Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership

23rd April 2009

Commenced: 10.00 am Terminated: 1.00pm

Present

Cllr Alison Gwynne Tameside MBC (in the Chair)
Steven Pleasant Tameside MBC
Claire Bibby Tameside MBC
Tom Coffey Tameside MBC
Judith Grigg NHS Tameside and Glossop
Veronica Hyde Tameside Third Sector Coalition
Pat McKelvey NHS Tameside and Glossop
Sarah Petts Tameside Voice
Sheila Piazza Connexions Tameside
Jim Taylor Tameside MBC
Ian Young Tameside Voice
Tony Okotie Tameside Third Sector Coalition
Graham Ashford Tameside MBC
Annie Dodd Tameside MBC
Emma McDonough NHS Tameside and Glossop
David Berry Tameside MBC
Zulf Ahmed Learning and Skills Council
Judith Grigg NHS Tameside and Glossop
Elaine Michel NHS Tameside and Glossop
Cheryl Eastwood Tameside MBC
John Rogers Tameside Primary Heads
Esther Bland Broadbottom Primary School
For Part: Bob Shaw Tameside MBC
Simon Brunet Tameside MBC
Paula Henson Tameside MBC

Apologies:

Councillor Cooney, Brian Parker, Superintendent McKay, Stephen McLaughlin, Moira Thompson, Melanie Sirotkin and David Hobbs

47. Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting of the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership held on 11th December 2008 were approved as a correct record.

48. Teenage Pregnancy

Paula Henson, Senior Strategy Manager Teenage Pregnancy reported on the progress of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy and rates of conceptions.

She stated that the latest conception data received from the Office of National Statistics indicated a figure of 54.9% per 1000 for 2007, which was a rise of 0.5% from the figure for 2006, although actual numbers of conceptions showed a decline. Data had been produced via the data dashboards and shared with all partners, which enabled better targeting of support work and services, especially around our ‘hotspot’ areas. The dashboards had been shared as an example of best practice both regionally and nationally.

She further stated that packages of support had been offered to all schools with a focus on the 6 hotspot schools who had been asked to identify a champion for Teenage Pregnancy to link with the Senior Strategy Manager. Key messages around teenage pregnancy for all professionals who worked with young people had been disseminated with a focus on aspiration and self-esteem building.

She made reference to the service specifications which had now been implemented with a particular focus around prevention and promotion work and a review of service delivery was being planned. Figures showed an increase in uptake of contraceptive services especially the C-card Scheme and to date the figures had shown that Tameside had over 5000 young people registered with the scheme.

Resolved
That the report be noted.

49. Joint Area Review Action Plan

Cheryl Eastwood, Deputy Director, Services for Children and Young People reported on the Joint Area Review Action Plan in response to the report of the review of Services for Children and Young People in Tameside Children’s Services Authority Area, published by Ofsted on 18th November 2008.

She stated that the actions in the plan addressed the seven recommendations contained within the report and six additional areas which had been identified from the Ofsted report. Monitoring and delivery of this action plan would be undertaken by the Lead Monitoring Officers on a monthly basis and would be considered by the Children’s Leadership Team of the Council bi-monthly. Evaluation would then be undertaken by the Director of Children’s Services in one to one quarterly meetings with the Lead Monitoring Officers and reported to the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board.

Resolved
That progress on the Joint Area Review Action Plan be noted.

50. Stay Safe Outcome Theme Report

Annie Dodd, Assistant Executive Director, Specialist Services and Safeguarding, TMBC reported on the overview of achievements and challenges in the four areas of focus as set by the Performance Monitoring Sub-Committee of the Tameside Safeguarding Children Board which had fulfilled the function of Stay Safe outcome theme group for the Tameside Children and Young People Strategic Partnership.

The four areas were as follows:-

• Child in Need Systems;
• Bullying;
• Domestic Abuse; and
• Road Safety.

She made reference to the achievements and challenges within the four areas detailed above and stated that the reporting structure of the Tameside Safeguarding Children Board would be reviewed by the Independent Chair.

Resolved
That the report be noted.

