children`s partnership - Hertfordshire County Council

children’s partnership
NEWS
Issue 18 Summer 2010
For all those working with children and young people in Hertfordshire
Right Response
initiative
pages 6 to 9
HSCB
supplement
pages 11 to 18
Step change in
commissioning
pages 21 to 22
Learning
Revolution
page 26
Making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people
strategic developments
View from the top
Welcome to the summer issue of Children’s Partnership
News, which I hope will continue to provide you with
an insight to many of the strategies that are being
implemented across the county.
I have decided to use my regular slot in the newsletter to tell you
about our first steps towards transforming children’s services
in Hertfordshire – a key part of the ‘Council for the Future’
programme.
Contents
Strategic
developments
pages 1-10
HSCB supplement
(pullout)
pages 11-18
Strategic
developments
pages 19-22
National news
and Hertfordshire
developments
page 23
Local delivery and
Herts developments
pages 23-28
Having a new national government is obviously going to lead
to changes that will affect children’s services in Hertfordshire.
The task ahead is complex, and national and local financial
constraints place a huge responsibility on us to radically redesign our services to achieve the required financial savings.
The impact of these changes is being assessed as things
begin to unfold and will inform the development of major
transformation projects currently being addressed within CSF
and beyond.
Existing partnerships within CSF will be rationalised and new
local arrangements introduced that will take responsibility for
all children within a certain catchment area. Centred around
schools and other local settings, the focus will be on early
intervention to improve children and young people’s life
opportunities and reduce the chance that they will need more
specialised social care services. Twenty-four new partnerships
are proposed and more details will be made available as the
various workstreams set out their business case for change and
start to consult stakeholders.
Hertfordshire is also due another safeguarding inspection.
Our last full inspection was in 2007, so we can expect another
sometime this year. The inspection will assess how well local
services work together to improve outcomes for children and
young people, covering universal, targeted and specialist
services.
These continue to be challenging times and Hertfordshire can
be proud of its effective and committed inter-agency working.
John Harris
Director of children’s services
and chair of the HCTP Executive
2
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
strategic developments
Turning the curve!
The Turning the curve on safeguarding report analyses the quality of
safeguarding practice and services for children looked after. Following this
year’s Joint Area Review it is now being comprehensively updated.
The HCTP aims to ensure that children and
young people are safe and that they receive the
right level of service at the right time.
In order to do this the report, Turning the curve
on safeguarding, is being updated so that
improvements made since the Joint Area Review
(JAR) 2010 are fully embedded and that the
County Council and its partners are prepared as
much as possible for the announced inspection.
Under pressure
Safeguarding performance has improved
significantly since the JAR inspection in 2007,
but 2009 saw the service being put under
increasing pressure to maintain performance
levels, most notably in the timeliness of initial
and core assessments.
Very high rates of referral to social care, combined
with a persistently high number of social worker
vacancies, have had a major impact, leading
to delays. There has also been a significant
increase in the number of children with child
protection plans.
The unannounced inspection of contact, referral
and assessment (CRA) by Ofsted in October
2009 highlighted these challenges and noted
the action being taken by CSF to address
them, with particular reference to two areas:
the review of service thresholds with partner
agencies; and the strengthening of screening
arrangements at Client Services for referrals
with appropriate signposting where a specialist
response is not required (see article on pages
6 to 9).
A full Ofsted inspection of safeguarding and
children looked after (CLA) is expected in
2010. The focus of the inspection will be on
partnership working and how agencies are
working together to improve outcomes for
children and young people – and specifically
how the services provided are making a positive
impact on their lives.
continued overleaf
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
3
strategic developments
Safeguarding Improvement Plan
The Turning the curve on safeguarding report provided an overview of the key issues relating to the
quality of safeguarding practice and services for children looked after (CLA).
Following this report, the HCTP Executive agreed that a safeguarding improvement plan would be
developed as the delivery plan for the following two CYPP priorities:
• priority 1 – Children and young people are safe from abuse and neglect
• priority 2 – Children and young people achieve their full potential whilst moving in and out of care.
The safeguarding element of the plan is being overseen by the HCTP Executive, and the governance
arrangements are being finalised. The CLA element of the improvement plan is being delivered
through a CLA commissioning strategy overseen by the HCTP CLA Executive.
Safeguarding Improvement Plan
Governance Arrangements
SAFEGUARDING
HCTP Performance Board
CYPP
Monitoring
HCTP Executive
HSCB
Executive
Prevention and
Targeted Support
4
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
Improving
Outcomes Group
Children and Young
People in Care
CLA
CLA Executive
Group
Young People
Leaving Care
strategic developments
Five minutes with…
Janet Lewis
As the HCTP’s outcome lead for being healthy,
Janet Lewis certainly has her work cut out.
We spoke to her to find out more about her
challenging role.
Q. What does your role entail?
I’m accountable for reporting to the HCTP how we’re doing in terms of delivering our pledges
and targets around the ‘being healthy’ priority areas. Emotional health and wellbeing come under
priority 4; and healthy weight and healthy lifestyle come under priority 5. I have to coordinate the
engagement of all partners in the commissioning and achievement of those priorities. On top of that,
my day job is assistant director of community commissioning for NHS Hertfordshire.
Q. You’ve been in the outcome lead role since last July – what do you see as your main
challenge?
In the past, things have often been done in a certain way for a very good reason. But we need to
recognise that times have changed and that current methods may no longer be fit for purpose.
That’s a big challenge. For example, the Think Family initiative focuses on the family, whereas in
the past the focus was very much on the child, not necessarily the family unit. So we have to take a
fresh look at what we’re doing, to see how well it links with this new approach.
Q. What are your views on the value of partnership working?
Children don’t operate in silos; the various parts of their life are all interconnected. For example, you
could have a high-achieving child with a nightmare home life that’s causing emotional health issues.
