Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan 2015

Transcription

1 Version vf1a Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan 2015

2 Contents Introduction... 1 National and Local Context Ofsted s Findings... 3 What We Want to Achieve How We Will Improve Evidencing Improvement Appendices Improvement Plan framework methodology Ofsted Recommendations Action Plan Quality Assurance and Reporting Framework Key Milestones and Outputs summary Risk Register Stakeholder engagement/communications Plan P age

3 Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan Introduction In January 2015, Ofsted inspected the local authority s services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers and at the same time, conducted a review of the effectiveness of the local safeguarding children board. This four week, unannounced inspection was carried out by 10 inspectors and covered the range of local authority services for vulnerable children and families to understand the impact services are having on children, young people and families, and particularly how professional practice impacts on the journey of the child. Ofsted published its Inspection Report on 20 March The Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan sets out how Leicester City is responding to Ofsted s recommendations and details the key actions that must be delivered to improve the quality of services and outcomes for children and young people as identified in the Ofsted Report. This plan sets out Ofsted s findings in Leicester City, the overall plan for improvement and the changes these improvements will make to better the outcomes for children and families across the city. A Notice to Improve from the Department for Education is expected in the near future. National Context In June 2010, the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, commissioned Professor Eileen Munro to conduct an independent review of child protection in England. In the final report of her review, A Child Centred System published in May 2011, Professor Munro concluded that child protection has become too focused on compliance and procedures and has lost its focus on the needs and experience of individual children. The Social Work Reform Board and latterly the Local Government Association (LGA) Standards for Employers of Social Workers in England and Supervision Framework set out the core expectations of employers to enable social workers in all employment settings to work effectively. The government set out to improve the child protection system through a programme of reform. The overall aim of this work is to bring about long-term change to help vulnerable children, underpinned by three main principles: Placing greater trust and responsibility in skilled front line professionals to do their jobs; Reducing central Government prescription and unnecessary bureaucracy; and Building a system that is focused on the needs, views and experiences of vulnerable children Reforms included: The introduction of Ofsted's revised single inspection framework of local authorities which shifted from an announced 2-week inspection - where there was an emphasis on meetings with strategic managers and partners - to an unannounced 4-week inspection format with a greater focus on the impact of services on children and their families 2 P age

4 through case file audits, observing and shadowing frontline practitioners. Publication of Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013, followed by Working Together 2015 which set out inter-agency roles and responsibilities to safeguard children and promote their welfare. Appointment of a National Chief Social Worker to oversee the social work reform programme, advise the government and both champion and challenge the social work profession Representing, developing and supporting the skills of social work professionals through the work of the College of Social Work, for example the launch of the Professional Capabilities Framework. The requirement for local authorities to recruit a Principal Child and Family Social Worker (PCFSW), a senior manager actively involved in frontline practice, with lead responsibility for practice within the local authority. Encouraging local learning through peer review and peer challenge. Local data requirements to support performance information as opposed to the use of national indicators or targets. Development of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) model for LSCBs to adopt to learn from serious incidents. Provision of "early help" through better interagency working. More recently, following the Alexis Jay report Child sexual exploitation in Rotherham August 2014) into the widespread and historic failure of Rotherham Borough Council to protect children, there is increased focus on local authorities and their partners to ensure there is a comprehensive multi-agency strategy and action plan in place to tackle child sexual exploitation including ensuring that for any children going missing from school, home or care information is properly recorded, with data collated and analysed to show up possible links between going missing and risk of CSE. Local Context and background In December 2011, Ofsted undertook an inspection of Leicester City children s safeguarding and Looked After arrangements and found the safeguarding services to be adequate and the Looked After Children s services to be good. In April 2014, a new electronic children s social care system designed to support practice was implemented, however as yet this system is not sufficiently enabling practice, data gathering and performance reporting. In May 2014, children s social care services and in July 2014, early help and children s centre services were restructured. As a result of the social care services restructure, there was a high level of staff turnover in all nine CIN (Children in Need) teams. The department undertook an intensive programme of recruitment of interim and agency staff which is bringing staffing levels up to establishment, however there remains a high level of agency staff in CIN teams. There are approximately 79,000 children and young people aged 0-19 years in the City, which is 24% of the total population. At the time of the inspection, there were 349 children who were the subject of a child protection plan and 2,150 open child in need cases. 3 P age

