Agenda item

Purpose: This report is to share the feedback, findings and recommendation from a recent LGA Peer Review in Children’s Services.

Sonia Harris, Service Manager, presented the report on the LGA Review of Children’s Social Care (Agenda Item 6).

The following points were raised in the debate:

·       Members welcomed the many positives highlighted in the LGA review.

·       It was noted that the review had identified limited evidence of reflective supervision. Officers explained that all social workers had 1-2-1 supervision, with space provided for reflection. There was limited time for reflection on group case supervision due to the number of children, but meetings were being made more structured to ensure it was included.

·       Members asked about areas for improvement identified in the review around early intervention and closer working/communication with partners. Officers confirmed that they were looking at how to involve schools and health colleagues in group case supervision.

·       Concern was expressed around practitioner workload. It was acknowledged that while caseloads varied, there was a trend of increasing complexity. Caseloads were constantly reviewed, less experienced staff were being trained to take on more complex cases, and additional staff were employed to meet demand as necessary.

·       Officers confirmed that the number of agency staff had reduced over time and accounted for just 15% of social workers employed by the Council.

·       Members asked about children not in education. Officers indicated that where they were known, social workers would seek to get children back into education and socialising. It was acknowledged that there were children who had been impacted by Covid who had missed early years education, but agencies were working together to address this. Anyone aware of a child that was missing school was encouraged to report this. The Council was in the process of developing an attendance strategy, which would go out to consultation in September. It was noted that the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill would facilitate monitoring of children not in school.

Action: CYP Scrutiny Committee to be consulted on the draft Attendance Strategy.

·       It was confirmed that for the Peer Challenge, the reviewers selected which cases to review.

·       Members asked about the Children in Need Pilot. It was explained that alternatively qualified practitioners were supervised by social workers/ managers. The aim was to provide intensive early support to prevent future statutory intervention. Results were positive and an example was provided.

·       Officers were asked about the involvement of fathers. It was confirmed that social workers always tried to involve fathers as early as possible. Again, an example was provided.

·       It was noted that feedback was always sought from children and families about what had gone well and how things could be done differently. As a result of feedback received, changes had been made to how family time sessions were run, and these changes had been well-received.

·       Members asked if any students had managed to get degrees through the i-College.

Action: Officers to confirm qualifications gained by i-College students.

·       It was suggested that the most challenging actions in response to the LGA review would be around recruitment and retention of staff. It was difficult work and managers needed to listen to and support their teams.

·       Officers were asked if senior staff were allocated casework. It was confirmed that the role of managers was to support staff, and they did not generally take on cases themselves, since this would reduce their capacity to provide that support. The exception was adoption work, since staff needed to have a certain level of experience.

·       Members acknowledged the fostering campaign that had been run locally and asked if a similar campaign could be run in relation to recruitment of social workers. It was explained that the Council had been successful in recruiting and retaining social workers and reducing reliance on agency staff. Thanks were expressed to the Council’s HR service and the Social Work Academy.

RESOLVED to note the report.