Minute of Meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 14 June 2024 for Noting
Perth and Kinross Council · 23 October 2024
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 23 October 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES’ PARTNERSHIP Minute of meeting of the Children, Young People, and Families Partnership held on Friday 14 June 2024 at 10.00 am in the Council Chambers, Council Building, 2 High Street, Perth. Present: Councillor L Barrett Councillor J Rebbeck (substituting for M Frampton) Councillor N Freshwater (substituting for C Shiers) S Devlin, Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services), PKC Z Pullar (substituting for L Sharkey), NHS Tayside A Singh, Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice, PKC S Turner, Principal Education Psychologist / Inclusion Service Manager, PKC S Liang, Counselling in Schools Tayside Co-ordinator Apologies: L Sutherland, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration G Burns, Police Scotland, A Taylor, NHS In Attendance: J Chiles, L Johnston, J Baker, C McAuley, W Hacuma (all PKC). S Devlin in the Chair 1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE S Devlin welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies were noted as above. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest in terms of the relevant Codes of Conduct. 3. MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETING The minute of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 1 March 2024 was submitted and noted as a correct record. 4. MATTERS ARISING There were no matters arising from the minute of the previous meeting.
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5. PERTH AND KINROSS CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE BUSINESS ACTIVITY REPORT SINCE 1 MARCH 2024 There was submitted a report (G/24/75) by the Independent Chair, Child Protection Committee, providing a summary of the key business activities of the Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee since the last meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership (CYPFP) on 1 March 2024. In presenting, J Baker advised that it has been a busy period for the Child Protection Committee (CPC) and the close partnership working with the CPC Scotland has continued and is progressing the implementation of national guidance contributing towards the national Public Protection agenda. It was noted that since J Baker had come into post on 3 April 2024, she has met with a range of partners as part of her induction. A Singh expressed his appreciation following J Baker's appointment, praising her capacity to understand and manage a complex Child Protection agenda. He also acknowledged the support and guidance from colleagues and looked forward to progressing the work over the coming months. The Partnership Agreed: To note and endorse the content of the report. 6. WHOLE FAMILY WELLBEING FUND There was submitted a report (G/24/76) by the Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice which provided a summary of the progress at the end of year 2 in relation to the ambition, development and implementation of the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF) and included the annual return for Scottish Government to be included with the Annual Report of the Tayside Plan for infants, Children, Young People and Families 2023-24. C McAuley advised that they had been successful in setting up a directory of services which went live after the last meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership on 1 March. It was noted that from January – March 2024 there was a reported 500 views on the website which will continue to be monitored. It is intended the resource will help families being able to access support that’s available to them within the local area on their own terms. C McAuley further advised following the end of the tender period, Aberlour Childcare Trust had been successfully appointed to provide the Universal Whole Family Support Service and are in the initial stages of planning the service to ensure it is promoted widely and reaches families who will be able to refer themselves for help and support. It is intended that the service will be operational by the end of August or the beginning of September 2024, with recruitment for positions currently underway.
