Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

Graham Badman

Tracey Baldwin                      -represented by Penny Thompson

Christine Cocker

Dr Pam Constantinides

Jean Croot

Melanie Danan

Jane Ellias                             -Judith Ellis substituted

Paul Head                              -Jane O’Neil substituted

Councillor Claire Kober

Jane Lithgow

Claire Panniker                     -represented by Claire Wright

Jim Shepley

Margaret Sumner

David Sloman                        -represented by Claire Wright

Members should declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests with respect to agenda items and must not take part in any decision required with respect to these items.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2008 as a correct record.

The Board was advised that at present the structure of a range of bodies  charged with monitoring and delivering outcomes for children and young people were being reviewed with a view to forming a new Children’s Trust Board and the appropriate sub structures beneath it. 

As part of the review the Board’s Terms of Reference and those of other bodies were being examined to ensure that they were fit for purpose and that there were no areas of duplication.

It was confirmed that once the review was complete the Board would receive the proposed Terms of Reference for the Children’s Trust Board.

It was noted that a report, requested at the previous meeting, in relation to the mapping and monitoring areas outside the remit of existing monitoring process, had not been submitted to this meeting as there were implications arising from review of the structures in places to deliver Children’s Services currently been undertaken. Once this had been completed the Board would receive a report identifying any areas that fell outside the remit of these.  

In response to a query the Board was advised that the full Child Poverty Strategy document had been circulated with the minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2008 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Chair will consider the admission of any items of Urgent Business. (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with under Item 12 below).

No items of Urgent Business were received.

A presentation will be provided.

The Board received a presentation on the forthcoming Comprehensive Area Assessment.

An overview was given of the scope of the CAA and it was noted that it was comprised of two key strands:

Area Assessment

This strand would consider how effectively local public services delivered local priorities, economic prospects, community safety and potential for future improvement.

Organisational Assessment

This strand would consider the use of resources and performance management and how the Council delivered value for money through their combined use of resources and performance management.

It was noted that Partners would be inspected by their own inspection regimes and that these would liaise with the Audit Commission.

In assessing this four key themes would be considered:

• Management of finances
• Governing business
• Managing resources
• Managing performance

In terms of the Area Assessment the following key areas would be focussed upon:

• How well do local priorities express community needs and aspirations?
• How well are the outcomes and improvements needed being delivered?
• What are the prospects for future improvements?

It was noted that the Local Authority would be required to produce and publish an Annual Summary, which would include an overview of key priorities, overall successes, challenges and future prospects. It was envisaged that these would form a tool for members of the public wanting to obtain an overview of the Borough.

In addition to this a system of red and green flags would be used to indicate areas where arrangements were considered inadequate to deliver improvement or where exceptional or innovative practice was demonstrated.

The Board was advised that that the CAA would take a more holistic approach to assessing performance and would gather evidence over the course of a year rather than focussing on a limited period.

In terms of specific arrangements for Children’s Services, it was noted that Ofsted was developing proposals to meet CAA requirements, which included:

• A three year rolling programme of inspection for all Looked After Children and Safeguarding (including Annual Inspections and unannounced Visits)
• Annual self evaluation
• Performance Profiling

The results of these measures would be reported on a quarterly basis by Ofsted and published on its website and would also inform the area and organisational assessments that would report in November 2009.

In response to a query, regarding the publication of CAA report, the Board was advised that once this had been circulated to the Chief and Executive and appropriate Lead Members it would be published on the Audit Commissions website.

With respect to the use of flags, to indicate where arrangements were considered to be inadequate to deliver improvement or where exceptional or innovative practice was demonstrated, the Board was advised that this would only be used in these circumstances. Consequently there may Assessments that consisted solely of a narrative.

It was noted that as part of the Organisational Assessment undertaken of the Metropolitan Police, performance in Haringey would be assessed in comparison with other areas that were deemed to share similar characteristics.  However, some of the areas that Haringey had been compared  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

This report will be sent to follow.

The Board received a report setting out progress that had been made in producing the Joint Area Review (JAR) Action Plan since its last meeting in December.

The Action Plan had been developed by officers from across the Council and Partner organisations and was intended to deliver a change programme that would serve two functions: addressing the issues raised within the JAR report and then, to move beyond this, and become an exemplar of good practice.

The Plan was currently organised thematically and set out the actions to be taken in addressing issues by theme. Within this the role of the HSP, the C&YPSPB and the new Children’s Trust Board were touched on and this would be expanded upon the in fuller document. Another key issue for the Plan was developing ‘reflective’ practice and ensuring that there were the mechanisms and forums in place for staff to do this effectively.

The Board was advised that the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and the Director of Children’s Services were due to meet with the Secretary of State to discuss progress in implementing the changes recommended in the JAR report. This would form the first a series of monthly meetings between the Local Authority and the Government Department.

