The Corporate Director for Social Services and Wellbeing introduced the report and invited the Head of Childrens Social Care to present the findings of the Inspection.

She went through the outcomes of the inspections conducted on :

· Maple Tree House on 28 June 2022

· Sunny Bank on 04 August 2022

· Harwood House on 13 September 2022

· Bakers Way on 29 September 2022

The Head of Childrens Social Care stated that the staff were committed to providing  first class care prior to the findings shared with the Inspectorate. She mentioned the difficulties in recruitment and retention of staff and stated that the operation of Maple Tree House will not resume until all the recommendations from the Inspection had been implemented.

A Member queried the plans for staffing in all the various settings and she mentioned concerns that the closure was due to staffing and recurrence of issues related to staffing. She also voiced concerns about the possible ongoing of the wellbeing of the children in the residential settings.

The Head of Childrens Social Care responded that there was ongoing recruitment into the settings with an emphasis on making the posts attractive to prospective recruits. She stated  that means of building a pool of casual staff as opposed to utilising the services of agency staff was also being looked at.

She invited the Group Manager – Placements and Provider Services to elaborate.

He stated there were visible positive signs in recruitment of staff with managers working closely with the communications team to encourage such recruitment.

The Deputy Leader stated they were aware of the difficulties faced by the children who had since been moved to a similar setting run by social workers. She assured the committee that she had received updates that they were doing well and the move was a positive one. She stated that the focus on recruitment was based on the quality of support, rather than the number of employees.

The Head of Childrens Social Care supported the above statements and reiterated that the Maple Tree residential home would only re-open if the requirements set out by the inspectorate are fully satisfied. She stated that a New Build facility in Brynmenyn is to be opened as an emergency and assessment provision.

The Corporate Director for Social Services and Wellbeing added that they were looking at a multi-agency response and working towards achieving a Therapeutic Model.

The Leader expressed his gratitude to staff and sought reassurance that requirements set out for improvement have been implemented.

The Head of Childrens Social Care stated that the management of the Sunnybank Residential unit had responded to the recommendations set out by the Inspectorate and assured that there had not been any inspections since.

RESOLVED : That the Cabinet Committee  noted the report.