Progress and Challenges

1. Progress and Challenges Hertfordshire Children’s Services External Support Team Headline Report – May 2008

2. Final Report Headlines Context Executive Summary Progress against agreed Indicators Beyond External Support - Residual Risks

3. Context

4. External Support Team • Children First is a collaboration between Mouchel Management Consultancy and Outcomes UK • Appointed through a competitive process led jointly by Herts CC and DCSF • Requirement from DCSF following inspection and welcomed by Herts • Project ran from Sept 07 until April 2008

5. External Support Team • GO East chaired - Multi-agency Project Board on behalf of DCSF • CX, DCS and PCT CX on the Project Board • Consultancy Team and Interim Head of Service • Later Interim Chair of HSCB • Diagnostic process/challenge followed by support to implement change and improvement • Outcomes of the diagnostic were accepted by the Project Board as the main areas for the work of the external support team

6. Context - 2007 JAR Despite improvements made throughout 2006 the key judgements were:

7. Key Improvement Themes • Safeguarding - this included safe staffing processes and undertaking development work with the HSCB • Interim management of fieldwork services • Performance management • Partnerships

8. Performance Improvement Aims • Ensure safe staffing processes are robust • Improve operational fieldwork performance in social care – assessment and Looked After Children • Improve data quality and target setting • Improve effectiveness of Children Schools and Families Board and extended board in managing others • Refocus Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board

9. 4 Key Strategic Risk Areas • Leadership and performance management • Integrated Children’s System – In other authorities this has impacted on assessment performance • Accountability Framework • Common Assessment Framework implementation requires agreed thresholds

10. Executive Summary

11. Executive Summary • Strong commitment to improve from Members, Officers and Children’s Trust partners – by October provide evidence of changed practice • HCC and partners agreed a Post Inspection Action plan and allocated additional funds • Openness to challenge and support from DCSF, GO East and External Support Team partners - this provides a sound baseline for Hertfordshire CSF as a self improving organisation

12. Executive Summary • Overall there has been good and rapid improvement in children’s services over the past six months • First milestones are mostly achieved delivering acceptable performance in most areas • Overall the capacity to improve is good if plans are implemented in a timely manner

13. Executive Summary • Leadership by the DCS and CSF board is now more focused on Performance Management and committed to ensuring greater consistency in management practice and Members can have confidence in this • CSF have developed with a comprehensive Performance Improvement Action plan • Safe staffing processes are in place and working

14. Executive Summary • Agreed key indicator outcomes of 12 previously judged Red (significantly underperforming) against comparators they are now – • 5 Green – equal to or exceeding comparators • 5 Amber – 4 of which exceeded the March 08 target set but are still below comparators but should be achieved by September 08 if progress is maintained • 2 Red – still in need of significant improvement

15. Executive Summary • Achieving targets set and agreed for September 2008 will evidence sustainability and consistent performance against comparators • Achieving targets set and agreed for March 2009 will show good performance against comparators

16. Executive Summary • Strengthening PM corporately will help sustain improvements in CSF • Recognition that all managers need to improve PM – training is a requirement for all - this shows a high level of commitment from DCS and CSF board

17. Executive Summary • Training must lead to genuine behaviour change • Strengthening PM across partnerships is a continuing need • Systems for managing poor performance need to be consistent and make use of full range of management tools

18. Executive Summary • Agreement of Local Area Agreement 2 indicators –these show a clear emphasis on vulnerable and there is suitable tie up with the Children and Young Persons Plan • Need to revise Corporate Plan • Current aim by 2009 - work has started following development of the Community Plan • Therefore the new Children’s Services targets are not currently reflected in the Corporate plan

19. Executive Summary • Agreement for facilitation and development programme for Members • To enable Members to keep pace with the performance management improvements

20. Key Quantitative Indicators

21. Initial Assessments

22. Core Assessments

23. Progress • More children and families are receiving assessments in Herts than comparator authorities • Timeliness still needs to improve to match comparators some assessments falling just outside timescale • Performance on timeliness for core assessments still variable in teams

24. LAC Worker Allocation

25. Progress • Now full CP allocation • Some improvement in qualified LAC allocation • But appropriate worker 100% • Child Protection reviews on time are 100% • De-registration is timely • Re-registrations are lower than other LAs • The rate of BME children on the CPR and in LAC is lower than similar LA’s

26. Review and Participation

27. Key Qualitative Indicators

28. Progress - PM • Performance is discussed more frequently than it was and with greater forensic attention to detail • Middle managers say that they are now more clearly focussed on outcomes and use performance information • Corporate expectations for middle managers’ role in PM set out in paper to SMB on Performance Management

29. Progress - PM • All members of CSF Board have an agreed data set for which they are held to account • Monthly performance monitoring reports are used by Board to challenge progress • Corporate expectation that a Performance Agreement will be put in place between every member of staff and their manager is a positive step forward

30. Progress - Safeguarding • Improved number and timeliness of assessments • Secured multi-agency agreement to thresholds and eligibility criteria • Improved the working style and accountability of HSCB and leadership

31. Progress – Safe Staffing • Comprehensive file review including historical checks • Revised policy and procedures communicated to staff • Staff vetted including redeployed staff • Reducing vacancies for qualified social workers in fieldwork teams but still some way to go • Monthly case meetings to progress “live issues”

32. Progress – Fieldwork PM • Fieldwork service has made significant improvement in performance management • Confidence in data is significantly improved • Front line and service managers are more consistently using data to monitor performance • Aim to spread this throughout other services

33. Progress - Partnerships • Trust partnership – has reviewed role and function - plans to recast roles by September • Shadow board established - proposed future link to Exec • HSCB and HCTB Executive developed Compacts • Core Executive – re-focussed on an ECM outcomes based approach and improved partnership working through Outcomes leads

34. Beyond External Support

35. What Needs to be Embedded/Sustained? • Full delivery of the Performance management Improvement programme • Performance management training for members, senior leaders and corporate link • Compacts embedded with Partnerships • Need to link performance agreements to appraisal process • Need to integrate and align processes not add more

36. Residual Risks

37. Residual Risks

38. Residual Risks – Actions • Continued drive on operational risk areas • ICS to deliver timely and accurate reports for managers through implementing Business Objects software • CAF implementation and monitor impact of referrals to Social Care by District • Ensure systematic prevention services are developed including Integrated Youth Support

39. Residual Risks – Action • Complete HR file update – due this month (May) • HR, Members and senior officers need to continue to assist middle leaders and provide confidence so that managers take appropriate action to manage performance • Communicate to staff turnover and outcomes from disciplinary, capability and absence action

40. Residual Risks – Action on KPI’s • Still to improve - still below comparator authorities • Core and Initial Assessments in time, Reviews on time and Participation, PEPs, Pathway Plans, Health and Dental checks • Implement action plans from Performance Clinics and develop further

41. October Review – Check Sustainability and Improvement Embedded 3 Phases- • Desktop Review • KPI data against agreed targets • APA Self Assessment • Fieldwork – Focus Groups, Interviews and Observations • Written Report

42. Proposals for October Review • Review and analyse progress on agreed KPI’s • Identify further evidence of improvement against the agreed qualitative indicators • Check perception of HR support – evidence of changing behaviour of managers and impact on performance • File Health Check on Safe Staffing

43. Proposals for October Review • Check delivery of performance management improvement plan • Check join up of plans Corporate/LAA/CYPP • Check evidence of children and young people’s input • Look at individual performance agreements to check if priorities go down to individual level

44. John Harris DCS Hertfordshire Children’s Services Response

45. Questions and Comments

46. thank you