Agenda item

Report of the Chief Officer for Children’s Services (DF/22/10), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Chief Officer for Children’s Services regarding the risk position and likely possibility of a young child in Devon losing their life in similar circumstances to those that had recently been reported on in the national media.

Members were presented with the Children’s Services Improvement Plan alongside a performanRESOLVED that Children’s Scrutiny be requested to examine the risk position any improvement required relating to the risk of a young child in Devon losing their life in such circumstances as highlighted in the opening question to this Report.ce dashboard that outlined the current performance indicators for the service area. Additionally, it was highlighted the Committee that one child per week dies under circumstances similar to those reported on nationally and that the focus was on mitigating this risk where possible, but that to reduce the number to zero would not be a realistic or achievable target.

It was explained to the Committee that Children’s Services had been facing several challenges in mitigating such risk, many of which were not unique to Devon. These included an ongoing recruitment crisis and high turnover of staff, which was a national problem faced by many other Authorities; as well as a growing number of children classified as ‘in need,’ and a growing number of children subject to a Child Protection Plan (CPP), both of which contributed to increasing levels of demand on services and on individual caseworkers. The COVID-19 pandemic had also exacerbated existing problems.

In terms of potential solutions, it was highlighted to Members that one of the main priorities was early intervention – namely, the available evidence suggested that identifying risk early helped not only to ‘get a foot in the door,’ but also that parents were willing to co-operate and voluntarily assist in the process when help was offered early.

Member discussion points included:

• the reasoning for the increase in CPPs allocated since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic to a total of 636 at the time of the meeting. It was explained that this could be due to various factors such as pre-existing problems being exacerbated by the pandemic; and also a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach in referrals to the CPP service in response to the January 2020 Ofsted inspection;

• the importance of maintaining positive relationships, including provision to challenge external agencies within a context of mutual respect and desire to achieve the best for Devon’s children;

• the ongoing problems with recruitment and possible solutions. It was noted, for instance, that the issues extended into other areas such as the availability of affordable housing which made it difficult for social workers to settle in the area; and

• concern over weaknesses previously highlighted in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) IT system. Members were advised that work was ongoing to ensure the stability and effectiveness of the system as well as undergoing work with IT colleagues that would allow online referrals directly into the system, hence making the process more straightforward for parents and carers and more efficient in terms of processing referrals.

It was MOVED by Councillor Scott, SECONDED by Councillor Peart and

RESOLVED that Children’s Scrutiny be requested to examine the risk position any improvement required relating to the risk of a young child in Devon losing their life in such circumstances as highlighted in the opening question to this Report.

(In accordance with Standing Order 23(2) Councillor Scott had asked that the Committee consider this item)

The Committee considered the Report of the Chief Officer for Children’s Services regarding the risk position and likely possibility of a young child in Devon losing their life in similar circumstances to those that had recently been reported on in the national media.

Members were presented with the Children’s Services Improvement Plan alongside a performance dashboard that outlined the current performance indicators for the service area. Additionally, it was highlighted the Committee that one child per week dies under circumstances similar to those reported on nationally and that the focus was on mitigating this risk where possible, but that to reduce the number to zero would not be a realistic or achievable target.

It was explained to the Committee that Children’s Services had been facing several challenges in mitigating such risk, many of which were not unique to Devon. These included an ongoing recruitment crisis and high turnover of staff, which was a national problem faced by many other Authorities; as well as a growing number of children classified as ‘in need,’ and a growing number of children subject to a Child Protection Plan (CPP), both of which contributed to increasing levels of demand on services and on individual caseworkers. The COVID-19 pandemic had also exacerbated existing problems.

In terms of potential solutions, it was highlighted to Members that one of the main priorities was early intervention – namely, the available evidence suggested that identifying risk early helped not only to ‘get a foot in the door,’ but also that parents were willing to co-operate and voluntarily assist in the process when help was offered early.

Member discussion points included:

• the reasoning for the increase in CPPs allocated since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic to a total of 636 at the time of the meeting. It was explained that this could be due to various factors such as pre-existing problems being exacerbated by the pandemic; and also a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach in referrals to the CPP service in response to the January 2020 Ofsted inspection;

• the importance of maintaining positive relationships, including provision to challenge external agencies within a context of mutual respect and desire to achieve the best for Devon’s children;

• the ongoing problems with recruitment and possible solutions. It was noted, for instance, that the issues extended into other areas such as the availability of affordable housing which made it difficult for social workers to settle in the area; and

• concern over weaknesses previously highlighted in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) IT system. Members were advised that work was ongoing to ensure the stability and effectiveness of the system as well as undergoing work with IT colleagues that would allow online referrals directly into the system, hence making the process more straightforward for parents and carers and more efficient in terms of processing referrals.

It was MOVED by Councillor Scott, SECONDED by Councillor Peart and

RESOLVED that Children’s Scrutiny be requested to examine the risk position any improvement required relating to the risk of a young child in Devon losing their life in such circumstances as highlighted in the opening question to this Report.