Ofsted Action Plan AppA , item 9/13 PDF 79 KB - Surrey County ...

Surrey Inspection Action PlanThe unannounced Inspection conducted in Surrey during the period 10-19 September 2012 considered key aspects of a child’s journey through thechild protection system. The inspection focused on the experiences of the child or young person and the effectiveness of the help and protection theyare offered.The following areas were identified for improvement in the quality of help and protection given to children and young people in Surrey. The local authorityand its partners are expected take the following actions.Action Activity Owner DueDate(mm/yy)1. Ensure that thresholdarrangements are confirmed as inplace and adhered to by all keyagencies for children in need andthose in need of protection.Page 125• The SSCB to champion the revisedChildren’s Services’ threshold criteria andpromote its’ adoption by partner agencies.• Children’s Services to link with key partneragencies through workshops to furtherembed understanding of the Thresholdcriteria, approved by Ofsted.• Develop a Communications strategy withpartners and the Communications team toensure acceptance of the Children’sServices’ Threshold criteria.JulianGordon-WalkerMarch2013Progress &ReviewThe Early Help Public Value Programmehas set up a sub-group to look at all theexisting Threshold Criteria, including thatfor Children’s Social Care. This involvespartners from Health, Schools, YouthServices and Children’s Services. Themeeting is being chaired by the head ofthe Secondary Schools Phase Council andmeets on January 14 th to commence its’work. Its’ purpose will be to embed theexisting CS Threshold Criteria, but extendthis to a comprehensive Partnership levelsof Need document. The aim isto complete by the end of March 2013.

2. The leadership of the SurreySafeguarding Children Board(SSCB), Surrey Alliance and corepartner agencies should establish aclear, joint commitment to theimplementation of an integratedearly help offer in order to ensureseamless support arrangements forthose children not yet, or nolonger, at risk of significant harmThe One Year Early Help Strategy : Agreedand signed off by the Director and AllianceOngoingEarly Help Partnership Reference Group is inplace and is overseeing four workstreams,each chaired by a partner representative:1. Early Help Strategy 2013-172. Early Help Commissioning Plan3. Early Help Operational Processes andApproach4. Comprehensive Levels of NeedDocumentThe first phase of work, a draft multi-agencyLevels of Need Document, will be presented atthe next Partnership Reference Group meetingon 25 Feb 2013, before further consultationand sign off in March.A draft outcomes framework and needsanalysis will also be discussed at the nextmeeting.Page 1263. Ensure the implementation of theexisting agreement to deliver anintegrated child protection initialand risk assessment unit acrossthe local authority, Surrey PoliceService and health services in thearea• Surrey Police and Children’s Serviceshave established a working party to drivethrough the introduction of a joint CRUteam.• Development of a process for themanagement of individual Policenotifications with shared assessment ofrisk and decision-making.• Discuss with staff, HR and Unison tomanage the consultation process withstaff on change of roles.• Ensure adequate logistical support isavailable to staff moving to the CRU• Agree how new working relationships withthe police will link with Health colleaguesJulianGordon-WalkerApril2013An options development phase will run to May2013.Commissioning Plan to be developed fromMay 2013 – (need to check dates withProgramme team)The working party has now met threetimes. A clear scoping of the level ofstaffing required, from where the posts willcome, the logistical requirements have allbeen identified. The service will beentering consultation with the smallnumber of staff affected next week and willbe in a position to recruit to the new teamin March 2013, ready for the new serviceto start in April 2013.

