Decision details

Adoption of an Improvement Plan for Children's Services - CYP02 (19/20)

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member for Children and Young People (Cllr Jacquie Russell)

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

Following the Ofsted inspection of the County Council’s Children’s Social Care Services in February-March 2019, an ‘inadequate’ judgement was given in Ofsted’s report published on 8 May 2019. 

 

In responding to the judgement, the County Council must prepare an improvement plan that demonstrates its capability and capacity to improve children’s services to a satisfactory standard. The plan now presented for adoption is known as the Children First Practice Improvement Plan; this reflects the ambition to make the experiences and the voice of the child central to the future delivery of all children’s services.

 

It is supported by an investment plan which identifies the resources required to deliver the requirements of the improvement plan.

 

Following approval for the adoption of the Plan, it will be submitted to the Department for Education.  This will lead to a process, described in the report, which will determine whether or not the County Council should retain responsibility for the direct provision of Children’s Social Care Services.

Decision:

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People has approved:

 

1)      The adoption of the Children First Practice Improvement Plan for Children’s Services, for submission to the Department for Education.

 

2)      The commitment, in consultation with the Cabinet, to fund the investment required to deliver the improvement plan as described in the investment plan. The detailed governance and monitoring of the investment plan will be the subject of further consideration and approval.

 

3)      That a Children First Strategy be developed, to give broad strategic expression to the County Council’s aspirations for children, with the proposed strategy to be presented for further consultation and approval in due course, with the intention of launching it in October 2019.

Interests and Nature of Interests Declared:

None

Publication date: 06/08/2019

Date of decision: 06/08/2019

Effective from: 16/08/2019

Accompanying Documents: