Agenda item

(To receive a report from Tara Jones, Head of Service – Boston and South Holland, which provides the Committee with an update on the Partners in Practice Programme in Lincolnshire)

The Chairman advised that this item provided the Committee with an update on the Partners in Practice (PiP) Programme in Lincolnshire.  The Chairman invited Tara Jones, Head of Service – Boston and South Holland to present the report.

The Committee was reminded that Partners in Practice (PiP) was a partnership between local and central government, bringing the best practitioners and leaders in children's services together to improve the system.    It was noted that Lincolnshire had joined the PiP programme in 2016, and that the programme had ended on 31 March 2020.

Details of the progress made within the Lincolnshire PiP programme were shown on pages 52 to 55 of the report pack, which included:

·       Signs of Safety/Restorative Practice – The project was now closed as all existing functions had been sustained within the existing budgets;

·       Early Help Review - The project was now closed as all existing functions had been sustained within the existing budgets;

·       Future4Me - The project's achievements to date and the planned next steps were shown on pages 53/54 of the report.  It was highlighted an Impact evaluation of the Future4Me project had found that the reoffending rate among young people it supported was 11 percentage points lower than the comparison group, who had not received the project's services;

·       Caring2Learn - The project's achievements to date and the planned next steps were shown on page 53 of the report;

·       Workforce Development - The project was now closed as all existing functions had been sustained within the existing budgets and were being delivered by the Quality and Standards Service; and

·       Improvement Support - The Committee noted that the Council was still currently involved as the official improvement partner to Northamptonshire County Council.

The Committee was advised that at the invitation of the Department for Education (DfE), Lincolnshire had submitted a further bid for PiP funding to continue to develop and test Caring2Learn, Future4Me and sector led improvement.  This bid had been successful and confirmation had been received that Lincolnshire would be receiving PiP funding totalling £1,207,908 for 2020/21.

The Committee was advised that the Lincolnshire PiP programme had embedded the Sign of Safety framework, which was a strengths-based approach to children's social care casework and provided training for a wide range of professionals to support effective implementation.  It was noted that added value had also been achieved by the impact of the Caring2Learn project on valuing foster carers as professionals and lessening the risk of placement breakdown.

The service had also received positive experiences of PiP from children, young people and families.  One factor highlighted was the holistic support provided by multi-agency and multi-skilled teams to families.  It was highlighted that the roles of the child and family assessment, family network meetings and the involvement of the wider networks of family and friends had supported the outcomes for children, young people and families.

The Committee noted that Lincolnshire recognised and valued the importance of sector led improvement and was committed to continuing as an improvement partner for local authorities in need of support through their improvement journey.  The Committee noted further that Lincolnshire through sector led improvement had worked with Rotherham and Northampton and 32 other authorities across the duration of the PiP programme.

The Committee extended their congratulations to the team for a fantastically positive report.  The Chairman on behalf of the Committee agreed to write a letter thanking all staff for their excellent performance relating to Item 6 on the agenda; and for the positive work completed to date on Partners in Practice, not only in developing new innovative services for Lincolnshire but in supporting other local authorities on their improvement journey as well.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Update on the Partners in Practice Programme be received.

2.     That the Chairman be authorised to write to all teams in children's services expressing the Committee's congratulations for their excellent performance during Covid-19 and the positive work achieved through the PIP programme.