The report of the Chief Executive/ Strategic Director of Children’s Services (Document “Q”) provides information about the OFSTED ILACS judgement published on 29 October 2018 and the action that the Council has taken and will take in response.

Recommended -

(1)       To note the outcome of the OFSTED inspection.

(2)       To note the plans to deliver rapid improvement and to offer         support.

(3)       To refer the report to the Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny        Committee.

(4)       To request that the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services work          with officers to prepare a robust Improvement Plan with the voice of the child at its heart for the next meeting of the Executive in      December 2018.

(5)       To invite the Chair of the Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny        Committee to join the formal Improvement Board.

(6)       To request that the Chief Executive identify an appropriate          Improvement Advisor to work with the Council and to act as      independent chair of the Improvement Board.

(7)       To refer the report to the Corporate Parenting Panel.

(Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee)

(David Walmsley - 01274 431241)

The following item was included on this agenda as an exception to the Forward Plan in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 10 (General Exception to the Forward Plan) of Part 3D of the Constitution.

The report of the Chief Executive (Document “Q”) provided information about the OFSTED ILACS judgement published on 29 October 2018 and the action that the Council had taken and will take in response to the judgement.

The Leader stated that the Ofsted Inspection judgement was published last week, and that the Executive were considering the findings to ensure that improvements are made quickly.  Despite the disappointment expressed within the Ofsted report, the Leader stressed that Children Social Workers in the district were doing a fantastic job supporting families and vulnerable children.

The Chief Executive stated that there was a deep regret and a disappointment arising from the outcome of the Ofsted judgement.  The outcome followed an unannounced inspection by Ofsted and although aspects such as work around CSE  and missing children were praised and seen as exemplary, the overall judgement was inadequate.  In the light of the Ofsted judgement the Council had moved swiftly to address Ofsted’s concerns, particularly in the area of staff retention and strengthening service delivery.  All said and done the imperative was to achieve the best outcomes for the children in the district, and strident measures had been put in place, including an audit of all existing cases as well as strengthening of the multi agency safeguarding hub and the front line supervisory team. As part of this improvement journey, a draft improvement plan would be considered by the Executive at its December meeting, which will give further assurances and update Members on actions taken.  The Chief Executive reiterated that the judgement was a huge blow for the Council and Children’s Services, however she stressed that in Bradford  we had a remarkable Social Work team dealing with complex cases, and it was therefore important to acknowledge the work they were doing.

The Chief Executive added that although the Department for Education had issued a notice to improve the Council was not under statutory direction and would still retain full control of the service, however, in due course an improvement board would be put on place with an independent chair to oversee the improvements and in the meantime an officer group was already looking at the immediate issues, and it was the intention that this report would also be referred to the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to the Corporate Parenting Panel for further scrutiny and discussion.

The Leader reiterated that the report and recommendations needed the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Corporate Parenting Panel to cast their eye over it, to ensure we had the right outcomes and that we expedited our responsibilities.

The Children and Families Portfolio Holder expressed his disappointment with the Ofsted judgement and stressed that a referral would be made to Scrutiny, and that in the meantime an audit of all cases was in progress.

The Deputy Director of Children Social Care updated Members on the action his team had taken since the Ofsted judgement, including an audit of 1700 cases, of which 1200 cases had already been reviewed, referring any issues to service managers where appropriate. However it was highlighted that in reviewing the cases no child had been found to be unsafe.

In response to a question regarding the timescales for setting up the Improvement Board, it was explained that a process would be gone though as soon as possible to recruit an improvement advisor, with the Chief Executive chairing the Board in the interim.  It was stressed that the Board had already met four times.

The Assistant Director stated that aspects of the multi agency work had also been modified to ensure there was consistency in case management.

The Portfolio Holder stressed the need to champion the voice of the child and to make this a central component of the improvements going forward.  The Deputy Director acknowledged that this was already part of the Action Plan and the Chief Executive added that CMT was also looking at this issue in greater detail.

In response to a question on staff retention and recruitment, the Deputy Director stated that problems with staff recruitment and retention and the rising number of children being referred, mirrored the national picture.  In essence rising demand and the loss of staff were contributors, and although the introduction of a retention allowance had helped, the loss of experience staff had created a void with the current ratio being 60/40 between new/experience social workers.  The Service was also trying to address the pay differential in Bradford, as this sector operated in a very competitive market.

In response to a question on staff training and support, it was pointed out that all new social workers were part of a buddy system and intensive supervision and comprehensive training was offered.

In response to a question on how staff were being supported following the Ofsted judgement, the Deputy Director stated that all staff had been briefed  and that more briefing sessions were being planned.  In addition an officer working group was also being set up to look at the Ofsted judgement in detail.

The Leader stated that the Portfolio would also be meeting staff in due course.

The Opposition Leader was present at the meeting and stated that he concurred with all that had been said and that concerns had been answered to address the Ofsted judgement, however he stressed that the problem should have been spotted some time ago.  He added that considerable work was required in the meantime to work though the improvements that were required and that children had to be at the heart of the focus.

The Leader stressed that additional resources had been put into the budget for 2018/2019  to address the issue of recruitment and retention and that the Improvement Board would be a vehicle for achieving the improvements. However in the context of increasing demand it was important to acknowledge and support the work of our Social Workers.

Resolved -

(1)       That the outcome of the OFSTED inspection be noted.

(2)       That the plans to deliver rapid improvement and to offer support           be noted.

(3)       That the report be referred to the Children’s Services Overview &          Scrutiny Committee.

(4)       That the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services be requested to          work with officers to prepare a robust Improvement Plan with the             voice of the child at its heart for the next meeting of the Executive             in December 2018.

(5)       That the Chair of the Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny    Committee be invited to join the formal Improvement Board.

(6)       That the Chief Executive be requested to identify an appropriate           Improvement Advisor to work with the Council and to act as             independent chair of the Improvement Board.

(7)       That the report be referred to the Corporate Parenting Panel.

ACTION:       Chief Executive

(Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee)