Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

AGENDA ITEM 6

BOROUGH OF POOLE

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

20MAY 2014

CHILDREN’S SERVICES EARLY HELP REVIEW

PART OF THE PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN YES

STATUS; Information

1. PURPOSE

1.1To inform Members of the progress of the Children’s Services Early Help Review, initial findings and service options being considered.

1. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1Members comment and scrutinise proposed changes as a result of the Early Help Review implementation.

2.2 Members to agree to receive an update on the Early Help Review implementation at September 2014 Committee and a full report in November 2014 Committee.

1. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION

3.1. Definition of Early Help

Early help is about identifying problems at an early stage and providing purposeful and effective help as soon as possible to prevent those problems escalating and becoming more complex to resolve. It involves working with families, and the help can be provided at any point in a child’s life from pre-birth up until the age of 17 years.

3.2.Policy context

There is substantial, and growing evidence to indicate that interventions early in childhood can make a significant difference in improving outcomes in later life. These have been described in the Marmot Review[1] and Frank Field’s report on the Foundation years2 and have been promoted by Graham Allen’sreport3 and the establishment of the Early Intervention Foundation (Poole is recognised as an Early Intervention Place by the Foundation)

In the Munro report5, Eileen Munro described the importance of ‘shared responsibility for Early Help’

The Government has accepted Munro’s recommendations and the revised Working Together4 and sets out the need for agencies to work together to:

• Identify children and families who would benefit from early help
• Undertake an assessment of the need for early help
• Provide targeted early help services to address the assessed needs of a child and their family which focuses on activity to significantly improve outcome for the child

This policy change has been adopted by Ofsted in their new inspection framework for children’s services and Poole can expect to have Early Help arrangements inspected as part of the next inspection round at any time.

3.2.Initiating an Early Help Review

Poole has responded to the above policy changes by initiating an Early Help Review with the aim of ensuring;

The right families get the right intervention at the right time (to ensure effectiveness, impact and reduce use of expensive specialist services)

3.3. Scope of the Review

This has been a complex review as Early Helpis delivered by a wide range of multi-agency services, including all non-universal services up to the doors of Children’s Social Care, and the Social Care Family Support services for Children in Need. Early Help also includes services which work with adults who are parents, for example in Drug and Alcohol Services. A list of services included in the Review is attached in Appendix 1.

4.PHASE 1 OF THE REVIEW- MAPPING AND SCOPING

4.1.In the first phase of the Review, staff and manager’s were part of a peer structured interview process and a variety of activity and financial information was analysed. Two external consultants were employed for a short period of time to act as an external critical friend in this process and to bring experience of Early Help services from other authorities.

4 Department of Education, Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2013 5 Eileen Munro, The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report, a child centred system

4.2.Key Findings from Phase 1 of Review.

4.2.1.Positive Findings

The Borough of Poole has a wide range of Early Help Services which together make up a continuum of services which address a range of family and children’s level of need. (see appendix 1)

As might be expected in a small authority, services work well together at the level of front-line staff, through excellent working relationships and driven by a strong commitment to help families and children.

The Families with Futures programme has been piloting a multi-disciplinary co-ordinated service delivery model to families and the learning from this is included in the Review.

Areas for Development

4.2.2. Multi-agency understanding of levels of need and thresholds

It is important that all staff in contact with families have an understanding on a multi-agency basis of the terminology we all use to describe levels of need and the thresholds we are using for services.

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In Poole we also have to be mindful that many Early Help services, including health, span neighbouring authorities and that the model for levels of need being used Nationally as part of the expansion of the health visiting workforce have to be taken into account. These revised levels of need align with health and are used by Bournemouth;;

These levels of need have been discussed at Poole Children’s Trust Board and agreed on a multi-agency basis.

The expectation is that all families who are within the Partnership Plus level and Specialist/Statutory level will have had an Early Help Assessment, have a named lead practitioner and robust management oversight of the work with the family.

A joint Bournemouth and Poole Threshold policy has been agreed with the Local Safeguarding Children Board which explains the service thresholds, especially for children’s social care. This is attached as appendix 2.