So we have to deliver services that are integrated and that work together for the benefit of the child.
And this is what partnership working is all about.
Q. Do you find the stakeholder forum useful?
Yes. It’s a good way for the partners to integrate and it helps us to understand what service delivery
is like at the frontline and what gaps in service provision we need to plug. We can influence what our
partners do – for example, recently, when commissioning an early intervention service for younger
children, two of the tenders were so strong that we decided to offer the project to them both, by
asking them to work in partnership, which has resulted in a much better service overall.
Q. What impact will your work have on society going forward?
The children of today will be the adults of tomorrow. Health is about the whole health system –
mind and body – so I’m keen for us to focus on health not just in terms of weight and active
lifestyles, but also in terms of sexual health and relationships. If we can educate today’s children
about the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices all round, this will have an impact
throughout their life and a longer-term, very positive impact on society down the line.
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
5
strategic developments
Thumbs up all round for new
screening arrangements
The revised arrangements within CSF to improve contact and referral arrangements
for safeguarding children are well underway and proving very successful.
The implementation of our ‘Right Response’
initiative has resulted in a new, more effective
way for the Customer Service Centre (CSC)
team to screen contacts and referrals.
The number of incorrect referrals has started
to fall and feedback to date confirms that
referrers feel they are getting a better response
and that the new arrangements are improving
the service all round.
Rapid response
partnership teams where practitioners receive
valuable local support, particularly where a
Common Assessment approach is being used.
The effectiveness of the TAS is measured
by sample audits of outcomes, looking at
the experience for the workers who received
advice from TAS and at the outcomes for
children and families. The first audit (of cases
dealt with by TAS during December 2009
and January 2010) found that 95 per cent of
‘referrers’ felt that they had received good
advice or support.
Since February this year, all
contacts and referrals are
being screened by the CSC
team within 24 hours.
“We’re so impressed with being
More importantly, in 77 per cent
included in information sharing
of audited cases, the young
and grateful for discussion and
person and family who had
follow up by TAS”
received
the required support
TAS users
were engaging with practitioners
Based on the thresholds
and
considered that their needs were
outlined in the Meeting the
being addressed or had been met. In 14 per
Needs handbook, the CSC then decides
cent of cases the needs were not addressed
whether the enquiry or report is forwarded
because the family refused to engage; and in
directly to a social care assessment team or to
9 per cent of cases further enquiries by TAS
the Targeted Advice Service (TAS).
identified that a referral to social care was
required.
For those enquiries sent to TAS, contact
will be made with the caller within a target
time of two days of receiving the contact, and
advice given on how other support may be
offered through a multi-agency
targeted approach.
6
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
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“TAS is unique in that it is made up of CSF
staff and seconded multi-agency colleagues,”
said Gill Gibson, head of district partnership
services. “The specialism of other disciplines
sits within the team, where their knowledge
and experience are invaluable. This way
of working supports improved information
sharing.” The team also links with district
Targeted Advice Service
Hertfordshire
strategic developments
Why we decided it was time
for a change…
In the past, when members of the public called
the CSC with a query about a child or young
person, they were automatically referred to
CSF client services. This was usually because
it wasn’t clear whether the threshold for social
care intervention had been met, or that there
wasn’t another route for referrals.
“We had the situation where calls, faxes,
letters and emails requesting a social care
service were being referred to what was called
‘client services’,” said ICS strategy manager for
integrated practice Caroline Cook. “Referrals
were being put through to social care, when
some of them could have been addressed
through the Common Assessment Framework
process or by referring people to other available
children’s services. Changes were needed to
address this.”
Transforming customer
experience at first point
of contact
The effective screening of calls to the CSC
is now more efficient all round, for practitioners,
for referrers and for children and families,
according to customer services centre manager
Bob Breakey.
He explained: “CSF wanted to use the
Customer Service Centre as the first point of
contact and have all types of referrals relating
to children coming into the Customer Service
Centre in the first instance, whether through
telephone, email, letter or fax. Those referrals
come from a wide variety of sources, including
the public, the police, the health service and
other local authorities.
“By working in a more specialised way, the
Customer Service Centre team is now able to
field calls more accurately, as well as managing
emails, letters and faxes.”
Some of the TAS team in Stevenage
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
7
strategic developments
Results of early analysis
make interesting reading
Reasons for contact
Between 23 November 2009 and 24 February
2010, TAS was in its developmental stage.
During this start-up period it dealt with
370 contacts.
By analysing these contacts we were able to
better understand the sources of contacts,
what the presenting needs were and how the
contacts were progressed by TAS. The results
make interesting reading, as indicated by the
three pie charts shown here.
Source of contact
child’s behavioural
difficulties
housing problems
child’s emotional
wellbeing
young parent
support
alleged abuse/
neglect
financial difficulties
domestic violence
drug/alcohol – child/
young person
adult mental health
young carer
parent managing
child’s behaviour
miscellaneous
drug/alcohol
concerns re parent
8
health
housing
school
anonymous
family
VCS
police
various others
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
For more information, or if you have
any comments, please e-mail
[email protected]
strategic developments
Outcomes of contact
advice and guidance sufficed
single service to address the child’s needs
alongside the universal service
practitioner agreed to instigate a CAF
referral to social care or disabled children team
Improvements to support the new arrangements
In changing how contacts and referrals are
now managed, the following actions were
taken to support the implementation of the
new arrangements:
• publishing and distributing the Meeting the
Needs of Children and Families handbook,
which details the threshold criteria for
services.
• identifying a ‘core children’s team’ at the
CSC to handle contacts and referrals
relating to concerns about children
In early 2010 the HCTP held a series of events
across the county to share information about
the new arrangements and to launch the
Meeting the Needs handbook. Over 1,000
professionals across all agencies attended
the events.
