Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed the progress report and noted the extensive amount of work carried out by Children’s Services since the inspection took place.

The Strategic Director for Children and Young People, Mr Munday presented the report and summarised the key issues and the critical areas of continued improvement. He briefed the Committee about the work of the Children’s Services Improvement Board towards implementing a culture of change.

Mr Munday briefed the Committee about the first Ofsted Monitoring Visit which focused on front line services, including a review of the MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) and DATS (Duty and Assessment Teams).

The feedback received from inspectors was that the Council could not have done more since the inspection, which was encouraging. Visits to children and young people must be purposeful and appropriate. Furthermore, that it is crucial for staff to understand the underlying issues about quality, performance and that they feel supported.

Mr Munday noted that time management and quality issues continue to be addressed with children being placed at the centre of visits. He noted that following publication of the DfE Commissioner’s report, the Secretary of State will issue statutory direction which must be followed by the Local Authority.

The Committee noted the appointment of the new Chairman for the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, Mr Andrew Fraser former Director of Children’s Services at Enfield.

Following a query from the Committee about making continued improvements, Mr Munday emphasised the importance of making significant improvements in light of the reviewed cases which were inadequate.

Ms Tina McElligott, Assistant Director Family Services provided an update on the Children’s Services recruitment campaign. She noted the importance of ensuring that managers are equipped with the relevant skills to challenge and scrutinise effectively which will contribute to making better assessments. 

Following a comment from the Committee about working together with other departments, the Chief Executive, Mr John Hooton noted that other parts of the Council have been encouraged and are working on improving the work that Children’ Services are doing.  He also confirmed that the Council was working with its partners and that this continued to be a top priority.

The Committee queried the progress made towards quality recruitment. Ms Brigitte Jordaan, Operational Director Corporate Parenting informed the Committee that the Service continues to work in a way which is child focused.

Ms Jordaan explained that the Service must continue to ensure that social workers are confident in their work towards assessing the needs of children and young people. She also noted the importance of effective management in respect of oversight of the process.

In respect of levels of staff, Ms McElligott noted that the last six months had been challenging with progress being made and that much work still needed to be done. This includes supporting staff with training.

In response to a query about children coming into care, Ms Jordaan answered that data was comparable to other local authorities and that there was an increase in the number of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children.

The Committee asked about the approach to prevent children and young people being groomed into criminal and gang related activities. Ms Jordaan informed the Committee about the work of the Reach Team which consists of a dedicated mixed workforce including social workers and therapists. It was noted that the Team works in collaboration with Police and Health partners to disrupt and prevent grooming and other criminal activities as much as possible.

The Committee asked questions about how all members and other committees could be involved.  It was noted that an area of focus must be ensuring that the governance arrangements enabled all councillors to be involved in safeguarding and that there was input of other committees into the work of this committee.

The Chairman thanked Officers and the Committee for their contribution. It was unanimously RESOLVED:

1.    That the Committee noted the finalised Barnet Children's Services Improvement Action Plan as set out in Appendix 1.

2.    That the Committee noted the progress of the Barnet Children's Services Improvement Action Plan as set out in paragraphs 1.8 to 1.70.

3.    That the committee noted and scrutinised as above the performance information provided in paragraph 1.71 to 1.82.

4.    That the Committee noted the Barnet Children’s Safeguarding Board (BSCB) annual report as set out in Appendix 3, and the appointment of Andrew Fraser as the new independent chair.