Agenda item

Report to follow.

The Board received a report presenting an update in respect of improvements to Oldham’s children’s services.  The Council had been aware of challenges within Children Services and a Structural Investment Plan and Transformation Programme for Children’s Services to be delivered throughout 2019-20 had been developed, along with a new operating model for Children’s Services and the allocation of £12m additional funding allocated to support the transformation journey.

Children’s Services had been inspected by OFSTED between 21^st January and 1^st February 2019 with a judgement of “Requires Improvement to be Good” being delivered along with six recommendations of improvement activity which must be undertaken.  The areas identified as requiring improvement comprised –

·           the quality of assessments to effectively analyse risks and parents’ capacity to meet children’s needs;

·           effective assessments of the needs of disabled children that lead to well-coordinated planning to meet their needs;

·           the quality of evidence gathering during child protection investigations; 

·           the timeliness and effectiveness of pathway plans that lead to provision of effective support into independence;

·           the internal audit of practice to provide effective analysis of the impact on children; and

·           management oversight and practice leadership at all levels in the organisation to ensure that consistent, and good quality social work practice is in place.

OFSTED had acknowledged the transformation of services in the judgment and the intended effects that the transformation activity would have on children in Oldham over the coming three years.  The Council had been required to prepare and submit an Improvement Plan by 11^th June 29019 to detail the actions that would address the recommendations.  The Improvement Plan, attached as an appendix to the submitted report, had been submitted as required and would remain as ‘draft’ pending confirmation from OFSTED that they considered the Plan to be fit for purpose.  Arrangements for monitoring of the Plan by the Cabinet Member and by the Children’s Change Board were advised within the report.

In response to a query, the Director advised further on governance arrangements, particularly relating to Task and Finish Groups established for major projects such as the social workers’ accommodation move and the  implementation of ‘Signs of Safety’ as the social worker model and which reported to the Getting to Good Board.  The issues raised in the Improvement Plan had not been subject to peer review, having been developed solely to respond to the OFSTED judgement.  The Council had the wider Transformation Plan that OFSTED had described as a good, well sequenced plan.  Members commented on the importance of seeing the whole picture, and that it might be timely to receive an overarching update on the Transformation Plan and see where the Implementation Plan fitted in to this wider picture.

The Board revisited the provision of safeguarding training for elected Members, in particular referencing a session proposed for 4^th September 2019.  The Director confirmed that the nature and content of the session would be different from previous years as a result of the new arrangements and there would be opportunity to develop and provide further training.

RESOLVED that (1) the progress of Children’s Services against the issues identified in the OFSTED judgement of 4^th March 2019, including the development of an Improvement Plan to address those issues, be noted;

            (2) an update report on progress of the Children’s Services Transformation Plan and the Improvement Plan be submitted to the meeting of the Board to be held on 10^th September 2019.