The Local Safeguarding Childrens Board is also developing a suite of performance measures for tracking the effectiveness of Early Help across Bournemouth and Poole.

4.2.3. Assessment Framework

When families are first in touch with children’s services and there are signs of vulnerability or concern it is vital an holistic Early Help assessment is carried out to identify family needs, strengths and risks. Historically this has been done through the Common Assessment Framework or CAF. In Poole we have designed, piloted and implemented a new Early Help Assessment Framework which is used in the local authority targeted services. This needs to be rolled out in all our Early Help services and through partner agencies.

Further work is also needed on;

• Ensuring that an Early Help Assessment is always done at the level of Partnership Plus.
• Further development of systems for quality assuring assessment
• The process for allocation of a lead practitioner to a family

4.2.4 Accessing Early Help and Information and processes to inform decision

making

While children’s services do have ICT systems on which staff can record key case information, at the moment there are not systems in place to allow a whole view of who is working with the family (current and historic). This means staff can spend a lot of time telephoning teams to check involvement and makes it difficult to have an overview of Early Help.

It is not always clear to members of the public and professionals which service to access and there are multiple access points in the current system.

While there are arrangements in targeted services, early years services and children’s social care to manage thresholds of risk, these are not always consistent, depending on where a family comes into the Early Help system and can rely too heavily on professional networks, rather than process.

4.2.5. Refocusing of children’s centre services and preparing for health

visiting changes.

The Children’s centres services have already been through a process of restructuring, including increased investment approved by members.

This has been to ensure the core purpose of Children’s Centres is to improve outcomes for children and refocusing Children’s Centre delivery on disadvantaged groups and families wherever they might live.

These changes have been reported separately to Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the next report is in the forward plan for July 2014.

The next stage will be to prepare for the increase in the health visiting workforce and ensure health visitors are fully integrated with other 0-5yrs services.

4.2.6. Refocusing of services for 5-19 years Services

The targeted services for young people have already been brought under one senior manager. Members have also been involved in the process to bring previous Connexions IAG functions alongside our other services for young people. The Review has identified the need for further integration of the local authority services for 5-19 years so that the service configuration is less complex and easier for partners to understand.

4.2.7. Working with families who have complex needs.

The Review has recommended that the learning from the Families with Futures programme could be applied more widely in working with families who have complex needs, particularly the intensive service model using interventions tailored to a particularfamilies’ needs.

The current service configuration means that families at a similar level of complexity could be receiving different services, from the social care family support service, within the Family Intervention Programme (FIP) or from the targeted services teams. The Review has recommended this should be brought within a single Family Support Service equipped to provide the intensity and persistence these families need to achieve change with a robust management of risk. This will require a multi-agency approach which will include child and adolescent mental health services, drug and alcohol services, domestic violence services and adult mental health services.

4.2.8 Children with SEN or a Disability

While there is a separate change programme focused on the changes in SEN and Disability. (reported to Committee on 28th April) The review of Early Help will align with the work on SEN and disability to ensure that the right support is in place for children and young people with SEN/Disability and their families.

5.THE NEXT PHASE OF THE EARLY HELP REVIEW

5.1.In the light of the findings from Phase 1 of the Review the following work streams have been established;

5.2. Assessment Framework

Aim

To ensure all families at a specified level of need can have an holistic assessment which identifies their needs, any risks and the most appropriate service response

Objective

To increase the usage of the Family Assessment Framework and ensure that assessment, lead practitioner and planning processes are robust

5.3.Systems

Aim

To ensure service activity with children, young people and families is robustly tracked to avoid delay and duplication and aid identification of need.

Objective

To put in place a whole system approach through use of ICT and/or administrative solutions to allow a coherent all service view of service engagement with families and children. (with appropriate consent and data sharing protocols)

5.4. Advice, Request and Information Hub

Aim

To have one place for professionals to access information about families and to have a robust ‘triage’ when there is concern to ensure the family get the right service for their needs and any risks are managed consistently.

