Agenda item

The work of Children’s Services had always been diverse, demand led and challenging. The impact of Covid-19 had increased levels of demand and need that could not have been predicted.  The child population continued to increase as do the levels of poverty being experienced by children and families. Furthermore, the lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost of living pressures had added an additional layer of complexity to the work of Children’s Services. The performance information available to the Service demonstrated that the unprecedented surge in demand began at the end of 2020 and had continued through to the present day. There were currently no indicators to suggest a return to pre pandemic demand levels.

Given the complex demand challenges within the system there was a need to address increasing financial pressures and ensure affordability and financial sustainability through delivery of better outcomes that cost less.  Whilst there had and continued to be a significant focus on improving outcomes for children and young people, the Service wanted to refresh its evidence base to fully understand the root causes of the current demand coming into the system.  This would inform the way in which services were developed and delivered in the future, especially as the Service looked to build stronger relationships with partners.  To support the Service with this work, IMPOWER have been commissioned to develop a single programme of change based around a clear profile of demand, with a plan for delivery. The aim of this plan was to help maximise the impact and effectiveness of early intervention and prevention, alongside our intention for more locality-based support.

In addition to the local challenges, there were a number of national policy developments planned to be introduced that would impact on the way in which services were delivered to the children and young people of Buckinghamshire.  Whilst many of the reforms currently lacked detail, the Council was in support of the Government’s proposals.  The Service continued on its improvement journey and the number one priority was to strengthen services for children, young people and their families.  Whilst there was more to do, the Service was confident in its understanding and knowledge of what needed to be done.

RESOLVED –

That the national and local developments across the Children’s Services Directorate be NOTED.

The work of Children’s Services had always been diverse, demand led and challenging. The impact of Covid-19 had increased levels of demand and need that could not have been predicted.  The child population continued to increase as do the levels of poverty being experienced by children and families. Furthermore, the lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost of living pressures had added an additional layer of complexity to the work of Children’s Services. The performance information available to the Service demonstrated that the unprecedented surge in demand began at the end of 2020 and had continued through to the present day. There were currently no indicators to suggest a return to pre pandemic demand levels.

Given the complex demand challenges within the system there was a need to address increasing financial pressures and ensure affordability and financial sustainability through delivery of better outcomes that cost less.  Whilst there had and continued to be a significant focus on improving outcomes for children and young people, the Service wanted to refresh its evidence base to fully understand the root causes of the current demand coming into the system.  This would inform the way in which services were developed and delivered in the future, especially as the Service looked to build stronger relationships with partners.  To support the Service with this work, IMPOWER have been commissioned to develop a single programme of change based around a clear profile of demand, with a plan for delivery. The aim of this plan was to help maximise the impact and effectiveness of early intervention and prevention, alongside our intention for more locality-based support.

In addition to the local challenges, there were a number of national policy developments planned to be introduced that would impact on the way in which services were delivered to the children and young people of Buckinghamshire.  Whilst many of the reforms currently lacked detail, the Council was in support of the Government’s proposals.  The Service continued on its improvement journey and the number one priority was to strengthen services for children, young people and their families.  Whilst there was more to do, the Service was confident in its understanding and knowledge of what needed to be done.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Children’s Services particularly referred to the Schools White Paper of which the main ambitions were to:-

i.                    for 90% of primary school children to achieve the expected standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths by 2030, and;

ii.                   to see the national average GCSE grade in both English language and maths increase from 4.5 in 2019 to 5.0 by 2030.

In addition the Special Education Needs and Disabilities Green Paper which set out proposed reforms for a single, national SEND and alternative provision system that would introduce new standards in the quality of support given to children across education, health and care.

The Cabinet Member also made reference to the Social Work Academy. Between 2019 and June 2022, 42 of the 60 NQSWs that have been through the Academy remain within the service. Given the success and in order to alleviate some of the significant challenge in recruiting high quality social workers, the Academy had recently been expanded to support a further 60 newly qualified social workers by April 2023.

During discussion the following points were made:-

·         A Cabinet Member asked how Ukrainian children were managing in English schools. In response it was noted that there was no comprehensive data on this but all the children had been allocated a school and some funding was being used on providing help with language difficulties. Feedback so far from head teachers were that Ukrainian children were enriching the school experience for all children.

·         A Cabinet Member referred to the demand pressures and the table at 3.19 of the report which showed a 52% change in contacts, a 42% change in referrals, a 43% change in initial child protection change. The Cabinet Member reported that it was difficult to deal with increases in demand in the short term in terms of employing additional staff. The demand had increased post pandemic which was a national issue. They were looking at redesigning family support to identify work that could be dealt with by non-qualified professionals. The morale of social workers was good. There were also challenges with recruitment because of the cost of living crisis but they were encouraged with the work of the Social Work Academy.

·         It was important to give an early help offer and to escalate help where required. This was referred to in the Start Well, Live Well and Age Well Strategy.

RESOLVED –

That the national and local developments across the Children’s Services Directorate be NOTED.