Issue - meetings

Challenges and Opportunities - Improving Outcomes for Children in Cheshire East

Meeting: 18/01/2010 - Children and Families Scrutiny Committee (Item 63)

63 Redesign of Children's Services pdf icon PDF 85 KB

To consider a report of the Strategic Director People.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report on the current position with the redesign of Children’s Services.  A Programme Manager had been appointed for a 12 month period to lead the introduction of a new model for Children’s Services.  The new model would be based on multi-agency working targeted at addressing needs earlier in children’s lives as this was the most effective way by which the risks of poor outcomes to children and young people could be reduced.

 

The main features of the new ways of working were:

 

*      Multi-agency teams co-ordinated around the needs of the child, family and community;

*      Services that were well-co-ordinated and reduced need for parents/carers to complete a number of assessments required by a number of separate agencies and processes;

*      Effective signposting to the most appropriate services sooner;

*      Good information sharing between services and agencies to prevent service duplication and the poor use of resources.

 

Locality Teams comprising partners from the Children’s Trust would be formed to provide access to targeted support appropriate to the local needs presented.  Services would be commissioned on a multi-agency basis appropriate to the needs of the locality and informed by a good needs assessment/evidence base.  Services would be co-located where appropriate and possible.  

 

Members discussed the report and the following points were raised:

 

*      It was important to ensure there was capacity within Cheshire East to manage all Cheshire East children and reduce the need for any child/young person to be cared for out of the area;  the Locality Teams would be established based on the specific needs of the area;

*      How good was data and information sharing between partners?  In response, the Committee was advised that data sharing was improving and a protocol was being developed around this issue.   The provision of an observatory system, along similar lines to the Police and Fire services, was being addressed through the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Steering Group, chaired by the Strategic Director People.  The Contact Point system was also in place and awaiting training and licensing approvals; this would be monitored through the Children’s Services Business Plan;

*      Monitoring of out of area/specialist placements, which were expensive, was done by statutory review and if needs were not being met this would be addressed;

*      It was important to focus on training and vocational needs not just academic achievement.  The Committee was advised that from 1 April 2010, the Council would be responsible for post 16 funding and must engage with the business community as part of this new responsibility;

*      In relation to the timescale for the redesign, Members were advised that budget efficiencies had been identified over a 3 year period;

*      This Committee would receive regular progress updates and the possibility of receiving the minutes of the Children’s Trust would be investigated.

 

RESOLVED:  that the progress report on the redesign be noted.