1. Inspection Briefing
SSCB Tuesday 21 March 2017

2. Agenda David - opening remarks Process to date and next steps
Findings so far strengths, challenges,
Key lines of enquiry (no surprises – they are our priorities!)
Call for best evidence
Remember YOUR SUCCESSES
Breakout – dress rehearsal

3. Process to date DCS scene setting - strengths and weaknesses
Front door and early help
Last 10 into care/gone home, PLO
Cultural safeguarding – private fostering, HBV, FGM
CSE and missing
Daily KiTs
Met with SSCB Chair and other key leadership figures
Identified 20 cases for audit and initial case tracking
Clarification – Information v Documentation – ready to handover supervision files – always tell central team in debrief

4. Process – weeks 2 - 4 Week 2 Inspectors off-site
Timetable planning and confirmation (Natasha Sharmah)
Case auditing (both)
Reviewing evidence (them)
Week 3
More inspectors (6)
EH, Child protection, care, care leavers, fostering and adoption
Predominantly case sampling and leadership focus groups
SSCB inspection (and week 4)
Week 4
Bottoming out facts, figures for narrative “mopping up”

5. “How effectively the LSCB evaluates and monitors the quality and performance of local authority and voluntary partners in participating and caring for children, including provision of improvement advice”

6. Strengths – feedback so far
Child focused evidence of child’s voice shaping practice and decisions
SWM – clinical practitioners, direct work, group supervision, evidence based working (SofS)
MASH arrangements and A&I including threshold application and decision making across contact, referral and S.47
Court work especially timeliness, appropriateness of CLA threshold, PAUSE and return home work
Cultural safeguarding – FGM, HBV, Gangs Private Fostering

7. Challenges – Feedback so far
Timeliness – contacts taking too long, children taken into care urgently and risk of immediate harm
Missing and CSE work – practice is variable, evidence of intervention working but risk assessment and screening underutilised
Strategy meetings – quality and too limited
CAF – poor quality, being used as a referral form not an assessment
Early Help – school facing, underdeveloped processes - is it “social worky enough?”

8. Key lines of enquiry – help and protection (…..and our priorities )
Early Help – is it “social worky enough?”, cusp of care, child U, step down from CIN, early neglect
Quality of strategy meetings – limited agency involvement other than police and health and by phone
Partners understand thresholds – contacts NFA, single front door, poor use of CAF
Domestic abuse – impact on most vulnerable (CPP), intervention for perpetrators and engagement of fathers
Child U – knife crime, youth violence, recognise that we need to overhaul our pathway early help to residential care for vulnerable adolescents

9. Key lines of enquiry – care and Careleavers (…..and our priorities )
Child’s journey to care – some needing to be accommodated under urgent care
Stability and sufficiency of the right placements – especially for teenagers
Mental and emotional health – what’s our offer, especially for tier 2?
Variability and compliance of practice – PEPS, health assessments, care leaver annual review, etc

10. Key lines of enquiry – Leadership & management (…and our priorities )
Core Safeguarding work – section 11, LADO, performance management of quality of practice – front door, CIN, CP and LAC
Responding to child U and adolescents at risk – early help offer for adolescents, knife crime, highly vulnerable and complex cohorts in care (youth violence, gangs, CSE and missing, and mental health issues)
Impact of early help on reducing demand of statutory services – CIN step down, service offer for those most at risk, TAC/F, lead professional, etc
Working together on shared priorities across adult’s and children’s board – vulnerable parents (domestic abuse, substance misuse, mental health), young carers, knife crime, PREVENT

11. Call for Best Evidence
Bring your A – Game - preparing best evidence (narrative, documents, cases, data)
Understand and align to what good looks like (grade descriptors)
Make sure you can answer questions that demonstrate
How we work us partners to safeguard children
Training and development of staff within our agencies
Compliance and development of policies and procedures
How we challenge each other
What we have learnt and done differently as a result of SCR and MRs
How we use performance management and audit to shape priorities and challenge practice

12. REMEMBER YOUR SUCESSES
Root and Branch of CSE – an example of great joint working to understand an issue and change the way we work as result
FGM - engaging with community, adapting to new challenges as partners
MASH – launch, development including of MAISY and review of effectiveness audit resulting in a new set up
Private fostering – health and education subgroup improving practice in this area
Core child protection – section 11, performance framework mutually challenging each other and setting priorities for us as partners
All of the above underpinned by multiagency training offer and subgroup work

13. Best Evidence Rapid Round
Successes
(15 minutes followed by quick fire feedback)
Best evidence
Partnership working, subgroups, impact
Priorities (and future work plan for board)
What do you hope we achieve during this year?
What it will mean for your agency?
What it will mean for your subgroup?