Decision details

The report seeks approval to appoint additional Senior Family Workers (G6) and Family Workers (G5) in the Family Connect service on fixed term contracts to provide cover for staff who are away from the service undertaking social work apprenticeships or on maternity leave.
The need to backfill for these posts results from the current levels of demand within the service, which are impacting upon the quality of support provided to children and families.
Early Help teams have recently moved to a new district operating model which will support development of a multi-agency early help offer, which will improve delivery of earliest possible help to children and families. Over time, this new model is planned to reduce the numbers whose needs escalate to require support from children’s social care or targeted early help. However, the new model will not be successful unless teams have the capacity at this early stage to deliver sufficient intensity of targeted early help support to families, and to develop the district partnership offer.

RESOLVED - That additional Senior Family Workers (G6) and Family Workers (G5) be appointed in the Family Connect service on fixed term contracts to provide cover for staff who are away from the service undertaking social work apprenticeships or on maternity leave as follows:
Backfill for staff on social work apprenticeships
•1 FTE Senior Family Worker (G6) to April 2023;
•1 FTE Family Worker (G5) to April 2023;
•1 FTE Family Worker (G5) to April 2022.
Backfill for maternity leave
•0.5 FTE Senior Family Worker (G6) for 12 months from July 2021;
•1 FTE Family Worker (G5) for 12 months from August 2021

Option 1 Do not create this additional temporary capacity
Option 2 create the additional temporary capacity by backfilling these posts

Option 1 is recommended. Without backfilling for workers who are absent from the service, the impact on caseloads in teams will prevent children and families receiving the necessary quality of support and impact staff wellbeing. It would also pose a risk to the aim of the district operating model for early help to reduce the numbers of children and families whose needs escalate to a point that they require a referral to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub.

There has been consultation through Children and Young People's Directorate Management Team