Decision details

Bob Stott, Director of Children's Services attended and presented a report on the outcomes of the Ofsted inspection of Children's Services that took place between 14 September and 8 October 2015 and the actions that have been taken in the immediate period following the inadequate inspection judgement.

It was reported that Ofsted published its report on 27^th November 2015 rating the overall effectiveness of the Children's Services as inadequate. The overall judgement was an amalgamated judgement resulting from the following:

·  Children who need help and protection    inadequate

·  Children looked after and achieving permanence    requires improvement

o  Adoption performance    requires improvement

o  Experiences and progress of care leavers    inadequate

·  Leadership, management and governance    inadequate

Ofsted also carried out a review of the effectiveness of the Lancashire Safeguarding Children Board at the same time and the judgement was good.

It was reported that four major factors had led to the judgement:

·  Performance management and data

·  Aspects of social work practice

·  Children in Need (CiN)

·  Care leavers

During the inspection, there were also three child deaths, all CiN cases.

The actions taken since the inspection were outlined.

It was noted that:

·  A Post Inspection Improvement Board (PIIB) had been established in shadow, prior to the appointment of an independent Chair by the Department for Education (DfE). The Board along with the DfE will have oversight of the actions that will be taken to make the improvements required to services following the inspection outcomes. It is intended that the PIIB will report into Cabinet Committee on a regular basis. An improvement plan will be developed with and formally approved by the PIIB and the DfE.

·  An additional £5m investment in children's services has been approved by the Cabinet. This will allow increased staffing levels at the frontline.

·  Improvements to the way the electronic records system is used as an effective tool to provide timely and accurate information.

·  Initial work to address variations in the consistency of social work practice, clarifying practice standards and expectations.

·  Weekly reporting arrangements have been introduced to reinforce monitoring of activity and compliance.

·  Strategic responsibility for the team that looks after children awaiting adoption has been transferred to the adoption service.

·  Improving services for care leavers.

·  Review of the approach to the audit grading system to reflect the Ofsted grading judgement.

It was reported that the operation of children's services was being reviewed by a company called Newton who are Local Government Association accredited. Newton will shadow frontline workers to gain an understanding of how much time is spent with families day-to-day and how cases are managed. They will be reviewing cases to understand how practices, processes, systems and structures can best support and improve end-to-end pathways.

It was noted that management capacity had been increased in the three district areas, North, East and Central Lancashire, with two additional senior managers from County Hall working with the district managers in each of the three districts, to allow increased oversight of social work practice.

Members noted that the report was critical of the management oversight of Children in Need (CiN) and that a review of the current model used was to be undertaken. A review of the current 2,300 CiN cases had begun, to provide assurance that cases are being managed at the correct level, focussing on the highest priority cases. This review using the County Council's own resources and an external social work agency will be complete by the end of March 2016.

The positive findings of the Inspector, were shared with members, including a recognition at all levels that there is a commitment to succeed in delivering the best outcomes for children and young people.

It was agreed that a standard report would be presented to every meeting of the Committee.

Resolved: - That:

(i)  the report now presented and the actions taken following the inspection be received,

(ii)  the Cabinet Committee will receive further reports on the development of actions taken to address the findings of the inspection and to improve Children's Services in Lancashire.

(Following the establishment of the PIIB, regular updates regarding the implementation of the Post Inspection Improvement Plan will be provided to the Cabinet Committee as part of the Corporate Performance Report)