Item 9 – Annex 2

Service Plan: 2010/11 – 2013/14 Children’s Services and Safeguarding

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Introduction – what the Service does: Children’s Services should be designed to support the needs of children and young people, informed by true feedback and ongoing dialogue. Future service design will focus upon local delivery from within communities for the families that live there. We will aspire to deliver excellent child protection and safeguarding services striving to keep children living within their own families wherever possible. Where this is not safe to do so we will explore all kinship options informed by the views of the child or young person themselves. We will maintain a focus upon our core business but support our partners in the assessment of need and the delivery of universal and targeted services for children, young people and their families. Our engagement with others will be respectful and transparent; our service will have a reputation for integrity and robust self-evaluation. We will not hide our mistakes, but will foster a culture of support and learning.

• To ensure all children and young people in Surrey are safe from harm • To provide high quality services for vulnerable children and young people • To be excellent corporate parents to all Surrey’s Looked After Children • To address the continuum of need for vulnerable children in Surrey by developing and improving early access to targeted services

The last 18months, since April 2008, have been particularly challenging for the Directorate following an inadequate Joint Area Review for Safeguarding services. A renewed focus upon children’s social care has led to a clarifying of core business and a sound foundation of service improvement. We will during the next 3 years build upon our strong foundations to continue a sustainable journey of improvement to become a Division that delivers excellent and affordable services to maximise the life chances of all vulnerable children and young people in Surrey. The Division has 6 priority areas of activity. They are:

1. Safeguarding 2. Core business 3. Building resilience; equipped 4 life

a. Increasing focus upon prevention, supporting communities b. Identification and strengthening of targeted services

4. Effective corporate parenting 5. Effective financial management and commissioning 6. Growing and supporting a workforce fit for the future

These are underpinned by two overarching priority themes of: a) Practice improvement b) Robust performance management

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Name of Head of Service: Caroline Budden

Name of Service plan lead/coordinator: Caroline Budden/Simon Laker

Name of Strategic Director: Andy Roberts

Name of Cabinet Member(s): Peter Martin and Mary Angell

Baseline: Where we are now – an evaluation of 2009/10 The next 12 months (the year 2010) are for Surrey probably the most challenging and significant in terms of improved performance, outcomes and the council’s reputation. This is because memories fade as to the level of 'awfulness/ inadequacy' that was found by the JAR in 2008 and thus interest or sympathy tends to wane, exasperated by the mountainous challenge of sustainability within a diminishing resource base. In addition to moving forward with the next stage of improvement, focusing upon practice quality rather than simply ‘hitting targets’ and embedding high standards, we are in the final stages of implementing a new organisational structure. The re-organisation and ongoing improvement work that we are doing is in fact the first stages of divisional redesign / transformation being taken forward. We will continue to take the findings of the JAR, the unannounced inspection, Deep Dives and other quality assurance feedback mechanisms as our starting point as we are concerned to get on with the business of delivering better services for children. This transformation journey is also essential to the future financial viability of the statutory services that we must provide. While needing to continue to embed change and modify and develop a new divisional identity and culture there remain significant day to day challenges to maintaining ‘business as usual’ including: • Delivering safe core services • Improving partnership relationships, and partnership delivery • Developing a model of earlier intervention Significant progress has been made over the last 18months and findings from an enormous amount of robust self–evaluation is now available to

shape our division and focus upon coordinating, monitoring and ‘the doing’ associated with the implementation stage of the service redesign, operational practice improvement and the embedding of a culture of readiness for inspection. We have improved from inadequate to adequate, this will take us to a position where we provide services for vulnerable children that can be externally validated as being of ‘good’ quality.

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Outcomes: How the Service will develop over the next four years to deliver the Council ambition to be world class Our plan in context This plan is informed by the new Directorate strategy. In summary, the basic components being:

• A focus upon core business to ensure children are protected from harm • A world class start to life, narrowing the gap between the most advantaged and other children and young people in Surrey • An increasing emphasis on effective commissioning, demonstrating high quality services and value for money • Greater collaboration with internal and external partners • Redefined and clearly understood core and targeted services • Earlier intervention to prevent escalation of need

The Divisions Plan is part of a complex planning framework to provide world-class services for the people of Surrey. It has at its heart the safeguarding of all children and young people in Surrey with a particular emphasis upon the protection of harm for the most vulnerable and championing the less advantaged to maximise the life chances of every child. The plan is informed by national and county policy including:

• Children Act 1989 • Children Act 2004 • Every Child Matters: Change for Children (2004) • Working Together to Safeguard Children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (2006) • Children’s Plan 2008 • Care Matters: Time for Change 2007 • The Protection of Children in England: A Progress Report (Laming 2009) • Surrey Community Strategy • The County Council Corporate Strategy • The Directorate Strategy

The divisional plan is in turn, supported by:

• Service Area Plans • Team Plans • Personal objectives of individual staff • Divisional Training Plan

In addition the plan has regard to a number of partnership plans, specifically the Surrey Children’s Plan, as well as ongoing improvement plans.

