Meeting documents

1 THE ISSUE

1.1 Services for Children and Young People in Bath and North East Somerset Council were evaluated and judged by Ofsted as part of the Annual Performance Assessment in June 2008.

2 RECOMMENDATION

2.1 The Annual Performance Assessment recognises that Bath and North East Somerset Council consistently delivers good services for Children and Young People across all five of the Change for Children outcomes and has good capacity to improve.

2.2 The Joint Area Review Action Plan is the main mechanism for addressing the weaknesses and areas for development identified in the APA

3 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

3.1 The majority of 9 areas for development can be addressed without the need for additional resources. Where relevant (e.g. reducing delays in provision of wheelchairs) additional resources have been identified within existing budgets.

4 CORPORATE PRIORITIES

5 THE REPORT

5.1 Annual Performance Assessment of Children's Services took place in June 2008. The review was conducted by an Inspector from Ofsted. The review was undertaken according to the requirements of Section 138 of the Education and Inspection Act 2006

5.2 The review took place in two stages consisting of a self review by Children's Service and a desktop review of evidence provided by the JAR (2008) and other inspectorates and relevant bodies

5.3 The report assesses the contribution of local services in ensuring that all Children and Young People are healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; make a positive contribution; and achieve economic well being

5.4 The main findings of the APA were:-

5.5 The report also identified a number of weaknesses and areas for development. These recommendations, together with actions to address them will be monitored by Children's Service. The majority of the recommendations are drawn from the JAR and therefore they will also be monitored as part of the JAR Action Plan

6 RISK MANAGEMENT

6.1 The report author and Lead Cabinet member have fully reviewed the risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations, in compliance with the Council's decision making risk management guidance.

7 EQUALITIES

7.1 Proportionate equalities impact assessment has been carried out using corporate guidelines

8 RATIONALE

8.1 It is a statutory duty to provide a JAR Action Plan. Given the APA was a `desktop' review following so quickly after the JAR and drawing heavily on evidence from the JAR the most appropriate method of tracking progress in terms of identified areas from Children's Service is the JAR Action Plan

9 OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED

9.1 Providing a separate Action Plan

10 CONSULTATION

10.1 Cabinet members; Overview & Scrutiny Panel; Staff; Stakeholders/Partners; Section 151 Finance Officer; Chief Executive; Monitoring Officer

11 ISSUES TO CONSIDER IN REACHING THE DECISION

11.1 Social Inclusion; Customer Focus; Sustainability; Human Resources; Property; Young People; Human Rights; Corporate; Health & Safety; Impact on Staff; Other Legal Considerations

12 ADVICE SOUGHT

12.1 The Council's Monitoring Officer (Council Solicitor) and Section 151 Officer (Strategic Director - Support Services) have had the opportunity to input to this report and have cleared it for publication.