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Improvement notice

To:
Name
CALDERDALE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

Address
Town Hall, Crossley Street, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HXI 1UJ

This Improvement Notice is being issued due to poor performance/decline in:
Children's social care
on the basis of evidence provided by/contained in:
the 2010 Ofsted inspection of safeguarding and looked after children services, which judged safeguarding to be ‘inadequate'.

The following measure(s) are needed for you to comply with this Improvement Notice:

Evidence of improvement will come from both qualitative and quantitative information. Progress should be evidenced in meeting the national indicator targets in Calderdale's Local Area Agreement (LAA) and in the following performance indicators.

• NI 59 - increase the percentage of initial assessments for children's social care carried out within statutory timescales from the 2008-09 baseline of 53 per cent to achieve at least 80 per cent month on month during the period October to March 2011 and 85 per cent by March 2012 at the same time as improving the quality of the those assessments
• NI 60 - increase the percentage of core assessments for children's social care carried out within 35 working days of their commencement from the 2008-09 baseline of 54 per cent to achieve at least 69 per cent month on month or, if higher, the statistical neighbour average, during the period October to March 2011 and to at least maintain that level by March 2012 at the same time as improving the quality of those assessments.
• Nl68 - increase the percentage of referrals of children in need to children's social care going on to initial assessment from the 2008-09 baseline of 31 per cent to 58 per cent by March 2011 and 64 per cent by March 2012.
• Maintain the number of children subject to a child protection plan not allocated to a qualified social worker at zero
• Maintain the number of looked after children not allocated to a qualified social worker at zero
• N164 –Reduce the number of children subject to a child protection plan for over 2 years from the 2008-09 baseline of 10% to 5% by March 2011 and to maintain that level by March 2012.

Develop services and front line practice

• Ensure that thresholds for both safeguarding services and for entry to the care system are understood by both social workers and partners and are applied consistently across the organisation. Review the thresholds and process for referral to children's social care so that all partners are clear of the referral process
• Review all Child protection plans open at 28 February 2010 to ensure they are fit for purpose.
• Ensure all children have an up to date care plan with clear outcomes
• Monitor the implementation of the departmental supervision and recording process to ensure compliance.
• Introduce robust performance management systems with an initial focus on supervision, visits to children on child protection plans, quality of assessments, core groups, management oversight to include peer review and senior managers input, and complaints systems.
• Review existing plans for developing the Duty and assessment function to ensure it provides a coherent plan to achieve necessary improvements.
• Review arrangements for introducing new IRO requirements to ensure they will ensure sufficient challenge.
• Ensure ICS is fit for purpose.

Working with others

• Undertake an audit of individual cases looking at children in need, child protection and looked after children to ensure appropriate action and progress across all agencies.
• Review the membership, structure and operation of the Calderdale Safeguarding Children Board to ensure that the board offers rigorous scrutiny, monitoring, challenge and strategic direction in relation to services and outcomes for vulnerable children and meets all statutory requirements.
• Work with Children's Trust partners to establish clear and agreed processes so that contacts and referrals go to the appropriate team and are deal with quickly and efficiently.
• Ensure effective working between the two boards in line with Laming and DCSF recommendations.
• Ensure the effective scrutiny arrangements are in place to allow Members, Children's Trust and the LSCB to scrutinise and challenge.
• Work with the DOSE to appoint an Independent Chair to the Council's improvement board set up to oversee progress in addressing the findings of the report referred to above.

Improvement against the above measures will be assessed on:

A quarterly basis until March 2012. The independent chair of the Improvement Board will report on progress to Ministers at quarterly intervals.

by:

The Department for Children, Schools, and Families, who will, taking account of advice of the Improvement Board chair and on the basis of measurable progress towards the targets outlined above, advise Ministers on any necessary follow-up action.

Failure to comply with this Improvement Notice by the assessment date may lead to:

The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families using statutory powers of intervention (s497A Education Act 1996) to direct the Council to enter into an appropriate arrangement to secure the necessary and rapid improvements required in children's social care provision.

Signed: Dawn Primarolo

Date: 8/4/10

Original notice

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