Agenda item

To receive the report of the Director of Children & Young People’s Service updating on the Safeguarding Plan (formerly the JAR Action Plan), following publication of the Ofsted inspection report in July 2009.

The Committee received the report updating on key performance issues in child protection, introduced by Mark Gurrey (Interim Assistant Director – Children & Young People - Performance).

Members were invited to ask supplementary questions to the advance questions and written answers that had been tabled.

The Committee asked for more information about staffing levels.  Councillor Reith (Cabinet Member for Children & Young People) and the Deputy Director – Children & Families, informed Members that the service was fully staffed but on-going recruitment was helping to reduce the number of agency staff in Children’s Services as well as having a Graduate Trainee Social Worker scheme in place which resulted in 6 newly qualified Social Workers joining the Council in July 2009.  The number of trainee Social Workers would increase to 12 plus a further 5 studying for an MA in the coming year.  The Committee noted, in response to its concerns about the long-term commitment of the 9 American Social Workers recently recruited, that the overseas Social Workers were contracted to a minimum of 2 years with Haringey; they were provided with benefits and often remained longer than the contracted time.

The largest gaps in permanent staff were within the First Response and Safeguarding Teams where the newly qualified Social Workers and newly recruited American Social Workers would move into these teams.  Many front-line managers were long-tem agency staff (who chose not to become permanent for various reasons) but the Service was working towards recruiting permanent managers including a scheme offering additional pay if they remained with the Council after a period of time.  The Committee noted that recruitment to Social Work positions was difficult in London and nationally.

Officers recognised the high cost of agency staff and explained that current staffing levels would be retained until January 2010 to allow for newly qualified Social Workers to settle-into full workloads after which a review of staffing levels would take place.

The Committee noted that Heads of First Response and Safeguarding had recently been appointed and a number of good responses to adverts for a Head of Service – Children in Care had been received.

The Committee would be provided with a breakdown of vacant posts in each department within Children’s Services.

In response to concerns about the perception that children were being lost in the system (for example the number of referrals received between April and October 2009 were higher than the number of initial assessments completed),  the Committee noted that some referrals, having been through a rigorous risk assessment, were considered to require “no further action” (NFA). 

Officers assured the Committee that children were not being lost in the system and a robust system, where managers received a detailed breakdown of cases at the start of every week, was in place to monitor and prioritise cases.

 Hilary Corrick (Vice-Chair and Independent Member of the Policy & Practice Advisory Committee) highlighted that the Advisory Committee tracked and followed a number of referrals received by the Council during one day and would continue to do such random monitoring to ensure quality of the work of First Response Team.

The Committee asked whether Police Officers cross-checked cases of domestic violence against the child protection register. The Borough Commander explained that Officers in the Police Control room conducted checks on individuals and other occupants of premises involved.  If a child was present in a property where domestic violence occurred a Police report would be submitted to the Council’s Social Care Team.

The Committee noted that the advance supplementary questions submitted by Joseph Ejiofor (Parent Governor) were subject to further analysis and would be answered in writing after the meeting.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.