Agenda item

The Panel received a cover report and an accompanying presentation that provided an analysis of the performance data and trends for a set of performance measures relating to Looked After Children (LAC), Children on Child Protection Plans (CPP) and Children in Need (CIN). The presentation was introduced by Richard Hutton, Performance, Data and Analytics Manager as set out in the report at pages 39-52.  Ann Graham, Corporate Director of Children’s Services was also present for this item, along with Cllr Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families. In addition, the Director of Early Help, Prevention and SEND, as well as the Director for Safeguarding and Social Care were also present for this agenda item. The following arose as part of the discussion of this item:

1. The Panel sought clarification about what was being done to investigate the reasons behind a drop in referrals from schools to the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). In response, officers advised that the data was heavily scrutinised and cross referenced with other data from the Early Help service. The Director commented that a drop in referrals wasn’t necessarily celebrated, Instead it was about having the right referrals into the system at the right time. The Corporate Director advised that they monitored referrals and the wider system very closely. The Panel was advised that there was a triangulation between an increase in the uptake of Early Help services and a decrease in referrals to the MASH. The Family Hub model used in Early Years allowed the service to identify needs much earlier and this reduced referrals to the MASH.
2. In relation to a questions about Education Health & Care Plans (EHCPs), officers advised that performance for timeliness was very highly a couple of years ago at 97%, this had dropped slightly to 86%, however the national average was around forty percent. Officers acknowledged that the number of EHCPs was increasing, but it was commented that the census data showed that Haringey had seen a slower rate in increase at 4.7% than the London average (7.5%) and the national average at 10%. Officers attributed this slower rate of increase to the early intervention model and that fact that children were seen at a much earlier point in the system and this reduced the number who required an EHCP.
3. In response to a follow up question, officers acknowledged that they were seeing an increase in complexity, despite the fact that overall school numbers were down slightly.
4. The Panel queried the decreasing trend of immunisation figures and questioned why Haringey was performing worse than the national average. In response, officers advised that the figures related specifically to LAC and so it wasn’t influenced by families being sceptical of vaccinations or different take-up levels within different communities. It was often the older children within the LAC cohort who less likely to take up the offer of vaccination. Officers also noted that the LAC Nurse at Bounds Green Health Centre had recently retired and that there had been a decrease in take-up while a permanent replacement was found. Officers advised that they were working with Public Health colleagues and were doing everything they could to ensure LAC were being immunised, including looking at their immunisation records at both the child’s first health assessment and their first LAC review.
5. The Panel queried the reasons behind a drop in the numbers of care leavers who were in education, employment or training. In response, officers acknowledged that there had been a two-year period where the figures had dropped, but that they were starting to increase again. Officers commented that they were unsure of the specific reasons behind this. It was noted that Haringey had around 10% of its care leavers who were in higher education and that this compared favourably with other boroughs.

RESOLVED

Noted