The Action Plan would also be considered by the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 9 February and the Council’s Cabinet on 24 February prior to being submitted to the Secretary of State for approval at the end of February.

Concerns were raised that the document presented was not sufficient in detail to allow members of the Board to comment on its content. Particular concern was raised that it was not evident from the document presented whether concerns, previously raised by the Board, around areas of overlap between the various bodies in place to deliver monitor and deliver Children’s Services had been mapped.

The Board was reminded that a review was currently being undertaken of the structures and bodies in place and that as part of this the Terms of Reference of each of the bodies concerned was being reviewed to ensure that they were appropriately aligned.

It had not been possible to present to the Board with the full working document prior to discuss with the Department for Children, Families and Education (DCFE). There was agreement that the Board should be sent the final version of the Action Plan on 9 February.

It was noted that several members of the Board had been part of the group formed to produce the Action Plan. The Board was advised that the process had been inclusive and engaging and that there had been a strong commitment to involving partners.

In response to a query, the Board was advised the role and responsibilities of Councillors as Corporate Parents were addressed within the full document. In terms of gauging members views the Chair had fed these into to the process.

It was noted that there had been recent reports in the press suggesting that Haringey  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.

The Board received a report which set out a draft Risk Register, which was required as part of the Risk Management Strategy adopted by the HSP in July 2008.

The Risk Register assessed the risks attached to achieving Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets within the Boards responsibility. It was noted that the CYPSP Advisory Board had taken the lead in developing the Register and following discussion with the Council’s Head of Audit and Risk Management the document had been amended to make reference to the JAR of Safeguarding.

It was noted that the Register would need to be updated on a regular basis and that it was likely that as the JAR Action Plan was produced further updates would be necessary.

The Board discussed the proposed Risk Register and the Chair noted that there were areas within the document where there no controller or risk owner was identified. It was confirmed that individuals responsible for these areas would be identified and that the completed document would be circulated to members of the Board with the minutes.

It was suggested that NI 56, in relation to Childhood Obesity, should be amended to include ‘a lack of providers’ and ‘alternative, less healthy alternatives’ as risks to achieving this target.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the amendments, above the Risk Register proposed be adopted.

The Board received a report presenting the Haringey Integrated Youth Support Strategy (HIYSS) Implementation Plan, which had been formulated by a Working Group consisting of members from across the Partnership.

The Implementation Plan underpinned the delivery of the HIYSS and this would be supported by each Partners organisations annual Service Plans. A consultation exercise had been undertaken by the Council’s Corporate Consultation team, which had included consultation with children and young people and had had three objectives:

• To determine what young people and stakeholders thought of the current provision
• To determine what improvements they would like to see made
• To develop a Strategy, Implementation Plan and targeted support that was supported by children and stakeholders

In terms of monitoring progress in relation to the Implementation Plan the Board was advised that it was proposed that a Working Group should be constituted to fulfil this function.

It was noted that once the review of structures and bodies had been completed the changes arising from this would need to be reflected within the Implementation Plan.

Concern was raised that the document did not set out explicitly enough the commitment and actions being taken to support children and young people from Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) communities. There was agreement that this should be strengthened and that specific reference to the types of support offered should be included.

It was noted that the various Action Plans in place relating to Children and Young People’s Services would need to be drawn together and reviewed to ensure that they were aligned and that there were no areas of duplication. There was agreement that these should also be reference appropriately and listed within the Implementation Plan. The Board was advised that the new Children and Young People’s Plan (C&YPP) would act as the over arching link that would draw all of these together.

It was suggested that reference should be made to the recent expansion of Youth Services, which had enabled activities for young people to be run seven days a week.  There was also agreement that there should be further reference to misuse of Drugs and Alcohol and the affect of parents who abused these upon children.

The Board was advised that the estimate in relation to the number of young people that would be equipped with skills to assist in delivering the Olympic Games had been calculated on the basis that a quarter of the young people within the appropriate age group would be involved.

The Chair requested that reference should be made to the type of skills that young people participating in this would be equipped with in order to illustrate that these would be useful in a wider context.

RESOLVED:

That, subject to the incorporation of the points raised above, the Implementation Plan be approved.

The Board considered a report setting out a proposed timeline and actions in preparation for the new Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) for 2009-20. The CYPP would form the defining statement for the Children’s Trust Board and would incorporate the measures set out in the JAR Action Plan.

The Board was reminded that the current CYPP had originally been due to concluded in March 2009. However, it was proposed that this should be extended until September in order to allow sufficient time for new plan to be consulted upon. This would also allow time for guidance that had recently been received from the DCSF to be reflected in the document.  

It was noted that consultation in relation to the new Plan had commenced during Summer/Autumn 2008. As part of the consultation process a ‘2020 Vision Day’ had been held to determine what the Plan should aim to achieve over the eleven years. 