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Our core business We have restated the eligibility criteria for children’s social care services. This ensures that all those involved in supporting or working with vulnerable children are clear about their own responsibilities as well as knowing those children who require intervention from children’s services. We will adopt and promote the windscreen as a visual conceptualisation of the continuum of need for vulnerability; early intervention, prevention and protection. This illustrates the point of intervention for specialist services e.g. children’s social care and identifies the resource gap to be filled by targeted services. Our core business is fundamentally to ensure that children at risk of significant harm are identified and protected appropriately, underpinned by practice values of minimum intervention and that in the majority of situations children are best looked are by their families or in families (excepting a wide definition of ‘family). Our core business will be delivered from a 4-area locality model with greater integration and community involvement.

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Inputs: Budget that will ensure delivery of outcomes and value for money

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Inputs: Workforce development that will ensure delivery of outcomes and value for money Growing and supporting a workforce fit for the future Over the next four years we will continue to refine and define the core service offer to be delivered from this division. This period will also see a significant cultural shift in terms of the models of delivery for services to support vulnerable children. In addition we await revised statutory guidance in the form of Working Together as well as the final Report from the National Task Force reviewing social work. Both of these are likely to impact upon the ‘shape’ of the future workforce. However, we are able to anticipate that this will require a wide skilling up of a range of staff within the wider children’s work force in addition to ongoing and specialist training for children’s social workers. Additionally, the financial challenges facing the council and other key partners means that greater consideration will need to be given to the training and deployment of para-professionals to support the precious, but limited professional resources available. We will ensure that we grow a culture that embraces improved practice standards within the division. All staff will receive regular good quality supervision, annual performance appraisals and 6 monthly reviews. Practice improvement Service improvement will be embraced and embedded within the service, maximising the expertise available to us. In the first year this will be enhanced by a dedicated in service team whose role will be to coordinate service improvement recommendations, provide targeted support as well as monitoring and challenge to ensure that we stay on track. By the end of 2010/11 the service will have an established and more experienced leadership team who will take over this responsibility in service and at a local level. The safeguarding arm will provide the ‘offline’ challenge for operational services within the division. This will be supported through clear delegation of responsibilities and lines of accountability.

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Associated plans To include: • How this plan is supported by (and supports) delivery of other corporate plans (E&D action plan, business continuity plan), key strategies for

the Service (e.g. Accessibility Strategy) and any related partnership plans (e.g. the Children & Young People’s Plan).

NOTE re: Associated Performance Indicators Reviewing and refreshing Key Performance Indicators for Children’s Schools and Families Directorate 2010/2014 CSF has submitted to Corporate Performance for Corporate Leadership Team a sample of draft indicators that will be adopted for 2010 onwards (these are the current LAA and Improvement Notice Indicators). It is important to stress these are draft. The draft service plans will include the final indicators, agreed at CSF management and leadership team. As a Directorate we are moving to one set of PI’s to report to

a) Cabinet (quarterly) b) Select Committees c) DLT and Cabinet Members

These are the indicators that will be included within the new Service Plans as most representative of the objectives of the Directorate Strategy and Plan, the transition from current Improvement Board arrangements, and the most accurate reflection of our core business. Target Setting 2010/2014 Targets for the new PI’s will be revised from the following: - Review best performing statistical neighbours performance (back 2 years for monthly reporting targets or 5 years for annual reporting targets) - Review Surrey performance for same periods as above and cross-reference to “World Class” project - Review targets as per (1) Improvement Notice (if relevant) or (2) previous 2 years targets if not - Apply a threshold percentage for 2010/11 targets based on the above, which should be applied without exception This process is underway across Children’s, Services for Young People and Schools & Learning, and will report back to the Directorate Leadership Team in March 2010 prior to final Service Plan sign-off.

