Agenda and minutes
Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday, 17th July, 2019 10.00 am
Venue: Council Antechamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension
Contact: Rachel McKeon
Media
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To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2019. Additional documents: Minutes: Decision
To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 19 June 2019.
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Update on the Youth Justice Service PDF 228 KB Report of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services)
This report focuses on the work and progress that has been made against the action plan arising from the HMIP Inspection of Manchester’s Youth Justice Service undertaken in November 2018.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services which focused on the work and progress that had been made against the action plan arising from the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) Inspection of Manchester’s Youth Justice Service undertaken in November 2018.
Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
The Head of Youth Justice informed Members that there were three Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) workers embedded in the Youth Justice Service who worked alongside the Case Managers and all cases where a child had or was suspected to have mental health issues were referred to them. She reported that more children were now entering the Youth Justice system with an EHCP already in place and that she could provide the figures on this after the meeting.
The Head of Youth Justice reported that, after a small number of staff had attended Unconscious Bias training and provided positive feedback on it, it had been agreed to roll this out to all Case Managers; however, she agreed that it should be rolled out to all staff. The Deputy Leader advised Members that he would raise the issue of addressing unconscious bias with GMP. He informed Members that conversations were taking place with the Department of Justice on devolution of some areas of the justice system and he suggested that the Committee could look at this and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)’s role in relation to Youth Justice in a future report.
Decisions
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Raising Standards of Practice in Children's Social Care PDF 239 KB Report of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services)
This report provides an overview of the work undertaken in regards to raising standards of practice in Children’s Social Care. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services which provided an overview of the work undertaken in regards to raising standards of practice in Children’s Social Care.
Officers referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
The Strategic Lead for Safeguarding and Practice Improvement reported that about 50% of the people who had undertaken the Step Up to Social Work course in Manchester stayed on as social workers for Manchester City Council and there was a range of reasons why the others did not, including that they returned to their home towns and pursued their social work careers there. The Strategic Director of Children and Education Services reported that the Council was now in a reasonably strong position in terms of the stability of its social work workforce. He advised Members that, while some turnover was natural, it was important to keep people in the profession as experience was critical.
The Executive Member for Children and Schools advised Members that, although social prescribing was primarily related to adult health services, there were similarities with the approach being taken to delivering children’s services in a locality, which involved working with health and other partners and looking holistically at a family’s circumstances.
The Strategic Director of Children and Education Services reported that information on caseloads was included in the proxy indicator reports which were submitted to the Committee on a quarterly basis. He informed Members that social work staff in their first year of practice were allocated approximately 15 children and that qualified social workers had an average caseload of approximately 17.3. He outlined how caseloads levels and the timeliness of allocation and assessment were monitored by senior managers within Children’s Services, while emphasising that the service was now focusing on quality of practice, not just on compliance. The Strategic Lead for Safeguarding and Practice Improvement advised Members that the complexity of cases, not just the number allocated to each social worker, was important.
Decision
To note that the Committee will continue to monitor the issues discussed through future reports.
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Delivering Children's Services in a Locality PDF 206 KB Presentation of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services)
This presentation provides an overview of delivering Children’s Services through a locality approach.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a presentation of the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services which provided an overview of the delivery of Children’s Services through a locality approach.
Officers referred to the main points and themes within the presentation which included:
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
The Strategic Director of Children and Education Services informed Members about the role health services, such as midwifery, could play in enabling the identification of issues and intervention at the earliest stage. He cited a current initiative relating to pregnant women who had had a number of children removed from their care in the past, identifying at the earliest stage that there was a potential risk of this happening again and starting to work with the mother as early as possible to reduce the risk of the new baby needing to be taken into care.
The Executive Member for Children and Schools emphasised that boundaries were porous, as families could live in one area while accessing services across boundary lines, and what was important was that families received the right support for them in the most appropriate place, which could be through a school or a GP’s surgery.
The Strategic Director of Children and Education Services reported that all Elected Members would be briefed on the new ICT system. He informed Members that information was being migrated to the new system and that from 22 July 2019 the new system would be live.
The Executive Member for Children and Schools reported that, following a session for all Elected Members on corporate parenting and Regulation 44 visitors, some Members had requested a session on wider children’s services issues. He suggested that, when the presentation slides were shared with all Elected Members, information on this session could also be included.
Decision
To request that the presentation slides be shared with all Elected Members, along with a covering note explaining the context, and that information ... view the full minutes text for item 29. |
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Delivering the Our Manchester Strategy PDF 204 KB Report of the Executive Member for Children and Schools
This report provides an overview of work undertaken and progress towards the delivery of the Council’s priorities as set out in the Our Manchester Strategy for those areas within the portfolio of the Executive Member for Children and Schools.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a report of the Executive Member for Children and Schools which provided an overview of work undertaken and progress towards the delivery of the Council’s priorities as set out in the Our Manchester Strategy for those areas within his portfolio.
The main points and themes within the report included:
Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:
The Chair reported that he had discussed the transition from children’s to adult health services, particularly in relation to mental health services, with the Chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee, which was planning to scrutinise this area. The Executive Member for Children and Schools acknowledged that young people aged 18 and over could still be vulnerable, for example, if they had health issues or were at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation and emphasised the importance of working with partner organisations and adult social services to address these issues. He informed Members that the Council already had practices in place so that care-experienced young people were not classed as intentionally homeless and denied support; however, he reported that the motion was important in establishing this as an explicit Council policy.
Decision
To thank the Executive Member for Children and Schools for his report. |
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Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit
This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree. Additional documents: Minutes: A report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit was submitted. The overview report contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve.
The Chair commented on the motion which had been agreed at the Full Council meeting on 10 July 2019, declaring a Climate Emergency, and informed Members that he would be discussing with officers in Children’s Services how they would take this forward.
Decision
To note the report and agree the work programme. |