Agenda item

[Report of the Interim Director for Children’s Services. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children and Families.]

This report makes a number of recommendations based on the need to address and incorporate recent findings from the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) of the multi-agency response to abuse and neglect in Haringey, which took place in December 2017 and the vision referred to in the letter published by the JTAI on 30 January 2018, with the “Future Operating Model for Children’s Services” approved in March 2015, and with reference to legislative changes which will replace Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards with new local partnership arrangements.

The report also seeks agreement to review commissioning activity which brings together all Council services currently contributing to children’s well-being in Haringey, including services provided to or commissioned for their parents’ needs so that in time the fully developed operating model increasingly reflects a whole authority collaboration that maximises outcomes for vulnerable children and their families in Haringey.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Families introduced the report which sought agreement to  a number of recommendations based on the need to address and incorporate recent findings from the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) of the multi-agency response to abuse and neglect in Haringey, which took place in December 2017 and the vision referred to in the letter published by the JTAI on the 30 January 2018, with the “Future Operating Model for Children’s Services” approved in March 2015, and with reference to legislative changes which will replace Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards with new local partnership arrangements.

The report further sought agreement to a review of those services in the Council (e.g. services provided to children and/or their parents by Public Health or Adult Services) ensuring that services provided to support better outcomes for children and families are effectively co-ordinated and aligned into a “Think Family” approach. In time, this would produce a fully developed operating model increasingly reflecting a “whole authority” collaboration that maximises outcomes for vulnerable children and their families in Haringey.

RESOLVED

1. To note the published letter from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Her Majesty’s Inspection of Constabulary (HMIC), Her Majesty’s Inspection of Probation (HMIP) Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and Ofsted dated 30 January 2018 emerging from the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) of the multi-agency response to abuse and neglect which took place in Haringey between 4-8 December 2017, a copy of which is attached as Appendix 2. Also, the next steps for the Director of Children’s Services to prepare a written statement of proposed action responding to JTAI findings.
   
   
2. To note that the written statement should be a multi-agency response involving the national probation service (NPS), the community rehabilitation company (CRC), the clinical commissioning group for Haringey (CCG), the metropolitan police service (MPS) and the local authority including its health providers. The response should set out the actions for the above partners individually where appropriate and for the partnership as a whole.
    
3. To note that the written statement of action must be sent to Ofsted no later than 11 May 2018 and that the statement will inform the key lines of enquiry (KLOEs) at any future joint or single agency activity by the inspectorates.
   
   
4. To note the need for a comprehensive timely and detailed response to JTAI findings (representing all partners including the LA and its health providers) as the next inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) is expected during the current calendar year.
   
   
5. To note the legislative changes identified in the “Children and Social Work Act 2017” with particular reference to the proposed abolition of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards and their replacement by local arrangements made by the police, the CCG and the Local Authority.
   
   
6. To agree the principles of the evolving model of Early Help and as set out in paragraphs 6.4, and 7.2 to 7.10.
   
   
7. To agree that the vision to enable children to access help at an earlier stage and to use resources more effectively will be complimented by a corporately led review of the Council’s commissioned services for children and Families such as those provided to parents by Public health and Adults services to take account of the principles of “Early Help” listed in this report at 7.2. This will involve all Council partners involved with providing services to children and/or their parents becoming aligned into a “Think Family” approach. 
   
   
8. To agree that the “Early Help Strategy 2015-2018” should be revised in the light of all of the above.

Reasons for decision

As a consequence of the JTAI in December 2017, statutory partners including the local authority are required to respond with a written statement of action designed to address the areas of improvement stipulated in the published JTAI letter. The statement will inform the future lines of enquiry at any future joint or single agency activity by the inspectorates. Statutory JTAI partners are the National Probation Service (NPS), the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), the Haringey Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and the Local Authority, including its health providers.  The Director of Children’s Services in Haringey must send the written statement of action by 11 May 2018. As a further inspection of Children’s Services is expected later in 2018, the response of all partners to the JTAI acquires additional significance, owing to the essential contribution of partners in inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Changes to legislation brought about by the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which amongst other things abolishes Local Safeguarding Children Boards with effect from April 2019, mean that new statutory partnership arrangements between the MPS, the CCG and the Local Authority must be capable of providing continuity of oversight and challenge in the effective delivery of Safeguarding services across the new arrangements in addition to the delivery of an effective response to  the JTAI findings.

