Board meeting MINUTES

Meeting: NTSCB Board Meeting Date and 15 May 2017 time: 13:00 - 15:30 Location: Tyne Met College

Designated Board Members Agency Present: Apologies No apologies Deputy Name and job title Richard Burrows Ind √ Chair of the Board Alison Tombs NTC √ Senior Manager Quality & Safety Angela Yilmaz Education - √ Head Teacher – Riverside Schools Primary School Bruce Parvin NTC √ Research and Intelligence Manager Carina Carey NPS √ Head of North of Tyne National Probation Service David Baldwin Education - √ Head Teacher – Norham High Schools School and Churchill Community College Debbie Reape NHCFT √ Trish Grant Interim Director of Nursing Ian Grayson NTC √ Lead Member Jacqui Old NTC √ Head of Health, Education, Care and Safeguarding Jan Hemingway NHS North √ Designated Nurse Tyneside CCG Jane Carlile NTW √ Group Medical Director - In- patient care services Jane Pickthall NTC √ Head of The Virtual School Jill Baker NTC √

Page 1 of 9 Senior Manager, Prevention, Early Intervention and Support Services Jill Prendergast Ind √ Lay Member Lesley Young-Murphy CCG √ Jan (Vice Chair) Hemingway Executive Director of Nursing & Transformation Lindsay Blackmore CRC √ Natalie Deputy Director, North of Caush Tyne for Northumbria CRC. Louise Watson NTC √ Senior Manager Legal Services and Information Governance Martin Bewick NTC √ Strategic Housing Manager Martin Birch NTC √ Asst Director Children’s Services Michael Vincent NHCFT √ Designated Doctor Safeguarding Children Moira Banks NTC √ SIO Inclusion Pamela Robertson Further √ Tyne Metropolitan College – Education Director of learning Development Pat Buckley NSPCC √ Service Manager Pete Xeros NTC √ YOT Operations Manager Peter Storey Northumbria √ DCI Police Sharon Haggerty NHS North √ Deputy Director Nursing & Tyneside Quality CCG Sue Burns NTC √ NTSCB Business Manager Suzanne Armstrong Cafcass √

Wendy Burke NTC √ Director of Public Health Julie McManus NTSCB √ NTSCB Administrator Other attendees Det Chief Inspector Lisa Northumbria Laverick Police Minutes

Item Action 1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence received from those noted above. P Storey (Northumbria Police) introduced Lisa Laverick (LL) to the board. LL was attending the meeting as part of her induction into a new role with the Force.

Declaration of Interest

None declared

2. Correspondence

 Item 1 Revision of Working Together – a briefing paper for members outlining the planned revision of WT 2015  Item 2 and 3 RB drew attention to the hyperlink to the Children and Social Work Bill, specifically the section on the future of LSCBs

 The Duty of Care in Sport Review has recently been published and the section on Safeguarding is of note. 3. Minutes of Last Meeting (held 27.03.2017) – agreed as a true record. JM Item 4.1 Ofsted Inspection – RB informed members that the inspection report, which was due to be published on 17th May, will be delayed until after the general election on 8 June.

Matters Arising:

 LADO – SB has spoken to Majella Tallack, LADO and there is nothing further to report in relation to the proposed changes at this point.

 Lay Member recruitment – SB updated the board. There has been a lot of interest in the position and there are four applications to date. The closing date is 26th May with interviews scheduled to take place on 12 June. SB asked for volunteers to take part in the ALL interviews. Anyone interested to contact SB direct.

 2017 Development Day – The event will take place on the morning of 9th June at The Linkskill Centre. To date five apologies have been received. Members were asked to prioritise the event which will inform the revised business plan.

 Case Review Update – JH updated the board.

 David and Martin – Child care action plan is now complete

Page 3 of 9  Jake – recommendations in place

 Kevin – SCR is responsibility of the Highlands Committee and nearing completion

 Daisy and Erica – 1st draft completed and comments invited from those involved in the Learning Event before the Case Review sub group quality assure the report. A presentation by Clare Hyde, Independent reviewer of this case is being arranged for board members, possibly as part of the Development session.

 Ofsted – Reported in item 3 above.

4. Standing Items

4.1 Financial report – SB updated the board on the current financial position. All partners have confirmed their contribution for 2017- 18. SB reported an under spend of £12,338 from 2016-17 will be c/fwd to 2017-18 giving a total budget of £138,002 for the year. Forecast expenditure is £97,305. There was no expenditure to date to report. For information, SB highlighted the recent changes in tax legislation. From 6 April 2017 changes were made to the tax rules (IR35) for people who work in the public sector but who are not directly employed by the organisation. This would include the independent chair role. Following an assessment ‘test’ it was determined RB is not a Council employee for tax purposes and therefore no further action is necessary. JH queried the lack of a financial contribution from all partners and in particular other health partners. SB explained that some partners are unable to/not required to provide financial support and contribute ‘payment in kind’. This is reviewed on an annual basis. RB noted the CCG position on this matter and agreed to discuss further as necessary.

