Documents attached

The Sub-Committee was presented with the Children’s Service Complaints report.

The report a Local Authority statutory requirement as set out in section 26 Children Act 1989 and The Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006 to be published annually.

It was noted that improvements had been made since the previous reporting period, indicating progress over the past year, although challenges remained. Members noted a better response rate regarding time scales and the upholding of complaints.

The report informed of an increase in social care complaints however, the rate of upheld complaints did not rise correspondingly. The Ofsted reports from the previous year highlighted significant demand, which impacted social workers’ and managers’ abilities to respond effectively. Officers acknowledged that this was a focus for improvement in the current year.

In response to an issue regarding the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service, particularly whether the increase in enquiries was linked to shifting responsibility back to parents for arranging transportation for their children. The Director of Starting Well responded, clarifying that the rise in complaints was not solely due to this changes.

It was indicated that there had been a high turnover within social work areas and delays in SEND responses. The caseload for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) had increased significantly. Additional resources were being allocated to the SEND area, with a focus on engaging with parents to address issues before they escalated into complaints. It was noted that there had been challenges in engaging SEND parents effectively due to a gap in forum participation following the unexpected passing of the previous forum chair.

A Member commented on the ongoing concerns regarding transport for SEND children, emphasizing the stress this placed on families. Officers provided an update on the home-to-school transport policy, which had recently been signed off. The Sub-Committee was informed the service conducted consultations and sought legal advice to ensure the policy met the needs of families. Individual assessments would also be conducted for children, recognised as requiring specialised transport arrangements due to their complex needs.

It was stated that positive feedback was received from parents regarding travel assistance training, which had empowered some young people to use public transport independently. It was noted that the service was committed to closely monitoring the impact of transport arrangements in the coming financial and academic year.

In relation to domestic violence against parents and carers as a common assessment factor in the previous year. It was noted that there had been an increase in such incidents during and immediately after the pandemic due to the isolation policies, which placed strains on families, particularly with young adults displaying challenging behaviours.

The Director of Starting Well clarified that domestic abuse was a significant ongoing concern and had not solely been child-on-parent violence but could involve other parents as well. The pandemic contributed to household tensions due to families being confined together.

A Member raised concerns about nine complaints related to the home-to-school transport consultation. The Sub-Committee were informed that the complaints stemmed primarily from issues with the consultation process rather than specific transport arrangements for individual children. It was acknowledged that some complaints were indeed about transport delays or experiences, officer agreed to provide a breakdown of these issues.

On the spike in contacts during October, it was explained that there were often seasonal rises in demand, particularly after school holidays, as professionals re-engaged with children who had not been in contact during the break. It was noted that this period had presented capacity challenges for social workers.

The sub-committee informed of the effectiveness of the new complaints management system, which was noted for its ability to produce timely reports indicating response timelines. The Director of Starting Well expressed optimism that this would help expedite processes, allowing managers to follow up on outstanding issues without requiring additional training on a new system. It was reported that complaints had risen by 33% compared to the previous year; however, response times had also improved, with a notable increase in responses completed within ten working days.

This improvement was seen as a testament to the hard work of the service. Additionally, discussions highlighted the ongoing efforts to improve communication with families, particularly in sensitive situations, ensuring parents understood plans and felt heard. Member were informed of a significant data breach in the adoption service which was attributed to human error.  The incident was investigated and reported to the Information Commissioner's Office. The Director of Starting Well confirmed that all staff underwent GDPR training and there was ongoing monitoring to prevent future breaches. The Sub-Committee was assured that there had been no further issues arising from this incident, and the Data Protection team was actively managing compliance.

Members noted:

1.    The content of the Children’s Services Annual Complaints and Compliments Report 2023-24.

2.    The content of the Education Services Complaints and Compliments Report 2023-24.

3.    The continued learning from complaints and the recognition of good practice through compliments.