Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report, presented by the Assistant Director, Early Help and Family Engagement, concerning Rotherham’s Early Help and Family Engagement Service which had been launched on 18th January, 2016.  The report included information about the Early Help Service priorities, current performance and progress against the budget savings proposals for 2016/2017.  Reference was also made to the draft Early Help Strategy and to the outcome of the improvement visit made by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) on 19th and 20th April, 2016.

The Improving Lives Select Commission welcomed service users Neil and Michelle, who explained their family circumstances which culminated in their referral to Early Help and the assistance which the service was able to provide for them and for their families. They also answered several questions from the Members of the Select Commission.

The presentation at the meeting highlighted the following matters:-

-          Early Help is concerned with identifying needs within families early and providing support before problems become complex and more costly;

-          the importance of local agencies working together;

-          service priorities and performance;  use of exit surveys, completed by service users;

-          the service demonstrating that it is able to make a positive difference to children and their families;

-          Restorative Practice – working with people, rather than doing things to or for people;

-          the establishment and role of the Early Help Review Board;

-          compliance with Youth Justice Board standards;

-          the focus on the whole family;

-          financial resources and constraints and the necessary budget savings;

-          investment in and bids for funding for various projects (eg: family group conferencing; the pause project);

-          service flexibility enabling changing responses to changing issues; the importance of casework oversight;

-          support in localities (eg: parenting programmes; targeted youth programme; operation keepsafe).

The Improving Lives Select Commission discussed the following salient issues:-

-          development of trust with partner agencies, especially with community and voluntary sector organisations; treatment of partner organisations as equals (eg: the example of the peer review by the Youth Justice Board); increasing familiarity with the availability of the service; confidence amongst service users that assistance will be available;

-          the auditing (and re-auditing) of case files to assure the quality of practice and to ensure compliance with HM Working Together 2015 (WT15) and the Early Help and Family Engagement service standards;

-          caseloads for individual case workers;

-          Members of the Select Commission questioned the feedback being received by the service and asked to be provided with further details of the exit surveys completed by service users;

-          continual development and review of the service and resources; the effectiveness of the service in coping with change and implementing new initiatives;

-          management of sickness absence amongst staff;

-          effectiveness of the referral process; use of online reporting forms;

-          adherence to local targets – early contact with families (within three days).

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

(2) That a progress report on the Early Help Service be submitted to a meeting of the Improving Lives Select Commission in twelve months’ time.