Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Marianne Fredericks who was engaged in City of London Corporation Business, on a Governors’ Training Session.

There were no declarations.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 September 2017 .

The public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 27 September 2017 were approved.

Matters arising

In respect of a query at the last meeting about use of cameras by carers, the Assistant Director advised that this would be reviewed as part of the Carers’ Strategy.

Report of the Commissioner, City of London Police.

Members received a report of the Commissioner, City of London Police, following concerns raised by Members of both the Police and Safeguarding Sub Committees that the City of London Police might be using excessive force on juveniles when compared to other forces; specifically, the Metropolitan Police and Cambridgeshire. 

Members noted that the figures previously presented showed different aspects and therefore should not have been directly compared.  Further comparable data has since been acquired, and presented in this report, and Members were satisfied that it demonstrated how the City of London Police were performing in line with these other forces.

In response to questions, Members noted that a senior officer visited vulnerable detainees to check on their welfare and the Stop and Search/Use of Force Working Group met monthly.  Both the Metropolitan and Cambridgeshire Police had been informed of the new data and the Chief Inspector advised that it was very difficult to standardise different forces, particularly one as different as Cambridgeshire.  Members also noted that taser use fell within Use of Force, under a separate set of statistics, which were reported annually to the Police Committee.  The Chief Inspector advised that there had been no incidents of taser use on under 18s in the City of London.

RESOLVED, that - the report be noted.  

Report of the Independent Chair of The City & Hackney Safeguarding Board.

NB.  The full report will follow electronically

Members received a report of the Independent Chairman of The City and Hackney Safeguarding Board which provided a transparent assessment of the effectiveness of safeguarding and the promotion of child welfare across the City of London and the London Borough of Hackney.

What would the Board regard as the strengths of local City safeguarding systems and priorities for next year?

Whilst their research had captured a lot of intelligence, the Board felt that strong leadership; workforce; caseloads and an appetite to learn were the best indicators. The City of London Corporation performed very well across all these areas; particularly their appetite to learn from their work with Hackney.  Next year’s business plan would seek to prioritise a safer, healthier work place (to include a staff survey); vulnerable adolescents (beyond child sexual exploitation); special educational needs and disability (SEND) and early intervention (with extra scrutiny in this area to prevent concerns escalating). 

The Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services Committee commended the City and Hackney Safeguarding Board for being the first in the UK to receive an Outstanding Judgement. 

In response to further questions:

Following the Wood Review; Members noted that, if a Board was working well, it would be ‘business as usual’; whilst continuing to seek streamlining and efficiencies.  Members noted that, following the abolition of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs), some restructuring would be likely but key partnerships would continue.

Members noted that a report on case C would be published in the next couple of weeks.  As this was likely to encourage stronger community safeguarding, the Board was suitably prepared as it had established a Community Sub Group.  Statutory Guidance to Schools was expected in respect of keeping children safe in schools; i.e. the provision of alternative emergency contact numbers. 

Members were very concerned about the predicted

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of the Statutory Annual Report of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board, which was presented by the Independent Chair of the CHSAB and the Interim CHSAB Manager.  Members were asked to note the headlines in respect of excellent partnership work on financial abuse and social isolation. There had been 4 Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) in the last year, but none for City residents, and they had cross cutting themes which had provided valuable learning.  The Independent Chair was very committed to driving improvements in multi-agency practices and work with the voluntary sector would also expand over the next year.

Recent reports have indicated that there is an increase in elder abuse for people living in supported living; has this been an issue for City residents and, if so, what action has been taken to address it?

There has been a shift in adult social care over the past 10 – 15 years, as more elder persons remained in their own homes. This has been reflected in the location of abuse.  Abuse in supported housing settings is not a specific issue for the City of London Corporation, however, recent reports had highlighted data which would be useful in future research.

Are you assured, as the Independent Chair of the CHSAB, that safeguarding adults arrangements are robust in the City? Is there anything that the City could do more or less of to ensure adults are safeguarded.

