Agenda item

To note the acheivements for 2013 and priorities for 2014.

Written report presented by Kathy Bundred.

The Board received an updated report on the progress made against the six priorities in the Children and Young People’s Plan 2011- 2014 (CYPP), which sets out the strategic aims of the Children’s Trust.

The six priorities are:

·                     Ensure children and young people are protected from abuse and neglect

·                     Increase breastfeeding

·                     Reduce child poverty

·                     Reduce teenage conceptions and terminations rates

·                     Support complex families

·                     Improve access to the most effective therapies

Priority 1

MASH

The Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) went live in 2012, with colleagues from the Metropolitan Police and Health representatives co-located with specialist social care staff in Mercury House.  A detailed review of the effectiveness of MASH implementation and operation has revealed that the development and implementation of MASH has been achieved with the necessary governance and commitment.  Although there have been some difficulties encountered, this has been overall a successful implementation. Some issues remain, including difficulties in the retention of suitably qualified and experienced staff which is not unique to Havering. 

Members of the Board queried whether some children at risk would be overlooked if perhaps they are new to the Borough and/or not registered with a GP. Officers concurred that this could be a possibility and the Board agreed that the Communications team would put information onto the Havering website about GP registration and eligibility for the free nursery scheme.

Early Help

Havering has established a one multi-disciplinary team in the central children’s centres locality, which delivers a coordinated service to families whose children may not be at immediate risk of harm but who still require some form of support.  By addressing problems at the earliest opportunity, such provision will reduce the risk of the needs of these families increasing to a point at which they are in crisis and social care needs to intervene in a more robust and legally-based manner. 

Troubled Families

The Troubled Families programme is making significant progress in drawing agencies together to work in a new and more effective ways.  Closer collaboration of partners involved in the protection of CYP, be it through MASH or through other support mechanisms, will help Havering adapt to potential challenges brought by population migration from other London boroughs.

LB Havering has implemented Strengthening Families, a new approach to child protection, which uses families’ strengths and protective factors to develop child protection plans with greater input from that family. 

Viewpoint

Viewpoint, a new web-based tool for LAC or subject to a child protection plan, to contribute their views to the review of their plan, was launched in late 2012. 

More than 50 children on Child Protection Plans or in the care of the Council have given their views through Viewpoint. 

Respite

The tenders for the Short Breaks (aka Respite) provider contracts were evaluated with CYP, their views contributing to 10% of the overall score.  There was also the opportunity for parents to influence final decision making. 

Priority 2

In 2011/12, 71.1% of mothers in Havering gave their babies breast milk in the first 48 hours after delivery, an increase of 2.4% from 2010/11 rates. This put Havering at the bottom of the third quintile when compared to all England local authorities and at the lowest rate bar one when compared to London authorities.  Breastfeeding awareness sessions were delivered in ten secondary schools, with positive feedback from teachers and pupils as well as an extensive marketing campaign focused around Breastfeeding Awareness Weeks.  The Breastfeeding Friendly Scheme is proving highly successful with over 100 venues signed up, including GP surgeries, libraries, children’s centres, early years education providers and local businesses. 

Priority 3

Around 8,800 children aged 16 or under live in poverty in Havering, equating to 18% of the population, which is comparable to our statistical neighbours and reduced from over 9,000 (approximately 20%) in 2011. Although the overall number of CYP living in poverty has decreased, this will be partly due to the decrease in national median wage (a child is living in poverty if household income is < 60% of median wage). A broad range of activity is underway, in close collaboration with partners, to address the causes of poverty.

Priority 4

When this was chosen as a priority for the Children’s Trust, Havering’s local conception figures were worryingly high with 190 conceptions in 2009 – a rate of over 40 per 1,000 girls. In 2011, this had fallen to 131 conceptions – a rate of just 28 per 1,000 girls (below the national and regional rates). The most recent (provisional) data shows Havering has an under 18s conception rate of 27.8, slightly below the England average and above the London average.  Average conception rates over the first three quarters of 2012 are in line with comparator authorities. This is the lowest ever rate of teenage conceptions in this borough and is testament to the effectiveness of the well-coordinated partnership working which has been central to the work to achieve this priority. 

Priority 5

When central government announced the Troubled Families (TF) programme, Havering had already begun to plan how it would address the complex and inter-related risk factors affecting a section of the population, to help them to break their negative and often inter-generational cycles of behaviour and deprivation. The aim is not to create a new service; rather, to re-design our existing services and improve cooperation with partners to maximise the impact of our interventions.  The step change is to ensure that the needs of the whole family, rather than individual members, are considered together and that agencies collaborate to deliver services which are in line with the whole family assessment.  Department of Communities & Local Government (DCLG) gave Havering a target to identify 415 families by the end of March 2015 (end of the current three-year programme), however, this number of families will have been identified by the end of March 2014, i.e. a year ahead of schedule.  The Troubled Families programme will focus on delivering the highest possible quality outcomes for those 415 families. 

By the end of March 2014, the TF programme will have submitted payment-by-results (PBR) claims for 160 families, bringing the total of families for whom PBR claims are submitted to 164.  This represents a good level of progress as PBR claims can only be made once six months have passed since the family achieved the positive outcome(s) specific to their own circumstances (e.g. regaining and sustaining employment, ceasing anti-social behaviour, or sustaining improved attendance at school).

The TF Programme has assisted the development of the Tier 3 multi-disciplinary team working out of children’s centres and includes funding a Domestic Violence worker, and training and development for the teams.

              Priority 6

Access to effective therapies has been a concern for parents and professionals alike.  The broad themes of activity for this priority are to redesign services, to improve commissioning and collaboration with partners, and to ensure early intervention so as to enable maximum independence. 

Investment in 2010-11 (£270k into Health, £85k into Education) has delivered tangible improvements to provision of this essential service, including in the historically difficult area of hearing impairment.  The extra funding allowed for the recruitment of more therapists which allows more children to receive the therapy they need. 

The CAMHS Partnership Board is re-established and is consistently well-attended by partners.  This group plays an integral role in ensuring that mental health services for CYP in Havering meets identified needs.  A new CAMHS Strategy is in development and will be in place in early 2014-15.

The Children’s Trust will continue to oversee and drive achievement against the CYPP priorities.  It was noted that the JSNA will be the basis for developing the next Children and Young People’s Plan.