Agenda item

Frances Hunt to present

Frances Hunt, Assistant Head of School Effectiveness of Early Years and Child Care Services, submitted a report on the development work that had taken place and the progress made towards improved multi-agency partnership working for better outcomes for the most disadvantaged children and young people in the Borough. 

In the context of the significant restructuring of the 22 Children Centres across Rotherham, there would be a reduction of the number of designated Children’s Centres whilst increasing the size of each remaining Centre.

In order to meet the challenge, work had started in March, 2014, to plan and develop an improved and sharper integrated multi-agency partnership working arrangement with a particular focus on Health with Children’s Centres at the hub of each locality.  It was initially through the concept of a Foundation Years’ Service which had now evolved into an integrated Best Start Partnership Strategy.  It was intended that this would be effective from 1^st April, 2015, and would coincide with the restructuring of the Children’s Centres. 

A short term aim of the ‘Best Start’ Strategy was that the following would be in place and implemented to support increased and improved integrated partnership working for the benefit of improving outcomes for children and families:-

·         Agreed data sharing information and reporting protocols between Health, Adult/Family Learning, DWP/Job Centre Plus, Troubled Families, Local Authority Performance and Management Team and Children’s Centres;

·         An integrated Children’s Centre leadership team model including representation from Health and Troubled Families as well as the Head of Centre and lead Family Support Worker;

·         An agreed mapped core universal Health Service offer including Health workforce in each locality/Children’s Centre reach area.

The principles of the Best Start Partnership were set out in the report submitted together with the tasks completed so far.

The Assistant Head of the School Effectiveness Service outlined that, of the ten Children’s Centres that were due to close and be de-registered, all of the Headteachers of the linked primary schools were taking over the buildings and the provision of some elements of Early Childhood Services would continue.  This was a positive step and should be promoted within communities. 

An overview of the work that had been undertaken towards achieving partnership working was provided: -

·         April, 2014 event ran by Public Health, Midwifery Services and the Local Authority’s Early Years and Childcare Services to ‘sign-up’ key partners;

·         Agreed data sharing protocol, particularly including health;

·         New way of having an integrated leadership model – incorporating education, Family Support Workers, senior health and troubled families to create a universal health offer -  mapping of reach;

·         Pre-conception to 5 - an ‘Early Help’ offer;

·         Best Start Strategic Group had been operating since May, 2014;

·         Three Best Start Task Groups had been created to focus on driving the agreed actions for development work to allow the expected outcomes to be achieved by April, 2015.  Representation from the Children’s Centres, Health, Voluntary and Community Sector, Human Resources and Performance Management staff.  Job descriptions were being analysed for an integrated leadership model.  This work had not yet been formally agreed and was continuing.

Councillor Roche commended the example of multi-agency work; it was pleasing to see how the structure was coming together and readily sharing data.  He asked that the 10 school-controlled centres be included as much as they could be to develop the model.  Was the data that the Service held needed, and was it treated confidentially? 

The Assistant Head of the School Effectiveness Service explained how the Service would be accountable based on the data outcomes.  Ofsted would look at this and it would be used by the integrated leadership teams to serve the local community needs, to look at what was being achieved well and where the gaps to meet childrens’ and families’ needs were.  All partners were signed up to the information sharing protocol.  Information was totally anonymised. 

Councillor Roche asked about situations where numerous agencies had been consistently asked for the same data time and again. 

The Performance and Quality Manager confirmed that all information was held centrally.  It would be possible to report from the centre and also report on each area in a way that was sharable and anonymised. 

The representative from the Sheffield WCA asked about the role of voluntary sectors in the protocols.  The Assistant Head of the School Effectiveness Service confirmed that they were part of the Strategic Group. 

The Special School representative asked about the role of Special Schools.  The Assistant Head confirmed that a Special Headteacher sat on the Best Start Strategy Group. 

The Interim Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services Directorate welcomed the piece of work and commended the role being taken on by primary schools taking over buildings that used to be Children’s Centres.  He asked what consideration was being given to ensure the work was consistent with SEND reforms and early intervention.  The Assistant Head of the School Effectiveness Service confirmed that future work would be undertaken to ensure it was aligned to SEND issues. 

The Interim Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services Directorate outlined the creation of a pathway for specialist and targeted services available from birth that the Director of Commissioning and Performance was bringing together. 

Resolved: -  That the report be received and the content relating to the progress against the development of the Best Start Strategy be noted.