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COPY ITEM CH7

CHILDREN’S SERVICES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE - 27 SEPTEMBER 2005

BEST VALUE REVIEW OF SERVICES FOR VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE: IMPLEMENTATION

Report by the Director for Learning & Culture

1. The Executive, on 19 April 2005, received a report from the Best Value & Audit Committee on its wide-ranging review of services for vulnerable children and young people. The review was conducted in the context of major changes in the national agenda for services for children and young people reflected in the Green Paper "Every Child Matters", the Children Act 2004 and the Government’s "Change for Children" programme. The Executive endorsed the conclusions of the Review report and welcomed the Committee’s proposal for development of a detailed action plan with costings for report back in October.
2. The Review had been considered by the Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee on 22 March 2005. That Committee made a number of detailed comments and agreed to consider the Action Plan when available. In relation to the Review the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee is successor both of the Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee and of the Best Value & Audit Committee.
3. The Best Value Review report outlined a vision, priorities and proposals for services for vulnerable children and young people in Oxfordshire. The Review Report was commended by inspectors in the recent Annual Performance Assessment of the Council.
4. The Best Value Review made a wide range of recommendations. A number of these have been, or are being, implemented through the realignment of the Directorates. All of the remaining recommended actions in the Best Value Review of Children’s Services have been incorporated in the new Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP). This ensures that actions in relation to vulnerable children are integrated as part of a single coherent plan to improve outcomes for all children. The work on the Best Value Review ensures that there is an appropriate focus on support for vulnerable children throughout the CYPP. The actions relating to the Best Value Review recommendations are being costed within the context of the CYPP as a whole. A detailed report on the Children and Young People’s Plan is elsewhere on the agenda.
5. The following table provides a summary of the key recommendations in the review and how they are being taken forward.

Best Value Review Proposals	How Being Taken Forward
Appointment of Director of Children’s Services	Implemented
Nomination of Lead Member for Children and Young People	Implemented
Development of an integrated service for children looked after	Within new directorate and through CYPP
Development of an integrated service for SEN/ disabilities	Within new directorate and through CYPP
Development of proposals for a Children’s Trust	Within new directorate
Development of local multi-disciplinary teams	Within new directorate

 

Arrangements for engaging children and young people and parents and carers	Within new directorate and CYPP
Proposals in relation to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services	Through CYPP
Proposals in relation to educational achievement of vulnerable groups	Through Learning Matters campaign and CYPP
Proposals in relation to teenage pregnancy	Through CYPP
Proposals for engaging the voluntary sector	Through CYPP
Proposals for a preventative family support service	Within new directorate and through CYPP

6. This report focuses in detail on proposals for implementing the Best Value Review in relation two key developments:

- the Children and Young People’s Commissioning Trust;

• Integrated Support Services and Locality Teams.

7. From April 2005, the County Council has a new statutory duty to establish effective partnerships between key local agencies to promote co-operation to improve the well-being of children and young people. Partners have a duty to co-operate with the County Council in order to improve outcomes for children. By April 2006, most local authorities should have Children’s Trust arrangements in place to improve outcomes for all children, young people and families through more integrated services, strategies and processes, including, where appropriate, joint commissioning and pooling of budgets.
8. The Best Value Review of Children’s Services 2004/05 proposed the establishment of a Children and Young People’s Commissioning Trust by April 2006. Members asked for further detailed work to be undertaken and proposals to be brought back to the Cabinet.
9. The Institute of Public Care (IPC) has been commissioned to work with the Council to develop detailed proposals for the Trust. This work has involved a review of national guidance and examples of approaches to Children’s Trusts being developed elsewhere in England, a seminar for stakeholder agencies and a series of interviews with senior officers in agencies responsible for services to children in Oxfordshire. A detailed paper has been produced (see Annex 1).
10. The IPC report notes that overall planning, delivery and performance management of services for children in Oxfordshire can be described as being undertaken in parallel. There is good liaison and regular contact between agencies, but ultimately each retains independent responsibility for needs analysis, intelligence, planning, budget allocation and contracting.
11. Whilst most individual services in Oxfordshire are seen as effective and successful, the limitations of current arrangements, particularly in terms of service co-ordination, has been a consistent feature of the views of service users, commissioners and providers over the last few years, and was repeated again in the interviews undertaken for this report.
12. The report concludes that continuing with existing separate planning and commissioning arrangements between the local authority and the PCTs is not viable or desirable. Interviewees indicated that previous arrangements in Oxfordshire have not been sufficiently effective in achieving whole system change. There has been concern from a number of sources, including the 2004/05 Best Value Review, that existing arrangements have not been sufficiently successful in ensuring that NHS and Council resources are allocated effectively on the basis of population need across the county. Continuing with existing arrangements would not be likely to address these issues. The "Every Child Matters: Change for Children" agenda, including national requirements for a Children and Young People’s Plan and more effective integrated commissioning arrangements, demands a response which demonstrates more effective integrated strategic leadership for children.
13. The report concludes that the County Council should move forward to develop a Children and Young People’s Strategic Board for Oxfordshire. The purpose is to effect significant changes in the co-ordination, organisation and delivery of children’s service across the county. The Strategic Board will fulfil the requirements of a Children’s Trust approach for Oxfordshire.
14. It is proposed that the Board will comprise senior decision-makers with responsibility for children’s services from the County Council, District Councils, and PCTs, together with input from children, families and the voluntary sector. The Board will report to the Cabinets of Oxfordshire County Council, District Councils, PCT Boards and the Public Services Board. The Board will provide a key forum for joint agency decision-making about services for children and young people in Oxfordshire and will make jointly-owned recommendations for action to the statutory decision-making bodies responsible for services for children and young people in Oxfordshire. This risk-managed approach is intended to achieve the benefits of a more collaborative approach to children’s services without a fundamental change in the statutory decision-making processes.
15. It is proposed that the Board will oversee joint commissioning of services for children and young people in Oxfordshire. This joint commissioning role will include:

• developing a good understanding of the needs of children and young people in Oxfordshire to determine the outcomes to be achieved, the priorities and the strategy for achieving these;
• joint strategic planning for children and young people through the Children and Young People’s Plan
• where necessary, making recommendations to Council Cabinets and other Executive Authorities about changes in service configuration and resource allocation to improve outcomes for children and young people;
• monitoring the impact of the Children and Young People’s Plan in improving outcomes and making recommendations about any changes in services required as a result in this monitoring.

