Agenda item

To update the Committee in relation to the Children’s Social Care improvement plan theme of ‘Improving the effectiveness of strategic partnerships to improve outcomes and protect children.’

Mrs Jeanette Richards, Assistant Director of Children’s Services provided the Committee with an update on the Children’s Social Care improvement plan theme of ‘Improving the effectiveness of strategic partnerships to improve outcomes and protect children.’

Reference was made to ‘Working Well Together with Children and Families’ and the ‘Neglect Strategy’ which were both documents which had recently been launched in conjunction with Children’s Services. The Committee asked that Members be included in the circulation of such documents going forward as well as requesting that the two documents cited be provided to Committee Members as soon as possible.

The Committee was informed that consideration was being given on how best to embed a better understanding and identification of neglect in key workers, specifically within primary schools. In response to a request for additional details of this work, Mrs Richards reported that the Council’s Principal Social Worker had led on the provision of training following the launch of the Neglect Strategy, which focused on the identification of signs of neglect at the earliest opportunity. Mr Paul Turner, Head of School Standards, Safeguarding and Inclusion assured the Committee that significant support had been made available to schools alongside a wide range of training provision on neglect.

In response to a question from the Committee, Mrs Richards outlined the six different forms of neglect and the profile tool utilised by practitioners to help identify how signs of neglect might manifest at different age groups.

When asked about which partners still required significant improvement, Mrs Richards reiterated that a general overall improvement was sought to support better outcomes for Blackpool’s children. Members discussed the inclusion of third sector partners, with Mrs Richards advising that although there was some good third sector partner engagement, further strengthening of these relationships would be beneficial. Specific detail around individual providers was sought, as opposed to considering the third sector as a whole and Mrs Booth, Director of Children’s Services reiterated that further work was needed in the development of the voluntary hub to ensure all third sector partners were adequately included.

The Committee sought assurance that any anticipated increased demand over the Christmas period could be adequately dealt with, particularly in light of the current lockdown restrictions and the increased demand this could generate. Mrs Booth reported that due to a proactive approach by the Council, schools and partners there was no anticipation of a significant increase of demand following the current lockdown. Committee Members praised the support which had been accessible to schools during the pandemic, providing feedback of the out-of-hours advice and assistance that had been offered by the Council.

The Committee agreed:

1.     That the ‘Working Well Together with Children and Families’ document and the ‘Neglect Strategy’ be requested for circulation to Committee Members;

2.     That the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee Members should be included in the circulation of relevant documents going forward;

3.     That further updates on the improvement of relationships with third sector partners be reported back to a future meeting of the Committee.