Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Neil Owen and Chris Bevan.

None.

To approve the minutes of the meeting on 12^th July 2012 (CH3) and discuss any matters arising.

Cllr Waine referred to page 3 of the minutes regarding the promised joint working with the city council on schools’ initiatives.  He commented that the recent difficulties were very unfortunate.

Comments were made around the fact that the heads were working well together and that the recent media coverage has not been helpful. 

A suggestion was made to consider bringing an item to the forward plan for the committee around the ‘family of schools’ concept.

10.15

Lorna Caldicott, Thriving Families Programme Manager as well as Jonathan McWilliam, Director for Public Health and Noreen Collins, Interim Deputy Director for Children’s Social Care, will give a presentation updating on the programme.

The Committee was joined by Jonathan McWilliam (JMcW), Lorna Caldicott (LC), and Noreen Collins (NC) to discuss the national initiative ‘Troubled Families’ which is currently implemented as ‘Thriving Families’ in Oxfordshire. 

JMcW gave an overview of the initiative.

LC let the committee know that the service was in the process of recruiting family support officers.  These officers would work to achieve 3 key outcomes:

1.      That children are on a different path

2.      That outcomes are improved across the piece

3.      That public funds will be saved.

`           She went on to describe the programme which sits within a number of externally facing groups – emphasising that it was important that things were joined up properly.

            A question was asked around avoiding duplication with other efforts and whether there were short term success indicators given the 3 year time frame for the initiative.  In response, NC stated that the efforts are intended to enhance rather than overlap. 

            JMcW clarified that the 3 year timeframe was a bit of a distraction.  While it is established for 3 years in the first instance, Oxfordshire was taking a much longer approach.  He related that he expected to change the way that the county delivers services.

            Questioning continued into the expected savings.  NC stated that savings would be seen across the public sector including with partners such as the police and health service. 

            JMcW indicated that the initiative specifies an interagency approach both in delivery and identifying families for support.  He suggested that the councillors might be a useful partner in understanding the local need for services.

            Cllr Godden expressed concern that the programme was short term and that it was essential for families that the council be in ‘for the long haul’.  She also asked about the supporting research on the benefits for this approach.

            JMcW responded that the criteria for identification of families is flexible and evolving.  He agreed that continued support was important.  He emphasised that the council is embarking on a long term approach.

None.

10.30

The committee identified an upcoming cabinet report regarding looked after children and requested that it come to the November meeting.

10.40

Discussion on the topic of focus for the November meeting.

Preparing our Young People for Employment Seminar recap and outcomes.

The committee discussed that it would like to request an early slot in the day for the upcoming budget discussion. 

Frances Craven, Deputy Director – Education and Early Intervention, will give a verbal update on the early indication of results for 2012.

Frances Craven (FC) gave an update on what was known about the recent attainment figures for education.  She reported that early indications for Key Stage 2 indicated that there was an improvement. 

Cllr Waine commended the schools, saying that they have been under the spotlight recently at the committee. 

11.15

Officers:

Frances Craven, Deputy Director – Education and Early Intervention

Maria Godfrey, Strategic Lead – Locality and Workforce Development

Iain Watson, Early Intervention Service Manager (South)

Delia Mann, Team Manager – Littlemore Early Intervention Hub

Will be available to the committee for an in depth discussion on the Early Intervention Hubs across Oxfordshire.  This item will begin with a presentation and overview as well as feedback from Councillors who have visited the hubs in September.

Themes emerging from the visits will be agreed at the beginning of the item.

Cllr Waine opened the topic in reflecting on the recent visits to all the hubs that took place in September.  It was his view that the staff had a high level of commitment.  He also felt that there was a welcome level of honesty that officers had in some of the difficulties they experienced in transitioning to the new way of working.  He believed that officers were ‘buying in’ to the new structure and ensuring things succeeded.

Frances Craven spoke to the presentation on the Early Intervention Hubs overview.

Delia Mann (DM) spoke to a recent case study which illustrated the joined up services available at hubs and how that contributed to a positive outcome for a particular family.

The committee discussed several aspects of hubs including making recommendations as follows:

Vision and Aims

The committee viewed that there needed to be a level of consistency around the ‘core offer’ across all Hubs in the county.  Better clarity around what this core offer entails can also be useful in communicating what services are not available in hubs.

It is acknowledged, however, that hubs need to maintain their local focus and that the full complement of each individual hub would reflect that area’s service needs in addition to the core offer.

Committee Recommendation

-          Development of a better articulation of the core offer across all hubs.

Partners and Communication

Partnership working is instrumental in ensuring that the hubs work effectively by providing sources of referrals and resources and knowledge that can be shared. Whilst there was evidence that in many cases this is working effectively, there is a lack of consistency in success across some hubs with some partners.  It is essential that there be regular and on-going communication with all partners and expectations need to be clear and consistent from all parties.

The partnership working with schools is especially important as the conduit for the majority of referrals.  There is further work to be done bridging hubs to schools and communicating the hub offer to key members of school staff.  There was also discussion about the early focus targeting secondary schools; for the next stage of implementation, members suggested a deliberate approach to primary school outreach.

Partnership with the voluntary sector is also crucial as there are many voluntary organisations with skills/volunteers/information to offer the hubs. The hub message needs to continue to go out to the voluntary organisations so that the dialogue about what they can offer is ongoing. In particular, there are many small groups, particularly in rural areas, which could help with hub outreach.

Committee Recommendation

-          Continued commitment to widening connections with all schools and projecting the hub's core offer to them.

-          Continued development of strong links with the voluntary sector.

Duplication/Overlap

The committee discussed that there need to be clear links and liaison with partners to ensure the hubs are not duplicating work but are recognising each other's strengths and combining to provide a cohesive service.

The committee questioned whether there is joint working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 224/12

13.00

The meeting finished at 13.00.