Agenda and minutes

Councillor Harper welcomed members of the Board and thanked them for their attendance.

APOLOGIES- Jack Newton (Grasvenor Avenue Infant School), John Morton (CCG), Janet Matthewson (Community Barnet), Jenny Gridley (Oakleigh Special School).

The minutes of the Board held on 6 December 2012 were agreed as a correct record of the meeting.

The Board considered the final draft of the new Children and Young People Plan (CYPP) and an overview was given by Kate Kennally. Emphasis was placed on the fact that this is a partnership plan that should be a true reflection of the partnership. The structure of the plan is based around the child’s journey and identifies clear priorities and objectives with performance indicators, which should capture all issues pertinent to the work of this board.

The board explored the issue of youth violence; and was informed of some worrying news in relation to this matter. It was considered whether violence amongst youths was sufficiently captured in this plan. The board’s attention was drawn to the title headings in the plan of ‘Early Intervention and Prevention and Keeping Children’ and ‘Young People Safe’. In regards to Keeping Children and Young People Safe the priority of ‘Addressing unhealthy relationships based on exploitation and build aspirations for the future’ was highlighted and it was believed that this could be utilised to address concerns about ‘gang’ activity and youth violence. The board also heard from Steven Clarke, who was in agreement that the issue of violence amongst youths should be tackled within the plan. He also drew the board’s attention to concerns around gang activity and the efforts which has been involved in dealing with this issue. It was agreed that a multi-agency effort is vital to deal with this issue effectively.

Tim Beach informed the board of the work which had to be done in Barnet through the Barnet Safeguarding Children Board with regard to Child Sexual Exploitation. The board were told of some of the work which had already been undertaken in relation to this matter for example the cross borough conference which was held in partnership with the London Borough of Enfield on Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking. It was agreed that the plan effectively sets out the issues and provides a mechanism for matters to be discussed. It was suggested that a performance measure should be added to the plan, relating specifically to this issue.

In relation to ‘gang issues’ and violence amongst young people, it was noted that the results of these activities could be seen by front line health providers and a question was raised about the dialogue between the police, schools and health. Steven Clarke explained that there are school officers from the Police who also sit on the Multi-Agency Groups (MAG), who are based in schools. This post is a permanent one which enables good contact and dialogue in schools.

Claire Stephens raised the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), she informed the board anecdotally, that numbers were rising, and questioned whether this should be reflected in the CYPP. She also drew attention to the fact most markers of FGM are hidden and can be best identified in schools. Andrew Howe suggested that School Nursing could be involved here.

Tim Beach stressed the importance of sharing information. Claire Stephens pointed out that signs were easily missed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The good work which has been put into the implementation of suggestions made in the Munro report as well as Barnet being a Munro demonstrator site was recognised.

The board was particularly interested with the work in relation to the Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and Jay Mercer presented information in relation to this. It was emphasised that this was an important project which was key to establishing pathways to triage e.g. Social care, schools and GPs etc.

Jay Mercer then took the board through the work in relation to MASH and a background paper was provided:

Phase 1:          Drawing key elements together

Phase 2:          A MASH manager is to be appointed. Issues in relation to data protection have now been resolved, using the existing Social Care and Early Intervention systems.

Jay Mercer notified the board of a physical barrier which had arisen in relation to the building in which the police services and communication to be provided by BT would be placed.

Kate Kennally informed the board that she would be meeting with the Department of Education (DfE), in the coming weeks, who are very interested in progress in Munro and Social Work Practice (SWP). Furthermore the board expressed support for the extension of the SWP and identified an example of the work which they have done which has included cookery classes which have made a big difference.

The board discussed their thoughts on modernising and developing Social Care and questioned whether there has been evidence of good outcomes. The board were in agreement that there was evidence of good outcomes and identified ongoing work with the courts in regard to timeliness. There was also recognition of the focus on Neglect as being at the heart of demonstrator work.

The troubled families’ initiative will continue up until 2015, and the board considered what would be done after. It was agreed that work in this area would continue and Barnet would be working towards building a picture of characteristics of the most vulnerable families in the borough.

Councillor Harper introduced discussions and highlighted that the key points to be noted, included: (i) the implications of taking on this new responsibility and (ii) how provision of these services will be funded. There had been a consultation previously on the matter and members are working to secure a more positive response. It is however, accepted that the council will have to work quickly to manage these new duties.

