Agenda item

To provide an update of the Brent Children’s Trust (BCT) work programme covering the period January 2023 to June 2023.

Nigel Chapman (Corporate Director Children and Young People, Brent Council) introduced the report, which provided a 6-month overview of the activity of Brent Children’s Trust (BCT). There had been three areas of primary strategic focus:

• The start of the year focused on preparing Brent for inspection, both for the Local Authority Children’s Services Inspection and the Ofsted CQC Inspection of Children with SEND. The Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services had took place in February 2023 and Brent had received an overall ‘good’ rating. As part of that process the Council had received support from health colleagues, particularly in relation to the safeguarding work that took place and support for looked after children and care leavers. The Council were expecting a possible inspection from Ofsted CQC before the end of the year but were unsure when this would take place so were in mobilisation. The BCT had received assurance from colleagues in health and the local authority around the preparedness for that.
• The BCT had looked in more detail at the implementation of the SEND Strategy and the ‘delivering better value’ programme, which was a DfE intervention to support Councils to reduce their spend for children with SEND.
• Work progress had been reviewed on early help, particularly the supporting families programme and the best start for life programme which had started in April 2023. It was felt there was effective joined up planning with primary care, midwifery and the health visiting service to address issues there for young people.
• The BCT had also streamlined governance. It was felt that some areas worked particularly well with effective joined up work with ICB colleagues. The BCT was now making better use of the ICP Executive Groups. For example, the BCT mental health and wellbeing group now sat underneath the ICP Executive Group on mental health, helping to maintain focus and clarify the need to talk with one unified voice on the issue.
• The BCT were using partnership influence to address levelling up decisions that needed to be made at a NWL level.

The Chair invited comments and questions from those present, with the following issues raised:

·         The Board asked whether Brent had an Autism Board and Autism Strategy, and if so, whether it should be featured in this report. Sarah Nyandoro (Head of Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism, NHS NWL) explained that the Autism Board had not met during Covid. It had been resumed in April 2023 and covered all ages to ensure there was no division in what was done for adults and children. Since resuming, one of the priorities agreed was to review the Autism Strategy from 2018 to ensure it was up to date. Nigel Chapman added that there was consideration of the issues around autism at the BCT. For example, within the mental health and wellbeing workstream there was consideration of neurodiversity, and within the SEND work there was consideration of autism because approximately 40% of children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) had an autism diagnosis. He agreed for more explicit reference to be included in future reports.

·         The Board asked for more information about the work on transitional safeguarding. Nigel Chapman explained that there was a working group which met to develop joint standards between adults and children’s social care for that critical age range of 18-25 years old. The working group was looking at those young people without an EHCP and who were not a care leaver because the Council were more confident in their wraparound support for care leavers and those with an EHCP in comparison to those young people who were not known to services otherwise and who may be vulnerable. Helen Coombes (Interim Corporate Director Care, Health and Wellbeing, Brent Council) added that herself and Nigel Chapman would be meeting to explore the joined up activity happening between adults and children’s social care, discussing whether the right governance arrangements were in place for both safeguarding boards, if the approach was family focused, whether there was clear differentiation between prevention, early intervention, keeping people safe and giving people resilience in the transitional period, and safeguarding interventions. There was work being done on standards and ensuring good governance, that the departments were sharing good practice, and that individual professionals felt confident about using the tools available to them. It was agreed that future reports could include this in more detail.

·         The Board asked how the actions on paragraph 3.3.2 were progressing. Nigel Chapman explained that an update against those actions was due at the next update, but highlighted that the ICP Executive Groups had seen a refresh and focus on children within those meetings, there was a member of the Children and Young People department on every ICP Executive Group, and progress was being made towards the mental health levelling up agenda.

RESOLVED:

i)              To note the strategic oversight activity of the Brent Children’s Trust for the period of January 2023 to June 2023.