Area Coordination Management Meeting

Hyde, Hattersley and Longdendale

Minutes

Time: 9.30am - 11.30am 
Date: 13th September 2007
Venue: Bennett Street Youth Centre

Present:

• Jackie Lydon - Inclusive Services
• Jan Cooper - Children's Social Care
• Judith Grigg - PCT
• Vicky Cuddy - Children's Centres
• Sue Garnett - Area Co-ordinator and Chair
• Jo Brown - Connexions
• Karen Davies - Children's Domestic Violence Project Manager
• Joyce Boyd - YOT Lead Manager
• Mary Clowrey - Education Welfare Service
• Janet Rathburn - Primary School rep – Dowson Primary
• Beryl Oliver - Secondary School rep – Hyde Tech
• Syed Miah - Youth Service
• Linda Sidebottom - New Charter Housing
• Don Entwistle - Youth Service

Note Taker: Jo Cole

Item 1: Welcome

Sue welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made around the table.

Item 2: Apologies

• Jane Cooke - Children's Social Care

Item 3: Notes of last meeting and matter arising

The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as a true and accurate record with no matters arising.

Item 4: Progress of Action Plan

Action Plan No. 2.1 – promote the use of the new integrated processes

• Data sampling is being carried out.
• Training data should provide a picture – will bring to future meetings.

Action Plan No. 2.2 – support the use of the new integrated processe s

• Final CAF flowchart circulated with the papers for this meeting
• Wall chart finalised and will going out to all professionals
• Revised Children in Need Framework is launched in October – schools and other partners invited to attend the seminars.
• Common Process Practice Workshops planned – 3 workshops in each of the 4 areas. The workshops will be for practitioners who have already undertaken training. These workshops will act as a refresher course with the opportunity to revisit certain aspects and ask questions.

Action Plan No. 4.4 – Twice yearly meetings

• The agenda has been slightly amended following consultation with our colleagues from Children Centre's and will be circulated with the minutes.

Probable schedule for each area

Autumn
Ashton
Denton , Droylsden, Audenshaw

In the new year
Hyde, Hattersley, Longdendale
Stalybridge, Dukinfield, Mossley

• It is acknowledged that it will be a challenge to organise an event that can meet the needs of all agencies and partners.
• The Ashton event will take place some time in October and will probably tie in with opening of Waterloo Children's Centre.
• The Denton , Droylsden and Audenshaw event will follow shortly after.
• Representatives from Sports Dev and Children's Centres will do presentations but will also have stalls and leaflets – promoting the activities in the area but also in other areas. A meeting has taken place between the area co-ordinators and the reps to discuss this.

Action Plan No. 3.5 – Create a staff directory - update

• Very first draft version circulated with the papers for this meeting. Any corrections/amendment, please send in to Jo. The directory will need updating annually.

Item 5: Linda Sidebottom – Visit from schools to new Charter

• Linda is the New Charter Regeneration Officer for the Newton and Micklehurst area.
• Her work involves:
• joint funding and partnership work, linking in to communities
• information sessions / events to engage communities
• project work with young people, in particular those listed as at risk of challenging behaviour
  
  New Charter Housing Trust
  Cavendish 249, Cavendish Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7AT
  0161 331 2121
  
• The new Charter building is an eco-friendly building with 350 staff based there.
• This year, the focus is on recycling, with a large percentage of the water and paper used in the building being recycled.
• Health and wellbeing is heavily promoted, with healthy eating stalls available in the building.
• New Charter encourage school educational visits (small classes – 12/14) – please contact Paul Pritt, Recycling Manager to arrange a visit.