4.2 Children’s Services Transformation Agenda - J Baker (JB) presented the report to the board and reminded members of the need for the local authority to save money, it was important to ensure the best use of services with the primary aim of children/young people safely staying within their communities, whenever possible. Emphasis has been placed on the following areas:  Development of a ‘specialist’ Foster Care provision within the borough. This would help reduce any dependency on placements away from the area.  Edge of care Team – Further development to work more closely with the family to prevent a period of accommodation for a child.  Staying close project – additional supported accommodation for care leavers.

JB explained the Terms of Reference, the recent integration of the School Nurse and Health Visiting Service in to the local authority Minutes

and the training and development that was taking place. This development formed one part of the approach to early intervention and locality teams. Signs of safety is moving forward and training for practitioners and managers is taking place, this will help change the way practitioners work with families to address needs and risks. The Summary Report in relation to the progress made was also presented to the board highlighting the four work streams of: 1. MASH and Front Door 2. Keeping children and young people safe at home 3. Keeping children in school 4. Looking after children and young people safely

P Buckley (PB) asked for the name of the person leading the Signs of Safety project. This was given as M Birch (Assistant Director). Discussions took place around the need for Signs of Safety training for partners, particularly the Child Protection Conference element. JB described the training programme which will include sessions for partners. P Storey(PB) explained the value of widening this work to include the whole family unit. A Tombs (AT) explained the approach to including adults within NTC. RB concluded the discussion highlighting the need for NTSCB to be kept updated on all aspects of the Transformation Agenda project and asked for information to be presented regularly to the NTSCB Business Sub Group which would allow the Board to be assured that risks are being appropriately managed. Action: RB asked all board members to ensure they share this ALL information within their organisations. Once approved and available on the NTC website the information will be JM uploaded onto the NTSCB site

5. Items for scrutiny and decision

Item 5.1 Sexual exploitation Sub Group (AT) - AT presented the report from the Joint Sexual Exploitation sub group, this updated members on the progress of the work within the action plan. Key points were communications, the mapping exercise, MSET review/action plan and improving the availability and quality of performance data. The data set in relation to MSET has been agreed and the first dashboard has been produced. Work continues to further refine data, this reflects improved operational/management arrangements and will allow the sub group and QILP to undertake improved levels of scrutiny. BP explained this further work had been suggested by the sub group, specifically the differentiation between ‘missing’ and sexual exploitation’. AT explained new electronic recording systems were being implemented at NTC i.e. Liquid Logic and some data changes may take longer than others.

Page 5 of 9 SB explained that the new representative from Northumbria Police (Clare Wheatley) is part of this sub-group working on this project. Clare managed the CSE/missing agenda in the south of the region and is highly experienced and her input valued. AT described the inclusion of data from 18 and 19 yr. olds as it allowed understanding of previous risk of CSE and work taking place with regards to the ‘hard to reach; group’. Discussions took place around the definition of ‘hard to reach’ and the inclusion of special schools. AT confirmed to members that the School Improvement Team were working with the sub-group. CSE training e-module is available to all staff via the NTC Learning Pool. SB explained that a task and finish group has been set up to review the current CSE guidance (meeting to take place on 12th June) in light of local learning and recent national revision to definition. RB highlighted that the Board was seen as accountable for being able to offer assurance that joint working arrangements for children missing and at risk/victim of CSE were working well. He thanked AT and the sub group for the obvious progress being made. He felt that the Board should note the delays in responses being provided to the MSET review, and that CSC as lead partner may want to ensure that evidence of further improvement is provided.

The Board agreed that the sub group had made substantial progress and assuming continued progress would be able to continue to set standards for joint working, support these and be able to provide meaningful scrutiny, challenge and assurance to the board.

Item 5.2 Section 11 Update – SB presented a report explaining there are currently two externally, that are intended to provide analysis and overview of returns. One for schools/education and one for statutory partners. These will be merged once they are approved. The return rate is 100% for partners and 70% for schools, this is an increase on the previous year for schools. M Banks (MB) asked for feedback sessions to be delivered to schools. SB informed the members that a challenge event will be organised for partners to take place in July. Feedback to schools will be via existing forums, e.g. Designated Safeguarding Leads meeting, Head Teacher Briefing. AY asked how would the audit would be administered next year. SB explained that New Skills, the company who have completed the evaluation of returns this year have suggested an on line process making it both easier to complete and evaluate. This will also allow for year on year comparison.

RB asked the board to note the summary recommendations in the report that were intended to provide a strategic steer for the board as it developed it approach to and capacity for Section 11 self assessment. Minutes

6. Items for discussion

6.1QILP - RB informed the board of the departure of BP and thanked him for his valuable contribution to the work of the Board.

