Agenda item

To note the Haringey Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2024-25.

The Panel received a copy of the Haringey Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSCP) Annual Report 2024-25, for noting, as set out in the published agenda pack at pages 79-121. Accompanying the Annual Report was a set of presentation slides that were tabled at the meeting and have been published as part of the agenda papers for this meeting. The presentation and the Annual Report were introduced by David Archibald, Independent Scrutineer HSCPB. Also present for this item were the Corporate Director, Children’s Services and the Director of Safeguarding and Social Care, along with the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families. The following arose as part of this discussion of this report:

1. In response to a query about the extent to which the HSCP was a new set up, the Panel were advised that up until 2019, each authority had to have a safeguarding children’s board. From September 2019, there was a change which required councils, police and health to have joint accountability. Subsequent changes meant that there was no longer an independent chair, instead the chair rotated between the three lead partners. The role of independent scrutineer was also brought in.
2. The Panel noted that the report contained a lot of qualitative data and queried whether there was any quantitative data that showed how the partnership was performing. In response, Mr Archibald advised that the partnership had been developing  a dataset to evaluate progress on a range of areas of children’s safeguarding and that there was also work underway to encourage HSCPs to do this nationally. Mr Archibald advised that he chaired a recent HSCP leadership group meeting which included a progress report on performance data. In general, the data showed that the partnership was performing well. It was commented that there was a huge and complex set of potential data, and the challenge was to use this data to show where improvements could be made. The Corporate Director of Children’s Services advised that her team followed the movement and flow of the data closely, and that when the dataset moved up or down they would interrogate it, in order to understand possible areas of concern.
3. The Panel sought clarification about how the partnership worked with housing to tackle issues such as damp and mould, which had a serious impact on the health and wellbeing of children. In response, officers advised that within the responsibilities of the HSCP, there wasn’t anything the partnership could do to allocate housing. Officers would contact housing if they came across any housing issues. The introduction of Awaab’s Law brought in specific timescales for landlords and housing providers to deal with serious issues such as damp and mould. Officers also commented that Haringey’s Children Safeguarding Board had a housing sub-group and that this provided an opportunity for different sections of the Council to work together to deal with housing challenges. 

*Clerk’s note at 20:20 – Cllr Abela left the meeting at this point.*

4. The Panel queried access to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and whether waiting times had improved. In response, Mr Archibald advised that the report set out some good progress in relation to Mental Health, including the introduction of a single point of access. It was acknowledged that there was a backdrop of increasing demand for CAMHS and increasing concerns about the mental health of young people. Officers advised the Panel that the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Strategy had recently been published. The Strategy was the product of having listened to families over a number of years and that people needed access to services in a timely manner, needed services that met need, and they needed support in navigating a complex system. In relation to children with more complex needs, it was commented that the single point of access and ‘no wrong front door’ approach would allow anyone who approached the service to be directed to the most appropriate service based on their needs. The Panel was also advised that CAMHS were also going into schools, and that there was a community offer available through family hubs.
5. The Panel sought clarification about the role of independent scrutineer and the extent to which it was independent. In response, the Panel was advised that the role was relatively new and that partnerships across the country were trying to work out how best to incorporate the role. There was national guidance that set out the key elements of scrutiny. Mr Archibald commented that it was more helpful for him to sit with the executive and to contribute and challenge them directly as decisions were being taken, rather than retrospectively scrutinising decisions that had already been taken. It was emphasised that whilst Mr Archibald sat on the HSCP, he did not manage anything operationally. The Corporate Director commented that Mr Archibald knew Haringey well and that he was very experienced, this experience was helpful to the partnership. The Panel acknowledged the role played by the Independent Scrutineer, but suggested that use of the word ‘independent’ initially seeming misleading, given that he sat on the Partnership Board.
6. In relation to slide 11 titled ‘Children’s Social Care Dataset 2024/25’, the Panel queried the fact that it stated that there had been a near 20% decrease in the volume of EHCPs but that the completion within a 20 week timescale had dropped from 98% to 82%. In response, officers advised that they would check the figures and come back to the Panel. It was commented that the timeframe aligned with the introduction of the Safety Valve programme, and that as that embedded and early intervention processes were implemented, less children required an EHCP. In relation to performance, officers acknowledged that this was a decrease, but noted that the organisation was still performing above the national average.
7. The Panel also queried the number of Asset Plus Plans within the Youth Offending Service, as the information box on slide 11 stated that performance was ‘up’ 65% from 74% the year before. The Panel sought clarification on whether this was a typographical error.

*Clerk’s Note – following the meeting officers found that there was an error with the data provided. In relation to Children supported with Asset Plus Plans, the data set should have stated: ‘Between April 24-March 2025, the number of children supported by the Youth Justice Service with their Asset Plus Plans up to date was 72% which was the same in 23-24. The number of children supported between April 24- March 25 by the service was 303 compared with 243 in 23-24.’ In relation to EHCPs, the data set should have stated: ‘In 2024 there were 533 requests for Education Health and Care Needs assessment (EHCNA), compared with 600 in 2023 which is a decrease of 7.83%. In 2024, 83% of EHCPs were finalised in 20 weeks, compared with 86.5% in 2023, which is a decrease of 3.5%. N.B. Following this error, the published HCSB Annual report was updated and the DfE were notified.*

8. The Panel queried whether the Haringey Healthy Weights Strategy 2022-25 was being updated. In response, officers advised that Public Health would have to come back on this. The Panel agreed for a report on the implementation of the Haringey Healthy Weight Strategy to come to its February meeting. (Action: Clerk).
9. The Panel commented that there had been a number of recent news articles about grooming gangs in London, and queried the extent to which this was something that was happening in Haringey. In response, the Corporate Director of Children’s Services stated that it was difficult to say definitively either yes or no. However, the service was not seeing any of the patterns or indicators it would expect to see for children being at risk in this way. It was commented that it was a police activity to find young people and spot those who may be at risk of being exploited through grooming gangs. Officers advised that there was a partnership level missing panel that was convened weekly, to share information and develop a partnership response to any instances of missing children.
10. The Panel questioned what was being done to reduce waiting times for children to receive an assessment for ADHD or autism. In response, officers advised that work was underway locally to reduce the large number of pathways and to bring providers together. A provider’s collaborative had been established to bring providers together to look at how services could be delivered in a more streamlined way and how assessments wait times could be reduced. Officers commented that one of the key outputs was assuring that when a child had waited for an assessment, that assessment was the correct one and that the family weren’t made to start that process from the beginning. Officers advised that there was also a robust waiting well offer for families that had been produced in conjunction with SEND Power. The service’s management also scrutinised the data with health providers on a monthly basis. 

RESOLVED

That the HSCB Annual Report was noted.