It was suggested that a future ACMT meeting should be held at the New Charter Building

Item 6: Karen Davies – Children's Domestic Violence Project Manager

• Karen has been in post since May 2007.
• The project is funded until May 2008 by the CWDC and the project is monitored to ensure the money is being spent correctly. Karen is currently in process of applying for more funding once CWDC funding ceases.
• A part-time admin person works alongside Karen, collecting data and stats relating to referrals.
• A Youth Support Group is being set up, hopefully to be up and running by the end of September to help young people in domestic violence situations.
• Targeted at secondary school age - 11 to 16.
• One venue at the moment – Waterloo Children's Centre.
• The sessions can accommodate 6 – 8 young people.
• The group will run for 10 weeks and each session will focus on a different outcome.
• The young people receive OCDs if they attend for the full 10 weeks.
• Karen is currently looking at further venues – hopefully to have a group in each area e.g. Duke Street , Bennett Street , another venue in Ashton, Children's Centres.
• As well as venues, more youth workers are also needed to help run the groups.
• Leaflet / poster / website will be designed by the young people once the support group is up and running.
• If the young person lives too far away they will be picked up and dropped off - if appropriate.
• Referrals can be from schools, youth bases, GPs, Connexions, Off the Record and self-referrals.
• Karen handed out a flyer for a drama production and explained in more detail.
• Year 10 students from 5 secondary schools are involved in this. The young people involved are known to Children's Services / Women's Refuge / Victim Support.
• The production will be shown in Alder, Fairfield , Mossley Hollins and Egerton Park , and a DVD will be produced for Dale Grove.
• It was suggested that pre and post interviews should be undertaken with the young people involved to establish the benefits and the outcomes.
• Karen to inform Judith when the drama presentations are likely to be scheduled – school nurses can trigger referrals from the drama presentations.

Item 7: Judith Grigg – Associate Director, PCT

• Judith is the Associate Director at the PCT for the Hyde, Hattersley and Longdendale area, leading on children & young people.
• She is based at Selbourne House, Hyde (near Bridgeway PRU).
• The PCT has recently undergone a restructure to align with the local authority locality model, with the PCT having 5 areas including Glossop.
• There will be 2 co-ordinators in each locality – 1 for children's services and 1 for adults services.
• The co-ordinator for the Hyde, Hattersley and Longdendale area is Gill Gibson. She takes up her post on Monday 24 th September.
• Attendance at this meeting will be shared between Judith and Gill.
• There are plans in the pipeline for Health Trainers in schools – watch this space!
• Judith acknowledged that there has been a real lack in school nurse involvement with schools for quite a number of years. The intention is to have school nurses linked to particular schools.

Item 8: Pilot Ashton

Sue reported on the Ashton Area Co-ordination meeting which took place on 19 th July. At this meeting a case study of one particular secondary school focused on how some families can have, for example, as many as 10 different services working with them. Duplication and the amount of time workers were spending with families was discussed and the possibility of having one key person per family in order to distribute practitioners' time more efficiently. Further information will be given when the pilot is completed.

Sue also reported that Tracy Wood has been appointed as the Ashton Area Co-ordinator. Julie and Sue will continue to share the responsibility of Chair until she is in post.

Item 9: Managers' Updates

Don

• The keys were handed over last night for Bennett Street Youth Centre. The official opening is 22 nd September. The locality manager is Syed Mir.
• The building is still owned and run by Facilities Management – Facilities Manager is Justin Conlon
• Eileen Lomax will be running the Young Person's Disability Project from here 2 nights a week. Transport is provided for young people. 1 night will focus on sports activities and 1 night will focus on performing arts.
• The centre is also available for use by the adult community.
• The Youth Centre sees young people attending from all areas - Asian community, Bangladeshi community, Newton , Godley.
• A summer scheme was run from Hyde Tech this year - dance, football, outdoor pursuits, camping etc. It was very successful and engaged a lot of enthusiastic young people. Now Bennett Street is open, the scheme will be run from there in future years.
• A Public Art event is being planned for the near future – inviting young people to design the outside of the building.
• Don extended his gratitude to Beryl and Linda for their continued support and help. The ongoing partnerships have made a huge difference.
• Don reported on a Youth Arts Programme run by Arts North West. They mostly work with refugees and asylum seekers, delivering training and performances. It really engages the young people involved.

Janet

• Janet reported that their planning application for the Cycle for Life scheme has been rejected due to objections from local residents.
• Dowson held an Open Day in July, inviting the local community.
• Dowson are currently working with the BEST - storing bicycles, with the BEST funding the storage containers

Beryl

• Beryl has been spending most of her time recently helping and supporting Don with Bennett Street Open Day on 22 nd September.

