Agenda item

(To receive a report which invites the Committee to consider a report on the findings of the Early Help Audit 2015)

Consideration was given to a report which invited the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee to consider a report on the findings of the Early Help Audit 2015.

The Committee received a presentation which provided further detail in relation to the following areas:

·         Audit Methodology

·         Overall message: Positive

·         What did families say

·         Outcomes for families

·         Practitioner and case file findings

·         What practitioners are saying

·         Next steps

Members of the Committee were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         Concerns were raised regarding paperwork not being available for some of the cases which were audited.  It was reported that a lot of the cases were randomly selected and were very old cases.  Many of the very good or excellent rated cases were newer, more recent cases, as a lot of work relating to case load had been carried out since the time of the older cases, which explained a lot of the results;

·         It was suggested that it may be beneficial to carry out a few samples in around six months' time;

·         It was found that there was a disconnect between what was being recorded and what families were experiencing, as what families were reporting was much better than what was being recorded.  Members were advised that further work on this would be carried out and would be reported back to the Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub-Group;

·         Concerns were expressed regarding the reluctance of lead professionals to come forward when a TAC (Team Around the Child) was initiated, and it was queried whether this was due to a lack of capacity;

·         The cases for audit were randomly selected and the families were contacted to ask if they wanted to be involved.  Overall the outcome was very positive in terms of what the families got from the TAC process.  There were one or two cases with areas which needed further development;

·         In terms of capacity, there was now less money and fewer people, and there were an increased number of TAC's being opened.  The lead professional would usually be from the school, health authority or local authority;

·         The strategy was one of continuing to ensure that children's needs were met early, and officers were working on making the process as simple as possible.  The number of TAC's being opened was increasing year on year;

·         The support available through the Early Help Consultants would continue to be developed;

·         Members were advised that the number of active cases (1781) was at its highest ever level, and continued to grow year on year, and it was felt that this demonstrated a confidence in the system;

·         It was noted that officers would not want any professional to feel that they could not meet any additional needs which had been recognised;

·         Every baby was automatically registered with a Children's Centre, and so parents needed to opt out rather than opt in;

·         It was commented that it was nice to read all the positive comments and outcomes from families  that had been through the TAC process;

·         It was noted that all TAC's were consent based, and if a parent did not want an early help assessment or TAC they did not need to have one.  However, this generally did not happen, but it could be escalated to social care if it was felt that it was needed but was refused;

·         Paperwork was being slightly changed so that the work being done with children was reflected in the paperwork;

·         In terms of the issues around starting TAC's prior to school holidays, the Early Help Team was aware of these  and was working with schools;

·         It was noted that an action plan had been developed and was being taken forward;

·         In relation to the references to the issue of neglect being the highest single presenting issue in the cases audited, it was noted that in these instances meant that a child's needs were not being met.

RESOLVED

That the comments made in relation to the report be noted.