5 Ofsted s Findings Inspectors reported positively on these areas: The local authority has established an efficient and well-organised 24/7 duty and advice service that provides good quality information and appropriately refers children to early help or social care services. Children in need of protection are effectively responded to out of hours. Disabled children are well supported by specialist staff and have voice and influence through the Big Mouth and Little Mouth fora. Appropriate attention is paid to diversity, and the Heritage Panel plays a key role in ensuring that heritage needs of children and young people are addressed in all aspects of service delivery. There is detailed sharing of information and local intelligence about children thought to be at risk of child sexual exploitation that is used to produce detailed multi-agency plans. Young people engage in the meetings, which consider these plans. The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) has ensured that sound arrangements are in place to respond to cases when allegations are made about professionals who work with children. Though 47% of children looked after are placed outside of Leicester City, 87% live within 20 miles of their home. The majority of young people placed out of authority are not disadvantaged by distance and have appropriate access to health and education services. 79% of children looked after are placed with foster carers, higher than statistical neighbours and England levels. Appropriate use is also made of kinship placements, which enable children to remain with their families and communities. Children looked after have good access to therapeutic help and recreational leisure opportunities, which promotes their health and well-being. Children with an adoption plan are quickly matched and placed with adopters, maximising their life chances in their adoptive homes. Post-adoption support is a significant strength, evidenced by the value placed on it by adopters and the lack of adoption disruptions. Through the Big Lottery funded Y-POD, care leavers with complex needs have been provided with wraparound services which improves their outcomes. These benefits are planned to be rolled out to all care leavers in April Through the innovative Y project, the local authority has supported a diverse community organisation that seeks to empower young people to achieve skills and independence through access to supported accommodation, education, arts, health and fitness. The current DCS and interim Assistant Director (AD) have quickly grasped and begun to tackle some of the critical issues around staffing and performance information. Areas in need of improvement included where we need to: Ensure that a systematic and effective performance and quality assurance framework is in place to create a more informed base on which to change the quality of practice and build a learning culture. Combat issues across the services where there are insufficient or inconsistent levels of good practice, for example: in case recording and chronologies; where assessments and plans are not of good enough quality and are subject to drift and delay; better use of PEPs to inform and improve educational attainment, where children have not been seen in a timely manner and indicators of CSE are identified early and acted upon. Upskill, enable and ensure Managers check work, monitor performance and have increased oversight of their teams work to better inform decision making in a timely manner. Drive forward the workforce plan to recruit, retain and develop social workers, ensure 4 P a g e

6 they are properly supported, grow our own and recruit permanent social workers, promote Leicester City as a good place to work so that we can prevent children experiencing delay and potential risk due to changes of social worker or not being allocated a social worker in a timely way. Raise the levels of partnership working so that together we all fully contribute to safeguarding and the local early help offer, including reduction of inappropriate referrals, threshold arrangements and levels of intervention. Ofsted published its Inspection Report on 20 March 2015 and Leicester City Council Children s Services was found to be inadequate overall. As a result of this judgement, Ofsted will reinspect the Local Authority within a period of 2 years from the date of publication of their report. Ofsted s judgements on areas of the service that contribute to the overall effectiveness of Leicester City s arrangements are illustrated in the table below. Area Children who need help and protection Children looked after and achieving permanence Adoption performance Experiences and progress of care leavers Leadership, management and governance Judgement Inadequate Requires improvement Good Requires improvement Inadequate Ofsted made 24 recommendations to the local authority: six for immediate action ( A ), and a further 18 ( B ) recommendations. These are set out in full in this plan. Ofsted also reviewed the Leicester Safeguarding Children Board and found it to be inadequate. 9 recommendations were made by Ofsted, three for immediate action ( L ) and a further 6 recommendations ( S ). What we want to achieve It is clear that we need to make a change for the better and Leicester City s vision for children and young people is: to improve the lives of Leicester City children by working in partnership to raise aspirations and build achievements The City Mayor s delivery plan, the Health and Wellbeing board and the Children and Young People s Plan (commissioned by the Children s Trust Board) set out the shared vision and priorities for the children and young people in Leicester City. They are set out below. City Mayor s delivery plan: The children and young people priority theme recognises that all children and young people need good universal provision and aims to improve the life chances of those children and young people who are vulnerable to poor outcomes. A summary of the priorities in relation to children and young people are: To improve children s health and reduce the gap between the most and least deprived 5 P a g e

7 To raise achievement in Leicester to national averages and higher, and narrow the gap between the lowest achievers and other children and young people To develop an integrated children s workforce that is confident and capable of intervening early thinking flexibly across job roles, functioning across organisational boundaries, supporting children in the whole family context To reduce and mitigate the effects of family poverty on children s life chances in Leicester To protect and promote the welfare of all vulnerable children and young people. To intervene early and improve outcomes for particularly vulnerable groups of children and young people: looked after children, children and young people with special educational needs/learning difficulties and/or disabilities, young offenders, and children and young people who are carers for others. Health and Wellbeing Board: The Board brings together leaders from the health and care system to work together to improve the health and wellbeing of their local population and reduce health inequalities. The Board also includes representation from patients and the public, via the Local HealthWatch, and the police. It became a full statutory Board in April The strategy is intended to set a direction of travel for commissioners in the city, fostering partnership working to improve health and wellbeing. It underpins other strategies including the Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group (LC CCG) Clinical Commissioning Strategy, the Adult Social Care Transformation Plan and the Children and Young People s Plan. It also takes into account the need in the current financial climate to work together to achieve appropriate economies that will enable the best outcomes. The vision of the strategy is for: adults and families to enjoy a healthy, safe and fulfilling life. The strategic priorities that have a main focus with relation to children and young people are: Strategic priority 1: Improve outcomes for children and young people Reduce infant mortality Reduce teenage pregnancy Improve readiness for school at age five Promote healthy weight and lifestyles in children and young people Strategic priority 4: Improve mental health and emotional resilience Promote the emotional wellbeing of children and young people Children and Young People s plan: To achieve the best possible outcomes for Leicester s children and young people, the Children s Trust focus on six priority areas. These are drawn from a number of existing strategies/plans that aim to improve outcomes for children and young people. 1. Safeguarding: Protect and promote the welfare of all children and young people 2. Health & Wellbeing: Improve children s health and reduce the gap between the most and least deprived and promote emotional resilience 3. Achievement & Aspiration: Raise achievement to national averages & higher; narrow the gap between lowest achievers & other children 6 P a g e