Objective

To establish a multi-agency Advice, Request and Information Hub which will;

• Dovetail with the triage of child protection concerns with the police (the so called ‘multi-agency safeguarding hub’ MASH)
• Provide a triage for all families where there is a potential concern
• Co-ordinate the service response for families
• Ensure there is consistent approach to management of risk
• Provide professionals with up to date information about who is or has been) involved with a family and assessment, planning and outcome information..
• Simplify the access to services for other agencies, such as schools

5.5. Intensive Family Support Service

Aim

For families with complex needs to receive an intensive and/or persistent service intervention which engages them, meets their needs and achieves change and good outcomes for children.

Objective

To establish a multi- agency intensive family support service capable of engaging and achieving change with families with complex and chronic needs.

6. DEVELOPMENT OF AN EARLY HELP STRATEGY

6.1. An Early Help Strategy is being developed which will also inform the

refresh of the Strategic Plan for Children Services. A first draft has outlined the levels of need referred to in 4.2. above and the principles on which Early Help will be delivered in Poole. This draft has been considered by the Children’s Trust Board and is attached as Appendix 3. It is suggested that the finalised Early Help Strategy is considered by the Committee on completion.

7. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1.As a major change programme of the council the Early Help Review has been

discussed within the Medium Term Financial plan process and resources have been identified on a temporary basis to support the Review process. (£52,000) In addition members agreed funding to support the establishment of the Advice, Request and Information Hub, changes to systems and the new family support service arrangements. (£164,000 including a Principal Social Worker role in social care)

The implications of the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub MASH are still being discussed on a multi-agency basis and any financial implications of this will be fed into the Medium Term Financial Plan process.

8.LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1.The Early Help Review is taking account of considerable legislative change in

children’s services and the accompanying guidance and inspection regime

changes;

• The Children and Families Act (March 2014) with the changes to Special Educational Needs legislation.

• Public Law- the new 26 week timeframe for care proceedings (April 2014) within the overall Public Law Outline (PLO) framework.

• The new Ofsted inspection arrangements for Children’s Centres and for Safeguarding and Children in Care arrangements.

9. RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

9.1.As a large change programme the Early Help Review has robust programme

management arrangements in place over seen by the Strategic Director –People Services. Key risks identified at this stage are;

• Difficulty of delivering a whole system change across most of children’s services while continuing to deliver good quality services (this has implications for the appropriate pace of the changes)

• Reputational risk from poor Ofsted inspection outcome through underdeveloped Early Help arrangements in Poole.

• Risk of failing to establish a robust service delivery model for the integration of the health visiting work force into the under 5’s services in Poole.

These risks are being actively managed through the work streams of the review.

10. EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

10.1.The aim of the Early Help Review is to ensure that the right families are

targeted for support at the time they need it to achieve the best outcomes.

In terms of targeting the support, equity of access and consistency of approach will be improved by the review. Crucial to equalities monitoring is having systems in place which can track the range of families receiving services and how effective interventions have been with different groups, again this a key objective within the Review.

As the Review proceeds to service delivery changes these will require Equality Impact Assessments.

11. CONCLUSION

11.1.The Early Help Review is a large and complex change programme across children’s services. It should improve the access to services, consistency of approach and effective interventions for children, young people and families.

As the Review is largely about new ways of working within local authority and other agencies there is no immediate impact on service users or members of the public. However once the changes have been designed, agreed and implemented families should experience more coherent services which are better placed to address each families specific needs and circumstances in way which improves outcomes for children and ensures good outcomes are sustained.

Report Author;

Nick Wharam Strategic Planning and Commissioning Manager

01202 714765

Contact Officer;

Nick Wharam Strategic Planning and Commissioning Manager

01202 714765

Appendices;

Appendix 1

List of Early Help Services in Poole

Appendix 2

Bournemouth and Poole Children’s Social Care Threshold for Elligibility

Appendix 3

Draft Early Help Strategy

1

[1] Marmot, Michael, Fair Society –Healthy Lives 2 Field, Frank, The Foundation Years, Preventing Poor Children Becoming Poor Adults 3 Allen, Graham, Early Intervention: The Next Steps, Jan 2011