1. Protecting Children and Young People Cambridgeshire Children and Young People’s Services 2012

2. Children and young people in Cambridgeshire  A rapidly expanding child population Current and planned developments are creating an influx of young families. The number of children and young people is forecast to grow 16.8% by 2031.  Geographically isolated communities Relatively deprived market towns especially in the north of county. The gap in needs, skills and aspirations is marked. 38.7% of all children in the Waterlees ward are living in poverty.  Hidden poverty in otherwise affluent areas Over 70% of children in poverty in Cambridgeshire live in our less deprived areas.  Significant gap in outcomes for children in vulnerable groups There is a 33.1 percentage point gap in attainment at KS4 between pupils receiving Free school meals and those who don’t and children in poverty are nearly three times more likely to be not in education, employment or training (NEET).  Communities are becoming increasingly diverse with differing needs There are significant and increasing migrant worker and traveller populations – these communities have differing needs and social customs - The number of pupils with an Eastern European Language as a first language has nearly doubled over the last four years. Overall Cambridgeshire is a flourishing county, but within it there are communities with significant needs creating big gaps between the outcomes for children from prosperous and deprived families.

3. Our priorities and focus Areas of strategic focus  Child Poverty  Early Years  Raising the Participation Age  Narrowing the Gap  Special Educational Need and Disability  Parenting Strategy & High Demand Families  Children’s Centre Strategy Safeguarding  Complete the Transformation of Children’s Social Care and embed the new system, cultures and structures  Keeping Families Together – Placements Strategy for Looked After Children  Building parental capacity  Responding to the needs of Eastern European families CYPS Objective 1 Improve learning and health outcomes for every child and young person CYPS Objective 2 Narrow the gap in learning and health outcomes for vulnerable children and young people CYPS Objective 3 Children and young people are safe at home and in their communities

4. Our model for protecting children Working to prevent need escalating and build capacity for families to succeed independent of service The higher the need, the fewer the children, the more intensive the services working with them. Education and learning Early help and prevention Children and families with complex needs Wider safeguarding partnership

5. Wider Safeguarding Partnership 143,000 total children and Young people in Cambridgeshire Leading the system of services for children across the education, health, mental health, community and emergency service sectors. Ensuring we work together to safeguard children and young people

6. Wider safeguarding partnership Working in partnership Three Area Partnerships: Commissioning Local Services (Accountable to the CT Board) Health and Wellbeing Board Strategic Needs Assessment, priorities and commissioning intentions Small focused impactful: four priorities for 2013/14 Informed by priorities and commissioning intentions of Health and Wellbeing Board Associate Board Members and wider stakeholder group (receive communications, annual conference about priorities and progress) Decision making Accountability Safeguarding Reports Strategic Safeguarding Initiatives Local Safeguarding Advice and Reporting Creating a safer Cambridgeshire for children through collaboration and challenge Three Area Safeguarding Committees (Accountable to LSCB Board)

7. Wider safeguarding partnership What we have achieved together  A multi-agency referral unit Information sharing and coordinated action focussed on domestic abuse, child protection and safeguarding vulnerable adults - Police, Mental Health Trust, Probation and other Health Services  A high demand families initiative To pool intelligence and resource in working with families with multiple problems requiring support from all parts of the public sector - Police, NHS, housing providers and District Councils  An early support programme For families with young children with complex disability needs - jointly commissioned with Health  A partnership with the Mental Health Trust Embedding clinical and mental health expertise within the social work model and creating a shared approach to emerging mental health issues  Devolving Alternative Education To schools. Improving quality and keeping more children in mainstream settings  A Residential Short Breaks Service To help families with children with disabilities cope with the additional pressures – Jointly Commissioned with NHS Community Services and delivered by Action for Children  Accommodation for looked after children aged 16+ and care leavers Joint commissioning with the Supporting People Housing organisation  An Information Sharing Framework With partners including specific agreements with all Cambridgeshire academies  Integrated early help system based on common assessment and team around the family approach  Co-location Health Visiting Teams and midwives co-located with local authority locality staff in some Children’s Centres

8. Education and learning c.75,000 children on roll in Cambridgeshire Schools c.30,000 children in schools where performance is less than good. The Learning Directorate: Quality for all, intervention in inverse proportion to success.

