Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director – Children’s Services

The Assistant Director Children’s Services provided Scrutiny with the Annual Self- Assessment for Children’s Services which aims to provide a constructive ‘critical friend’ challenge to drive improvement in public services.

The self-assessment draws on existing documentation and activity and reflects the local authority’s business for children’s services. It identifies what leaders are doing to maintain or improve good practice for children and their families, demonstrating the effectiveness of our actions and address weaknesses in practice, with clear, appropriate plans to improve services.

The self-assessment aims to address three questions:

(a)    What do we know about the quality and impact of social work practice in our local authority?

(b)   How do we know it?

(c)    What are our plans for the next 12 months to maintain or improve practice?

Members asked questions that included whether the assessment has highlighted any areas for improvement with officers noting the key challenges around the increased need and complexity of many cases on which the early-help service is focussing.

A member asked if the assessment is too time consuming for the service with officers providing assurance that time spent on the assessment is worthwhile in order to solidify a shared understanding across the service and highlight areas for improvement.

A member suggested that a six-monthly update on the most notable aspects of the assessment would be useful for the committee.

RESOLVED – Members noted the content of the report, and the information covered in the self-assessment.