Children’s Services in Newham Tuesday 6th February 2018 1 1

Where we’ve been 2014 Inspection findings Many Positives Senior leadership team know strengths and weaknesses Children in need of immediate protection are appropriately identified Risk reduces for many children on child protection plans and the independent chairs of child protection conferences analyse risk effectively Effective and well-attended multi-agency meetings ensure that plans for vulnerable groups are robust There is purposeful communication and good relationships between social workers and children LADO arrangements are effective Improved use of performance information at all levels Areas for continued development: Thresholds at the front door were not always consistently applied. Early help services are in development and too many take part in social care assessments that are not needed There are delays in Triage and Assessment which means that some children did not always receive support at the earliest opportunity The quality of recording, chronologies and assessment can be variable Quality of supervision and management oversight Children experience too many changes of social worker who have high caseloads Greater focus and analysis for children and young people who are missing Good – MAPPA and MASE, MARAC - good Agencies refer too many children to the Local Authority whose problems are at an early stage and who could be better helped elsewhere The broader single assessment is therefore not being well maintained as a continuing, holistic view of strengths, needs and risks. It does not support reflection on what is the best plan for the child.

Our challenges and opportunities Developing the system conditions Azeus Throughput and demand management – Early Help, Triage Strengthen leadership and governance structure and ensure robust quality assurance and performance Embedding INW model and Assessment team Develop a stable and skilled workforce Managing turnover Supporting an inexperienced workforce Ensuring consistent high quality social work Purposeful use of systemic ideas and approaches Consistency of approach and outcomes across the neighbourhoods Strengthen management oversight Review and strengthen arrangements in place to protect vulnerable groups CSE/Missing/PREVENT/children criminally exploited by gangs Domestic abuse Strengthen partnership working

Quality/Practice Improvement Ensure a continued and sustained focus on improving core social work practice Ensure that social work practice and decision making for children focus on understanding their lived experiences Ensure that all children identified as being at risk of harm benefit from effective safety planning Ensure robust arrangements of Triage Relaunch the QA Framework Improve performance management tools and business analysis

System Conditions Refresh Children and Young People’s Plan Strengthen partnership Strengthen the Learning and Improvement Plan with accompanying dataset Secure political buy-in (potential changes in political landscape) Create a sustainable model for Childrens Social Care Develop a robust workforce strategy Continued focus on Corporate Parenting