Budget Challenge

At the same time as demand for services has increased, resources have decreased across the Council as part of the national austerity measures imposed by central government. This has further compounded the challenge of addressing demand in Haringey and galvanised a renewed sense of urgency to transform.  Demand and budget pressures together will mean that Children’s services with the support of the whole council must continue to manage and deploy resources efficiently, in order to improve outcomes for children, young people and families in Haringey.

This situation is far from unique to Haringey, as recent national reports confirm rising demand for Children’s services against reducing budgets.  Local comparisons anecdotally confirm that neighbouring authorities are experiencing very similar recent pressures.  In areas where patterns of demand have been successfully changed, e.g. in Hertfordshire County Council, and in other local authorities benefiting from innovation grants from government, reductions in demand for statutory services have been effected. 

To continue to deliver improved outcomes for children and young people within a reduced budget, Children’s services will be able to operate more efficiently and effectively by embedding with internal partners a single integrated multi-disciplinary approach across the borough, through the new Borough Plan and potentially right across strategic partnerships in Haringey as new safeguarding arrangements for children and young people begin to take effect.

As new local safeguarding partnership arrangements for children and young people take effect no later than April 2019, it is imperative that partners collectively make a collaborative and coherent response across all resource provisions to maximise outcomes and value.

Increased Demand on Children’s Services

In addition to the budgetary pressures that the service must mitigate against, demand has increased significantly across a number of key statutory areas. There has been a 4% increase in the number of children and young people
(0-25 years old) from a population of 87,306 in 2013 to 90,828 in 2016.  Whilst the vast majority of people living in the borough are supported by universal services, demand for services for families with additional, acute or complex needs is rising consistently year upon year.

Where an organisation or member of the public has concerns about a child or a family, they are required to contact Children’s social care services. When those concerns warrant further consideration, a referral is made. Annual referral activity is measured by a rate of 1 per every 10,000 children in Haringey aged 0-17.  For the year ended March 2015, the rate of referral was 379, for the year ended March 2016 the rate increased to 539, for the year ended March 2017 the rate increased to 643 and the current rate for the year to date is 733.

These figures produce an overall increase in referral rate of 93% over the last three years since March 2015 when the original operating model was approved.  Care applications to the Court are made where a child is deemed to be at such risk of significant harm that legal controls are required.  The rate of applications to the Court increased in the same period by 77%. In the current national economic climate, there is no prospect of increasing resource in line with this level of increased demand. Analysis of all available data supports the need to progress with pace towards a new phase of the Local Authority’s approach to children and families so that ever increasing demand challenges can be appropriately and collectively addressed.

Recent Inspection Outcomes

The recent Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) in December 2017 reviewed actions of all Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) partners operating in Haringey in the context of ‘the multi-agency response to abuse and neglect’.  Inspectors recognised a number of strengths across the partnership, but also found an over-reliance on children’s social care by the partnership (LSCB), and a corresponding under development of multi-agency early help, also across the LSCB partnership. The JTAI findings confirm the need for an updated and speedier approach to improvement from the LSCB as the current lead body, which holds partners to account for their safeguarding activities.  When adopted, the updated vision and the expanded early help approach could include all relevant council services operating as single integrated collective providing safeguarding services within a “family centric” approach.  Once achieved this approach should deliver what the JTAI referred to as “coherent commissioning”. 