• seconding a qualified social work team
manager from CSF to work with the CSC
advisers until the end of May, in order to
train them to deal with the calls in a more
advanced way and ensure that business
processes are in place
• transferring staff from the previous Client
Services team to the five assessment
teams, thereby providing additional
capacity to receive referrals
Head of early intervention David Ring said:
“Feedback from the events is now being used
to help identify options for the development of
locally based, multi-agency early intervention
teams who will work with universal services in
delivering integrated support to children
and families with additional needs. More
details will be released about this during the
summer.”
• creating a multi-agency TAS, with a
development plan to extend multi-agency
membership
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
9
strategic developments
ISA registration delayed:
new CRB forms to be introduced
The Home Office announced on 15 June
that the national Vetting and Barring
Scheme (VBS) for those working with
children and vulnerable adults will be placed
on hold, to allow it to be remodelled to
proportionate and common-sense levels.
This means that the Independent Safeguarding
Authority (ISA) registration stage of the scheme
(due to start on 26 July 2010) has been halted.
However, the CRB is pressing ahead with the
introduction of the new-style CRB form in
July 2010. The form was designed to allow
applicants to apply for ISA registration and a
CRB check on the same form, but will be used
for CRB checks only while the VBS is under
review.
The Recruitment Centre will start sending
out the new forms to applicants from 5 July
2010, and guidance for hiring managers will be
available.
The HCC VBS Implementation team will
continue to monitor the situation at a national
level. Further updates will be made available
throughout the review process.
Enquiries can be sent to
[email protected]
New anti-bullying guidance now available
Hertfordshire schools have all received new guidance on preventing
and responding to bullying.
Reflecting the requirements of the latest Ofsted
framework, the new guidance aims to help schools
with work related to anti-bullying.
The new document, which replaces all earlier
guidance, makes it much easier for anti-bullying
leads in schools to access relevant documentation
and advice. This is particularly important when
responding to specific types of bullying, such as
homophobia or cyberbullying.
The guidance incorporates:
• a framework to assist in reviewing or
developing a policy
• updated recommended recording proformas
• new arrangements on reporting serious bullying
incidents
• a CD-ROM that includes several anti-bullying
guidance documents.
10
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
Anti-bullying adviser Karin Hutchinson
said: “Anti-bullying is a key priority in the
Children and Young People’s Plan and
we do all we can to support schools in
developing effective anti-bullying work.
“In recent surveys young people have
told us that, overall, their experiences
of bullying are reducing. We want that
trend to continue, and to ensure that
Hertfordshire’s children and young
people are confident to respond to
bullying if it does arise.”
The guidance can be downloaded from
the anti-bullying website on the grid:
www.thegrid.org.uk
News from the
www.hertssafeguarding.org.uk
Introduction from HSCB chair
Phil Picton
Welcome to the first Hertfordshire
Safeguarding Children Board
newsletter, which provides an
informative and interesting
overview of our role.
I have lived and worked in Hertfordshire for
more than 50 years, 30 of which have been with
Hertfordshire police force, including leading
investigations into child abuse. I also spent six
years as a director of the PCT and am a lecturer
and researcher in the Business School of the
University of Hertfordshire, so I have a good
understanding of the pressures and demands
on the 20,000 people who work with children
in the county. I knew I’d be able to bring this
experience to improve safeguarding as the
HSCB chair, which is why I put myself forward
for the role.
Our partners on the HSCB are very senior
representatives from the Hertfordshire agencies,
including the director of children’s services, an
assistant chief constable, a director of the PCT
and many others. In short, they are people with
‘clout’, people who can make big decisions
about resources, systems and how agencies
work together. The full Board meets every
quarter and attendance and commitment are
always very good.
Hertfordshire is one of the counties that has
had an independent chair of its safeguarding
children board for a number of years. I’ve held
the role at the HSCB since November 2009;
I am not employed by any of the partners
involved, but work as an independent
contractor. The leader of our Serious Case
Review team is independent too and we’re
responsible for the independent scrutiny of
how everyone is working together.
Phil Picton is using his experience to improve
safeguarding across the county
My vision is to build on the foundations that are
now in place. I see the HSCB as a resource that
helps people from different organisations work
better together, for example by introducing local
forums for managers and inter-agency meetings
to get partners talking to each other and sharing
best practice. I also have a responsibility to
make sure that partners challenge and support
each other on safeguarding issues.
We are just publishing the HSCB Safe Staffing
Handbook which is a big step in the right
direction too, because people can refer to it
when confronted with new situations. Similarly,
HSCB’s new procedures, due to be published
on our new website in July, will help people to
keep up to date with policies and procedures.
I think these improvements will help all our
agency partners, and will prove particularly
useful to smaller organisations.
News from the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board
One of the biggest challenges all agencies face
is recruitment. Across the South East, we’re
experiencing a chronic shortage of social workers,
health practitioners and specialists like speech
therapists. That puts everyone under pressure,
which in turn sometimes makes it difficult for people
to find the time to go the extra mile and to do their
job as well as they’d like to.
Another challenge is to find a way to review
individual cases that’s more supportive and less
threatening to everyone involved, so that we can all
learn from them. We’re currently exploring a new
approach that involves people from all the agencies
that have been working with a seriously neglected or
abused child meeting in a workshop to identify and
share the lessons learned from the case.
We’re always looking for ways to improve,
so if you have any ideas or suggestions
about how to do things better, please
do pass them on to the HSCB. For
example, when our new website goes
live in July with information for children’s
workforce professionals and more general
information for the public, have a look at it
and let us know what you think.
