Agenda item

Report of the Chief Officer for Children’s Services covering Children’s Social Care Performance and Children’s Education Annual Report, attached.

The Committee received the Report of the Chief Officer for Children’s Services which provided a performance update on Children’s Social Care including key data demonstrating levels of demand and response across help, care and protection. The Report outlined key points such as referrals, the timeliness of assessments, the number of children in need, the number of children subject to a child protection plan, the number of children in care, care experienced young people, the number of caseloads for social workers, level of recruitment and an overview of the service’s findings from practice week and audits.

The Report also included an Education and Learning Performance update, which provided an update on the take up of places in Early Years, Early Years Outcomes - 2018/19 data due to Covid, the number of school applications for 2020/21, number of school admission appeals, Children’s Medical and Mental Health referrals, school attendance during Covid, attainment levels, the number of permanent exclusions, those in elective home education, and the number of pupils entitled to Free School Meals.

Members raised the following discussion points and questions with Officers in response to the Report:

·       There were high numbers of children in need, with 686 young people on a Children in Need (CIN) Plan.

·       Devon currently had the highest numbers it had ever seen of children on a Child Protection Plan, with 645 children – Members noted there needed to be more effective intervention at an earlier stage.

·       The number of children in care had decreased from 840 to 807.

·       Social Worker Caseloads had hit a peak in the summer, with a small number that had more than 30 children at assessment stage.

·       Care Leavers – the Service was aware of 7 young people with no fixed abode – these were due to specific reasons for these young people and the Service area continued to work closely with them.

·       Neglect had increased during the pandemic – 50% of young people on a Child Protection plan was due to neglect.  Members were advised that the number of deaths amongst the younger age group (under 1s) and older teenagers predominantly through suicide, had increased nationally and in the South West – austerity measures had increased pressures on family, family networks were not available for new parents, new birth visits were taking place online rather than in person, and there had been a decrease in the amount of support and oversight available during the pandemic.

·       The need to include comparator data with other local authorities that are performing well, to help Members understand where the Service needs to improve and examples of best practice.

·       KS4 outcomes – the official results were very similar to those predicted within the Report – 73% achieved level 4 or above; 51% achieved level 5 or above (an increase on previous year). The Attainment 8 scores in Devon were just above national average, and the difference in performance between boys and girls result had reduced to approx. 6%

·       Exclusions – Fixed Term Exclusions (FTS) remained much higher in boys compared to girls, the same with permanent exclusions.   The gender gap was much higher in exclusions (as seen nationally); however, the introduction of the Exclusion Toolkit had reduced overall exclusion numbers in Devon.

·       Recruitment and retention of teachers and school staff – schools were struggling to recruit staff, with many potential staff withdrawing applications once they see the cost of living in Devon. It had also impacted on TA posts and admin support posts – as changes to flexible working have meant more jobs were now available for admin staff to work from home, whereas previously the school term time hours would have been most beneficial.