Jo

• The Hyde Connexions Office is opening next Wednesday (19 th Sept) specifically to talk to young people who are currently NEET.
• The number of NEET young people in Tameside is currently 800 – this is broken down into level 1 & 2. Approx 1/3 are level 1. Jo to bring some stats for this area to the next meeting.

Jackie

• Jackie reported on the new provision at Jet Centre for KS4 pupils called the Step Up Project.
• This latest initiative was up to maximum capacity within the first week with 24 young people having been referred by schools. Schools refer directly to Helen Russell (Manager)
• This shows there is a definite need to provide that level of service of those disengaged young people.
• This provision is open to all Tameside schools with schools having to buy into the service. The cost is £2500 per pupil per term, which is the same as a permanent exclusion.
• The central government funding finishes in April 2008 and at the moment there is no direction as to whether this will continue.

Vicky

• Vicky gave a brief update on the Barnardos Project in Hyde, which focuses on families with children under 5. Report and evidence has been put forward to show it is a worthwhile project in preparation for the review of the Children's Fund allocation.
• Co-ordinators for the area have been appointed. Hyde = Tanam Shad, Hattersley and Longdendale = Jane Wishart. Both will commence in post on 1 st October.
• Applications have been received for the Early Years Lead for the area – interviews are taking place on Monday.
• Longdendale Children's Centre – this will possibly be a demountable building on the Hollingworth Primary School playground near the front gate which will deliver under 5s provision and will be accessible by the community.
• Still looking at what's needed around the Mottram / Broadbottom area. Maybe a mobile children's centre ‘bus'.
• Vicky wanted to make everyone aware of a lady who has set up a Centre for the African Community in a house on Dowson Road . There are quite a number of African families in Tameside not really accessing services as they don't really feel part of the wider community. This often results in them travelling to Manchester . Not sure of the exact facts and figures at this stage Vicky will make contact with this lady and arrange a meeting. Vicky will then feedback at the next ACMT meeting.

Joyce

• The Youth Offending Team are quite busy at the moment, working with over 200 young people and familes.
• Quite a lot of work is being done with quite serious young offenders. There is also a lot of prevention work taking place.
• There are issues regarding the funding of several members of staff which is due to run out in March 2008.

Item 10: AOB

Area profile

Sue gave a brief update on the Area Profile.

It is split into 4 wards – Godley, Newton , Werneth & Longdendale.

Includes details of households, occupations, regeneration profiles, unemployment, nurseries, childminders, schools etc.

Sue acknowledged that there is more work to be done and this will be a focus for future meetings. Feedback will be helpful from the Change for Children events.

Date of next meeting

The meeting scheduled for 17th October needs rearranging because Sue is on Jury Service.

The new date was agreed as 23 rd October at 2pm.

CAF General Feedback

Janet Rathburn

• CAF completed by Learning Mentor.
• It is a lengthy, time-consuming process but has proved to be very useful to develop relationships with the families.
• The initial involvement of the family can be an issue.
• When people become more skilled and proficient in completing CAFs, the process will become easier.

Sue

• The feedback from the LSCB conference is that people feel there needs to be a Common Processes Manager / Practitioner to quality control the processes.

Jackie

• It is an issue that families can refuse to be involved with a CAF – these are often the families most in need.

Jo

• Connexions staff are up-to-speed with CAFs and JASPER – a number of CAFs have been completed for post-16 and meetings have been held.

The meeting closed at 11.45

Glossary

• ACMT Area Co-ordination Management Team
• APIR Assessment, Planning, Implement and Review
• BEST Behaviour and Education Support Team
• BME Black and Ethnic Minority
• BSF Building Schools for the Future
• CAF Common Assessment Framework
• CWDC Children's Workforce Development Council
• CYPSP Children and Young People Strategic Partnership
• DfES Department for Education and Skills
• ECM Every Child Matters
• ISSP (team) Intensive Supervision and Surveillance
• JASPER Joint Assessment System for Prevention and Early Referral
• NEET Not in Education, Employment or Training
• NRF Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
• OFSTED The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills
• PCT Primary Care Trust
• PSHE Personal, Social and Health Education
• PTA Parent and Teacher Association
• RAP Resettlement and Aftercare
• SENCO Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
• T3SC Tameside Third Sector Coalition
• TAC Tameside Administrative Centre
• YOT Youth Offending Team