Phil Picton
HSCB chair
The HSCB and its sub-groups
Child Death
Overview Panel
Hertfordshire
Children’s
Trust Partnership
T
HSCB
Chair: Phil Picton
Chair:
Clare Hawkins
Chair:
John Harris
HSCB Executive Group
Chair: Phil Picton
Serious Case
Review Panel
Chair:
James Townend
Improving
Outcomes
Group
Safe Staffing
Group
HSCB Training
& Development
Group
Policy &
Procedures
Group
Audit and
Performance
Analysis Group
Chair:
Jessica Linskill
Chair:
Justin Donovan
Chair:
Deborah Brice
Chair:
Andrew Simmons
Chair:
Chris Miller
News from the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board
HSCB plays a vital co-ordinating role
Safeguarding is the responsibility of every organisation and every member
of staff. The HSCB is a multi-agency partnership whose main role is to
co-ordinate work to safeguard children and promote their welfare. It is also
responsible for ensuring that this work is effective.
The HSCB does not deliver services directly to children, young people or their families. It plays an
independent role of challenging partner organisations, led by its independent chair
Phil Picton.
The members of the HSCB are senior managers from partner organisations, which are all under
a legal obligation to support the board and have nominated representatives who can speak with
authority and hold their organisation to account.
Similarly, the HSCB has a statutory role to hold agencies on the HCTP to account for the
effectiveness of their work on safeguarding.
News from the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board
HSCB Business Unit provides
essential support
The HSCB and its sub-groups are supported
by the HSCB Business Unit, which is based
at County Hall and led by business manager
Hilary Griffiths.
The role of the Business Unit is to support the
HSCB in its co-ordinating and monitoring roles.
Who’s who in the
HSCB Business Team
Hilary Griffiths
Business manager
☎
01992 555077
[email protected]
This includes:
• monitoring how well statutory agencies are
carrying out their responsibility under section
11 of the Children Act 2004 to safeguard and
promote the welfare of children, including
their safe staffing arrangements
• setting up and running a programme of
multi-agency safeguarding training
• drawing up and monitoring the
implementation of the HSCB inter-agency
child protection procedures
• undertaking a Serious Case Review (SCR)
when a child dies, and abuse or neglect
is known or suspected to be a factor in the
death – the purpose of SCRs is to identify
any lessons learned and to implement
them, in order to improve inter-agency
safeguarding of children
• taking an overview of all deaths of children
under 18 in the area, identifying any
potentially contributory recurrent themes,
circumstances, or possible limitations in
service provision by one or more agencies.
Maria Barnett
Interim assistant business manager
☎
01438 843835
[email protected]
Alison Cutler
Learning and development manager
☎
01992 555063
[email protected]
Josephine Woolf
Training officer
☎
01992 588037
[email protected]
Loraine Waterworth
Interim project officer
(Child Death Overview Panel)
☎
01992 588757
[email protected]
June Anderson
HSCB co-ordinator
☎
01992 588757
[email protected]
Sophie Morgan
Training support officer / PA to Maria Barnett
and Alison Cutler
☎
01992 588079
[email protected]
News from the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board
Government publishes updated
safeguarding guidance
Make sure you read through the updated version of Working
Together to Safeguard Children, which is now available to download
from the DfE website.
Working Together to Safeguard Children
is the statutory guidance for agencies and
practitioners on inter-agency working to
safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
children’s trust. The HSCB now includes
representatives from school and colleges and
its annual report will be produced later this
year, in time to inform the CYPP for 2011/12
It’s well worth browsing the contents page,
because all practitioners will find something of
interest to them in the new document.
• new guidance on the levels of training
required by staff in different roles and further
guidance on supervision for staff working
with children
Key changes in the revised
version include:
• additional guidance on safeguarding
children at risk of community-based
violence – this includes children affected
by gang activity, forced marriage,
honour-based violence and child trafficking.
There is also additional guidance on
safeguarding disabled children
• a stronger emphasis on child-focused
practice – developing good relationships
with children should be a priority for agencies
and practitioners. Direct communication with
children means that their wishes, views and
feelings can underpin assessments and
plans. Children should have honest and
accurate information about their current
situation and be supported to feel involved
and take part in decisions that affect them
• new guidance about managing individual
cases – these are included in Hertfordshire’s
safeguarding procedures and have far more
emphasis on recording information about
family history and functioning, and using this
to inform decision-making. Practitioners
must also ensure that good information is
gathered about whether domestic violence,
mental illness, substance misuse or learning
disability impacts on parenting ability
And that’s not all. The revised document
provides specific guidance for faith communities,
as well as a useful list of faith community
contacts and resources, including reference to
the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service.
There are some very readable summaries of
the lessons learned from research on a wide
range of topics including neglect, social
exclusion and the impact of maltreatment
on children. Issues of domestic violence and
parental mental illness, learning disability and
drug and alcohol use are also covered.
Download the new guidance or order a hard
copy from the publications section of the new
DfEwebsite (www.education.gov.uk).
• the role and function of local safeguarding
children boards has been strengthened –
boards must now include representatives
from schools and produce an annual report
that provides robust challenge to the
News from the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board
Latest HSCB developments
HSCB goes live in July!
The new independent and interactive HSCB
website went live in July, thanks to the efforts
of partner agencies and the HSCB Policy and
Procedures sub-group.
Visit www.hertssafeguarding.org.uk
The revised Inter-agency Child Protection and
Safeguarding Children Procedures, which
comply with the statutory guidance (Working
Together to Safeguard Children 2010), will
be brought to life through the new website.
The website will also have sections aimed at
professionals, partners (including the VCS) and
parents and carers, as well as an informative
webpage for children and young people.
If you haven’t yet booked your place, HSCB
will be launching its website and new policies
and procedures to all partner agencies
through information sessions on 21 July at the
Hertfordshire Development Centre, Stevenage.
Following the launch, all feedback about the
website is welcome! Please email the Business
Unit on [email protected]
HSCB 2010-11 training
programme
The HSCB’s Level 2 Inter-agency Safeguarding
Children Training Programme for 2010-11
targets practitioners who work regularly with
children and young people, and who have
already completed a Level 1 safeguarding
training course. The inter-agency nature of the
programme will enable participants to network
effectively in order to share best practice.
The courses are free of charge to all HSCB
partner agencies and the voluntary sector.
