Agenda item

The Committee received for scrutiny the 2016/17 Improvement Plan Performance Report for Quarter 3 with regard to the actions and measures relevant to its remit.

The following questions/issues were raised on the report:

Clarification was sought for the staff shortage hampering the delivery of the Flying Start health visiting service. The Head of Children’s Services informed the Committee that there was a national shortage of health visitors and that those who had been recruited were also operating within the Health Board services and therefore had limited capacity to pick up as many caseloads in the Flying Start areas.

In response to a question on the future of the Flying Start programme, the Head of Children’s Services noted that it remained a flagship programme for the Welsh Government and although funding was only confirmed year on year, the future of the programme itself did not appear to be under imminent threat.

An explanation was sought for the delays caused by non-attendance at Education Psychology appointments. The Interim Director of Education & Children’s Services stated that this could be due to parents not attending appointments or meetings being cancelled due to other professionals not being able to attend. Failure to receive reports from Health Board practitioners also led to meetings being cancelled and subsequent delays in the process. 

In response to a question on the Child and Family Unit (CFU) systemic model of working across children’s services teams, the Head of Children’s Services updated the Committee on the roll-out of the new approach in the Authority’s Child Care Teams. He added that even though this action was on target, the roll-out had identified the need for specific workers in certain areas and this was being addressed.

More information was sought as to the future work of the Vulnerable Young People’s Panel. The Interim Director of Education & Children’s Services informed the Committee that the Panel met on a quarterly basis with the aim of co-ordinating support for vulnerable young people in Key Stage 4. A paper regarding the future development of the work of this Panel had been discussed by the Departmental Management Team in January 2017 and further work was now being undertaken to ensure that such learners were achieving qualifications. 

In response to a question regarding the appointment of a Behaviour & Attendance Manager, the Interim Director of Education & Children’s Services confirmed that a new structure for this service area had been agreed and the recruitment process for this post would be commencing shortly. 

Further details were requested in relation to the difficulties in recruiting foster carers within the County. The Head of Children’s Services noted that recruitment of foster carers was a problem across the UK and that the Authority found itself in competition with both the private sector and with neighbouring authorities. The allowances offered by other authorities in the region were more competitive than Carmarthenshire and whilst allowances were not necessarily a prospective carer’s main consideration, it did often sway potential carer’s decisions in what was at times a difficult role to undertake. 

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the report be received.