8 4. Family Poverty: Reduce and lessen the effects of family poverty on children s life chances in Leicester 5. Early Help For Groups: Ensure that a co-ordinated approach to Early Help is adopted through an offer of integrated support to vulnerable children, young people and families 6. Workforce: Develop a workforce that can work across organisation boundaries With our partners in Leicester s Children s Trust we will work to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable children and deliver outcomes. Outcomes Frontline social work practice is consistently good and effective The quality and impact of practice is measurably improved through effective communication, challenge and scrutiny There is effective multiagency partnership and delivery of for example, early help Changes for the better - - for frontline staff and all professionals - for children and young people How we will improve The Leicester City Children s Improvement Board (LCCIB) was set up in March 2015 following the Ofsted Inspection to ensure the quality and pace of improvement is delivered quickly and effectively. The Board s membership is drawn from lead members and senior representatives of our partner agencies. Senior council officials and advisors are also in attendance. The Boards remit is to drive improvements with partners and to assure the DfE that they are robust and sustainable. It is planned that representatives from frontline social workers and young people in care will also form membership of the Board from June The LCCIB responsibilities are: To ensure all partners contribute to promoting the welfare of children and to effective safeguarding arrangements in every local area. To advise, support and challenge the City Council and its partners, including the LSCB, to secure sustainable improvements and high level performance in Leicester s children's services following the Ofsted Inspection (January February 2015). To ensure that all recommendations set out in the Ofsted reports, and any other DfE notices are successfully implemented by the City Council and its partners, including the LSCB. To develop and agree the improvement plan, risk log and regularly monitor, review and update progress To ensure an unwavering focus from the City Council and its partners, including the LSCB, on the journey of the child. 7 P a g e

9 To establish relevant links with the City Council s and its partners relevant scrutiny functions. To ensure assessment of progress is informed by children, young people and front line practitioners Scope of Board As set out in the Improvement Notice, to address: The areas of improvement identified in the Ofsted reports The areas of improvement within the Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan This document, the Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan which incorporates the Ofsted Recommendations Action plan sets out our path for improved outcomes for children, young people and families and will be used to monitor, challenge and agree actions to accelerate progress. This includes driving the transformation of social work practice in Leicester city and delivering impact and outcomes over and above the Ofsted recommendations. Ofsted Recommendations Action plan Service Improvement Plans LSCB Business plan and framework Leicester City Children's Improvement Plan Progress & Milestones Performance Book Risk Registers Quality Assurance Framework Partnership, Childrens Trust Board Partnership Working Children & Young People Frontline Staff Figure 1: How activities, plans, performance evidence and partnerships drive the Improvement Plan The information, activities, events and milestones within the plan will contribute to how well we know ourselves, our rate of progress, what we need to do to keep the pace and when we are achieving good or outstanding outcomes for children, young people and families in Leicester City. The Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan has been developed in the context of the Peer review and the Ofsted inspection and will be further shaped by the Notice to Improve. The following themes cover the areas for improvement: Practice Issues Management oversight Performance and quality Workforce Partnership LSCB 8 P a g e