Subjects include domestic abuse, neglect,
effective multi-agency planning meetings, and
key messages and learning from SCRs. A ‘Train
the Trainer’ programme is also available – an
excellent personal and professional opportunity
that helps the HSCB maintain the high quality of
programmes being delivered.
For more information, visit
www.hertssafeguarding.org.uk
or email Sophie Morgan or Alison Cutler
(see previous page).
Online training booking system
The HSCB is pleased to announce its new
online training booking system for all its
courses. Information is provided for each
course, with details of the target audience,
attendance criteria, location and learning
outcomes. The system is proving extremely
popular with HCC and external partners –
within the first four weeks of it going live,
224 bookings had already been made.
One of the efficient functions of the new
system is that two emails are automatically
sent immediately after an online application
is received: a confirmation of receipt for the
applicant and a notification of receipt to their
line manager. Paper application forms are no
longer accepted and have been removed from
the HSCB website.
You can access the new online training booking
system at www.hertssafeguarding.org.uk
News from the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board
Do you run a community
group and need help
with safeguarding?
A date for
your diary
A number of websites are available to
support the large and diverse community
and voluntary sector:
Annual HSCB
B
Conference
Monday 1 November
ovember
• the Safe Network website
(www.safenetwork.org.uk) offers advice
and guidance, and aims to share lots of good
practice within the sector, in terms of
keeping children safe
• the East of England Child and Young People
VCS Forum – Children Matter East website
(www.childrenmattereast.org.uk) is also a
useful source of information
• the Churches Child Protection Advisory
Service (CCPAS) provides advice and
support to faith groups. Resources available
from CCPAS include Safe and Secure – ten
safeguarding standards for faith communities
(www.ccpas.co.uk)
• sports groups will want to look at the Child
Protection in Sport website run by the
NSPCC (www.thecpsu.org.uk).
And of course – there is also the newly
launched HSCB website at
www.hertssafeguarding.org.uk
Hertfordshire’s annual Local Safeguarding
Children Board Conference will be held on
1 November at the Fielder Centre, Hatfield.
The theme of this year’s conference is
‘Neglect – the elephant in the room’.
One of the main reasons for children
being on the child protection register is
neglect. This 2010 conference aims to help
practitioners –
• identify it at an early stage
• understand how to minimise the impact of
neglect on children
• share practice and ideas with others
• support practitioners in intervening
appropriately and working collaboratively
A wide range of workshops will cover Putting policy into practice; parenting and
neglect; disability and neglect, and the
impact of substance misuse and mental
health on neglect.
The programme promises multi-agency
speakers such as Shaun Kelly from Action
for Children and Ruth Gardner from the
NSPCC.
Watch our website, where we will post
further details as they become available at
www.hertssafeguarding.org.uk
strategic developments
CYPP – good progress made
In Hertfordshire we performed well in meeting the outcomes of our
2009/10 Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP). Here we look at
some of the highlights as well as some areas for development.
Two themes: 12 priorities
Theme 1: Safeguarding children and young people
1
Children and young people are safe from abuse and neglect
2
Children and young people achieve their full potential whilst in and moving on from care
3
Children and young people are confident to respond to bullying
Theme 2: Narrowing the gap between vulnerable children and all children
4
Children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health is well supported
5
Children and young people have a healthy weight
6
Vulnerable under fives are well prepared for life
7
Vulnerable children and young people achieve as well as others
8
Children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities are empowered to reach
their full potential
9
Young people get a wide range of opportunities to learn
10
Children and young people make a positive contribution to decisions about services
11
Children and young people thrive despite family poverty
12
Children and young people keep on the right track
s…
Some HCTP highlight
and implemented
• We have developed
ed Advice Service
a multi-agency Target
who do not meet
to respond to contacts
l care by signposting,
the threshold for socia
s, and promoting the
mobilising local service
on pages 6 to 9).
use of CAF (see article
• We narrowed the ac
hievement gap for:
- Travellers of Irish he
ritage and Gypsy/
Roma in the primary ph
ase
- all SEND pupils for
GCSE 5A*-C including
English and maths
- some SEND pupils
at key stage 2.
a significant increase
• Our county has seen
leavers going into
in the number of care
ion.
suitable accommodat
• Hertfordshire has se
en a notable reduction
in
bullying, compared wi
th national and
statistical neighbour fi
gures.
continued overleaf
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
19
strategic developments
continued
2010, 78 per cent of
• By the end of March
had Healthy Schools
Hertfordshire schools
nt).
status (target: 75 per ce
d
r target of 82 designate
• We have reached ou
all 50 Phase 1 and 2
children’s centres and
ll core offer. A recent
centres provide the fu
ntres and extended
scrutiny of children’s ce
the excellent new and
services commended
rvices they offer.
innovative frontline se
asing the range,
• Work towards incre
short breaks for
volume and quality of
difficulties and/or
children with learning
ing well through
disabilities is progress
sabled Children
the Aiming High for Di
mme.
transformation progra
...and some areas for
• The proportion of young people saying they
participate in positive activities is going up
all the time.
• We had the lowest proportion of young
people not in education, employment or
training (NEET) of any county in England.
• Hertfordshire’s under-18 conception rates
have fallen by 24.1 per cent since the start
of the national Teenage Pregnancy Strategy
in 2008 – our county has been recognised
as an area of best practice within the
eastern region.
improvement
to
ing the Curve strategy
• Implement the Turn
arding of children and
further improve safegu
le on pages 3 to 4).
young people (see artic
d
tegy for children looke
• Implement the stra
re
children come into ca
after so that the right
ly as possible.
and move out as quick
narrowing the
• Continue to focus on
achievement gap.
ncy arrangements for
• Strengthen multi-age
ion and prevention.
effective early intervent
egrated, preventative
• Deliver a range of int
mental health services
and early intervention
cessible in supporting
that are flexible and ac
g
s of children and youn
and meeting the need
e groups.
people from vulnerabl
es
hy Weight, Healthy Liv
• Implement the Healt
improvement in levels
strategy to accelerate
ity.
of overweight and obes
20
• We now have a new stand alone transition
team working with disabled young people
aged between 18 and 25 years.