BP explained the contents of the report, explaining its interim status as it has to be reported to the DfE in July. Key areas of the report were highlighted e.g. increased activity at Front Door and work is ongoing to analyse why. NTC was meeting the national average on timescales for completion of single assessments, but that local measures indicated some variations The level of the Children In Need population has dropped and a regional benchmarking exercise is taking place to assist further analysis. Section 47 enquiries - There has been a significant increase in relation to the rate per 10,000 population. BP explained that better recording may be the reason for the increase. NTC figures remain under the national comparator average. This was not felt to be a cause for concern but would need to be better understood in the context of the Board’s view of joint working arrangements and the child’s journey. Child Protection Plans – A significant number of plans under the neglect category. This is an area the board is looking at to see if categories are appropriately applied and understood. Looked After Children – numbers have been stable over last 5 years with approx 300 children. NT figures remain below the national average. Work is ongoing with Dartington Social Research Unit to better understand entry points in to the system and identify future changes to service provision to target resources to prevent the need for accommodation. This may result in changes to the numbers looked after children, how long they are looked after and placement type. The board is continuing to develop it view of the performance and impact of joint working across early intervention – MASH and statutory pathways/outcomes. Police Data Set – BP briefed the Board on the QILP Sub-Group work with the police data set in relation to further analysing the data per 10,000 population. He will need to discuss this further with Northumbria Police. The Board were reminded that it was a priority that the information held by the Police and CSC needed to be better aligned especially in respect of missing, CSE and children at risk. QILP will therefore press for and support continued progress in this area.

PS questioned some of the data, in particular agency staff, recruitment and pressures on the system. BP explained that some progress has been made but further work and contributions from partners was needed. It was intended that this area of the data set

Page 7 of 9 would provide indications of the impact of variations in the levels of front line staff, use of temporary staff and other indicators that partners were fully supporting front line arrangements. BP explained the roles of his replacements Craig Anderson and Rob Gilhespy in relation to joining the Board and QILP Sub Group respectively. RB enquired as to whether or not the dedicated specialist time BP had provided would be replaced? RB agreed to follow this up with JO.

6.2.1 CDOP Q4 Report – JH presented report on behalf of S Moore, independent chair of CDOP. North Tyneside data was presented to members. There were six deaths reported in this quarter, two were unexpected, three were neonates and one was an expected death. JH

Three cases were identified where modifiable factors were identified. Further discussion took place about case three with members asking for further information about the involvement of the statutory agencies. Health partners explained the rapid deterioration of the home circumstances. Discussion took place re further aspects of the report and members were satisfied that the CDOP was providing timely and appropriate review. RB confirmed that the CDOP Q4 report was accepted by the Board and awaited the annual report. 6.2.2 Proposal for sharing regional data collected by CDOPs - JH presented this report explaining the proposal is for a minimum data set to be collected and held by each CDOP and then analysed regionally. This would give a greater number of cases to be analysed with the objective of increasing themes/ understanding. The responsibility for child deaths will be moving from LSCB’s to the Dept of Health (Public Health England) and it is anticipated a national data base will be re established. MV highlighted that it was important to ensure this project was cost neutral. Discussions took place around data sharing. The Board were assured all legal aspects of this have been reviewed and only reference numbers will be used in the database. Action: Members endorsed the proposal which JH will feedback to the CDOP Chair.

6 6.1 Sub group Minutes – circulated to improve understanding and communications across the sub groups and the Board.

6.2 SAFE Week – SB explained the aims of SAFE week (5 – 11 June 2017) this is to raise community and agency awareness of safeguarding for children and adults. The week is a collaboration by the Boards in North of Tyne (Although Newcastle LSCB was not taking part) and various events are taking place throughout the week culminating in a coastal walk on Sunday 11 June . Action: SB to circulate final programme and timetable of events to partners for circulation across their organisations SB

7 Agency Impact Statements  JB updated the group on the YOT inspection which is due to take Minutes

place 5-11 June. It is a thematic review which focuses on managing risk.

 PS reported Northumbria Police are awaiting notification of the HMIC Inspection.

 Health reported the recent IT attack on their computer systems and the subsequent impact .

 BP – informed the Board that Newcastle Social Services were currently being inspected by Ofsted.

 RB informed members that Norma Redfearn had been re-elected as Mayor of North Tyneside

 JB informed the Board that NTC is expecting an SEND inspection, likely to be towards the end of 2017 – early 2018.

8 Any other business

It was noted that the SCITT Room at the Langdale Centre was too noisy as a venue for meetings. JM to note for future reference. JM

9 Dates for future meetings

Monday 31st July 2017 13:00 – 15:30 Rising Sun Country Park Monday 25th September 2017 13:00 – 15:30 TBC Monday 27 November 2017 13:00 – 15:30 TBC

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