Meeting documents

Cabinet
Tuesday, 17 January 2006

CA170106-13

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ITEM CA13

CABINET - 17 JANUARY 2006

INSPECTION OF CHILDREN’S SOCIAL CARE SERVICES

Report by Director for Children, Young People & Families

 

Introduction

  1. Children’s social care services in Oxfordshire were inspected during July 2005 by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).
  2. CSCI is currently responsible for overseeing the inspection and regulation of all social care services. However, there will be no further inspections of the overall provision of children’s social care services. The new inspection regime covers all children’s services in a particular area, and will be led by Ofsted. This will lead, in Oxfordshire’s case, to a Joint Area Review in 2007.
  3. Inspection Report and Action Plan

  4. The overall judgment from CSCI was that children’s social care services in Oxfordshire were "serving some people well" with "promising prospects". This was an improvement on the previous judgment in 2002, which was "serving some people well" with "uncertain prospects".
  5. CSCI inspectors presented their report to the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee on 13 December. At the same time officers presented a draft action plan, agreed with CSCI, to address the recommendations in the report.
  6. Annex A (download as .doc file) summarises the inspectors’ report and the context in which it took place. The full report is available in the Members’ Resource Centre. During their presentation the inspectors commented particularly favourably on Oxfordshire’s involvement of children and young people in service delivery; on effective multi-agency working; on the engagement of councillors, and on management of a clear overall strategy for developing the service.
  7. Annex B (download as .doc file) contains the draft action plan, which was endorsed by the Scrutiny Committee for consultation. The document is now out for consultation with parents and other stakeholders until the end of February. Any alterations will need to be agreed with CSCI. Much of the plan has already being implemented, and inspectors were pleased with the progress made.
  8. The Cabinet is recommended to endorse the action plan, and identify any additional recommendations or comments it wishes officers to take into account.
  9. CSCI will expect Oxfordshire to deliver the improvements set out in the action plan in accordance with the time-scales in the document. This will be monitored by CSCI’s Business Relationship Manager for Oxfordshire.
  10. Financial and Staff Implications

  11. The additional staffing numbers required to deliver the action plan are outlined in the current 2006/07 budget proposals. If the proposals are agreed, 8 full-time equivalent staff will be deployed in front line teams to strengthen assessment, family support, safeguarding and post adoption support. Two further staff will be recruited through a recently approved Modernisation Bid to recruit and train in-house foster carers, in order to reduce the number of out of area placements.
  12. RECOMMENDATIONS

    9. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. note the contents of the Inspectors’ report;
          2. endorse the draft action plan, subject to (c) below;
          3. authorise the Director for Children, Young People & Families, in consultation with the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, to agree any amendments to the action plan that may appear appropriate in the light of responses to consultation.

KEITH BARTLEY
Director for Children, Young People & Families

Background papers: Commission for Social Care Inspection – Inspection Report: Inspection of Children’s Services, July 2005

Contact Officer: Sue Richards, Interim Head of Social Care for Children, Tel: 01865 815833

January 2006

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