Agenda item

The People and Communities Directorate would like to set out for the Panel the work of the Local Safeguarding Children Board during 2017-18 and the completed Business Plan for 2015-18 along with new priorities to be actioned in the new Strategic Plan for 2018-21.

Robert Lake, LSCB and LSAB Independent Chair introduced this item to the Panel. He said that credit for the production of the report should go to Dami Howard and Lesley Hutchinson.

He stated that the main purpose of the Board was to ensure that partner agencies work together and it was his role to oversee this on behalf of the Board.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked what the implications of the LSCB being abolished are.  She asked for assurances about funding as the phrase ‘hopefully more proportionate contributions from the two additional statutory partners’ (para 3.2) doesn’t sound terribly reassuring. She asked how negotiations with these partners were going. 

Robert Lake replied that the guidance on Working Together had only been published last week. He added that discussions were ongoing with partners in relation to both future arrangements to replace the existing LSCB and funding.

The Director of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance added that Officers recognise the need to maintain local oversight and also understood that some agencies / partners may need to attend multiple Boards. She said that a plan for the new arrangements must be submitted within 12 months and that a further 3 months will be given to allow these arrangements to be implemented.

Robert Lake stated that the role of the Board will remain while the new arrangements are developed.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if a shared electronic management system for Early Help would make a difference.

Robert Lake replied that he was not sure that there was an easy solution, but he would take the comment to the Early Help Board.

Councillor Matt Cochrane asked about the increase in LADO referrals and whether we should we be surprised by this.  He asked is there the capacity to respond to these increases or does the Panel need to recommend more resources to deal with this. 

The Safeguarding Children & Adults Boards Business Support Manager replied that there had been an increase and this was due to historical football abuse allegations which had led to raised awareness locally.

They also said that the increase is a national trend alongside a rise in the complexity of cases. Already in 2018-19 the numbers are not showing such an increase. She added that locally additional capacity had been added to the LADO function. 

The Chair commented on the success of Connecting Families within B&NES and asked if the work would be able to continue after 2020.

Councillor Paul May replied that there has been no indication from the Government as to whether the initiative will continue. He added that B&NES should be very proud of its work as it had been recently benchmarked as 6th in England out of 152 Local Authorities and the best performing authority in the South West.

He said that the passion from the staff involved is stunning and that their interventions really are key.

The Director of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance added that the model has been led by staff within the Council and also include our partner agencies.

The Chair asked is there the capacity to work with more families. 

The Director of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance replied that she believed there was as and when they are identified however this needed to be clarified.

Councillor Liz Hardman, on behalf of the Panel called for Councillor May to address the Cabinet on this matter and to correspond with the Government to seek that the initiative should continue.

She stated that it was good to hear about the work that has been done relating to Youth Connect and asked if there were any assurances about the future of the service that could be given.

Councillor Paul May replied that the potential was exciting and that he would address the matter in more detail within his Cabinet Member Update.

The Chair asked for any additional comments regarding the outcomes for Looked After Children.

The Director of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance replied that the Director for Children & Young People was clear on the work required.

The Chair asked for the Panel to be updated on this issue in six months’ time.

The Director of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance agreed.

Councillor Liz Hardman said that the statistics about young people’s mental health are alarming.  She asked if more preventative work can be done and what are we doing in schools.

The Director of Education Transformation replied that mental health work is carried out in all schools. She said that from the autumn term there will be a significant amount of information available on the website. She added that the outcomes of the SHEU survey affect what information is provided to schools. She said that the current level of support was as much as could be provided in the context of the current resources.

The Safeguarding Children & Adults Boards Business Support Manager added that the Section 175 Education Audit goes to every school and that questions relating to mental health have been added following feedback from the Youth Forum. She added that nine schools were visited following the Audit and that lessons in PSHE had now been reintroduced to all schools. She said that she felt that schools were aware of their role regarding mental health, including self-harm and suicide awareness.

Kevin Burnett asked how many referrals for Early Help had been made over the past year and how many of those referrals were allocated help.

The Director of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance replied that she would find out this information for the Panel.

Kevin Burnett commented that the primary concern for Head Teachers is the welfare of their pupils as if they are not happy or safe they will not learn as well.

Councillor Paul May said that he is assured through the work of the LSCB and said that the Health & Wellbeing Board has acknowledged the need to look into the subjects of mental health and SEND further.

Robert Lake stated that the work carried out by the Board’s Sub-Committees was so important and that he was confident of the mechanisms they have in place throughout the Board.

Councillor Peter Turner asked how involved are the parents in any of the work mentioned.

Robert Lake replied that ‘Think Family’ is key throughout all work of both Boards.

Councillor Liz Hardman asked how the role of the Independent Chair will be affected by the proposed changes.

Robert Lake said that he will continue in his role as long as he is required to and will produce an Annual Report containing information from this point going forward until the Board ends. He added that some form of independent scrutiny is recommended even if there no longer is an actual Board.

The Chair asked for the Panel to be updated as and when any proposals regarding the LSCB are made.

The Director of Safeguarding & Quality Assurance agreed.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the Annual Report, Executive Summary, completed 2015-18 Business Plan and the new Strategic Plan on a Page for 2018-21.