Members noted that the self-Audit process would be more challenging this year, seeking assurance on reflection, self-scrutiny and learning.  The Independent Chair has experience of scrutinising a range of practices, both good and bad, and had always found the City to be particularly robust.  Members noted a common issue across

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services which provided an overview of the Independent Review Service in the City of London Corporation, covered in the IRO Annual Report for 2016-2017.  Members welcomed the new, permanent IRO to the City Corporation and recognised the work of the previous IRO, which had been evident from Ofsted Inspections, particularly involving young people in their reviews.

Your report identifies the need for the Reviewing Service and the Department to improve the way that young people should be engaged and involved in their reviews. Can you say what work has been undertaken in this area to drive up standards regarding consultation and engagement.

A new device based application called Mo Mo (Mind of my Own) provides access to 10 different professionals; i.e. Social Worker and Virtual Head Teacher, offering advice on preparing for meetings. Whilst encouraging improvements in English, it is also available in a range of languages.  The Children in Care Council were very supportive of this app; supported by face to face contacts.  Preparation time before Review Meetings has increased, with young people encouraged to set their own agendas.  Meeting times themselves been reduced to 40 minutes and there was a new, less formal template which would be shared with Safeguarding Sub Committee Members. 

Given one of the IRO responsibilities is to ensure that the young people have a Care Plan in place, which is on track and meeting the outcomes within it, how does the role interface, not just with social care but also health and education partners, to ensure the outcomes are being met?

There are regular meetings between the Virtual Head Teacher and Health and Education Partners. 

What role does the IRO have in supporting transition arrangements for Children in Care when they become Care

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services in respect of the findings of research into neglect linked to affluence.  The Assistant Director advised that he had recently attended a seminar with 200 practitioners, which clearly showed an appetite to address this issue. 

Can you say more about how this research will directly impact on what our social workers will be doing in the future when working with affluent families?

Officers from both the City of London Boys’ and Girls’ Schools had served on an experts’ panel to consider and contribute to the research report.  Affluent families were likely to engage Lawyers at an earlier stage and parents/carers were often only willing to engage with managers and not practitioners.  At a local level, the learning will feed into CHSCB Training on neglect and the Children Social Care Service will consider the key messages in helping to inform their response to this issue.  The Assistant Director had advised the Communications Director about this work as there has been some regional and national interest in the report. 

RESOLVED, that- the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services which provided an update on work undertaken with children and young people, with special educational needs and disability (SEND), in the City of London.  Members noted the dominance of autism and a recent successful event at Artizan Street Library, run by the City’s parent/carer group.

It is evident that much progress is being made in supporting children and families with special education needs and disabilities. It is good to note that we have converted all SEN plans to EHC Plans. Are you satisfied that the quality of the EHC plans are good?

All children with SEN in the City have Education and Health Care Plans (EHC), with the exception of 1 very new arrival.  In fact, some are now on second year plans, which provides an opportunity to review against year one.  A new network has been established for Special Educational Needs coordinators (SENCO) in schools. This group will continue to meet each term and develop a network for developing best practise across schools in the City. 

How do you ensure that the voice of the parents AND the children feed into the individual plans and the strategic work?

The young person/child’s family are encouraged contribute and set out their aspirations and the plans are central to education and health care provision.  All current plans have been assessed as being fit for purpose but there is room for improvement in healthcare support pathways.  John Cass School has a network for parents in the process of receiving plans.  There are further ambitions to build a network for children, young people and parents, within the limitation of the City’s low population; the Artizan Street event being a good example. 

Are we satisfied with Health's engagement in the SEND agenda?

Work

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

There were no questions.

There were no items.

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item                                                      Paragraph

14-21                                                     1,2 and 3

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 September 2017 .

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2017 were approved.

Report of Looked After Children’s Health Team.

Members received a report of the Looked After Children’s Health Team.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Report of the Chief Officer, City and Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group

Members received a report of the Chief Officer, City and Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group, in respect of Section 48 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, which permits CQC to review the provision of healthcare and the exercise of functions of NHS England and Clinical Commissioning Groups.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

There were no questions.

There were no items.