51. Annual Review of the Tameside Children and Young People Plan 2007- 2010

Tom Coffey, Partnership Development Manager, TMBC, reported on the 2008/09 annual review of Tameside’s 2007-2010 Children and Young People Plan which was taking place amidst considerable change both nationally and locally in arrangements for the delivery of children’s services.

He reported that the implications of these changes for local planning in Tameside had been fully addressed in this review. This would be the final review undertaken before a major revision in 2010 which would lead to the establishment of a new Tameside Children and Young People Plan for the period 2010-2013.

Details were given of the national context, local context and the five outcomes as follows:-

• Be Healthy;
• Stay Safe;
• Enjoy and achieve;
• Make a positive contribution; and
• Achieve economic wellbeing.

Reference was also made to the leadership and management, consultation with children and young people and families and it was reported that a final report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Partnership on Wednesday 18th June 2009.

Resolved
That the final version of the review of the Children and Young People Plan for 2010 be submitted to the next meeting of this Partnership.

52. Children and Young People Plan 2007-2010 – Improvement Action Plan 2009-2010

Tom Coffey, Partnership Development Manager, reported on the Improvement Action Plan 2009-2010 and asked Members of the Partnership to work in small discussion groups to consider the draft Plan and to identify issues for inclusion in the final plan.

The feedback from the group discussions would be collated and included as part of the CYPP Review and submitted to the next meeting of the Partnership.

53. Annual Report of the Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership to Tameside Strategic Partnership

Consideration was given to a joint report of Jim Taylor, Executive Director, Services for Children and Young People, TMBC and Pat McKelvey, Head of Children’s Strategy and Partnerships, NHS Tameside and Glossop, detailing a summary of the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership performance against the Community Strategy’s key measures and performance indicators in the partnership agreement and setting out its priorities for the future.

He made reference to the summary of the overall progress against the Community Strategy, detailed performance information for 2008/09 (detailed at Appendix 1) and the draft Partnership Agreement for 2009/10 (detailed at Appendix 2).

Particular reference was given to the key issues arising in the last twelve months including:-

• Joint Area Review and the Corporate Assessment in July 2008 and its six recommendations;
• The Partnerships commitment to targeting services on the needs of vulnerable groups and those most in need;
• Increased joint commissioning capacity to further develop preventative services aligned to the joint priorities;
• Tameside’s Children’s Centre Programme;
• Use of Common Processes and development of the local information-sharing index (JASPER);
• The Children’s Needs Framework and Safeguarding Children Framework guidance documents;
• Full multi-agency engagement in the 5 Every Child Matters outcome theme sub-groups;
• Enhanced integrated services and delivery of improved health outcomes for children and families in partnership with NHS Tameside and Glossop; and
• Partners Programme with the Children’s Workforce Development Council.

He also referred to the key issues for the next twelve months as follows:-

• Key priorities for 2009/10;
• Use of Common Processes and fully integrated services within children’s trust arrangements – the current restructure of the Children and Young People Directorate within the Council;
• Participation Network had been established with a Participation manager to be appointed in the near future;
• Public Information and Marketing Strategy;
• Support for parents and families – Service Information Directory, developing the role of Children’s Centres and extended schools, working with local employers to provide parental information to employees, working with social landlords to raise awareness with their staff to support parents, recruiting additional parent support advisers;
• Development of an Integrated Youth Support Service; and
• Development of the Children’s Trust arrangements.

Resolved
That the report be noted and the Partnership undertake any resulting actions specified by the Board.

54. A Partnership Approach to Tackling Childhood Obesity in Tameside

Sabrina Fuller, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Tameside and Glossop reported on the effects on health and well-being of obesity in Tameside and the action that partners could take to support families in achievement and maintenance of a healthy weight.

Reference was made to obesity in the Tameside and Glossop district, with obesity levels in Reception children being one in ten and in Year 6 these had risen to nearly one in five. She stated that tackling obesity was one of the Partnership’s key priorities and within the Local Area Agreement the objective was to reduce the proportion of overweight and obese children to 2000 by 2020.

She further stated that Partners be requested to identify opportunities for their agency to tackle the issue of child obesity as follows:-

• To improve access for children, young people and their families to healthy food choices;
• To improve access for children, young people and their families to physical activity opportunities;
• To support healthy choices;
• To signpost healthy lifestyle opportunities;
• To signpost services to support those who wish to achieve a healthy weight;
• To link into Change 4 Life campaign via the website and use of the logo;
• To identify a health lead within their organisation who would act as advocate and point of communication for initiatives to reduce obesity; and
• To work with the PCT to ensure an integrated approach to tackling childhood obesity across Tameside, including identification and alignment of resources and clarification of roles and responsibilities, using a child centred care pathway approach.

Resolved
That the report be noted and Partners be requested to support the above-mentioned initiatives.

55. Parent Infant Mental Health Strategy

Consideration was given to a report of Emma McDonough, Pauline Lee and Catherine Mee, NHS Tameside and Glossop detailing the Parent Infant Mental Health Strategy 2009-2011, which was a strategy for 0-3 year old children and their families.

Reference was made to the Executive Summary which detailed the aims to improve the mental health of infants (0-3 years) and their parents and carers through a prevention and early intervention approach. The strategy aimed to look at where services required redesign and refocus, but also where investment was needed to gain the best outcomes for all children aged 0-3 and their families.

She further stated that the strategy explained the needs of local parents following widespread consultation with many parents within Tameside and Glossop, including those who were vulnerable, lived in disadvantaged areas and had experience of what it was like to receive services for their own and their children’s mental health.
She reported that local clinicians from the PCT, Foundation Trust and Mental Health Trust, Social Care Practitioners, Early Education, Children’s Centres and the Voluntary and Private Sector had given an overview of what services existed, together with the gaps in the provision of co-ordinated, seamless, quality care to all children and families.

Particular reference was made to the strategy’s aims as follows:-

• “To promote good infant and parent mental health for the population if Tameside and Glossop, in order to reduce the incidence of early attachment problems and subsequently child and adolescent mental health problems”;
• “To provide early, comprehensive assessment of parent depression and infant attachment problems, appropriate to individual needs and taking into account culture, disability and gender”; and
• “To provide evidence based effective co-ordinated services to meet the need of parents and infants who require support and interventions to improve their relationship and prevent or reduce mental health problems”.

She further stated that to meet the aims outlined in this strategy a number of recommendations had been identified and an action plan had been produced to ensure that these would be met.

Resolved

1. That the work outlined in the action plan be approved;
2. That the expansion of the parent infant mental health service be supported; and
3. That Partners be requested to suggest relevant professionals to join the parent infant mental health steering group and to participate in the care pathway planning and policy development.

56. Local Quality Standards for Partners Providing Information

Consideration was given to a report of Bob Shaw, Area Co-ordinator, TMBC, Chair of the Information Strategy Group, detailing the audit of items of public information in use across the Partnership which had been undertaken as part of the Joint Area Review preparations.

Reference was made to the number of items which had been produced locally as follows:-

For children and young people:-

• 187 items of information had been produced locally;
• 194 items of information had been produced elsewhere but distributed locally; and
• 21 items of information were available for vulnerable groups.

For parents and carers:-

• 170 items of information had been produced locally;
• 222 items of information had been produced elsewhere but distributed locally; and
• 18 items of information were available for vulnerable groups.

It was noted that there was a general absence of guidance on how, locally, information items were constructed, quality assured and marketed to best effect. The standards and the accompanying implementation plan addressed these matters and offered the partnership a means by which it could support improvements in the quality and accessibility of information to families, children and young people.

Details were given of the Local Quality Standards for Partners Providing Information, a Checklist to be used when producing information and Quality Standards for partners providing information: Implementation Plan.

Resolved
That the Quality Standards and the Implementation Plan be approved.

57. Children and Young People Strategic Partnership Board – Development Session Outcomes and Draft Action Plan

Cheryl Eastwood, Deputy Director, Services for Children and Young People, TMBC, reported on the development session which had been held on 2nd March 2009 and made reference to the four main focuses as follows:-

• How far did the Children’s Trust focus on improving outcomes for local children and young people;
• How did the Trust Board exercise good governance and adherence to the principles of public life and how did it manage risks and controls;
• How did the Board oversee the effective use of resources; and
• How did the Board effectively involve key stakeholders, support local capacity-building and drive workforce development.

She further stated that following the development session a number of proposals to develop current arrangements were now being considered as follows:-

1. Establish a dedicated resource for the Children and Young People Strategic  Partnership (Children’s Trust) to develop genuine joint planning, commissioning and workforce development. This would involve some preliminary work to map resource allocation on children’s services mapped against our priorities.
2. Revise the CYPSP terms of reference to include clear lines of accountability and decision making processes.
3. Establish a risk register and risk management plan
4. Ensure compliance with new statutory guidance on Children’s Trust arrangements.
5. Develop action plans for the engagement of GPs and the engagement of schools as part of the further development of the Tameside Campus.
6. Develop plans for the closer integration of provider services to children and families at NHS Tameside and Glossop and Services for Children and Young People at Tameside Council.
7. Develop a public communications strategy
8. Revise the CYPSP meeting schedule to allow for more frequent meetings
9. Review CYPSP membership
10. Establish a separate Joint Commissioning Group separate from the Executive Group
11. Review the Compact with a view to establishing service level agreements with the Police, different functions within the Council and other agencies re services for children and families.
12. When all the following are achieved re-launch the CYPSP as Tameside’s Children’s Trust.

Resolved
That the report be noted and that the action plan as detailed above be approved.

58. Comprehensive Area Assessment

Simon Brunet, Performance Advisor, Tameside MBC reported on the summary of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) framework as outlined in the joint inspectorate document ‘Comprehensive Area Assessment Framework’ published in February 2009.

He reported on the two main elements of the CAA framework which were Area Assessment and Organisational Assessment and stated that the report to the Partnership would focus primarily on the Area Assessment element of CAA as this was of most relevance to thematic partnerships and other regulatory regimes would continue to provide assurance for services meeting the needs of people whose circumstances made them vulnerable (e.g. safeguarding, probation).

He further stated that the area assessment would consider how well the needs and aspirations of communities were met and whether this was set to continue. The aim was not to assess the quality of the management or process arrangements, but the impact that local services were having on improving outcomes for citizens. The assessment would focus on three questions as follows:-

• How well did local priorities express community needs and aspirations;
• How well were the outcomes and improvements needed being delivered; and
• What were the prospects for future improvements.

Underpinning the three headline questions were four cross-cutting themes:-

• Sustainability;
• Inequality;
• People whose circumstances made them vulnerable; and
• Value for money.

He also reported that red and green flags would be the reporting mechanism for the area assessment, which would provide an indication of either significant concerns about future improvement or would highlight exceptional practice. The flags would signal where extra support or inspection would be needed and where organisations could learn from the success of others.

He stated that green flags would be used to highlight innovative practice that others could learn from and they would represent exceptional performance or outstanding improvement which was resulting in better outcomes for local people that were sustainable.

Red flags represented significant concerns about outcomes and future prospects for outcomes, which were not being tackled adequately and indicated that something different needed to happen to improve outcomes.

Reference was made to the organisational assessments which would be based on four themes as follows:-

• Managing finances;
• Governing the business;
• Managing resources; and
• Managing performance.

Details were also given of the how the CAA would be undertaken, the inspection and improvement planning and the reporting structure with the key stages leading up to publishing the CAA report in 2009 as follows:-

• Early September – Joint Inspectorate review of latest available information including the summer educational attainment data. Cut off for evidence.
• September – Joint inspectorate draft final report, including red and green flags and organisational assessment scores and reporting against the national indicators; and discuss key issues arising with local partners;
• October – final report shared with local partners – period to challenge;
• Early November – Resolve any remaining challenges through formal process; and
• Late November – publish first set of CAA reports.

Resolved
That the report be noted.

59. Reports for Information

a) ContactPoint Project Update

A progress report on the ContactPoint Project was attached for information and the recommendations included in the report were agreed.

b) Executive and Joint Commissioning Group Minutes – 29th January 2009

The above minutes were attached as information.

c) Local Area Agreement 2008-11 (Revised March 2009)

The Local Area Agreement 2008-11 as revised in March 2009 was attached for information.

60. Dates of Future Meetings

The Partnership was advised of future dates of meetings as follows, all meetings commencing at 10.00am: