Agenda item

To consider a joint report by the Corporate Director: Modernisation and Wellbeing and Corporate Director: Customers (copy attached) which outlined the Post Pembrokeshire Action Plan.

                                                                                                           10.55 a.m.

 

A copy of a joint report by the Corporate Director: Modernisation and Wellbeing and Corporate Director: Customers, which outlined the Post Pembrokeshire Action Plan, had been circulated with the papers for the meeting.

 

The Corporate Director: Customers referred to the issue of safeguarding children and the significant publicity relating to the Jimmy Savile and Bryn Estyn cases.  He introduced the report which outlined the findings of the joint investigation by the CSSIW and Estyn in respect of the handling and management of allegations of professional abuse and the arrangements for safeguarding and protecting children in education services in Pembrokeshire.  The report identified significant failings by the Authority in safeguarding children and put in place a series of requirements.  A Joint Review had been undertaken to consider progress and make further recommendations. These reports identified shortcomings and made recommendations in the following areas:-

 

Recruitment

Record keeping

Processes, policies and procedures

Training

Reporting and scrutiny

 

Further specific issues had been highlighted subsequently which related to the use of “time-out” rooms in Pembrokeshire schools, and it was explained that Denbighshire had a common policy across all secondary schools on ‘use of Reasonable Force and Restrictive Physical Intervention’.  In response to concerns raised by Councillor E.A. Jones, the Corporate Director: Customers explained that the policy had been circulated to all secondary schools with the objective that the policy, or an acceptable version, be adopted by all secondary school governing bodies by Easter 2013.  He confirmed that it would be the responsibility of the respective schools to ensure they had an acceptable agreed version of the policy in place.  The Corporate Director provided an outline of the purpose and use of “time out” rooms in Denbighshire schools and provided an assurance that pupils were supervised when utilising the “time out” rooms facility. 

 

Practice in Denbighshire and other Authorities in Wales had been audited and reviewed against the findings and recommendations in both reports, and actions for improvement had been added to the Safeguarding Action Plan, Appendix 1, to enable progress to be monitored on a corporate basis.

 

The report detailed the actions taken by Denbighshire in response to the Inspectorates’ findings in Pembrokeshire and provided information on the implementation of actions in the Corporate Safeguarding Action Plan to monitor progress.  It appraised the scrutiny arrangements of the Conwy and Denbighshire Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) and addressed more general practice issues as well as policy and procedural points.  It was explained that some issues raised in the Safeguarding Action Plan would be best addressed by the LSCB, and the structures for scrutinising safeguarding arrangements had been outlined.

 

Denbighshire’s Safeguarding Action Plan had been developed as further issues had surfaced or been raised nationally with progress being driven through the Social Services and Education Management Team.  The arrangements had not superseded those of the LSCB, but had been designed to ensure an appropriate focus on Denbighshire as a complex multi-functional corporate organisation.

 

A number of key points and areas had been highlighted in the report which related to:-

 

·        CRB Checks/References and HR Policies plus Safeguarding and Third Sector organisations.

·        Safeguarding Policies and Procedures.

·        Employment actions.

·        School Governors.

·        Reporting to the LSCB.

·        School Safeguarding Audit Checklist.

·        School Governor with responsibility for safeguarding.

·        Restrictive Interventions / Time Outs Rooms  in Schools/ Establishments.

 

With regard to CRB Checks, References and HR Policies plus Safeguarding and Third Sector organisations.  It was confirmed that CRB checks on staff were consistently undertaken by Denbighshire, including volunteers working directly with children, and detailed progress against this work had been included in the Action Plan.  Reference was made to the impact of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which specified changes to the CRB checking process with the CRB’s unwillingness to undertake checks on certain individuals.  The Corporate Director confirmed that the introduction of the Act would make the future process of undertaking CRB checks very challenging.  The Head of Strategic Human Resources provided details of CRB checks undertaken in respect of the recruitment of staff within the Authority, and confirmed that all information had been included on the TRENT System, with references being audited annually.

 

In reply to concerns raised by Councillor J.A. Davies regarding the need to recognise and address problems encountered by young carers, the Corporate Director: Customers confirmed that efforts were being made, through the Young Carers Strategy, to heighten awareness in schools of problems which could arise for young carers.  He confirmed that training was provided for staff to assist them in recognising and addressing problems encountered by young carers.

 

In response to a question from Councillor J. Butterfield, the Head of Children and Family Services provided details of the Membership of the LSCB, which was a multi agency statutory partnership.  The officers agreed that copies of the report relating to the ‘Use of Reasonable Force and Restrictive Physical Intervention’ could be circulated to Members of the Committee for information purposes.                                                                                         

 

Following a brief discussion, it was:-

 

RESOLVED – that the Partnerships Scrutiny Committee:-

 

(a)   receives and notes the contents of the report and progress in implementing the Safeguarding Action Plan.

(b)   notes the role and scrutiny function of the LSCB in monitoring safeguarding activity across Conwy and Denbighshire, and

(c)    requests that copies of the ‘Use of Reasonable Force and Restrictive Physical Intervention’ policy be circulated to Members of the Committee.

 

Councillor J. Butterfield requested that her concerns be noted that some elected Members had been afforded more time than others to express their views during consideration of business items.  The Chair explained that he had made every effort to be fair and impartial when allocating time for Members to speak.