Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Town Hall - Maidenhead

Contact: David Cook 

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received by Councillors Nicola Pryer and Lynne Jones and Alison Alexander.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 217 KB

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

Councillor Simon Dudley declared a non pecuniary interest in item 5 as he is the Founder and Chair of Governors at Holyport College and his wife is a Founder and a Governor at Holyport College and he is the Chair of Governors at Riverside Primary School. This was not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest therefore he stayed and considered the item.

 

Councillor Edward Wilson declared a personal interest in item 5 as his son attends Holyport College.

3.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 77 KB

To consider the Part I minutes of the last meeting.

Minutes:

The Part I minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2017 were approved as a true and correct record after the following amendment:

 

ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN

Resolved unanimously: that Cllr Quick be appointed as Chairman and Cllr Bowden be appointed as Vice-Chairman.

 

This need to be changed to:

Resolved unanimously: that Cllr Quick be appointed as Chairman for the municipal year and Cllr Bowden be appointed as Vice-Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

 

The Panel then voted for the Vice Chairman position. Councillor E Wilson put forward nomination for Councillor Marion Mills and this was seconded by Councillor Luxton.

 

Resolved unanimously: that Cllr Mills be appointed as Vice-Chairman for the rest of the municipal year.

 

4.

COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS ANNUAL REPORT pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To consider the Annual Report.

Minutes:

Jacqui Hurd  presented the Compliments and Complaints Report to the Panel.

 

Points that were highlighted included:

 

·         The report covered the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.

·         Reports on compliments and complaints made by or on behalf of customers that are investigated under the Statutory Children’s Complaints Policy.

·         It is a statutory requirement to produce an annual report for the Children’s Statutory Complaints Policy and this would be published as a combined report with the Adults Statutory Complaints Policy.

·         A total of 802 complaints were received, 58 in Children’s Services.

·         The Complaints and Children’s team worked very hard with families they are directly working with.

·         The statutory Children’s Services complaints process changed in September 2006 following new regulations and guidance, ‘Getting the Best from Complaints’. The guidance emphasises that “vulnerable children and young people must get the help they need, when they need it, however large or small their complaint”.  The scope of what could be complained about was also expanded and prospective adopters and foster carers are included as ‘qualifying individuals’ who could complain under the social care process.

·         Understanding why complaints were made, establishing root causes, changing processes and delivering training as a result was essential.  Listening to customers and reflecting on examples of where we have not got it right could reveal or highlight opportunities for improvement and increase satisfaction. The speed of response was key particularly if the complaint stemed from a timeliness related issue.  Even if a complaint was not upheld there could be some learning from that complaint with improvements arising as a result.  The complaints process and the feedback gained was an integral part of the quality assurance process, which fed into the development and monitoring of services.  Learning from complaints was reviewed by services at team meetings. The points below shows the specific learning in 2016-17. 

Ø  Refresher training for data protection.

Ø  Awareness and impact training on communicating key facts effectively to parents working with Children’s Services.

Ø  Policy change to contact families within three days when new allocation made. 

Ø  Raised awareness on assumptions not made when first meeting young people about what they want to discuss, and to “check-in” directly with the young person to ensure that they are comfortable throughout.

Ø  Maintain continuity of social workers involved in a case as far as possible.

Ø  Improved communications between children, young people, parents and professionals including in a timely way.

Ø  Share reports, information and outcomes of assessments in a timely manner.

Ø  Reminder for full consultation with all significant family members including non-resident fathers when undertaking a child and family assessment.

Ø  Check that outcomes and proposed next steps are understood by families working with the service.

Ø  Training to see things from the user’s perspective for a greater understanding.

Ø  Effective dialogue even when there is dispute including standing firm when necessary and communicating this effectively.

 

·         Whilst the council gets things wrong it does also provide excellent service and our staff often go the extra  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

SEND INSPECTION UPDATE pdf icon PDF 834 KB

Kevin McDaniel, Director of Children's Services, and CCG representative to present the update.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Kevin McDaniel presented the SEND Area Inspection Update to the Panel based on the inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission which took place in July 2017.

 

Kevin McDaniel highlighted that it was the first time that a SEND Area Inspection had been carried out in the borough. The inspection outcome letter identified strengths including that overall young people with additional needs and disabilities attended, achieved and secured post 18 opportunities better than their peers nationally.  Inconsistencies in access to services were identified across the area and many parents reported processes being too difficult and inconsistent when seeking help.  Overall the inspectors believed that the weaknesses were such that the Local Authority had to submit a written statement of action to Ofsted by the 24 November 2017.

 

ACTION: UPDATE ON ACTION PLAN TO PANEL IN BOTH OCTOBER 2017 AND DECEMBER 2017 MEETINGS

 

The following points were raised about the report;

·         This was a very concerning report as some children are being let down.

·         A number of parents had made it clear to inspectors that they felt their child was not getting services they were entitled to. While some parents used influence to get more support that others, some pupils were missing out on the right support.

·         The report identified that some schools were excellent at picking up on additional needs while others put it down to behavioural issues and did not act upon them.

·         This outcome could be attributed to decisions in the past but things were starting to improve now and the Director of Children’s Services would identify any additional resources required for consideration by Cabinet in October 2017.

·         The report was published on the Ofsted website on 1 September 2017.  All state-funded schools were contacted on the first day back at school after the summer holidays for a SEND briefing meeting that was two days later. The attendance to the SEND meeting was 40 schools; only one of which was a secondary school. The panel considered that the attendance was very poor. The secondary schools that did not attended had now all been contacted and there were dates in the diary for meetings to discuss the report and next steps.

·         Members asked if AfC were able to assist to improve our services. It was noted that both Kingston and Richmond had not yet been through the SEND inspection process, however they had excellent experience and the RBWM service would be talking to them.

·         Independent schools were not invited to the meeting.

·         Better communication was required. Having a system where parents and children were not having to repeat the entire case numerous times to different staff. Having continuity for cases.

·         Members asked what other authorities did to promote the local offer. There were many ways of communication including an annual “come and try” event, a paper booklet and better joint communication between partners.

·         The local Parent Forum was disbanded in 2016 because it was ineffective. A new Parent Forum (PACIP) had been developed to build the trust of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

8.

FINANCE REPORT

Minutes:

Although the report had not been included on the Agenda the Chairman agreed to consider it as an urgent item, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

 

Rob Stubbs presented the Finance Report to the Panel.

 

Points raised by the Panel included:

·         The credit facility for Achieving for Children was discussed, the previous bad credit rating that was associated with AfC, had that been included in the risks. Rob Stubbs commented that it would have been considered by all three councils.

·         The credit facility had been offered to AfC and would be paid back in arrears.

·         A diary of points needed to be kept from the beginning for at least six to nine months for Achieving for Children and to consider what they were really good at and report this back to the Panel in six months, at the March meeting.

 

ACTION: To add Achieving for Children to work programme for March 2018 meeting.

 

Councillor Airey commented that it is because schools are not taking up the offer that we have an in-year saving, and I would like all schools to take up the full offer of 3 days' free support in future. Children's services hasn't cut the commitment to provide the service. 

 

 

6.

UPDATE ON ACHIEVING FOR CHILDREN TRANSFER pdf icon PDF 235 KB

To Consider the report.

Minutes:

Hilary Hall presented the Update on Achieving for Children transfer to the Panel. The aim was to update Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Panel on the governance arrangements in place to manage the contract for the delivery of children’s services through Achieving for Children.

 

The important point to note that was highlighted, was that proposals and policy issues in relation to children’s services in the borough would continue to come from the Lead Member, through the Overview and Scrutiny Panel to Cabinet for determination as they do now – with the delivery of the any resulting decision being effected by staff in Achieving for Children.

 

The Panel was happy to hear that they would still have the power to scrutinise and agreed unanimously that a report be presented to the Panel again in six months.

7.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

To consider passing the following resolution:-

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the

public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion

takes place on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of

exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1- 7 of part I of Schedule

12A of the Act"

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

8.

MINUTES

To approve the minutes of the last meeting.