As part of the JTAI inspection summary, inspectors commented positively on the Interim Director’s development of a ‘clear vision to enable children to access help at an earlier stage and to use resources more effectively’.  The recommendations in this report ask the Council to note the JTAI findings and how the updated expanded vision of Early Help begins to inform future safeguarding partnership arrangements that improve outcomes for children at an early stage avoiding over reliance on a social care model.

Legislation

Recent legislative changes will impact on both the opportunities and challenges within Children’s Services, as set out in the Children and Families Act 2017.  Cabinet has already agreed a report describing increased statutory responsibilities for the local authority for care leavers, which will further compound the demand pressure described above.

In addition, the Act will abolish the current children’s safeguarding partnership arrangements (Haringey Local Safeguarding Children Board) with effect from April 2019, and instead require the local authority, police and the clinical commissioning group (CCG) as the new statutory safeguarding partners to make local arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children on a basis of equal responsibility and ownership.  The change in statutory partnership arrangements presents a timely opportunity to increase the flexibility and autonomy for safeguarding partners to develop an operating model for delivering children’s services as a single integrated multi agency system based on the updated expanded vision of early help noted by inspectors. The current LSCB accepted the updated vision in its meeting in September 2017. JTAI partners have also agreed to frame their responses to the JTAI findings against the updated vision. Although discussions are not yet concluded, so far, all partners have positively welcomed the updated vision and can see how it can be used to enhance current arrangements for delivering early help services to children, young people and their families, and reducing reliance on children’s social care.

Whilst all local authorities are considering with statutory partners how best to continue to increase the impact of local safeguarding arrangements, national standards are also being updated. “Working together to safeguard children”, is a statutory guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. It is a national policy document, which describes the statutory functions of local authorities and their partners in respect of safeguarding children and promoting their welfare, describing safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as:
 

·         protecting children from maltreatment

·         preventing impairment of children’s health or development

·         ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and

·         taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

Local agencies including the police and health services have a duty to ensure they consider the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children when carrying out their functions. Local authorities and their safeguarding partners are currently operating under “Working Together 2015”, and government is currently consulting on an updated version of “Working Together” scheduled for implementation with effect from April 2018. Haringey’s updated vision for Children’s services, including an expanded corporate role for Early Help, is consistent both with the current guidance (Working Together 2015) and the updated version “Working Together 2018. 

Regulation

In addition to the statutory changes described above, Ofsted, has recently implemented what they refer to as a new system of Inspections called ILACS (Inspections of Local Authority Children’s Services) designed to “catch children’s services before they fall” by being proactive and more continuously involved. The ILACS system or framework relies on a continuing conversation between Ofsted and local authorities to support its triennial inspection approach: Local authorities provide Ofsted with their self-evaluation of the current impact of Children’s services on improving outcomes for children in their area. This is to confirm for Ofsted that Local Authorities have a sound grasp of their strengths and challenges and are planning accordingly. Inspectors’ judgements in respect of the quality of leadership of Children’s services will in part be informed by the relevance and application by the local authority of plans for continuous improvements in children’s services. Even in poor circumstances, a good plan will be regarded as a strength in leadership capacity.  As a result of informal dialogue with Inspectors during the JTAI, we were advised of the probability of an ILACS inspection in Haringey around October 2018. In this context, it becomes essential that Haringey can evidence impact on JTAI’s recent view of our areas of strength and areas for improvement. As the JTAI positively endorsed the “clear vison to enable children to access help at an earlier stage and to use resources more effectively” as explained in this report, it follows that the Authority needs to demonstrate progress in implementing the vision as part of the multi- agency response to the JTAI findings. JTAI also noted that the Local Authority has convened a Children’s services Improvement Board, chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive, to improve early help and children’s social care. JTAI were satisfied that “plans have been developed to address the main deficits identified during this inspection.”

Alternative options considered

The proposed expanded vision of Early Help in the operating model builds upon the previously agreed Children’s Services model approved by Cabinet in March 2015.  Alternative options were considered at this time.