Jay Mercer presented information around the implications of changes to legislation as well as funding. It was highlighted that new responsibilities have been given to this Local Authority (LA) and in light of the current climate resources will be stretched in order to fulfil these new obligations. Furthermore the proposed budgets are some what concerning. The best estimate of need for additional resources is at £100,000. These new responsibilities also mean that the number of looked after children will rise. Issues in relation to defence lawyers who represent young people were also discussed. Focus was placed on working with the courts as well as the possibilities of working with other boroughs, to reduce infrastructure costs. Brent and Harrow are possible link boroughs for this work.

Questions were raised in relation to the number of children and young people on Remand in Barnet, in comparison with other boroughs such as Brent and Harrow. It was reported that the number of remands are lower in Barnet in comparison to Brent and Harrow.

Kate Kennally suggested that a copy of the report should be given to the Safer Community Board, as there are wider consequences which should be discussed.

Donna Thornley provided the board with a progress report including the evidence base for the Family Nurse Partnership programme in Barnet. In the past year, over 150 referrals were received and 77 were eligible for the programme.

Outcomes

In the first 12 months there was:

• A 20% reduction in smoking rates
• A 90% increase in breast feeding and 79% at 6 weeks
• No subsequent pregnancies,
• Engagement in education through Children Centres

The FNP were praised for the work which they had done so far and it was again emphasised that close partnership working was of critical importance.

Attention was drawn to the differentiation in health and maternity provisions, and it was highlighted that there was a need for information sharing between both services and Early and Natal services. This was in light of the fact that currently, information came from Early Intervention & Prevention and Social Care.

It was also expressed that it was hard to discuss with schools about these matters e.g. pregnancy amongst young people and similarly it was the same issue with faith schools. Angela Trigg emphasized that such dialogue with schools was important and suggested looking at inviting representation from the FNP to the Secondary Head’s Forum to discuss these issues further.

The board recognised that the FNP was an example of good engagement with young mothers and children and played an important role within Early Intervention and Prevention in Barnet.

Concerns were raised in regards to keeping updated on health information of school leavers, more specifically those going to University as it has been recognised that there is a change in behaviour amongst first year undergraduates. Questions arose as to what could be done to capture this hidden cohort.

It was emphasised that the local strategic plan should be a concise document with an integral action plan. Howard Ford provided the board with an overview of work in relation to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Strategic Action Plan.

The 5 priorities of the plan include:

• Recognising the central importance of school and how to deliver Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) settings in schools.
• Developing emotionally resilient communities
• Recognising vulnerable groups e.g. learning disabilities
• Looked after children support coming in
• The importance of partnership working MASH – CAMHS playing a key role.

The Board were happy to hear that CAMHS services were being delivered within the community and particularly in schools. However, it was felt that there is a need for more of these services in primary schools in order to act preventatively. There is work on-going work in primary schools, however it is very limited.

Councillor Hart stressed that this was very important. These concerns were reinforced by the board, and it was explained that children with mental health issues in years seven & eight tend to experience faster deterioration and often need rapid response.

Authorities have been asked to sign up to the Charter for Care Leavers, which sets out promises care leavers want central and local government to make in order to aid the decision making in respect of them. It has been designed to raise the expectation, aspiration and understanding of what care leavers need and to act as good corporate parents. The board were provided with an overview of the Charter for Care Leavers which was discussed.

The board was is in support of signing up to the Charter for Care Leavers and consequently noted that the charter should be ‘Barnetised’

The Forward Work Programme was circulated amongst board members and agreed. Furthermore the Forward Work Programme is to be reviewed at the next Executive Management Group (EMG) in light of the new CYPP.

The board heard a presentation from Barnet and Southgate College, by David Byrne, one student and her mother. One student unfortunately was unable to attend and David Byrne presented on their behalf. The presentations were extremely interesting and the Board praised the good work of the College, particularly in working with students for whom secondary school is not the best option.

After hearing the presentations, the board discussed how young people could be better informed of the range of education options available to them. David Byrne highlighted that the college mainly reaches young people through social media, word-of-mouth and higher education websites. The idea of a parent brochure was also suggested. David Byrne also informed the board that the option for Direct Involvement and Enrolment was available for September 2013.