Invitees:

Cllr Hailey Townsend, Cabinet Member, Childrens Social Services and Equalities

Susan Cooper, Corporate Director, Social Services and Wellbeing

Judith Brooks, Group Manager – Business Support

The Scrutiny Officer introduced a report which gave an update on the programme of rota visiting the Council’s children’s social care establishments. 

The Group Manager Business Support informed the Committee of the importance of Members undertaking rota visits to social care establishments.  She stated that rota visiting had been part of the quality assurance of the authority’s services for a number of years and is valued by staff.  Rota visiting gave Members the opportunity to meet and discuss with service users their views on the services they receive.  The Committee was provided with a schedule of visits carried out at children’s establishments together with a summary of the comments made by Members and service responses. 

The Committee questioned whether there are independent providers of children’s establishments operating in the County Borough.  The Group Manager Childrens Regulated Services confirmed that there are independent providers of children’s establishments operating in the County Borough which are subject to monitoring by the CSSIW.  She stated that there is a very robust assessment process in place in order for independent providers to get on to the framework. 

The Committee commented on the importance of rota visiting and questioned whether staff morale was good at children’s establishments given that changes are proposed to be made to service provision at Baker’s Way.  The Group Manager Childrens Regulated Services informed the Committee that the manager of Baker’s Way is involved in discussions and part of the review on proposed changes to be made to the way in which services are delivered from that establishment.  She stated that staff are part of the consultation process and had shared their concerns during the review but no decision had been made on the possible options, however there was a need to ensure the facility at Baker’s Way is fit for purpose.  The review of Baker’s Way was being undertaken as part of a wider review of residential provision in the County Borough.  She informed the Committee that funding had been set aside to make kitchen adaptations at Baker’s Way.  She also informed the Committee that it was not possible to install a stair lift at the premises but this had not affected service users from using Baker’s Way.  She informed the Committee that there is an open book approach available for staff to express their views. 

The Cabinet Member Childrens Social Services and Equalities informed the Committee that a report on options for Baker’s Way and residential remodelling would be brought to a future meeting of this Committee for consultation prior to a decision being made by Cabinet. 

In response to a question from the Committee on the numbers of Members who had undertaken rota visits, the Group Manager Business Support confirmed that 28 visits were carried out by Members out of a possible 63 visits to children’s social care establishments between April 2014 and January 2016. 

The Committee questioned the stance taken to minimise access to Wi-Fi facilities at Newbridge House at certain times.  The Group Manager Childrens Regulated Services informed the Committee that the Council has very strict policies and protocols governing the access to Wi-Fi facilities.  Usage of Wi-Fi facilities is monitored and it is turned off at certain times.  However, residents at Newbridge House could still access the internet via their own mobile networks through smartphones and tablets.  She stated that the Council as corporate parents provide mandatory training on ICT safety and is responsible for safe internet usage.

Conclusions      

The Committee recommended that the rota visit programme be expanded to incorporate private sector children’s residential establishments, similar to the pilot that has been undertaken in Adult Services. 

The Committee also questioned whether each establishment had to be visited every month and instead proposed that a quarterly visit to each home may be more feasible, particularly in light of the desire to expand the programme to private sector residential establishments.

Members asked to receive additional information regarding the reasons why Members have been unable to attend their scheduled rota visits, if this information is collected and available; and if not Members recommended that this be collated for future monitoring.