16. It is anticipated that initially discussions are likely to focus on:

- better ways of working in partnership to deliver services;

- proposals for realigning resources;

- specific developments required to co-ordinate services for children, e.g. the development of joint information and ICT systems.

17. It is recommended that the Board should agree a work programme to review particular aspects of service on a phased basis, with a focus on areas where outcomes for children are a concern.
18. In the longer term, once ways of working are established, the Board may wish to make recommendations about more radical changes in services to meet needs and this may include the potential for pooled budgets. It should be emphasised that the Board, as constituted, will be able to make recommendations about changes needed, but decision-making will remain with the existing statutory decision-making bodies.
19. The work of the Board will be supported by a Children and Young People’s Partnership, with wide involvement of the different agencies working to improve outcomes for children and young people in Oxfordshire. It is proposed to establish a strategy, performance and commissioning team within the Directorate for children, young people and families. There are opportunities, through discussions with Health and other services, to develop links between this team and other commissioners for children’s services in Oxfordshire.
20. It is recommended that the proposals for the development of a Children and Young People’s Strategic Board should be approved for wide consultation and that officers undertake further detailed work on the proposals including terms of reference. The outcome of the consultation and further work will be reported back to Cabinet in January 2006 for final decisions.

Integrated Support Services and Locality Teams

21. The Best Value Review proposed the establishment of multi disciplinary locality teams to ensure responsive and well co-ordinated services for vulnerable children and young people in localities throughout the County. The Best Value Review recommendations were to:

- develop a framework for the coordinated delivery of services for children and young people in the three areas (North, City, South);

- establish local multi disciplinary networks and support services in localities across Oxfordshire to work collaboratively to improve outcomes for children and young people.

22. Four integrated support services pilot projects were established in areas of high need. A detailed evaluation of these projects has been undertaken. A detailed report of proposals for the development of integrated support services and locality teams has been produced based on this evaluation. (See Annex 2.)

Countywide Services

23. The Best Value Review concluded that there are a number of services which should be developed as integrated, countywide services. These included:

• services for children looked after
• child and adolescent mental health and behaviour support services
• services for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

24. Many of the services for children and young people are currently managed on a countywide basis but delivered through three area teams (North, City, South) with area management arrangements. These three teams are able to relate to the five District Councils. The North area is coterminous with the Cherwell and West District Council boundaries and South area with South and Vale District Councils.
25. It is proposed that, wherever possible and appropriate, services for children and young people should be organised in three areas (North, City, South). In order to facilitate effective joint work and the development of integrated systems, it is proposed that services for children and young people should be co-located in three area offices. It is proposed that these should be in Oxford City, Banbury (with a satellite in Witney), and Abingdon (with a satellite in Didcot).
26. It is proposed within the new Directorate to appoint a lead officer with responsibility for the implementation of integrated support services and to support the establishment of locality teams.

Locality Teams

27. The Best Value Review recommended the development of locality multi-agency teams to develop integrated services which are more responsive to local needs.
28. The evaluation of the four pilot integrated support services projects has highlighted the following features as important in the development of locality teams:

• the need for services to be organised in localities which make sense to service users
• the importance of a local coordinator to be the "minder" of work in the area
• the need for agreement between partners about the common outcomes to be achieved and the strategies to achieve these
• the need for a core group of partners to oversee the work in the area, evaluate progress and take necessary action in response to feedback.

29. It is proposed to establish 22 locality teams throughout Oxfordshire to coordinate services for children and young people. It is expected that, wherever possible and appropriate, staff working in services for children and young people will be allocated to these locality teams. It is proposed to take the opportunity presented by the realignment of services to allocate staff to localities with a view to implementing new arrangements from September 2006. It is acknowledged that for staff working in low incidence services it will not be possible or appropriate for them to be allocated in this way. However, these services will develop links with locality teams for consultation and advice.
30. There will be considerable flexibility to develop services which are responsive to local needs. There are also some aspects of practice which will need to be consistent across the teams. Each locality team will:

• appoint a locality coordinator with time allocated to oversee the work within each locality
• develop a local children and young people’s plan outlining the local outcomes to be achieved and the strategies to achieve these
• establish a forum for children and young people and a forum for parents and carers
• establish a core group to oversee the work in the locality and evaluate progress.

31. It is anticipated that each locality will be allocated two days a week for coordination. The role of the locality coordinators will be shared between the different services for children and young people so that locality coordinators represent the full range of services working with children and young people.
32. It is recommended that the Cabinet should approve the proposals in relation to locality teams for wide consultation. The outcome of consultation will be reported back in January 2006.

RECOMMENDATIONS

33. The Committee is invited to comment on the proposals set out in the report for:

1. the development of a Children and Young People’s Strategic Board;
2. the development of local multi-disciplinary teams;

KEITH BARTLEY
Director for Learning & Culture

Background Papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Gillian Tee, Head of Children’s Services Tel. 01865 815125

September 2005

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