Contact: Natalie Trentham, 01962 847166, [email protected]

Children's Services Management Team Sponsor: John Coughlan.1 Summary

1.1 The Annual Performance Assessment (APA) is the core process whereby the local authority's services for children are measured. The APA consists of 3 elements: performance data; inspections and a self assessment which was submitted in May and is currently subject to analysis. The full self assessment document is attached.

1.2 The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), together with other respective regulatory agencies will use the information provided in the APA to judge the contribution of County Council's children's services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people and the Council's capacity to improve its services.

1.3 The self assessment exercise judges performance against the five outcomes of the Children Act (2004) and considers aspects of partnership and service management. As such all corporate aims of the County Council were addressed in this analysis. The process involves an APA visit which took place at the end of June and included verbal feedback on the inspectorate's emerging findings. Following a series of central moderations, the local authority will receive a draft letter summarising those findings during September. The judgement will then be published later in the autumn as a key building block of the Council's corporate performance assessment. The authority has, however, received informal, unmoderated emerging findings which are positive.

1.4 The completion of the self assessment was undertaken in consultation with representatives of children's services partners within the statutory, voluntary and community sectors.

2 Self Assessment

2.1 Officers have paid particular attention to the drafting of this APA self assessment as it represents progress during the first year of a Children's Services Department at a crucial period of change. While the document highlights the progress that has been made, it is also a self critical and honest standpoint. So, for example, whereas the section on Enjoy and Achieve, which largely concerns educational progress, describes very strong performance across the county, we are identifying the need to make further progress at Key Stage 3 and also to progress our 14-19 strategy to ensure access to vocational training alongside GCSEs.

2.2 The self assessment requires Hampshire Children's Services to grade itself (from 1 to 4) on children's social care services, children's services generally, and our capacity to improve. Our self assessment grades are as follows:

2.2.1 The contribution of the Council's children's services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people: Grade 3 (consistently delivering above requirements)

2.2.2 The Council's capacity to improve its services for children and young people: Grade 4 (delivering well above requirements)

2.2.3 Children's social care services: Grade 3 (consistent delivery above requirements).

2.4 It would not be appropriate to report on the emerging findings from the inspectorates at this stage. We are confident that the self assessment will be regarded as a fair and accurate document.

2.5 The APA is a key component with regard to our fulfillment of the children's element of the Local Area Agreement as well as of the Children and Young People's Plan. It is also an important element leading towards the detailed Joint Area Review (JAR) which all public sector children's services in Hampshire will be subject to within the next 18 months.

3 Priorities

3.1 Hampshire children's services has identified nine priorities for children and young people for the coming year. These build on last year's APA inspection judgment; evaluation of the effectiveness of services; extensive needs analysis; listening to children, young people and their carers; and the 20 priority outcomes in the Children and Young People's Plan. The priorities are as follows:

- To increase healthy eating and physical activity in order to reduce child obesity;

- To establish the LSCB in taking a wider safeguarding role;

- To increase the identification of domestic abuse and provide appropriate support and intervention;

- To reduce the incidence of bullying;

- To ensure that all Children Looked After are living in appropriate and stable placements;

- To increase the numbers of children attending school and support for those not in school;

- To improve the educational attainments of Children Looked After;

- To increase access to volunteering;

- To improve young people's access to transport.

4 Legal implications

4.1 The APA is conducted under the authority of the Children Act (2004).

5 Financial implications

5.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report.

6 Personnel implications

6.1 There are no personnel implications arising from this report.

7 Impact assessment

7.1 Race and equality issues have been addressed in the self assessment.

8 Crime prevention issues

8.1 Crime prevention issues have been addressed in the self assessment (specifically in Staying Safe and Making a positive contribution).

9 Views of the Local County Councillor

9.1 Not applicable.

Recommendations

1 That the Children's Services Policy and Review Committee advises the Executive Member for Children's Services to note and support the conclusions of the APA self assessment.

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.

1. The Children and Young People's Plan.

2. The Local Area Agreement.

3. The LPSA 2.