Archived decisions

Contact: Colin Hardy, Project Director, ext 7663, e-mail: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 During 2005/6 the DfES consulted upon and issued guidance setting out the duty of partners to cooperate in improving outcomes for children and young people and the functions of the Executive Member and the Director of Children's Services.

1.2 This paper takes into account the final statutory guidance and recommends the development of partnership and governance arrangements to take forward the Change for Children programme as follows

· Children and Young People's Partnership - Standing Conference - to be chaired by the Executive Member for Children's Services, with membership from partner agencies, to identify strategy, establish priorities, identify resources and oversee progress in improving outcomes

· Children and Young People's Partnership - Management Board - chaired by the Director of Children's Services to manage the implementation of agreed strategy through commissioning, recommend how resources should be allocated to priority areas, establish delivery agreements and performance management arrangements with partners

· Outcome Partnerships and Locality Partnerships will assist both the Standing Conference and the Management Board in managing programme areas with partners and in ensuring a local perspective

1.3 A schematic is attached at Appendix 1 to show in summary form the proposed future partnership and governance arrangements and relationships.

1.4 This approach supports the corporate strategy in maximising life opportunities, building strong and safe communities, improving services and developing councillors and staff by providing the necessary Member leadership for strategy and ensuring management action with partners to improve outcomes for children and young people.

1.5 The approach will also support the County Council in meeting the statutory requirements in Section 10 of the Children Act 2004 by ensuring arrangements are in place for cooperation with partners and for participation with children and young people, their families and carers.

2. Children and Young People's Partnership - Standing Conference

2.1 The purpose of the Standing Conference is to provide leadership to establish future direction and strategy and to review progress in improving outcomes for children and young people

2.2 The new Standing Conference would be chaired by the Lead Member for Children's Services and would involve all key partners at a strategic level. The initial task of the Conference would be to use information currently available to determine the overall strategy and priorities for work with children and young people. This process would include senior officers and those with governance responsibilities within HCC and in partner agencies. As the Conference would include all relevant organizations who are also part of the Hampshire Strategic Partnership it is felt that they should consider and determine the strategy, which will be included in the Children and Young People's Plan, with consideration of the Community Strategy rather than setting up a separate forum to do this

2.3 The ongoing role of this Standing Conference would be, with the engagement of senior officers and members from partner agencies, to keep abreast of the impact of the strategy on outcomes, to review and develop the overall approach and the effectiveness of the partnership in the achievement of the desired outcomes, adjusting priorities as necessary.

2.4 The membership of the Standing Conference is likely to be similar to that of the existing Children & Young People's Strategic Partnership and the focus must be on ensuring the right people are involved both by statute and pragmatically. A review of existing membership will be necessary as the new arrangements are put in place and there will be an emphasis on inclusion at this level including, for example, representation for young people and for schools and staff.

2.5 The Work of the current Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership (CYPSP) has focused upon establishing, with partners, the approach to a number of key developments including participation with children and young people, the Common Assessment Framework, information sharing and the development of early intervention and preventative service through the Children's Fund. This work has provided an invaluable backdrop to the work now ahead and as progress is made and work in these areas becomes more operationally managed it is the right time to develop the necessary engagements to ensure a focus on the strategic work for the future.

2.6 The approach recommended will ensure support to the Executive Member for Children's Services in the exercise of statutory functions and will also ensure links to the Hampshire Strategic Partnership and Local Strategic Partnerships in their work on community strategies including Local Area Agreements for services to children and young people.

2.7 Functions of the Standing Conference would include: -

· Setting overall strategy and direction

· Identify needs and confirming priorities to improve outcomes

· Identifying any areas of local flexibility within strategic priorities

· Overseeing progress and reviewing outcomes

· Ensuring the participation of children and young people

· Identify resources to secure improvements in outcomes by aligning resources with priorities

3 Children and Young People's Partnership - Management Board

3.1 The purpose of the Management Board is to direct and oversee the implementation of the Children and Young People's Plan through the delivery of services. It will be the `operational engine room' in ensuring action is taken to address the strategy and priorities agreed by partners through the Standing Conference.

3.2 The Management Board, involving key senior partners, would take responsibility to ensure action is taken to improve outcomes for children and young people. The Management Board chaired by the Director of Children's Services would meet on a monthly basis to undertake the following key functions.