4. Ensure that recent improvementsin supervision are consolidated,extended and applied consistentlyacross all teams in order toprovide reflective developmentalopportunities and explicit linkswith annual appraisal and trainingplans, particularly in relation torecently recruited and newlyqualified social workersPage 127• Working Group to be set up withrepresentatives from all arms of theDivision• Learning from staff supervision audit to bedisseminated.• Practical examples of supervision folders/recording and practice to be shared toagree on approaches• Progress and results of the SW pilot onreflective supervision to be shared andimplemented.• Learning and development -commissioning to be included to informpractice• All members of the working group to liaisewith NQSW’s and identify what works.• Review induction process for NQSW’s.• Working group to look at employerstandards and supervision framework.• Develop framework to deliver a consistentapproach to management of NQSW’sacross all service areas.• Review the Communications Strategy forcommunicating information re ASYE.• To develop consistent approach toutilising consultant senior practitioners.• Agree principles for case load allocation toNQSW’s.• Review the Supervision audit undertakenin January/February 2012 in 2013, toensure improvements in practice areembedded in all teams.PennyMackinnon /JulieShepherdOngoingTo continue with the joint supervision pilotwith social workers and health visitors. Toconsider extending the pilot to includeother professional groups. There arecurrent negotiations with Brunel Universityin relation to their evaluation.Consultant Senior Practitioners are inplace across the service and workingdirectly with NQSW’s and teams to drivethe Assessed and Supported Year inEmployment (ASYE) which applies to allnew social workers joining the profession.The workforce strategy team are workingin conjunction with the service to revisethe induction programme for all workersacross the service and the council.A support process is in place for all newlyqualified social workers through ‘buddy’arrangements and organised supportnetworks.An audit of all learning agreements,Professional Development Plans andreflective supervision will be incorporatedinto the Safeguarding Unit QualityAssurance audit schedule.A review of embedding ASYEarrangements will take place in March2013. This will be completed inconjunction with Consultant SeniorPractitioners

5.Page 128Ensure that assessments ofchildren in need, including those inneed of protection, clearly evaluaterisks, needs and protective factors• Find a common language andunderstanding across the teams of whatanalysis is and link to theoreticalframework.• Develop this group and link to supervisiongroup.• Run future practice sessions with staffbuilding on good practice.• Collate existing information about riskanalysis in the Service.• Use findings to inform the Training NeedsAnalysis for the development of the singleand multi-agency training programme.LouiseWarrenA group has met to consider how to improvethe Social Workers analysis within anassessment, so that this is then routinelyrecorded within social work reports across theservice .Further work will focus on :• how to systemically build in discussiontime with a manager during an assessmentprocess in order for there to be a sufficientfocus on analysis• linking to the supervision group to ensurethis aspect of a Social workers role isgiven a high priority• pulling together positive practice in thisarea across the service and providing aneasy definition and guidance as to whatanalysis is• for teams to learn from each other toinform their thinking and understanding• this work becoming embedded in trainingand development across the service

6.Page 129Ensure that child in need and childprotection plans are specific aboutwhat needs to change for the childand within what timescales• A revised format for CP plans has beendevised and will be uploaded onto ICS inDecember.• Training to be provided to CP Chairs oncompleting these and ensuring smartplanning• Workshops to be set up with keyprofessionals to look at CP plans andmaking these multi-agency• L&D Commissioning Group to berequested to look at current training forATMs and TMs on developing SMART CINplansElaKulikowskiThere have been a number of meetingsattended by managers and practitionersrepresenting front line Social Care teams,County Wide Services , Safeguarding andReview Unit and Children's ICS Support Team.The focus of the work has been on reviewingICS based plans, which are currently used bythe Service and considering exemplars ofplans used by other leading Local Authoritieswith a view to adopting them in Surrey. Theultimate aim is to agree on a new format forALL plans that is SMARTer and user friendly.The initial focus on CP plans has resulted in anew version of the CP plan due to be launchedin Version 7 of ICS ( which is currently beingtested ) at the end of January 2013. Furtheralteration to the template ( replacing currentterminology with a more child/family friendlylanguage) will be completed once ICS supportstaff undergo their training (24/25th January) inusing the newly purchased Forms Designedprogramme. Safeguarding Unit Manager(Caroline Alexander) is setting up a trainingday for all Independent CP Chairs on 20thFebruary to enhance their skills in producingoutcome focused CP Plans. This learning is tobe taken to the areas through joint workshops (Ela Kulikowski and Caroline Alexander to liaisewith Learning and Development Team tofacilitate them) with front line staff to embedlearning across the Service. The QualityAssurance Team (Geraldine Allan) will besetting up a focus group for Service Users inFebruary 2013 to seek views on the newversion of the plan and to consider andimplement their suggestions for furtherimprovements. Future meetings of thisWorkstream will focus on the LAC and CINplans, with Pathway Plans and person centredTransition plans for young adults with specialneeds being progressed by the Leaving Careand Transition Teams in conjunction with LACteam manager.