The Board discussed how

RESOLVED:

1. That the proposed 2^nd Stage Consultation Programme be approved.

2. That the proposed timeline and extension of the existing programme until September 2009, as outlined in the report, be approved.

3. That ? be nominated as the CYPSP’s representative on the Working Group tasked with developing the new CYPP. 

The Board considered a report setting out performance against Local Area Agreement targets during the Third Quarter of 2008/09.

It was noted that information in relation to individual projects funded from the Area Based Grant (ABG) had not been available at the time the report was being prepared. It was therefore proposed that a sub group should be established to look at the Third Quarter Performance information in relation to these.

An overview was provided of the areas where performance was below target and it was noted that NHS Haringey had held a ‘Turning the Curve’ session to consider how performance against target N1 113, in relation to the prevalence of Chlamydia in under 20 year olds, could be improved.

It was agreed that the report produced following this meeting should be circulated to the Board and that a presentation should be given by representatives from NHS Haringey at the next meeting setting out in detail how this was being addressed.

There was agreement that, in addition to the information presented; future performance reports should identify the lead agency responsible for each target. It was also suggested that cross-cutting targets should be shown separately to targets solely within the Boards responsibility.

Concern was raised that the Community Link Forum (CLF) was not being used as the route for obtaining Voluntary and Community Sector expertise and knowledge to help achieve LAA targets. The Chair recognised the important role that the Sector had to play in achieving LAA targets and noted that the CLF should be included and consulted with appropriately.

It was noted that an annual report was produced setting out performance at Key Stages and that this was considered in detail by the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. There was agreement that the Board should receive a report setting out any areas of concern or trends on an annual basis.

RESOLVED:

1. That the report be noted.

2. That a sub-group should be established to review the Area Based Grant Programme for 2009/11 and performance and that the sub-group’s recommendations should be agreed by the Chair.

3. That the ‘Turning the Curve’ report referred to above should be circulated to Board members.

4. That future performance reports should identify lead partner responsible for delivering LAA targets.

5. That the Board should review and annual overview of Key Stage results, setting out any areas of concern or developing trends.

Verbal updates will be provided by the Chair of each Forum.

The Board received an oral update from each of the Forum Chairs.

Early Childhood Forum

The Board was advised that communication with parents had been raised as an issue of concern and that there was a perception that information was not always easy to access, particularly if parents did not have access to the internet.

It was also considered that the link between Children’s Centres and the Voluntary Sector should be developed further and better articulated.

The Forum had also discussed the Fair Play Strategy and there was agreement that the Board should also consider this at a future meeting.

Five to Eleven Forum

The Primary Capital Programme had been discussed and the key issue arising from this would be managing the delivering of projects led by the Better Schools for the Future (BSF) team.

As part of the ‘Staying Safe’ initiative a range of stakeholders were being consulted and the results of this would be used to inform the launch of the Strategy.

Eleven to Nineteen Forum

The Forum was due to meet in March and the key issue for discussion would be the merger of the Forum with the Schools Transformation Board (STB) and the new structure around this and the creation of the Children’s Trust Board (CTB).

There was agreement that a brief written summary of discussion should be submitted rather than oral updates at future meetings.

RESOLVED:

1. That the oral updates provided be noted.

2. That a briefing written summary of the key issues considered by the Forums should be submitted at future meetings.  

To consider any new items of Urgent Business admitted under Item 4 above.

No new items of Urgent Business were received.

To consider any items of AOB raised.

The Board was advised that the findings of the second Serious Case Review (SCR) would be published at the end of February.

In response to a request to bring forward the start time of meetings there was a general consensus that this should remain at 6.30pm to enable Board members working during the day to attend.

To note the suggested agenda items as set out below:

• Children’s Trust Development
• Keys to Well-Being
• Obesity Strategy
• Fair Plan Strategy
• Contact Point
• Sixteen to Eighteen Transfer
• Youth Summit
• Parent Strategy
• Substance Misuse
• LSCB Annual Report
• Infant Mortality
• Teenage Pregnancy

Please advise Patricia Walker, Policy and Partnerships Manager, of suggested agenda items three weeks prior to the next meeting.

Patricia.walker@haringey.gov.uk

There was agreement that the items listed below should be considered at the next meeting:

• Development of Children’s Trust Board (including draft Terms of Reference)
• Annual Safeguarding Report
• Addressing NI 133 –Prevalence of Chlamydia in Under 20 Year Olds
• Play Strategy

It was also agreed that the Parent’s Strategy should be considered a future meeting.

Please note that the next scheduled meeting will be held on 7 April 2009.

*The dates listed below have been provisionally set for the new Municipal Year:

• 19 May 2009
• 2 July 2009
• 5 October 2009
• 17 December 2009
• 9 February 2010

*Please note that these dates are subject to confirmation by Council and may be subject to change. Once they have been formally agreed members of the Board will be advised.

The draft meeting dates for 2009/10 were noted.