10 Each theme is led by an officer at a senior level. Oversight of the improvement programme as a whole is provided by the Director of Children s Services (DCS), supported by a dedicated Programme Management Officer. The Leicester City Children s Improvement Board (LCCIB) will scrutinise improvement activity in two Stages. Stage 1 will focus on the improvement actions linked directly to the Ofsted recommendations and the Notice to Improve. Stage 2 will consider elements of the extended improvement plan. Evidencing improvement A number of checks are in place to assure the LCCIB, the DfE, the Children and Young People s Scrutiny Commission, the LSCB, the CTB and others that we are changing for the better and that we are making a difference through those actions. Performance Book The Performance Book has been developed to provide the Improvement Board with detailed information to measure performance and achievement against set targets. These include measures around timeliness of decision making and assessments. The Performance Book will be presented to each Board meeting. Quality Assurance and Reporting Schedule The Quality Assurance and Reporting Schedule at Appendix 3 gives detail on the ways in which the Council and its partners will ensure that improvements are impacting positively on the quality of practice and the experience of service users. This includes auditing, sampling and engagement activities. Key milestones and outputs Monitoring and scrutiny arrangements will ensure that key milestones and outputs are met. A summary of these are set out at Appendix 4. Risk Register Issues identified during the implementation of the plan will be reported to the LCCIB, via a risk/issues register. The register will be submitted to the LCCIB and other meetings highlighting key risks and any action to be taken. The actions to address these issues will be monitored by the LCCIB alongside the action plan. A draft of the risk register is at Appendix 5. Monitoring, accountability and scrutiny arrangements The LCCIB, Performance Board and Operational Improvement Group will be key vehicles for scrutiny and challenge. As highlighted previously, strategic multi-agency representation at the LCCIB will monitor and challenge progress. The LCCIB, headed up by the independent LCCIB chair and specialist adviser to the DfE, will provide regular progress reports to the DfE Stakeholder analysis and engagement The success of the LCCI plan relies on communication and engagement with a number of different stakeholders. The LCCIB produces a regular newsletter that is circulated to members and their constituent groups. The newsletter is intended to be used as a piggy-back and/or extract to their single agency communications. Appendix 6 shows: a stakeholder analysis setting out levels of participation and influence in achieving the improvement plan a stakeholder engagement table to identify the purpose and methods of engagement with 9 P a g e

11 stakeholders to Inform, consult/involve; and/or engage and collaborate with the first issue of the LCCIB newsletter A frontline social worker group brings together a range of social work practitioners to act as team representatives and ensure two way communication and consultation in promoting best practice and raising practice standards. Two representatives from the CIN (Children in Need) and LAC (looked after children fieldwork) teams are members of the LCCIB. From July 2015, The Leicester City Children in Care Council (CiCC) will have two representatives who attend the LCCIB and small groups of the CiCC will meet with the independent chair of the LCCIB prior to any LCCIB meeting to ensure there is a dialogue and the views of children and young people contribute to the improvements in services. Monthly progress reports will be presented to the LCCIB. Progress will also be regularly reported to the LSCB, Children s Trust and the Council s Children and Young People s Scrutiny Commission, Corporate Parenting Panel and Executive. Monthly scrutiny and support meetings are already in place between the Assistant Mayor and Lead Member for Education and Children s Services and the Director of Children s Services. Key links and dependencies The Leicester City Children s improvement plan does not replace existing plans and strategies, including the Children and Young People s Plan, the LSCB business plan or other single agency service plans, instead it brings together specific improvement activity across the safeguarding agenda. The Council has collaborative arrangements with east midlands regional Local Authorities for peer challenge and it is intended to maximise external scrutiny through these arrangements. Wider discussions regarding external challenge and support continue with regional colleagues. One of the key ways of measuring success will be through the audit of existing and new cases as set out in the quality assurance framework. A major review of all open cases started following the Ofsted inspection and will be completed in summer Ongoing findings from the audits are being reported on a weekly basis to the Divisional Director, Children Young People and Families and also on a monthly basis to the Operational Improvement Group. A report was submitted to the LCCIB in May 2015 and is a standing quarterly item at the LCCIB. 10 P a g e

12 Appendices The attached appendices detail the integral components of the Leicester City Children s Improvement plan which are: 1. Improvement Plan framework methodology This methodology includes a number of key documents which set out the framework for planning, monitoring and approval by the LCCIB and others to gather evidence how and when we know we have improved. It also details how the corporate and partnership governance arrangements are linked to strengthen the improvement journey and the quality assurance framework and performance book which will inform reports to scrutiny and partnership groups. 2. Ofsted Recommendations and Ofsted Recommendations Action Plan 3. Quality Assurance and Reporting Framework 4. Key Milestones and Outputs summary 5. Risk Register 6. Stakeholder engagement/communications Plan 11 P a g e

13 Appendix 1 LEICESTER CITY CHILDREN S IMPROVEMENT BOARD Improvement Plan framework methodology 12 P a g e

14 Contents: 1. Context 2. The Leicester City Children s Improvement Plan Stage 1 Stage 2 Appendices Appendix 1 Ofsted Recommendation tracker Appendix 2 Summary of Ofsted Recommendations Appendix 3 Highlight/Workstream report Appendix 4 Quality Assurance Timing Plan and critical milestones Appendix 5 Performance Report Appendix 6 Ofsted Recommendations action plan Appendix 7 Partners Report template 13 P a g e

