Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety introduced this item, with Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Lee Berry, South Yorkshire Police. Sue Wynne (Rotherham Rise) was to provide further details of how the voice of the victim was being reflected in the strategy and its implementation, but unfortunately could not attend due to illness.

Cllr Hoddinott outlined to the Committee that tackling domestic abuse remained a key priority for the Council and its partners, through the Safer Rotherham Partnership (SRP).

This report followed a previous report made to Improving Lives Select Committee (ILSC) on the 25th July 2017. Since the Commission last considered this issue, work had commenced on the development of a Domestic Abuse Strategy which had been approved by the Safer Rotherham Partnership. The strategy was underpinned by a delivery plan, supported by an active Domestic Abuse Priority Group. Cllr Hoddinott reported that in developing the strategy they had undertaken in-depth work to identify gaps and areas of weakness; this included the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board conducting a number of audits into cases of domestic abuse where children have been present and actions arising from a Domestic Homicide Review. Immediate action had been taken to address waiting times for services at Rotherham Rise.

Cllr Hoddinott summarised the gaps and areas of weakness as follows:

-        Responsibility for tackling abuse does not sit with one agency with the police, local authority, health and voluntary sector partners having different roles. Whilst there were pockets of good practice (with Rotherham Rise and Council’s Housing Services cited) this was not sufficiently co-ordinated. It had been the priority of the Community Safety Manager to bring this work together with the Domestic Abuse Priority Group (DAPG).

-        Use of risk assessments was inconsistent amongst partners. Whilst high risks cases were handled well, this was not always the case for those identified as a lower or medium risk or in cases requiring escalation/de-escalation. The Community Safety Manager was developing a Domestic Abuse Charter to establish expectations about information sharing and service standards.

-        There was a lack of clarity about which services/support are available and the pathways for the receipt of services should they be required. Mapping work had commenced to address this. 

Cllr Hoddinott and DCI Lee Berry gave further details of progress in relation to the following areas:

-        Voice of the Victim; previous feedback from this Committee had identified that the “voice of victim” was not routinely captured in the strategy. Led by the voluntary sector, work has commenced to ensure that that the views of people using domestic abuse services were fed into the strategy and SYP have committed that police officers will also meet victims and survivors to inform improvements.

-        Peer Review; Bradford City Council had been engaged to undertake the peer review of the strategy and direction of travel. This would take place in January 2018 and the Committee was requested to participate in the peer review.

-      Perpetrator Programme;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103.

The Interim Virtual Head Teacher introduced the Annual Virtual School Head teacher Report 2017. The report outlined:

-        the purpose and role of the Virtual School;

-        places the school in its national and regional context;

-        the current school age population;

-        the key achievements of the last school year;

-        progress since the last inspection;

-        the main challenges for the future;

-        the Attachment Friendly Schools’ Project; and

-        the use of Pupil Premium Plus.

It was stated that in September 2017 there were 337 looked after children, attending 194 different schools in 32 different local authority areas. A member of the Virtual School team would attend the each of the termly Personal Education Planning meetings which gave good oversight of the issues and progress of each child or young person. 

It was explained that there is a major educational gap in the educational outcomes of children and young people in care and their peers who are not looked after. Intelligent interpretations of the outcomes of children and young people in care needed to take into account the numerous risk and protective factors which impact on educational attainment and progress.

These risks included:

-        The high level of turnover of the virtual school population as a result of admissions and discharges;

-        The disproportionate number of children & young people with special educational needs;

-        The significant number of young people attending non-mainstream educational settings;

-        The type and number of care placements;

-        Recency of care; and

-        Emotional wellbeing.

The analysis of GCSE outcomes for Rotherham LAC in 2017 showed that the biggest risk factor, in terms of progress, was type of care placement and recency to care. Of those who made less than expected progress between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4, 5 out of 10 had been in care for less than 3 years and only 4 out of 10 were in foster care placements.

The greatest single challenge for the Virtual School, the schools that LAC attend, their carers, their social workers and other professionals is how to re-engage approximately 25 young people (at any one time), predominantly in Years 10 and 11 who are not in receipt of 25 hours education, and those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) post-16.  Related and interconnected challenges were reducing fixed term exclusions and reducing persistent absence.

Work to address these challenges included:

-        Developing a Creative Mentoring scheme;

-        Exploring a wider range of alternative and complementary provision;

-        The Attachment Friendly Schools’ Project;

-        The promotion of Emotion Coaching;

-        Developing the use of the Solution Focused Staff meetings in schools.

Another significant issue faced by the Virtual School and its partners was the increased numbers of children and young people in care. Between March 2016 and March 2017 the number of LAC increased from 430 to 484 and the rate/10,000 of the under 18 population had increased from 68/10,000 to 76/10,000. This was higher than the regional trend  ...  view the full minutes text for item 104.

The Deputy Strategic for Safeguarding, Children and Young People’s Service gave a verbal update on developments in respect of the Regional Adoption Agency.

At the meeting of Cabinet and Commissioners of 14 November 2016, approval was given for Rotherham Council to explore the potential to establish a South Yorkshire Regional Adoption Agency (RAA). It was reported that the Government saw Regionalising Adoption as a key strategy to meet its aims of adoption reform.

Since approval was given, negotiations had taken place between Rotherham, Barnsley, Sheffield and Doncaster Local Authorities (LAs); and the Doncaster Children’s Service Trust (DCST) to form part of a wider regional approach. It was reported to the Committee that because of legal and pension complexities, progress has been slow and therefore further details of the business case could not be provided at present.

A model has been in development and RMBC officers have negotiated a position underpinned by the following principles; that value for money was secured; outcomes for children and young people were improved and staff terms and conditions were maintained. However, because of concerns about the financial implications and the risks attached to the business case, further discussions were required. It was stated that these discussions were to conclude by the end of the 2017/18 financial year and a further report would be provided in due course.

Resolved:  That the update is noted.

Tuesday, 23^rd January, 2018 commencing at 5.30 p.m.

Resolved: That the next scheduled meeting be held on Tuesday, 23^rd January, 2018 at 5.30 p.m.