7.Page 130Ensure that effective considerationis given to a child’s or youngperson’s ethnicity, culture, religion,language and disability inassessments in order to informplanning and interventions.• The group will meet again to scope out thetask• Consultation with staff to understand theirposition, their needs and ideas• To engage Equality Manager Abid Dar forconsultation and advice• To link with the Directorate Equality Group(DEG) chaired by Garath Symmonds• To conduct a review of the training offer toensure that this is fit for purpose & specific tothe needs of social care. Currently there isonly a Corporate offer. Links with social workreform plans, NQSW induction and theadoption action plan workforce developments.• To join up the overall strategy with our humanresources approaches• Engage UNISON Equality Officer.JamesBeardallThe North East Area Safeguarding Groupin December 2012 considered the OfstedReport and had some debate about theEquality and Diversity practice issues thatwere raised by the Inspectors. Partnershave agreed to undertake a multi-agencyaudit in the North East to learn more aboutthis practice area in order to embedimprovements for all agencies.The above audit will mirror a similar auditthat is being undertaken by Children'sServices Managers across the four areasand being led by the Inspection ActionPlan Equality and Diversity Work stream.This will use the same audit tool.The above work group has undertaken aconsultation with teams in relation tolearning outcomes for the commissioningof some new training in this areaspecifically for social care. It is takingshape and looks like a two tier training isneeded that will take workers through astaged approach in their learning.8.Review the current risk forchildren who havebeen on child protection plans formore than 18 months to determinewhether a plan is still appropriateto manage and reduce risk• A quality audit to be carried out on CPplans to look at use of categories, toensure that they are appropriate to theassessed risk.• Continue to ensure that children subject toCP Plans for more than 18 months arereviewed to ensure that the threshold stillexists and prevent drift.• SSCB, through the Quality Assurancegroup to facilitate the engagement ofservice users in developing simple andeffective CP Plans.• Ensure that the training offer for 2013/14supports the need for decisive planningand permanency when required.SafeguardingUnit QATeamOngoingThe review of children subject to a childprotection plan for more than 18 months isa routine part of review and included in theSafeguarding Unit Quality Assuranceschedule of audits.

9.Review the use of the commonassessmentframework for any purposes otherthan the assessment, planning anddelivery of a multi-agency earlyhelp offer.• The SSCB to champion Early Helpstrategy and gain commitment of allmembers to ensure effectiveimplementation.• SSCB and Children’s Trust to providedirection to all partner agencies on theappropriate use of the CAF; that it is not areferral form and promotion of the use ofthe TACLouiseWarrenAnalysis of this issue has led to some specificwork being undertaken by the CAF team withthe Children's Centre Management team toensure that the CAF is not used as a referralfor funding for the Free Entitlement toEducation for 2 year olds. The CAF team havealso reviewed the quality assurance processregarding individual CAF's received , in orderto ensure robust feedback is given topractitioners to improve understanding andknowledge across partner agencies.There will be a planned set of consultationworkshops with key partner agencies duringFebuary and March 2013 focusing onstrengthening and reviewing the CAF and theTeam Around the Child process. It isanticipated that this will aid engagement andunderstanding of the use of the CAF and theprovision of coordinated early help services inthe future.Page 131

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