15 1. Context 1.1 The first full Leicester City Children s Improvement Board (LCCIB) convened in April 2015 following the Ofsted inspection of Ofsted Inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers in February 2015 which found the local authority to be inadequate in overall effectiveness. 1.2 Ofsted made 24 recommendations to the local authority: six for immediate action ( A ), and a further 18 ( B ) recommendations. These are set out in full at appendix Ofsted also reviewed the Leicester Safeguarding Children Board and found it to be inadequate. 9 recommendations were made by Ofsted, three for immediate action ( L ) and a further 6 recommendations ( S ). 1.4 The Ofsted recommendations echoed some of the themes identified by an LGA peer review of safeguarding in September Actions to be taken were incorporated into improvement plans following the review. 1.5 A Notice to Improve from the Department for Education is expected in the near future. 2. The Improvement Plan 2.1 The Improvement Plan for Leicester City has been developed in the context of the Peer review, the Ofsted inspection and will be further shaped by the Notice to Improve. The following themes cover the areas for improvement: Practice Issues Management oversight Performance and quality Workforce Partnership LSCB 2.2 Each theme is led by an officer at a senior level. Oversight of the improvement programme as a whole is provided by the Director of Children s Services (DCS), supported by a dedicated Programme Management Officer. 2.3 The LCCIB is asked to scrutinise improvement activity in two phases. Stage 1 will focus on the improvement actions linked directly to the Ofsted recommendations and the Notice to Improve. Stage 2 will consider elements of the extended improvement plan. Improvement Board meetings Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Stage 1 focus on Ofsted recs and Notice to Improve Stage 2 broaden focus to extended improvement plan 14 P a g e

16 3. Governance: 3.1 The LCCIB, with strategic partnership representation is introduced as an addition into the existing Corporate and Partnership governance arrangements with a key purpose to drive sustainable improvement and ensure all recommendations detailed in the Ofsted Report are met. 3.2 An Operational Improvement Group will carry out more detailed work in between Board meetings and provide reports to the Improvement Board. 3.3 In addition: A Performance Board has been set up to oversee an effective performance management framework. a frontline group has been reformed and brings together a range of social worker practitioners and personal assistants acting as team representatives to facilitate two-way communication and consultation in promoting best practice and raising practice standards Children s Trust Board 4. Stage In Stage 1, the Improvement Board will focus on activity associated with Ofsted recommendations and the Notice to Improve. 4.2 Reports to the Improvement Board will include: Director of Children s Services report Monthly Highlight report (appendix 3) Progress tracker of Ofsted recommendations and Notice to Improve (appendix 1) Quality Assurance Timing Plan and critical milestones calendar (appendix 4) Performance Report Summary (appendix 5) 15 P a g e

17 Risk Register Workstream Leads reports Progress against Ofsted recommendation and Notice to improve action plans (sample appendix 6) Workstream reports on activity, performance and findings from quality assurance activity Summary of evidence for sign off on Ofsted recommendation and Notice to Improve action plans (as required) Partners reports sample template appendix The Board will be invited to sign off green action plans subject to the presentation of sufficient evidence of completed actions along with positive direction of travel in the relevant performance indicators and findings from audit and case sampling. 5. Stage In Stage 2 the LCCIB will broaden its focus beyond the Ofsted recommendations and Notice to Improve to look in greater detail at workstreams in the context of the wider workforce improvements that are currently underway to transform social work practice. 16 P a g e

18 Appendix 1 Ofsted Recommendations Tracker 17 P a g e

19 Appendix 2 Ofsted Inspection Recommendations 18 P a g e

20 Appendix 3 Monthly Hi-light/Workstream Report SAMPLE BELOW SCRUTINY 19 P a g e

21 Appendix 4 Quality Assurance Timing Plan and critical milestones 21 P a g e

22 Appendix 5 Performance Reporting 22 P a g e

23 Appendix 6 Ofsted Recommendation Action Plan 23 P a g e

24 Appendix 7 Partners Report Template Partners Update to the Improvement Board Report of: Date of Improvement Board Meeting: Completed by: Contact Details: Date: How are you engaged in activities identified in the Improvement Board: How are you communicating the work of the Improvement board within your agency: Key Achievements: Exceptions: Issues for the Board s Attention: 24 P a g e

25 LEICESTER CITY CHILDREN S IMPROVEMENT BOARD OFSTED RECOMMENDATIONS ACTION PLAN 25 P age

26 Contents Item Page 1. Introduction 2 2. Recommendations summary tables 4 3. Recommendations summary tables for LSCB 7 4. Summary of all Recommendations against target date Progress overview of all Recommendations 9 6. Key Actions, evidence and quality assurance for each Recommendation 7. Key Actions, evidence and quality assurance for each Recommendation for LSCB P age