9. Education and learning Model of engagement Education Service for Looked After Children: working with the universal education system to ensure it supports the most vulnerable and that being in care isn’t a barrier to education Underperforming Schools/Settings Self-sustaining Settings/ Schools / Academies Vulnerable Schools / Settings The Education Child Protection Service: Ensuring Schools have robust safeguarding procedures and access to immediate guidance when concerns arise A strategic focus on vulnerable groups in schools – Narrowing the Gap agenda and recognition of school engagement and attendance as key protective factors Universal Networking and partnership service Area Teams: Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Special Targeted Intensive Level of support – settings, schools and Children’s services

10. Early help and prevention c.19,000 children engaging with Locality teams: 3250+ with a CAF c.2900 Children with a statement of special educational need Enhanced and Preventative Services: identifying and supporting vulnerable families early enough to prevent escalation to social care

11. Early help and prevention Enhanced and Preventative Services  14 multi-disciplinary Locality Teams  Based around school clusters  Acting as commissioning hubs for local services  Core services include Family Workers, Education Welfare, In-School Support  Youth Support Services  Children’s Centres  Youth Support Services  Alternative education  Youth Offending Services  Teenage Pregnancy  Drug and Alcohol Services and Domestic Abuse  Multi-Systemic Therapy  Strategic Lead in relation to integrated youth support  40 Children’s Centres across Cambridgeshire  Focussed on supporting families with children on 0-5 years and beyond 5 years for children with disabilities in specialist hubs  70% of the resource available is used to provide a targeted service and 30% is retained for universal work.  Special Educational Needs and Inclusion Support  SEN Support for Early Years, primary and secondary  Educational Psychology  Sensory Services  The Early Support Programme  Strategic lead in relation to attendance and inclusion Enhanced and Preventative Services has lead responsibility for coordinating and delivering the early help offer. Directorate established in 2009 to provide a ‘bridge’ between specialist services such as social care and student assessment and universal services such as schools and the NHS.

12. CAF Action Plan Bespoke Support and Co-ordination of practitioners and provision Early help and prevention Early intervention and reducing demand on specialist services  Locality Teams  Parenting Programmes and building family capacity  School Attendance  Positive activities for young people at risk of being NEET  Support for inclusion / to improve behaviour/ assist transitions  Youth Support  Helping young people at risk of NEET into post 16 opportunities  Intensive family-based behaviour therapy  Support and sanctions to prevent offending  Group work with vulnerable young people Family with children aged 0-19  Children’s Centres  Health & Family support services  Early years education linked with childcare  Services from Health Visitors, Midwives, Job Centre Plus, Speech and Language Therapy and parenting support  SEN and Inclusion  Support for schools and settings to promote learning (SEN), behaviour and Inclusion  Sensory Services and Speech and Language support  Educational Psychology

13. Children and families with complex needs c.2700 Open Social Care Cases (excluding LAC and CP) c.475 Looked After Children c.250 with a child protection plan) Social Care Directorate: Working for families

14. Children and families with complex needs Social Work Model  In line with the recommendations made by Professor Eileen Munro  Small multi-disciplinary ‘units’  Emphasis on professional judgement and a learning culture as the basis of an effective safeguarding system Benefits  More time with children and families  Sharing of risk within the unit  Fewest possible delays and transitions  Consistency of care  Families are supported but also challenged  An environment which encourages reflective learning and development Aims  Bring about change in families to keep them together where possible  Find permanent alternative for children at risk of significant harm

15. Children and families with complex needs Social Work Model  Integrated Access Team  Directs all enquiries relating to social care service appropriately and ensure service users receive a service targeted to their needs as swiftly as possible.  Twelve Access Units  Managing new referrals to the service, conducting assessments and identifying ongoing support routes  Twenty Children in Need Units  Supporting children subject to a child protection plan.  All court work – children in proceedings  Children looked after where the plan is to return home  Nine Looked After Children Units  Will be responsible for supporting children and young people (up to 25) where there is a long term plan for them to stay in care  The Personal Adviser Service will support and maintain the current 18-25 population and will provide specialist care leaving support commissioned by the LAC Units  An ‘Adoption Unit’ will focus on support where there is an immediate plan for adoption  Three Children’s Disability Units  Work intensively with disabled children and young people in care, subject to a child protection plan or with highly complex needs and/or on the edge of care.  Two Self Directed Support Teams will undertake the assessment and review functions for disabled children and young people identified as Children in Need. The model is based on 44 Social Work Units responsible for caseload of 35-50 families each.