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
• Build the capacity and capability of children’s
centres to improve outcomes for young
children who need extra support.
• Continue to promote stronger joint working
between the NHS and the local authority,
with children’s health as a focus for
all partners.
• Ensure schools and early years settings offer
effective targeted support to accelerate the
progress of underachieving pupils.
• Embed the active participation of children
and young people in decision making across
the HCTP.
• Further develop provision for children and
young people with special educational needs
and disabilities so that their needs are met as
locally as possible.
strategic developments
A step change in commissioning – an update
from Hertfordshire’s commissioning champion
A jointly sponsored programme has been introduced by the
Department for Education and the Department of Health to
support a step change in commissioning capacity and capability.
The Government’s new commissioning programme has two main elements: a universal offer across
all children’s trusts (such as training and regional conferences); and bespoke support, identified via
a self-analysis by individual children’s trusts.
Each children’s trust must have a commissioning champion – this role is fulfilled in the HCTP by
Gary Heathcote, CSF’s head of strategic commissioning.
HCTP undertook a self-analysis which was completed via the HCTP Executive outcome leads and
highlighted five strands. An update on each strand is provided below.
Strand 1: The need for a commissioning workplan with committed resources
With changes to the statutory
guidance on children’s trusts, it is felt
that the new CYPP 2011-14 will fulfil
the requirement for a commissioning
workplan. A CYPP development
group is taking this work forward.
An overview of discretionary spending
on each CYPP priority has been
completed for the CYPP 2010-11
refresh. A more in-depth piece of
work, linked to the national children’s
service mapping exercise, will be in place for
the 2011-14 plan. This work is linked to the
newly established HCTP Resources Group.
A clear commissioning plan with resources
available will drive forward commissioning
across the HCTP.
continued overleaf
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
21
strategic developments
Strand 2: Better use of needs analysis
data and consistent systems to support
the commissioning workplan
Linked to Strand 1, it is important to have the
right building blocks in place for the new plan,
to ensure the correct priorities are identified.
Gary Heathcote and his team are working with
the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)
to ensure this integration, although further work
is needed.
Profiles and datasets are being produced by
CSF’s Performance and Improvement team.
These form part of the work of the CYPP
development group.
Strand 3: Governance and
structure development between key
commissioning partners
A Joint Leadership Group (JLG) has been
established for CSF and PCT Board members.
This is jointly chaired by John Harris, director
of children’s services and chair of the HCTP
Executive Group, and Anne Walker, PCT chief
executive.
Supported by a working group of
CSF and PCT commissioners,
the JLG has been successful in
moving key work areas forward in
a positive way. Further work and
events for both boards are being
progressed to support joint
working.
Strand 4: A commissioning approach for
all services, including in-house provision
Process and priorities for a CSF commissioning
approach for all services have been developed
and agreed with the CSF Board. A series
of awareness-raising sessions was held at
management meetings and Extended Board
to deliver this message. ‘Council for the future’
has put this strand into a larger, authoritywide efficiency context. Key transformation
themes have been developed within CSF and
are being driven by the commissioning support
programme.
Strand 5: Promotion of commissioning
development programme
There are two main parts to this.
Firstly, a commissioning development
programme has been published. A roll-out
programme is being developed, to identify
which staffing groups would benefit from
which of the 18 training modules. Priority will
be given to any change management groups
formed to take forward the transformation
strands within CSF.
Secondly, as part of the bespoke support
element, we are highlighting training events
for key groups across the HCTP, including the
Executive Group and the PCT and CSF boards.
As part of the CSP there are a number of
regional service specific events that have
either already happened or are planned for
the coming year, including: pooled budgets;
building multi-agency teams; commissioning
and schools; and speech and language therapy.
These events provide a great opportunity for
colleagues from around the eastern region to
share what they are doing, highlighting best
practice and concerns.
Contact [email protected] for
more information.
22
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
national news and hertfordshire developments
Think Family - a ‘whole family’ approach
Think Family is an approach promoted by the government to secure better outcomes
for vulnerable children, young people and adults through a co-ordinated, ‘whole family’
approach.
By reforming the systems and services provided
by children, adult and family services, this ‘whole
family’ approach allows the services to jointly:
• identify families at risk of poor outcomes to
provide support at the earliest opportunity
• meet the full range of needs within each family
they are supporting or working with
• develop services which can respond effectively
to the most challenging families
• strengthen the ability of family members to
provide care and support to each other.
This model offers struggling families an accessible
and multi-faceted support team who can cut
across administrative boundaries and go in to
make the changes necessary to improve outcomes
for the children within the family.
Think Family is increasingly being seen as
an integral part of local strategies to improve
children’s wellbeing. We know there is a whole
range of services that can provide advice,
support and services to families, but the key
is how the services can meet the needs of
the whole family in a coordinated and shared
approach.
Hertfordshire is currently developing four Think
Family Teams across the county. These have
been identified as South Oxhey (Three Rivers),
Bedwell (Stevenage), Cowley Hill (Hertsmere)
and Holbrook( Broxbourne). Each team will
eventually comprise eight professionals from a
number of key agencies including police, health,
and Hertfordshire County Council’s adult care
services and children’s services.
Find out more about this project from
Beverley Dover on 0774 7564 760 or
Karen Dorney on 0777 1978 546.
National NEWS in brief
New DfE announced
The former DCSF is now known as the
Department for Education (DfE).
