Agenda item

To receive evidence from Council Officers as part of the Scrutiny Review of Partnership Working in Early Help.

The Committee received a presentation from the Service Lead for Youth Justice and Youth Support and the Service Lead for Family Support on the Early Help Offer from the Council. The presentation covered:

• Front Door to Early Help
• Family Hubs
• Family Solutions Teams
• Therapeutic Team
• Family Group Conferencing
• Targeted Youth Support
• Youth Support
• Turnaround

The Key issues discussed included:

• The Children’s Hub (CHUB), acted as a “front door” to Early Help services, and was a joint service with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and Hartlepool Council. Referrals were received via CHUB and could come from a variety of sources including schools and even parents themselves. The referral were triaged and would be passed on to either the Family Hubs or Family Solutions if they needed more support, partner agencies and in some cases advice and guidance was given.
• Family Hubs offered a wide range of support and focussed on prevention to reduce the need for statutory intervention. The programmes available to attend were reviewed six weekly and this enabled them to be assessed to see if they fitted the needs of the community. The Nurturing parent programme was the most popular programme while the Antenatal Nurturing programme was an addition to the antenatal programmes the midwifes led, however a midwife would attend the Family Hub session on the final week. Parent volunteers helped to deliver the Empowering Parents Empowering Communities (EPEC) programme, bringing their personal experiences to the programme. All Together For You, ‘one stop shop’, was held at the Family Hubs once a month, rotating between the four venues, which all the partners attended to give advice and information to families.
• The number of children being supported was discussed, and it was questioned whether there were particular times of the year when more referrals were received. Officers noted that there were slightly higher requests for support around school holiday times but the number of children being supported was not as many as were screened as it included people who were given simple advice and guidance.
• It was questioned what the average timescale for working with families was in the Family Hubs and the Committee were informed that it was dependent on the family need. It was the case that once a person had attended a programme, e.g. baby massage, they signed up for another programme. Similarly, they may had completed programmes when their child was younger and returned for different support, advice, and programmes when their child was older.
• It was noted that support was provided regarding drugs, alcohol and domestic abuse and Members raised concern that children would be at the risk of danger. Officers assured that risk assessments took place and any situations that were unsafe or risky would not be assigned to Early Help, other services would be involved.
• Targeted Youth Support worked with families to reduce children’s vulnerability to harm outside the home, for example exploitation and carrying knives. The team also educated both parents and children on online safety and effective communication.
• Youth Support undertook Missing From Conversations for all children reported missing. They worked with children who required short-term support who were experiencing difficulties such as low self-esteem and peer interactions. They also provided an Appropriate Adult service during office hours.
• The Turnaround programme worked with children who had been arrested but not charged and no other support workers or agencies had been involved in supporting the child. It provided children with better skills to manage problematic situations. Members questioned whether the outcomes from the programme were reported back to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and officers informed that they were required to provide quarterly returns as the MoJ were building an evidence base and evaluation to show the effectiveness of the programme. Officers were also due to take part in a round table discussion the MoJ were hosting.
• Kinship carers were discussed and it was noted that there was a specific team dedicated to supporting them, including accessing help and finance. The Family Hubs also offered a space for Kinship carers to come together.
• Members questioned how officers ensured those children who had been missing from home were going back to a safe environment. The Committee were informed that the children they worked with were missing from home for a short period of time and conversations were held to ensure ascertain whether the home situation was safe. If there were concerns these would be escalated to the appropriate service, and those children who went missing multiple times had a support worker.
• Officers noted that it was important for staff to build relationships with families, as well as listening to the child’s voice and build resilience. When a referral was made a decision was made on who was best to work with the family. Officers further noted that there were lots of different partners working with children and young people and there was a need for all those involved to work together to help the child. They were keen to encourage partners and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector to contribute.

AGREED that the information be noted.