Agenda item

Question Time with the Cabinet Member for Children Young People Learning, Councillor Alisa Flemming.

The Cabinet Member gave a presentation on aspects of her portfolio which included the following:

• The priority and vision was for young people to feel safe
• Focus on the improvement journey which was on an increasing level of pace
• Change in leadership following the permanent recruitment of senior staff.
• Improvement in Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in supervision
• Implementation of the Early Help and Gateway Strategy
• Completion of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Strategy with final papers to be presented to Cabinet
• Increased representation of the voice of child through the work of the Young Mayor and the Child in Care Council
• Ongoing challenges remained in the recruitment and retention of staff and the rising number of children in care proceedings.

In response to a Member challenge on the evidence of occurrence of actions as directed by the Line of Sight document, officers stated that actions were being carried out as directed and that a schedule of the activities carried out was being produced. The Chair requested that this information be circulated to the Sub-Committee after the meeting. Additionally the Chair asked for the monthly performance data that was gathered and reviewed by the Improvement Board be shared with the Sub-Committee.

A Member commented on the lack of progress made on recruitment and retention of staff and queried what further work was being done to address the challenges. Officers responded that this was a complex issue with high vacancy rates experienced in a competitive market. Human Resources (HR) was working to produce an attractive remuneration and welcome package. Additionally there had been a reduction in caseloads across the service and which would also help to attract staff. Strong leadership and guidance was important and there had been an emphasis on improving supervision due to ongoing inconsistencies of practice.

The conversion rate of locums was compared to other local authorities and when improvements would be seen was questioned. Officers replied that locum numbers in Croydon were high but that was to be expected given the Ofsted rating, the rate was currently 30% and improvement of 20% by 2020 was possible.

A Member challenged the likelihood of achieving a 20% conversion rate and highlighted that previous directors had attended scrutiny over a number of years giving reassurance that improvements would be made. Due to past experience the Sub-Committee was not reassured of the likelihood of the realisation of this promise and requested data which proved this task was possible. The Executive Director of Children Families and Education advised that an action plan on recruitment and retention of staff had been produced and was confident that 20% was achievable in 12 months.

The Chair said that it should be noted that good and outstanding local authorities also had high numbers of agency staff and this was not just specific to Croydon. What was important was whether there were safeguards in place to ensure that we had good quality locum staff. Officers responded that the quality of the locum’s in Croydon was good and that the plan was to encourage them to convert. While this was possible by ensuring a good offer was made, a careful balance must be struck to ensure minimal conflict between locum and permanent staff as a result of the conversion package.

A staff workforce representative informed the committee that retention of staff was not just about the financial reward but about changing people’s perception of Croydon. Croydon had developed a reputation that it lacked vision and was not a good place to work but this was changing. The message being spread by social workers at network events was that Croydon was changing, and was a good place to start, progress and develop careers.

Officers also informed the Sub-Committee that the agencies that managed locum contracts had been providing feedback that Croydon’s reputation was improving. Assisted Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)’s had also reported that they felt confident in recommending Croydon as a place to start their careers due to the level of support received.

A Member referenced the three additional teams that had been brought into assist with the management of caseloads. Officers responded that they were commissioned as whole teams on an agreed time scale with the possibility of an extension as necessary. While they had been brought in on a short term basis to reduce the caseload in assessments, they were being kept on to assist with cases in other teams.

It was challenged that there was an implication that caseloads for remaining staff may increase at the end of the contract of these teams, to which officers responded that they had made a commitment to staff and were confident that this would not happen. Caseloads would remain as they were and the strong Early Help offer in place would help to support this.

A Member highlighted that members of the autism community has voiced concern about the lack of awareness and knowledge of their condition in mainstream schools and stressed the importance of training being a significant action point in the strategy. Officers responded that all feedback from the consultation was taken seriously and officers were committed to ensuring that schools were clear on their expectations in order to produce strong outcomes for young people.

If was further stressed that early years mental health was and should be a priority but additionally the needs of children on the autistic spectrum must be prioritised with consideration given in terms of enhanced provision. Officers replied that a survey for schools was being conducted to gather intelligence on services that were being commissioned to enable gaps in knowledge and expertise to be identified. Resources were being invested in early intervention to ensure an effective partnership between schools and the Council.

The timescale for assessment following referral to the Child Adolescence Mental Health Service was questioned and officers responded that there were different timescales for different parts of the service. It was acknowledged that there were difficulties with response times and the flexibility of the service. Funds were being invested on improvements as the vision was for a preventative service. Ongoing conversations were taking place with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) on how to improve waiting times and outcomes for young people.

It was additionally questioned whether there was strategy being developed for young people in transition, officers responded that there were ongoing developments in this area of the service and it may be useful for the Chair of the Sub-Committee to discuss this further with the Executive Director of Health Wellbeing and Adults.

Representatives from the staff workforce advised that multiagency working was vital and key to delivering successful outcomes for young people and stressed the importance of improved partnerships. They voiced concern that relationships were often challenging which often led to frustration and welcomed any support or influence from Councillors to strengthen these relationships.

A Member asked what officers felt the role of Scrutiny was in terms of strategies and asked if Scrutiny should be informed of emerging strategies in order for pre-decision Scrutiny to take place. The Cabinet Member responded that following the Ofsted judgement, conversations had taken place about Scrutiny holding Children’s Services to account and that it was important for pre-decision scrutiny to take place where appropriate.

The Member further stated that it was vital for professionals as well as the community to be consulted and it was of utmost importance that Scrutiny had sight of forward plans on emerging strategies in order for pre decision scrutiny to take place.

The Cabinet Member and Officers were thanked for their responses to questions.

Information request by the Sub-Committee

·         Line of Sight – Schedule of activities and intelligence gathered to be shared with the sub- committee.

·         Monthly performance data that was presented to the Improvement Board

·         Forward Plan on emerging Strategies

The Sub-Committee Came to the Following Conclusions:

·         The attendance of representatives from the staff workforce at the meeting provided a positive element to discussion.

·         There was concern regarding the pace and progress of improvements in the recruitment and retention of staff.

·         There was lack of evidence of plans being in place to improve the conversion rate of locum staff to permanent roles.

·         It was concerning that emerging strategies were not being shared with the Sub-Committee.

·         It would be beneficial for the Chair to discuss development of a Transition service with relevant officers with the possibility of a future joint meeting with Health and Social Care Scrutiny Sub-Committee to be considered.