Hertfordshire Children’s Trust Partnership – Key Current and Future

Issues Andrew Wellington, Head of Children’s Trust Arrangements

28 November 2008

HCTP – a year ago

• Strong commitment to improve from Children’s Trust partners • Review and re-affirm vision• Fit for purpose partnership structures• CYPP with fewer priorities and sharper targets• Compacts between partners and HCTP/HSCB• Key challenge: narrowing the gap in outcomes between vulnerable

children and the rest• Review and strengthening of Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children

Board• Accelerated progress on Integrated Practice: Common Assessment

Framework and Lead Professional role

HCTP Progress…One Year OnHCTP Progress…One Year OnGood progress in response to key issues from JAR inspection - ‘safe staffing’, now secure

Improvement in safeguarding and the outcomes for children looked after – ‘Staying Safe’ is now ‘adequate’

Performance management improved significantly - ’Service Management’ is now ‘good’.

Strong ‘direction of travel’ for children’s services over past twelve months - ‘adequate’ to ‘good’

APA will confirm progress

Repositioning HCTP

• Re-affirmed commitment to ‘whole system’ change and integrated practice

• CYPP - fewer priorities and sharper targets - ‘golden thread’ from strategy to delivery

• Fit for purpose partnership structures with fewer layers - streamlined business processes

• HCTP Executive with clear accountability for outcomes

• Stakeholder engagement strategy• More focussed engagement with voluntary

and community sector through VCS Engage programme

HCTP Strategic Stakeholder Group

HCTP Executive HertfordshireSafeguarding Children Board

HCC Scrutiny Committee

Herts Forward

Young People’s Board

Crime and Disorder Reduction agenda

County Children and Young Peoples Plan (CYPP) Priorities District CYPPs

Version 7.0

Themes in bold cut across all five ECM outcomes but are placed under one outcome for accountability purposes

Staying safe

Being healthy

Enjoying and

achieving

Making a positive

contribution

Achieving economic wellbeing

District Children’s

Trust Partnerships

Service Management

(Business Support)

C.L.A and Care Leavers

• Bullying

• Childrenwith a Disability

• Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health

• Healthy Lifestyles

• Standards & School Support

• Early Years

• B.M.E

• CC & ES

• Parenting

• SSOSHL

• 14-19 Strategy

• Childcare Sufficiency

• Child Poverty

• Integrated Youth Support

• Teenage Pregnancy

• Youth Justice

• Substance Misuse

• Workforce

• Performance

• Planning & Commissioning

• Participation

• Budgets

• Communication

• Needs Analysis

• District Plans

CC & ES = Children’s Centres and Extended Schools SSOSHL = Study Support and Out of School Hours Learning

MAST= Multi-Agency Support Team MAT= Multi-Agency Team

Integrated Practice

• CAF

• Lead Professional Arrangements

• MASTs &

MATs

•Contact Point ICS

Outcome Lead for each of Five Outcomes and CYPP priorities

Young People’s Voice

Linked with key partnerships

Holds HCTP to account for its impact in improving safeguarding

Strategic Challenge

Support and Engagement

Golden Thread to CYPP

Top to bottom leadership for

Integrated Practice

Children and Young People’s Plan 2008-09

Shorter and easier to understand

Focused on outcomes for children, not services

Clear accountable actions, leads and timescales

Led and championed by Outcome Leads

Fewer performance indicators

CYPP Priority Outcomes ‘08- 09• Safety from abuse and neglect• Children in and leaving Care• Response to bullying• Emotional and mental health problems • Healthy weight• Vulnerable children 0-5• Vulnerable children’s achievement• Children with learning difficulties and disabilities• Young people (aged 14-19) maximise potential by having

opportunities to learn outside of school• Children and young people make a positive contribution

to decisions about services

Plus, two new CYPP Priority Outcomes for 2009-11

• Action on child poverty• Keeping young people on the right track:

• Youth crime action plan• Teenage pregnancy• Substance misuse

• Currently CYPP Writing Days are developing actions to address these priorities in 2009-10

• Consultation draft available in new year

HCTP/ VCS EngagementRepresentation:• 6 VCS reps on Strategic Stakeholder Group• New reps on Safeguarding Board and sub-groups

Communication:• More VCS stories in Children’s Partnership News• Children’s Centres and Extended Schools contact lists• Calendar of HCTP meetings and minutes on HCTP

website: www.hertsdirect.org/childrenstrust

Engagement• New HCTP fund for VCS engagement – in addition to

existing fund for expenses attending HCTP meetings• HCTP Strategic Partnership Manager post

New statutory guidance:

Children’s Trusts to become statutory bodies

Duty to cooperate extended to schools, colleges, and Job Centre Plus

Children’s Trust – rather than LA - responsible for CYPP

Strengthening Children’s Trusts

“Third sector agencies have an important contribution to make through both their workforce and infrastructure”

Greater focus on prevention and early intervention

More child, parent, and family-focussed

Integrated frontline delivery – children’s centres and extended school services

2020 Children’s Workforce Strategy – to be published Dec ‘08

Children’s Trusts Guidance - Main implications for VCS

Safeguarding – Issues arising from “Baby P” case

Nationally:• One tragic case does not mean whole safeguarding system is

failing …… but it is important to be vigilant• Review of effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements by Lord

Laming - due to report in January 2009• DCS's to take local action to satisfy themselves about

effectiveness of local safeguarding arrangements • New national third sector safeguarding unit

Safeguarding – Issues arising from “Baby P” case

Locally:• DCS has asked all agencies to carry out an updated audit of

practice recommendations from the Climbie Inquiry• Vigilance in response to ‘whistleblower’ concerns• Key issue is effectiveness of casework practice, and focus on

quality not just performance indicators• Safeguarding in Hertfordshire has improved – but we should

never take things for granted, and we have asked all agencies to do a ‘health check’ on their safeguarding arrangements

• Need to ensure social workers are well supported to carry out a demanding and sometimes dangerous job

Where next on the VCS Engage journey?• Links with CYPP/ HCTP outcome leads• Closer engagement with DCTPs• Implications of integrated practice agenda• Children’s Workforce Strategy• Communication:

• Two-way communication protocol• VCS supplement in CPN• Celebration of success case studies