Nick Gibb is the new minister of state for
schools. He is joined by the new children’s
ministers: Sarah Teather MP, minister of state
for children and families; and Tim Loughton
MP, parliamentary under secretary of state for
children and families. David Willett has been
appointed as universities and science minister
in the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills, reporting to Vince Cable, the new
business secretary.
www.education.gov.uk
National rise in demand hits foster
care services
Research by the Fostering Network found
that two out of five foster carers are looking
after children outside their area of expertise as
providers struggle to meet increasing demand
for services. Also that 82 per cent of local
authorities saw a rise in the number of children
coming into care and needing foster homes
during 2009-10.
www.communitycare.co.uk
New DVD supports social care
professionals
A new tool has been developed to help social
care professionals work with, and understand,
children with complex emotional and
behavioural needs.
Bearing the Unbearable, a feature-length DVD
and a written training manual, is the result of
a four-year research project – the brainchild of
Christine Bradley, a consultant and trainer in
therapeutic childcare.
www.communitycare.co.uk
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
23
local delivery and hertfordshire developments
– a new early intervention service
A new, countywide 0–19 early intervention service is being
set up in order to help improve children and young people’s
mental health and emotional wellbeing.
TA R G E T E D
Hertfordshire Community Health Services has
been commissioned to set up and deliver a new
early intervention service.
et
t dP
ds m
I t
n ee
Single S
ervi
ce
Re
qu
es
t/
n
S
ent
ssm
sse
ne e
Lev
el
1
F
CA
ds m
et
IV
UN
ssessment Fram
on A
ewo
mm
rk
Co
T
ER
Eme
SA
rgi
ng
L
Ne
ed
s
t
et
LIS
ding
IA
eguar
E C nd Saf
SP
sa
ed rns
Ne r conce
ist rthe
4
al fu
3&
sm
tA
lis
• positive – promoting good mental health and
reducing the stigma associated with mental
disorder and ill health.
ed
Sp
ec
i
ls
ve
Le
• empowering – for clients and professionals
alike, by working in partnership with a range
of universal, targeted and specialist services,
parents and children, and building upon
existing skills and resources
needs me
ne
nce
rn
s
cia
pe
• accessible
ns
er
nc
et
• innovative – in the team’s approach to
meeting the needs of hard-to-reach clients
and in the therapeutic interventions adopted
t
her
co
Level 2
m
• flexible – in terms of people, working hours
and locations
r
fu
o
rc
he
f u rt
s
Step2 narrows the gap between universal and
specialist child and adolescent mental health
services. It aims to be:
er
furth
d
ee
Called ‘Step2’, the new service will consist
of a team of mental health professionals from
a variety of clinical backgrounds. The team
will provide the children’s workforce with
training and support, a targeted Tier 2
clinical intervention service and a telephone
support service.
/ Complex Ne
itional
eds
A dd
concerns
ti
Using a ‘Think Family’ approach, Step2 will
work in partnership with Action for Children,
which will deliver Protective Behaviours
courses to key staff working with under-fives,
workshops and parenting groups.
Action for Children will also work with early
years staff to deliver parent groups and
workshops based on Protective Behaviours
through the network of children’s centres
across Hertfordshire. Protective Behaviours is
an empowering and practical approach that
helps people develop the skills to recognise
and trust their feelings, make choices that are
safe for themselves and increase resilience by
developing their networks of support.
The Action for Children team will work with
parents and carers to help them improve their
own and their children’s emotional and mental
wellbeing, and to develop strategies to keep
themselves and their children feeling safe.
For more information about Action for Children, contact [email protected]
If you would like to receive regular updates by email or provide feedback, please contact clinical
service manager Deborah Bone on 07789864852 ([email protected]).
24
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
local delivery and hertfordshire developments
Extended
Opportunities
e tended
opportunities funding now
available across Hertfordshire
The Hertfordshire brand of the Government’s Disadvantage Subsidy,
‘Extended Opportunities’ is now available through all schools.
During 2009 Hertfordshire’s Extended Opportunities programme was run as a pilot in five
extended schools consortia (involving a total of 66 schools). The pilot is already showing examples
of the impact of the funding and its contribution, particularly regarding the engagement of
vulnerable families.
The funding is part of the drive by extended services to narrow the gap in attainment and improve
the wellbeing of children and young people. The funding supports access to a range of exciting,
high-quality, out-of-school-hours activities for children who are economically disadvantaged and
may be considered to be vulnerable, including children looked after.
Activities could include art, dance, music, drama classes, sports and other outdoor activities
accessed through school and the wider community. The funding must be spent only on a
activities,
or supporting access to activities, such as transport, clothing or equipment.
Benefits for the child
Five main objectives
Participating in extended activities gives
children the chance to:
The Hertfordshire Extended Opportunities
programme’s five main objectives are to
ensure that:
• increase self-esteem and confidence
• increase aspirations
• develop independence and
personal responsibility
• learn important social and life skills
• provide opportunities to uncover
hidden talents.
These skills are likely to improve
attendance and engagement in school as
well as to support the child’s wellbeing.
District-based launches were held in the
first half of the summer term in order
to engage schools and providers in the
programme, share the positive results from
the pilot and get everyone involved in this
exciting opportunity.
Visit www.hertsextendedschools.org.uk
to find out more.
1. children and young people disadvantaged by
economic circumstances are financially supported to
take part in extended services
2. eligible children and young people and their parents/
carers are fully involved in making the best use of
the funding
3. the activities on offer are attractive to the target
group so that participation is maximised and
sustained
4. the funding results in additional access to activities
5. commissioning of new services is encouraged, to
enrich the extended services offer.
Danielle Tubby, PCSO,
Broxbourne; Steve Whitlam,
community development
manager, Broxbourne
Leisure; Stephanie Benbow,
headteacher, St Mary’s CofE
High School (Broxbourne Hub
School) at the Broxbourne/East
Herts launch
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
25
local delivery and hertfordshire developments
Hertfordshire’s Learning Revolution
The Learning Revolution white paper outlines a new vision and
strategy for informal adult learning.
all the partners in an area, in order to develop
a plan whereby individuals, communities, the
public, private and voluntary and community
sectors are supported to create opportunities
for informal adult learning.