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Service Plan: Objectives and actions

Corporate Strategy Objective(s):

Directorate Strategy Objective(s):

Service Plan Objective 1: Safeguarding:

Activity

(and overall owner) Ref Description

Key Milestones Owner Due Date (mm/yy)

Interdependencies

Progress (RAG & Comments)

The robust implementation of statutory responsibilities

Good standards of professional practice

A well equipped and skilled workforce

Robust challenge at a local level – effective Safeguarding Boards

Closer and focussed scrutiny, locally and by inspectorates

To provide strategic support and oversight through the management of an effective Surrey wide Children’s Safeguarding Board, high quality operational child protection and safeguarding services and a Council wide lead and expertise in relation to all matters of safeguarding children and young people

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Associated Performance Indicators PI Ref PI Description

2009/10 Target Baseline Benchmark 2010/11

Target

Progress 2010/11

(latest result with RAG)

2011/12 Target

2012/13 Target

2013/14 Target

Corporate Strategy Objective(s):

Directorate Strategy Objective(s):

Service Plan Objective 1: Core business

Activity

(and overall owner) Ref Description

Key Milestones Owner Due Date (mm/yy)

Interdependencies

Progress (RAG & Comments)

Effective use of eligibility criteria for children’s social care services.

We will ensure that all those involved in supporting or working with vulnerable children are clear about their own responsibilities as well as knowing those children who require intervention from children’s services.

To ensure that children at risk of significant harm are identified and protected appropriately, underpinned by practice values of minimum intervention and that in the majority of situations children are best looked are by their families or in families (excepting a wide definition of ‘family).

Referral and assessment o Timely and high quality

assessments of need and risk

o Child protection investigations

o Initial child protection conferences

o Emergency accommodation / protection of children at risk of significant harm

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Child Protection and care proceedings

o All activities associated with supporting children subject to a child protection plan

o Management of care proceedings

Support for Looked After Children o All functions of a good

corporate parent o Care planning and

care pathways

Support for vulnerable children in need of specialist services

o Children with disability o Children identified and

assessed as in need of specialist services form children’s social care

o Support and consultation to providers of targeted children in need services

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Specialist and regulated services, including strategic lead responsibility for Looked After Children

o Residential homes o Adoption and

fostering services, including private fostering

o Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

o Asylum Services – coordination function

o Preventative Strategy

Associated Performance Indicators PI Ref PI Description

2009/10 Target

Baseline

Benchmark 2010/11 Target

Progress 2010/11

(latest result with RAG)

2011/12 Target

2012/13 Target

2013/14 Target

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Corporate Strategy Objective(s):

Directorate Strategy Objective(s):

Service Plan Objective 1: Building resilience; equipped 4 life - Increasing the focus upon prevention, supporting communities - Identification and strengthening of targeted services

Activity

(and overall owner) Ref Description

Key Milestones Owner Due Date (mm/yy)

Interdependencies

Progress (RAG & Comments)

2a We will embed a culture of earlier intervention across all our own services and collaborate with partners to identify unmet need for individual children and young people and communities. Supported by the Surrey and area children’s Alliances we will encourage the development and provision of preventative support services within local communities.

2b The division will champion the Surrey Children’s Preventative Strategy, or more accurately, a preventative approach and ethos, promoting a greater

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understanding and use of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and seek to grow confidence through a collaborative and supportive function for the identification and practice approach of Lead Professionals from across all sectors.

This will be realised through a staged transfer of existing targeted services from the local authority to other parts of the community allowing families to access support from local resources such as school settings and children’s centres.

Over the next 3 years the delivery of services for children in need of targeted support will need to be transformed.

Creation of a specialist hub in each of the four regional areas from which multi-agency specialist family support and high risk community assessments can be delivered and provide consultation and support to community providers of universal and targeted support services.

Other key providers will need to focus greater attention to the targeting of resources based on local need resulting in a shift from global universal offers.

An agreed approach across the strategic partnership (Surrey Children’s Alliance) to address the gap that exists in opportunity between the most and least deprived or vulnerable children and young people in Surrey.

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Associated Performance Indicators PI Ref PI Description

2009/10 Target Baseline Benchmark 2010/11

Target

Progress 2010/11

(latest result with RAG)

2011/12 Target

2012/13 Target

2013/14 Target

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Corporate Strategy Objective(s):

Directorate Strategy Objective(s):

Service Plan Objective 1: Effective corporate parenting

Activity

(and overall owner) Ref Description

Key Milestones Owner Due Date (mm/yy)

Interdependencies

Progress (RAG & Comments)

Actively listening, engaging and involving young people in service review and development

We will get better at helping children and young people to understand their own life story, providing information and supporting contact with important people as long as it is safe to do so

Every child or young person will know who their social work and other key people are and how to contact them, we will expand opportunities available through the use of technology

Ensuring that wherever possible children and young people are placed with families, relatives or friends

We will publish a LAC strategy in 2010, informed by the Public Value Review, due to be completed early in the year. This will set out our vision for a better future for our children and aim to provide high quality care to all children and young people in our care. This strategy will adopt principles and values that embrace Surrey’s Pledge to children in Care, we will strive to ensure that our own children, or those whom we look after, have the best start in life.

