Agenda item

This paper provides a six monthly update of the Brent Children’s Trust work programme and covers the period from April 2019 to September 2019.

Gail Tolley (Strategic Director for Children and Young People) introduced the paper updating the board on the Brent Children’s Trust work programme covering the period from April 2019 to September 2019.

The following issues were highlighted for the Board:

·                The collaborative work being undertaken between the Local Safeguarding Children’s and Adult Board and Children’s Trust in terms of the focus on the transitional safeguarding arrangements from children to adulthood, which had included the setting up of a workshop in November 2019 aimed at senior operational and strategic decision makers across Brent.

·                The Trust’s engagement in development of the Family Hubs initiative, which would be subject to a report to the Council’s Cabinet the following week.

·                The Trust’s involvement in development of the children and young people’s sections within the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) on which a number of recommendations had been made, as detailed in section 3.6.14 of the report.  A further strategic review of the updated JSNA was planned at the Trust’s next meeting in November 19.

·                The other areas covered within the Trust’s work programme (as detailed within section 3.7 of the report), which had included a review of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Implementation Plan; an update on development of the Integrated 0-25 Children & Young People with Disabilities service; continued oversight of the work of the Young Carers Transformation Group (Young Carers Champions) and the joint work of statutory and voluntary sector providers in delivering an integrated approach to support for young carers.  The Board were informed that the Trust had offered strategic support and challenge to increase the number of Young Carer and Young Adult Carer referrals from Adult Social Care and GPs, And had been encouraged at the provision of funding through the Better Care Fund to support activities in this area; overview of the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-Visiting (MECSH) programme and on the actions being taken to address levels of childhood obesity in Brent led by Public Health.

In the ensuing discussion the Board noted the following matters:

·         Dr Ketana Halai advised of work being undertaken with Simon Topping (Operations Manager, Early Help, Brent Council)) to develop a presentation on young careers and safeguarding designed to increase awareness amongst  Brent GPs.

This approach was supported by Dr M C Patel who highlighted the benefits and importance of specific training and awareness being provided for GPs regarding support available for young carers in order to ensure they were able to signpost this appropriately.

·         In response to questions regarding the timeline for Family Hubs, Gail Tolley informed the board that a paper would be going to Cabinet on 14^th October seeking approval to the overall approach band model developed for the Family Hubs. Subject to this being approved, the aim was to open the initial Hubs by October 2020 once the existing arrangements had expired. In response to questions about the involvement of the CCG, the Board were advised that the CCG had been fully engaged in the process, as had been recommended by the Children’s Trust when they had considered the proposals, with details also  shared with primary care networks.

·         Councillor Hirani welcomed the issue highlighted by the Children’s Trust when considering the action being taken to address levels of childhood obesity regarding the impact of cultural influences and language when raising awareness of the issue within local communities. It was felt this was an issue which needed careful consideration and work to address.

As no further issues were raised, the Board RESOLVED that the work of the Brent Children’s Trust for the period April 2019 to September 2019 be noted.