27 1. Introduction 1.1. In January 2015, Ofsted inspected the local authority s services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers and at the same time, conducted a review of the effectiveness of the local safeguarding children board. This four week, unannounced inspection was carried out by 10 inspectors and covered the range of local authority services for vulnerable children and families to understand the impact services are having on children, young people and families, and particularly how professional practice impacts on the journey of the child Ofsted published its Inspection Report on 20 March 2015 and Leicester City Council Children s Services was found to be inadequate overall. As a result of the judgement, Ofsted will reinspect the Local Authority within a period of 2 years from the date of publication of the report Ofsted made 24 recommendations to the local authority: six for immediate action ( A ), and a further 18 ( B ) recommendations. These are set out in full in this Ofsted Recommendations Action plan Ofsted also reviewed the Leicester Safeguarding Children Board and found it to be inadequate. 9 recommendations were made by Ofsted, three for immediate action ( L ) and a further 6 recommendations ( S ) The Ofsted recommendations echoed some of the themes identified by an LGA peer review of safeguarding in September The local authority is required to respond to Ofsted (within 70 days of Ofsted s published inspection report) with a plan to address their recommendations. A Notice to Improve from the Department for Education (DfE) is also expected in June This document, the Ofsted Recommendations Action plan has been produced by Leicester City Children s Services in collaboration with staff and partners on the Leicester City Children s Improvement Board and through their constituent groups. 27 Page

28 1.8. The Ofsted Recommendations action plan identifies key actions to be taken within specified timescales, supported by quantitative and qualitative evidence. Service Improvement Plans and the LSCB business plan, with partner input and collaboration feed into this Ofsted action plan which informs the overall Leicester City Children s Improvement plan as shown below: Ofsted Recommendations Action plan Service Improvement Plans LSCB Business plan and framework Leicester City Children's Improvement Plan Progress & Milestones Performance Book Risk Registers Quality Assurance Framework Partnership, Childrens Trust Board Partnership Working Children & Young People Frontline Staff 28 P age

29 2. Recommendations Summary tables 2.1. The following series of tables in this section reference the set of Ofsted recommendations and identify the Lead Officer responsible for addressing that recommendation. The far right column lists the key date at which the key actions will be completed. This does not necessarily indicate that the outcome or impact is complete, but these will be further supported by the newly developed Performance Management Framework and Quality Assurance Framework Quantitative evidence which aligns to a Performance Book of Key Management Performance figures and the newly developed performance management framework Qualitative evidence which aligns to qualitative activity such as audits, surveys, case file auditing, regular reporting, themed audits and the newly developed Quality Assurance Framework. A Inspection Recommendations Immediate action Lead Officer Target Date for Key Actions to be completed A1 Put into place an effective performance management framework; this to include: comprehensive and reliable performance data; clear monitoring and quality assurance arrangements; and effective performance management of teams and individuals Clair Pyper End November 2015 A2 A3 Ensure that all staff receive regular reflective supervision, in line with the local authority s supervision policy, that provides direction and includes consideration of the individual s developmental needs and professional capability Ensure that suitable arrangements are in place to support and meet the needs of 16- and 17-yearolds who become homeless Clair Pyper End January 2016 David Thrussell End June 2015 A4 Improve the quality and consistency of assessments so that risks and concerns are robustly considered and inform plans about what needs to change Jasmine Nembhard End October 2015 A5 Improve the continuity of social worker for children and young people and ensure the timeliness and consistency of social work home visits Jasmine Nembhard End December 2015 A6 Improve the quality and delivery of plans to meet the needs of children and ensure that they are not subject to drift or delay Cheriel O Neill End November P age

30 B Inspection Recommendations Lead Officer Target Date for Key Actions to be completed B1a Ensure effective oversight and examination of data and practice by the Scrutiny Commission Frances Craven End September 2015 B1b Ensure effective oversight and examination of data and practice by the Corporate Parenting Forum Frances Craven End September 2015 B2 Ensure the local authority s full engagement with Cafcass and the Family Courts and improve the quality of pre-proceedings and court work Jasmine Nembhard End October 2015 B3 With partners, ensure that professionals are fully aware of their role in contributing to the identification and support of children with additional needs, and where appropriate assist them to access early help services Jackie Difolco End December 2015 B4 Ensure that the electronic social care recording system promotes good practice, supports managerial oversight and provides accurate performance information Liz Best End December 2015 B5 Improve the timeliness of social work interventions and ensure effective permanence planning, including the consideration of all permanence options, within the child s timescales Jasmine Nembhard End December 2015 B6 Improve the consistency and quality of case recording and chronologies and ensure that scanned documentation and key documents, such as looked after review outcomes, are more certainly and swiftly available on the electronic social care recording system Jasmine Nembhard End November 2015 B7 Ensure that practitioners are aware of the indicators of child sexual exploitation so that risk is identified early and preventative measures can be put into place Clair Pyper End October 2015 B8 Ensure that when a child, in receipt of a social work service, goes missing from home or care, a return visit is completed promptly, that the outcome is appropriately recorded and that it informs the child s plan and local intelligence gathering Jasmine Nembhard End October 2015 B9 Ensure that care plans are informed by regular and up-to-date assessments of needs Cheriel O Neill End January 2016 B10 Ensure that initial health assessments for children looked after take place within 28 days of their reception into care Jasmine Nembhard End October P age

