Agenda item

Ofsted Action Plan

This report attaches the plan that was recently submitted to both Ofsted and the DfE, and outlines the steps being undertaken to ensure that all recommendations are being actively addressed. 

Minutes:

The Chair asked if consideration had been given to having a member of the Panel on the Development Board to oversee the Development Plan.

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that he felt it would be more appropriate to bring updates to the Panel as the plan is progressed.

 

Councillor Liz Hardman asked is there any way the Council could ensure the fixed-term exclusion of a Looked After Child would trigger an immediate response, before the fixed-term exclusion takes place. She acknowledged that this might be seen as interfering in what happens in schools, but asked is there a role for the Virtual School Head here.

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that the Council could look to strengthen the role of the Virtual Head and improve the role of the Behaviour & Attendance Panel.

 

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if there is money to support improving the quality of pathway plans through Back to Basics workshops and will these happen in December as planned.

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that there is no additional funding for this work as the department see it as business as usual. He added that the training will be delivered in bitesize form by Principal Social Workers and Frontline Managers at lunchtimes and within team meetings.

 

Chris Batten asked if the restructuring of the duty team had taken place. 

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that it did take place in the middle of September and seeks to respond to the challenges raised within the Ofsted inspection.

 

Councillor Sally Davis asked if aside from improving the liaison with Language Schools, are there any other ways of ensuring we know of private fostering arrangements – do we ask schools, nurseries, GP surgeries etc. for this information.

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that the Council was quite reliant on self-reporting on this matter. He said that leaflets and posters have been distributed to GP surgeries and that following the appointment of a Private Fostering Lead Social Worker these were refreshed and redistributed.

 

Councillor Matt Cochrane asked when the exemption from Council Tax for Care Leavers will be implemented.

 

The Strategic Director for People & Communities replied that the Council motion on this subject will be responded to as part of the 2018 budget process.

 

The Chair asked how often the Divisional Director’s Caseload Challenge takes place.

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that it is carried out on a quarterly basis and that the number of cases of teams and individual social workers are assessed to allow for a better flow and to avoid bottlenecks.

 

The Chair asked if there were any social worker vacancies currently.

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that they were currently advertising for some permanent positions and therefore filling the vacancies temporarily with agency social workers. He added that turnover rate for social workers within B&NES were low.

 

The Chair asked what the Council would do if there were to be a sudden flood of cases.

 

The Divisional Director for Safeguarding & Social Care replied that staff would need to hired to deal with the situation appropriately.

 

The Panel RESOLVED to note the content of the Development Plan and the progress made in respect of addressing the Ofsted recommendations.

Supporting documents: