Agenda item

The Children’s Services Trust took control of its responsibilities on 1^st October 2015. The report provided an update on the issues raised by the original Ofsted inspection, SBC’s responses and the impact of those responses.

Ofsted had identified the quality of practice, staff recruitment and leadership had been identified as central issues. SBC had improved performance in these areas, with Local Government Association peer reviews having monitored this progress. However, the service was still some distance from being the good and effective service required. At present, the Trust was auditing and benchmarking the position it had inherited, with the completed report on this to be completed in late 2015. This would then be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2016.

The Panel raised the following matters in discussion:

·  Funding from the Department for Education and the recruitment of a specialist lead for recruitment had seen progress towards the target of 68% for permanent front line staff. 3 campaigns had been run and newly qualified staff had been brought in. It was intended for 68% to be reached in November 2015, with the Commissioner for Social Care setting a target of 75% for December 2015. In addition, some agency staff had been in long term placements at Slough, leading to continuity of care if not assisting with meeting these targets.

·  The drop in caseloads had been a result in the growth of teams since the investment.

(At this point, Cllr Pantelic entered the meeting).

·  Agency staff had been personally introduced to the Director of Children’s Services. A small number had become permanent, but many were choosing to remain as agency for career or financial reasons. However, the new Trust would not be permitting the continued use of agency staff given the issues related to their employment and associated costs.

·  Many local authorities were reporting problems with recruitment given the national shortage. Those who were performing best on recruitment were addressing key themes such as training and systematic management.

Resolved – That the report be noted.