31 B Inspection Recommendations Lead Officer Target Date for Key Actions to be completed B11 Improve the consistency and quality of personal education plans as a tool to improve the educational attainment and achievement of children looked after Jane Winterbone End September 2015 B12 B13 B14 B15 B16 B17 B18 Ensure that effective re-unification plans are agreed by a statutory review and that these arrangements are monitored in a timely way following the child s return home Strengthen the capacity of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) service to fulfil all aspects of the IRO Handbook, particularly enabling them to more effectively track and quality assure the progress of care plans in between statutory review processes Improve the timeliness and quality of foster carer reviews and strengthen the level of independent oversight provided within reviews Ensure that caseloads are at a level that enables personal advisors to work proactively with all care leavers allocated to them, including those aged 16 and 17 years Strengthen the pathway review process to ensure that formal reviews take place regularly with the contribution of other agencies and are subject to robust management oversight Ensure that risk assessments are undertaken for all young people living in unsuitable accommodation Ensure that care leavers are provided with full information about their health histories prior to leaving care Cheriel O Neill End October 2015 Liz Best End October 2015 Cheriel O Neill End October 2015 Cheriel O Neill End August 2015 Cheriel O Neill End October 2015 Cheriel O Neill End August 2015 Cheriel O Neill End October P age

32 3. Recommendations Summary tables for LSCB L Inspection Recommendations Immediate action Lead Officer Target Date for Key Actions to be completed L1 Establish and implement a robust performance management framework and dataset that can enable the Board to exercise scrutiny of service effectiveness and outcomes for children. This should include reliable quantitative data, qualitative information, service user s views and experiences and practitioner s views. Liz Best End of August 2015 L2 Monitor the effectiveness of statutory services and practice provided to children in need of help and protection. David Jones/ Liz Best On going Business plan L3 Establish a clear line of sight and reporting from front line practice to the Board so that concerns and challenges can be identified more promptly and accurately David Jones/ Liz Best End of September 2105 S Inspection Recommendations Lead Officer Target Date for Key Actions to be completed S1 S2 Ensure that the information reported to the Board contains challenging analysis that enables members to identify the key priority areas for improvement and generate an effective Business Plan Increase the number frequency and range of multi-agency audits initiated by the Board David Jones Liz Best On all Board agendas commencing June 2105 End August 2015 S3 Produce and implement a plan to engage with children and young people in order to hear and act upon their voice Janet Russell End September 2015 S4 S5 S6 Produce an Annual Report that is consistent with all the requirements of Working Together (March 2013) Evaluate the current operation of the early help offer, including partners understanding and implementation of their early help responsibilities and the understanding and application of service thresholds Ensure that an evaluation of the impact of recent CSE initiatives relating to prevention, protection, prosecution and disruption is undertaken and that the right support is being made available to victims David Jones Jackie Difolco Clair Pyper End September 2015 End September 2015 End September P age

33 4. Summary of all Recommendations against target date The Summary table below shows the target dates for when all of the key actions described within a Recommendation will be completed. Target Date when all key actions within recommendation are complete End June 2015 End July 2015 A3 Recommendation End August 2015 B17, L1, S2, B15, End September 2015 B1a, B1b, B11, S3, S4, S5, S6, L3, End October 2015 End November 2015 End December 2015 End January 2016 B7, B18, B2, B14, B16, B8, B12, S1, B13, B10 A1, A6, B6 A5, B3, B4, B5 A2, B9, A4 33 P age

34 5. Progress overview of all Recommendations 1.1 This page gives a quick overview of the progress of each of the recommendations broken down into themes identified that group the areas for improvement: Practice Issues; Management oversight; Performance and quality; Workforce; Partnership; LSCB and RAG rates progress based on Phase 1 (PI being actions completed and Phase 2 (P2) securing the evidence of impact through quality assurance. 1.2 Key Complete Phase 1 (PI): Actions completed Themes In Progress Phase 2 (P2): Evidence of impact through quality Delayed/Stalled Signed off by the Improvement Board: Practice Issues Management oversight Performance and quality Workforce Partnership LSCB Phase P1 P2 P1 P2 P1 P2 P1 P2 P1 P2 P1 P2 Recommendations A2 A2 A1 A2 A1 L1 A4 A3 A4 A5 A3 L2 A5 A5 B4 B5 B1 L3 A6 B4 B6 B7 B2 S1 B2 B12 B8 B9 B3 S2 B5 B13 B11 B13 B5 S3 B6 B14 B15 B7 S4 B7 B16 B11 S5 B8 B16 S6 B9 B10 B11 B12 B14 B16 B17 B18 B18 S5 34 P a g e