Those placements for children and young people are based on identified need and as close to home as possible. This will require a significant development of fostering opportunities in the county of Surrey

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That residential provision is appropriately used, including collaborative planning with education colleagues if this need is best met via a school led placement

We will strive to ensure that all placements are safe, well regulated and supported and provide ‘best value’ in every sense.

There will be a determined focus to support good learning opportunities for our children at every stage from early years through to employment

Working with health and other partners we will review, develop and deliver services to support the emotional and physical health of our children, through local and age appropriate access and delivery models to support holistic well being thorough all the stages through to adulthood

With partners we will ensure that there are safe places to go and things for young people to do and we will celebrate the achievements of our children, whatever they may look like – growing confident and able citizens for the future

Our children will leave care feeling supported, knowing where to turn for support and equipped with life skills to support independent living

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Associated Performance Indicators PI Ref PI Description

2009/10 Target Baseline Benchmark 2010/11

Target

Progress 2010/11

(latest result with RAG)

2011/12 Target

2012/13 Target

2013/14 Target

Quality Assurance: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Monitoring & Reporting Arrangements The Performance Management Framework across the Children, Schools and Families Directorate is designed to make a transparent connection between Directorate priorities, service priorities and team and individual performance plans. Reporting monthly at service and team level the performance report card template enables each person in the Directorate and Service to identify how their actions on a day-to-day basis contribute to our organisational development and improvement. There are two report cards in Services:

1) For Assistant Directors, summarising key performance indicators, HR, finance and customer satisfaction across the groups services, supported by a narrative to explain areas for improvement, actions being taken forward and how they will be monitored

2) For Heads of Service, providing service specific performance against key indicators, again with a narrative providing detailed examination of performance risks, service pressures and management actions

The Performance Management Framework uses performance and management information that is generated from services and team’s themselves. Managers are accountable for conducting “Turning the Curve” exercises when reviewing their Report Cards to explain and tell the story behind their performance information, both good and bad. As each Report Card is reviewed these “stories” form part of a narrative that will be discussed at each Senior Management Meeting, prior to the key messages being reported at the end of each month to the Directorate Leadership Team. The Report Cards for the Directorate, Service Groups and specific services will be used to report to Select Committees.

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Sign Off: Strategic Director:

Cabinet Member(s)

Date:

Scrutiny and Portfolio Holders

Week 4

Week 3

Week 2

First FULL week of the month

Children's Service Management Team review the Report

Card for their service and "tell the

story" behind the data

Young People's Senior Team

review the Report Card for their

service and "tell the story" behind the

data

Schools and Learning Senior Team review the Report Card for

service and "tell the story" behind the

data

Area & County Service Management Teams review Report Card for their service

and "tell the story" behind the data

Service Management Teams review Report Card for their service

and "tell the story" behind the data

Service Management Teams review Report Card for their service

and "tell the story" behind the data

Children, Schools and Families Directorate Leadership Team review Directorate

Report Card for the month

Performance Team Collect Data for Report Cards(Data will be collated on a weekly basis for those teams where weekly monitoring is

required; monthly reporting will apply across slected indicators; all other indicators will be

CSF DLT Report Card used as basis for briefing Portfolio Holder(s), Leader, CEX Dedicated DLT agenda item monthly

In addition DLT will receive a current version of the Ofsted Performance Profile quarterly

HoS and Senior Management Teams teams should identify their key indicators and discuss the "story behind the data"Senior Management Teams should also receive detailed reports covering their service at a frequency appropriate to the service e.g. Deep Dive, QA reportsHeads of Service will be responsible for collating the accounts provided by individual services with support from the Performance Team.

Report Cards sent to ServicesEach Team will be responsible for analysing relevant data and discussing that information with relevant service managers, facilitated by the Performance Team*Service managers will be responsible for collating the information from their service with support from the Performance Team

Portfolio holder briefing (Tuesday am receiving DLT report card)

Also for Select Committee, Improvement Board Supported by performance calendar