16. Children and families with complex needs Commissioning to meet Complex Needs Looked After Children’s Placements Strategy Achievements and Priorities  Recruited retained foster carers to respond in emergency situations  Jointly commissioned semi–independent supported accommodation for 16+ with Supporting People  Increasing the number and capacity of Cambridgeshire fostering families, led by a full recruitment strategy  Establishing emergency and short-term supported accommodation for looked after children aged 16 or over, in partnership with the YMCA  Transforming our children homes to act as hubs for a range of residential care services SEN Education Placements Strategy Achievements and Priorities  Development of a single, multi-site special school  Investing in additional shared care for families with children with disabilities who are struggling to cope  Developing High Functioning Autistic Spectrum Condition day provision in county  Developing additional Behavioural Emotional and Social Development Provision in county Commissioning Enhanced Services - responsible for commissioning high in quality, cost effective placements for children with Special Educational Needs and Looked After Children Commissioning decisions are underpinned by 2 key strategies; Ensuring Quality – our Network Protocol supports practitioners to share information about the success of each placement and the quality of provision after every monitoring or social work visit Plan Do Review

17. Ensuring quality within the system  The Capita ONE system Single data base system used across Children’s Services to record and analyse information about individual children  CYPS Performance and QA Board Outcomes based performance framework reported to Senior Management Team every month  Children’s Social Care Performance and QA Board Considering comprehensive county-wide social care information every month  Enhanced and Preventative Services Performance Board Considering early help performance monitoring report  CYPS Metrics Report Allows weekly tracking of activity to spot patterns of need or rising demand  Audit Framework Using a combination of case file and thematic audits to ensure the quality of practice and capture organisational learning  The Model of Staged Intervention (MOSI) Provides professionals with a common basis upon which to understand levels of need  Distance Travelled Tools to capture the impact of preventative interventions and services on families

18. External input and challenge  The Voice of the Child Embedded in casework and through a range of participation Activity e.g. Care Council, LAC-Just Us, CP-Talk and Change, National Youth Advocacy Service, Pinpoint, Young Lives  Feedback from Families “5 Question Check” - feedback from Families collected by unit coordinators monthly  Local Safeguarding Children Board Serious Case Reviews, multi-agency case audits, training, performance framework  Independent evaluation of our CAF early help model C4EO evaluation of the effectiveness of CAF-based support and recommendations for refining the model  Social Work Transformation Evaluation workstream Through innovative partnership with the Mental Health Trust - Establishing a learning culture and reflective practice  Independent Reviewing Officers & LADO Quarterly monitoring reports on LAC and child protection cases  Complaints Services Reporting learning and feedback into performance boards  Strong Member Engagement Including Overview and Scrutiny Arrangements, Involvement in panel processes and corporate parenting for children in care

19. Our approach has had some impact… The reduction in the number of children in care suggests our Placements Strategy for Looked After Children and the strategic focus on high quality social work effective prevention are making an impact.  The number of children in care had been rising in Cambridgeshire between 2007 and 2010, peaking at 508 in September 2010.  We have subsequently seen a modest but not insignificant reduction and the number of children in care has remained stable through 2011/12

20. Safeguarding outcomes comparison data 2011 Cambridgeshire Similar Authorities 2011 Children in Care per 10,000 children3740.5 Children with Protection Plans per 10,000 children26.227.9 Percentage of children looked after with three or more placements during the year 1.3% (2.1% 2012) 11.3% Looked after children adopted during the year as a percentage of the number of LAC who had been looked after for 6 months or more 14% (13.7% 2012) 9.1% Care leavers who were engaged in education, training or employment at 19 66% (52.5% 2012) 58% Percentage of children becoming the subject of a Child Protection Plan for a second or subsequent time 14% (15.8% 2012) 15.9% Percentage of Permanent Exclusions from School0.02%0.10% Emergency Hospital Admissions per 10,000 0-17 year olds 101.8 (2010) 111.2 (2010) Percentage of Looked After Children placed 20 miles or more from their previous homes 28%13.2% Persistent Secondary Absenteeism – Percentage of pupils missing more than 15% of session 8.7%7.9% Good performance Areas to address

21. Key Contacts Children and young people’s services