Launched in 2009, The Learning Revolution
white paper highlights the way in which adult
learning can bring people and communities
together and transform people’s lives.
Among the many benefits of adult learning
are personal fulfilment, improved individual
health and wellbeing, increased confidence and
the ability to open a door to further learning
opportunities and employment. Adult learning
can also play a valuable role in developing a
culture of learning within families – a culture
that will then be transmitted across generations.
And it can make an important contribution to
community cohesion and economic equality.
The white paper outlines the new role of
Lead Accountable Body. This role gives local
authorities responsibility for pulling together
26
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
Each authority is asked to expand the range
of learning opportunities, targeting those
communities, individuals and families who
are experiencing difficulties that limit their life
chances and future, while also empowering
those who are able to drive their own learning
to do so.
Here in Hertfordshire the work will be led by
the county’s Adult and Family Learning Service.
This service already commissions more than
13,000 opportunities annually for adults and
families to engage in informal adult learning,
including intergenerational learning, work skills,
beginners IT, health and fitness, self-confidence
and leisure courses. To promote opportunities
for adult and family learning, numerous
events are being held in libraries right across
the county.
For further information about the Learning
Revolution in Hertfordshire, contact
Jane Rouse, head of Hertfordshire Adult
and Family Learning, on 01992 555482.
local delivery and hertfordshire developments
Evidence-based parenting programmes:
putting the theory into practice
Hertfordshire’s Children and Young People’s Plan includes a requirement
to provide evidence-based parenting programmes in children’s centre
community areas where there are high rates of referrals to social care.
Evidence-based parenting programmes are
those that have been accredited and proved,
by research and evaluation, to be effective in
developing parenting skills.
Three evidence-based parenting programmes
are being delivered in Hertfordshire:
• Family Links Nurturing Programme
(The Parenting Puzzle)
• Webster-Stratton Incredible Years
• Strengthening Families,
Strengthening Communities.
sector to become facilitators of the Parenting
Puzzle (Family Links Nurturing Programme).
Non-evidence-based, shorter and less intensive
parenting programmes, workshops and
information sessions also play an important
role and are popular with many parents who are
unable to commit to longer programmes.
For more information about parenting support
in Hertfordshire, contact your local district
partnership team, children’s centre or extended
school, or visit www.hertsdirect.org/parents
Programmes such as the Parenting Puzzle may
be commissioned by the district partnership
teams. Alternatively they may be provided
through the local specialist children’s service
(Webster-Stratton Incredible Years), the Youth
Justice Service (Strengthening Families,
Strengthening Communities), or directly by a
children’s centre or school.
Training has been provided for 52 parenting
practitioners since summer 2009, with
participants coming from Hertfordshire children’s
centres and the voluntary and community
Accredited practitioners ready to put the theory into practice
Look out for NeCAF – it’s on its way
National eCAF, often referred to as NeCAF, is a secure IT system that enables practitioners to store,
access and manage the information that’s captured through a Common Assessment Framework (CAF).
One of the NeCAF’s main benefits is the ability to facilitate cross-border, multi-agency working,
thereby enabling practitioners to build a more complete picture of a child or young person’s needs.
NeCAF also has comprehensive reporting functionality, so can provide vital information on CAFs.
In the final quarter of 2010, Hertfordshire will begin the NeCAF roll-out with a pilot in Broxbourne,
after which it will be rolled out to HCTP practitioners.
For more information contact Joella Scott, IISAM implementation manager
([email protected]).
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
27
local delivery and hertfordshire developments
children’s partnership
Training High provides
much-needed support
NEWS
A new Hertfordshire initiative is opening new
doors for children with learning difficulties and/
or disabilities.
Formally launched in November 2009, Training High is
funded by NHS Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire County
Council’s CSF department. It is a ground-breaking initiative
that has provided the county with a vital new training
resource.
The initiative enables learning support assistants, residential
care staff, shared carers, childminders and others to be
trained so that they can undertake clinical and/or medical
procedures for the children in their care. Typical procedures
include using an Epipen, administering rectal Diazepam and
caring for children with asthma or diabetes.
Training High participants may follow a personalised,
one-to-one training package delivered by a registered nurse,
focusing on clinical procedures and other general aspects
relating to a particular child’s care. Or they may take part
in a rolling programme of clinical care training sessions,
designed to reduce anxiety and increase confidence among
those responsible for supporting children who have additional
medical needs.
Mark Whiting, consultant nurse for children with complex
health needs, said: “Training High has already supported
many children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to
access mainstream school and nursery, and to attend summer
and Christmas playschemes. It has proved invaluable in a
growing number of shared care and residential respite settings
and is enabling us to increase the range of short breaks
provision on offer for these children.
The HCTP Vision
Children’s Partnership News
is produced on behalf of
Hertfordshire Children’s Trust
Partnership. We would like
partners to contribute material.
Please email suggestions and
features to:
[email protected]
Copy deadline for next issue:
15 September 2010
For more information, contact Mark on 01923 470662
([email protected]). To make a referral for
training, contact Louise Gorman on 01442 413420
([email protected]).
28
Summer 2010 children’s partnership NEWS
Printed on recycled paper containing
a minimum 75% recycled waste
Design Ref: 058444 DDPJ12330
“At present much of this work has focused on West
Hertfordshire, but we hope to be able to develop the
North and East Hertfordshire services as soon as we can
recruit additional staff within that Community Children’s
Nursing Service.”
Our vision is for all children
and young people in
Hertfordshire to enjoy a
happy, healthy and safe
childhood that prepares
them well for adult life and
enables them to reach their
full potential. Children and
young people should be
valued members of society,
whose achievements and
contributions are welcomed
and celebrated.