· Provide information and support to the Standing Conference in identifying needs and establishing strategies

· Translate agreed strategies into delivery plans to improve outcomes for all children and young people

· Jointly commission improved outcomes from services

· Recommend the allocation of resources to services, aligning resources with priorities and pooling budgets where advantage for consumers can be gained

· Monitor performance and outcomes and take action where necessary to secure improvements

· Ensure all services support and develop the participation of children and young people, with particular attention to involving vulnerable young people

3.3 The Management Board would largely include the existing members of the Children's Services Board and it will be necessary for the Board to define the appropriate future membership in order to carry out the work; initially it is recommended that additional members be sought from the Chief Executives of District Councils, from the Learning and Skills Council and from Principals of Colleges.

3.4 Guidance on Section 10 of the Act, the duty to cooperate, also identifies the Probation Service and the Youth Offending Team as key partners in improving outcomes and the existing Wessex Youth Offending Board with links to the Management Board will continue to provide the necessary focus.

4 Outcome partnerships

4.1 Guidance requires that there shall be a statutory Safeguarding Children Board to replace the non-statutory Area Child Protection Committee in ensuring partners work together to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Additionally there are a number of management partnerships that ensure a coordinated approach to specific areas of joint work. E.g. Teenage Pregnancy, Children's Fund and the Drug Action Team. In the same way the CAMHS Trust has been established to undertake the joint commissioning of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

4.2 These Boards, Partnerships and Trusts will continue to have specific functions in support of the overall responsibilities of the Management Board and over time others may be developed to ensure a focus upon the 5 outcomes. The Board will initiate these arrangements on behalf of the Partnership.

5 Children and Young People's Locality Partnerships

5.1 To assist the Standing Conference and the Management Board in their functions it will be necessary to ensure a local perspective. The focus of work at this level is to bring together partners, many of whom are already involved in local groups, to agree the local priorities and focus where there is potential for local flexibility and to support action to improve outcomes. The approach, where possible, is to bring together and engage existing groups and provide feedback loops rather than create new structures

5.2 Each District Council area has existing arrangements to support local partnerships of children's services, often linked to the LSP with strong engagement with the voluntary sector, and there is general agreement on the need to ensure that Children and Young People's Locality Partnerships emerge which embrace all services to those aged 0-19 (and up to 25 for those with special needs).

5.3 The functions of Locality Partnerships could include: -

· Identifying opportunities to ensure the full participation of children, young people, their families and carers in the planning of services and in monitoring effectiveness

· Understand and contribute to assessment of local need

· Determine local priorities where flexibility exists

· Support and influence local partners in improving outcomes

· Support the development of local plans and delivery agreements including ensuring resources are focused upon priorities

· Review outcomes and identify issues of concern

· Ensure the necessary links between local partnerships with specific functions, including the Crime Reduction Partnership, Local Strategic Partnership and NHS implementation groups

6 Implementation

6.1 To implement this approach to partnership and governance, it will be necessary to review the membership of the existing Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership and the Children's Services Board to ensure Members and managers are included in the appropriate forum with partners and that the necessary links are established.

6.2 It will also be necessary to agree a schedule of activity on an annual basis to establish forward strategy and priorities and review progress in improving outcomes for all children and young people, which would be included in the annual Children and Young People's Plan.

6.3 The Children and Young People's Plan for 2006-9 will be published in April 2006 following engagement with stakeholders during 2005, a 3-month period of consultation to take place early in 2006 and reference to Members. The draft Children and Young People's Plan will include a statement of vision and principles for Children's Services which will form the basis of these partnership arrangements.

6.4 It is recommended that the first Standing Conference should be established for March 2006 to formally consider the final draft of the C&YP Plan prior to publication and then to meet towards the end of 2006 to review the strategy and priorities and consider the views of external inspectors following the Annual Performance Assessment.

6 Legal implications

None

7 Financial implications

None

8 Personnel implications

None

9 Impact assessment

Race and equality issues have been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified

10 Crime prevention issues

The approach will support the County Council's work with Crime Reduction Partnerships and through community strategies to reduce crime.

11 Views of Local County Councillor

None

Recommendations

1 That the Executive Member for Children's Services welcomes the summary level functions for a Children and Young People's Partnership Standing Conference and notes the potential to develop Locality Partnerships.

2 That the Executive member notes the development of a Children and Young People's Partnership Management Board to oversee and develop a number of Outcome Partnerships.

3 To approve the above proposals being reported to the Hampshire Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership and note that more detailed terms of reference and membership will be developed in order to put the new arrangements in place early in 2006, with the first Standing Conference to be established in March 06.

4 That the new arrangements be taken forward for approval by Cabinet.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None

Appendix 1 Summary Governance arrangements for Children's Services partnerships

Various Agency

Governance

Arrangements