Agenda item

Report of the Director of Children and Adult Services

The Director of Children and Adult Services submitted a report (previously circulated) to provide Members with outturn performance data against key performance indicators for 2017/18; to give consideration to the proposed basket of performance indicators for 2018/19; and to note the proposed schedule of performance reporting for 2018/19.

The submitted report highlighted where Children and Young People were performing well and where there was a need to improve.

The submitted report also contained the Children’s Social Care Monthly Performance and Quality Assurance Report for Quarter Four.

It was highlighted that 96.7 per cent of contacts had been completed within one working day which exceeded the target of 95 per cent and only 0.6 per cent of contacts were completed in more than three working days; 96 per cent of referrals during quarter four were completed within one working day which was above the target of 90 per cent with 1.8 per cent of referrals taking more than 72 hours to complete which was above the target of 5 per cent; the percentage of assessments completed within 45 working days was 93.3 per cent which has consistently exceeded the target of 90 per cent and higher than statistical neighbours and the England average; 100 per cent of child protection reviews had been completed within timescale; 100 per cent of Looked After Children reviews completed within timescale; 93.4 per cent of Looked After Children statutory visits were completed within timescale and better than the target of 90 per cent and the 2016/17 year end performance at 87 per cent; 100 per cent of all Children in Need, Children Protection and Children in Care had been allocated a Social Worker and had been consistently sustained; and 32.2 per cent of Care Leavers were not in employment, education or training (NEET) which was above the target of 33 per cent and of the 19 Care Leavers currently NEET there were 12 are not available to work due to illness, pregnancy or parenting.

The submitted report also highlighted areas for improvement which included the number of re-referrals within 12 months of a previous referral at 247, which although showing an improvement still remained higher than the local target of 20 per cent; the percentage of children who had been in their current placement for two years or more who had been in care for two and half years or more increased to 65.1 per cent at the end of March 2018 reaching the target of 65 per cent however performance remains behind benchmarks and therefore remains an area for improvement; the percentage of children placed 20 miles or more away from homes has increased to 12 per cent the end of March compared to the 2016/17 year end performance at 7.8 per cent; and at the end of March there were 87.5 percent (140/160) of children with an up to date dental check in the past 12 months although there were an additional 12 children (7.5 per cent) who had refused a dental check this did show an increase on previous year-end performance which was 75.9 per cent.

It was also reported that the 2017/18 basket of indicators had been reviewed by Directors and Assistant Directors for continued relevance and on 4 June 2018 the Monitoring and Co-ordination Group reviewed and agreed the proposed set of indicators for 2018/19 and their allocation to the individual Scrutiny Committees.  Since the Monitoring and Co-ordination Group met further review suggests the proposed set is increased to include those additional indicators this Scrutiny Committee received during 2017/18.

Members expressed their concerns at the increase in the number of children who had refused a dental check and the Head of Assessment, Care Planning and Looked After Children advised Members that the numbers related to the older children who were 16/17 years old and officers were looking at different ways to engage with these young people to ensure that they have regular dental and health checks.  

RESOLVED – (a) That the performance information relating to Quarter 4 be noted.

(b) That the proposed basket of performance indicators for 2018/19 be approved.

(c) That the proposed schedule for performance reporting for 2019/19 be noted.