35 ACTION PLAN FOR EACH RECOMMENDATION 6. Action plan for each Recommendation ACTION PLAN AND PROGRESS Recommendation: A1 Put into place an effective performance management framework; this to include: comprehensive and reliable performance data clear monitoring and quality assurance arrangements effective performance management of teams and individuals Story behind the The quality of performance information and tracking mechanisms to enable regular monitoring of progress, which were recommendation: identified as strengths at that inspection [11/12] have significantly deteriorated. There has been a corporate failure of leadership and accountability for children s services in the local authority, with the leadership team and elected members failing to ensure that they have a robust understanding of the local authority s performance. A decision to move responsibility for performance management data to the corporate centre has over time contributed to inaccurate and insufficient reporting. This was compounded by poor systems for collection of data within the local authority s electronic recording system and inconsistent management oversight. As a result, managers, senior leaders and elected members do not have a detailed enough knowledge of what is happening at the front-line to discharge their individual and collective responsibilities effectively. The Performance Team moved back into Children s Services in mid-2014 and additional resources have been secured. The quality and accuracy of performance management information is improving but remains insufficient to provide the level of accuracy, detail and analysis needed to support external scrutiny or robust quality assurance by managers. Performance management is too reliant upon verbal reporting with insufficient scrutiny of data, agendas, minutes or attendance at meetings. Challenge to date has been insufficiently robust. The lack of regular reporting of performance information and audit activity [to the Corporate Parenting Forum], including oversight from the Independent Reviewing Officer Service, means that challenge and priority setting is not linked strongly enough to what is happening to children and young people, the quality of services being provided to them and their outcomes. The LSCB has not been receiving adequate performance management data of safeguarding activity from partners and it is therefore unable to hold agencies effectively to account. What good looks like: The local authority, through performance management and monitoring, has an accurate and systematically updated understanding of its effectiveness. It demonstrates a track record of dealing rigorously and effectively with areas for development. Leaders, including elected members and managers, have a comprehensive and current knowledge of what is happening at the front line, how well children and young people are helped, cared for and protected, and a track record of responding appropriately and quickly to service deficiencies or new demands. The local authority knows itself well, is a learning organisation and can demonstrate evidence of practice that is informed, modified and sustainably improved by feedback, research and intelligence about the quality of services and the experiences of children, young people and families who use them. The local authority holds clear records in respect of the numbers of children 35 P a g e

36 receiving alternative education and for those missing from education. Management oversight of practice, including practice scrutiny by senior managers, is established, systematic and demonstrably used to improve the quality of decisions and the provision of help to children and young people. The frontline workers and first line managers are engaged and accountable to deliver services in a consistent and systematic way Embed a culture of performance and accountability at frontline and first line managers in the service. Priority: Immediate; End November 2015 for key actions Owner: Clair Pyper EVIDENCE OF ACTIVITY A1 Key Actions to address the recommendation By When By who Develop, implement and embed the range of operational reports in place (daily/weekly/live dashboards) End May 2015 CB/HoS/Brad Iliffe Regular (eg CIN weekly, LAC fortnightly) performance meetings in place involving SMs & TMs for service area and using weekly performance reports (phase 1) End May 2015 Brad Iliffe and Heads of Service Briefing and coaching for CiN TMs on accessing and interpreting data End May 2015 Chris Batty Brad Iliffe Set up and implement systematic analysis of inappropriate referrals to inform plans including regular review of inappropriate referrals with partners and reporting to partnership End May 2015 Jasmine Nembhard/ Karen Dawson Ongoing programme of development for frontline social workers with dates booked in June for competency in care proceedings and June and September for CSE training. Plans in place. End May 2015 Paul McChrystal/ Heads of Service Quality of Practice forms to be piloted and then used systematically by all IROs and Independent chairs for every review/conference. End May 2015 Julie Jordan/ Lesley Booth Implement Performance Framework and Quality Assurance framework action plan in 3 phases. Phase 1 End June 2015 Chris Batty Revision to Liquid Logic system will enable LA to collect accurate data about which young people are living in a house of multiple occupancy ( Specification submission to IT team for drop down list addition) End June 2015 Liz Best/ June Morley Develop fully functioning monthly reporting for Managers within and across Services (Phase 1) End June 2015 Heads of Service, Chris Batty/Brad Iliffe Set up and implement systematic management monitoring to confirm timeliness and quality of visits to children End June 2015 Jasmine Nembhard Reports to 16+ teams to include reliable key performance indicators in Care Leavers service ie plan of EETs and NEETs, Staying Put and Multiple occupancy reporting. End July 2015 Liz Best/ Mike Leslie Performance Framework and QA framework action plan ( Phase 2) in place End July 2015 Chris Batty Stabilising and upskilling of the workforce to include the induction and training in the frontline for staff. Induction: starts Summer 2015 Paul McChrystal/ Heads of Service Implementation of QA framework and case file auditing system End Sept 2015 Chris Batty/ Heads of Service Performance Framework and QA framework action plan Phase 3 Full implementation and review End Nov 2015 Chris Batty 36 P a g e