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In collaboration with partners and professionals, the team has been working to identify gaps in services for families. These gaps will be the focus of service provision and funding over the next few years. The key areas identified were: i. Child Poverty. ii. Support for families where a child has a mental health concern. iii. Support for families where a child has additional support needs. S. Devlin added that whilst the Whole Family Wellbeing Support should be viewed as an early intervention and preventative measure, this approach is expected to reduce the costs of more interventions needed later when perhaps issues have escalated. The timelines for seeing these changes and the redirecting of resources from acute services might have been slightly ambitious and it is recognised that observing significant differences across the wider Perth and Kinross community may take some time. Councillor Barrett requested an update on the GIRFEC steering group, which the Partnership was due to receive after the last meeting. In response, S. Devlin informed that the steering group meeting had been postponed to 2 July 2024, to allow for a meeting with colleagues from NHS Tayside and Fife. This meeting aims to gather insights for further development, which will determine the content of the update. Members will receive the update via email after the 2nd of July meeting. Councillor Barrett asked about the FORT (Fast Online Referral Tracking) system pilot, a web-based referral management system designed to enable organisations to easily make and track referrals to and between services. She inquired about the length of the pilot. In response, C. McAuley advised that the system is already live and the team are ensuring it complies with data protection governance. The pilot will run for the next six months. Whole Family and Wellbeing will provide funding for running costs for the first two years. The Partnership Agreed: (i) To note the content of the annual report and proposed activities. (ii) To approve the summary of annual Return to Scottish Government for 2023-24 7. LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH PATHWAYS RESOURCE There was submitted a report (G/24/78) by the Strategic Lead – Education and Learning which provided an update on the work of the mental health pathway resource since the last meeting on 1 March 2024. S. Turner reported that Perth and Kinross Council has taken the lead in developing a resource in collaboration with NHS Tayside and the three Tayside local authorities, working closely with colleagues in Angus and Dundee. The team collaborated with the PKC corporate communications team and NHS Tayside to plan the development and hosting of the resource. Initially, there was a view that NHS Tayside would host the resource but later were advised that they could not. There was a suggestion that it could be
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hosted within the ‘Cool 2 Talk’ online resource, but it was felt that as an umbrella resource, this shouldn’t be contained within a particular resource. Meanwhile, work is continuing to develop the content, incorporating consultation and feedback from young people. L. Johnston provided a verbal update, noting that young people, through engagement, clearly preferred an app as the best format for the online resource. The team is exploring this option further. After discussions with the corporate IT colleagues, it was advised that the app could not be built in- house and would require an external provider to develop. The estimated cost to build the app is between £50,000 and £75,000, with an additional budget of around 20% for ongoing maintenance and updates. The next challenge is securing funding, and it is hoped this could be in the form of attracting a third-sector partner to come on board and collaboratively submit a bid to the NHS Charitable Fund. This would include seeking funding support from the three local authorities and NHS Tayside. A business case is being submitted to the PKC Digital Board to ensure they are informed and kept updated on the development of the proposed app. S. Devlin sought clarity on which third sector partners would be invited to collaborate on the bid to the NHS Charitable Fund. In response, S. Turner and L. Johnston explained that once the detailed cost analysis through the business case and discussions with the three local authorities and NHS Tayside are concluded, they will then be in a position to approach a third sector organisation. Currently, no third sector organisation has been approached, however, it is anticipated that one of the organisations that supported the project during the initial engagement will be considered. There was an acknowledgment that while there is a strong desire and commitment to deliver the digital resource and support young people if available funding streams are not successful and the bid fails, the app will not be developed. Expectations need to be managed accordingly and be prepared to accept this outcome. The Partnership Agreed: (i) To note the progress to date and request that a business case, including cost analysis, be submitted to the PKC Digital Board for their review, and. (ii) To add an additional recommendation within the report to include that an approach is made to a prospective third sector partner for an in- principal agreement to lead the funding bid submission. 8. COUNSELLING IN SCHOOLS PROGRAMME There was submitted a report (G/24/28) by the Strategic Lead - Education and Learning which gave an overview of the last nine months of the Counselling in Schools program in Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) to highlight the work, the evaluative feedback, and the pilot work undertaken, over the last year.
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S Turner introduced the report and advised that the report accounted for the period 1 July 2023 to the end of March 2024. The Scottish Government reporting period has been changed from a calendar year to a financial year. After initial challenges in getting the pilot off the ground, Counselling in Schools began in 2019 and was formally launched towards the end of 2020 across Tayside, in line with the Tayside Emotional Wellbeing Strategy. The funding provides a counselling service for each Local Management Group (LMG), the Tayside Counselling in Schools Co-ordinator, ‘Clown Doctors’ at Fairview, a drama based therapeutic support and a 24/7 digital resource ‘Togertherall’ for young people aged 16 years old. S Liang further added that a high number of young people in Perth and Kinross are self-referring to Talking Therapy, either by contacting school staff or directly reaching out to a counsellor. It is noted that the key themes for young people accessing counselling were in respect of anxiety, family issues, and exam stress, which was more prevalent in Perth and Kinross compared to the other two Tayside authorities. Counselling providers have also reported difficulties in recruiting counsellors, a challenge that is common not just in Perth and Kinross, but across the country. Councillor Barret noted that page 74 of the report, stated that the majority of young people accessing counselling were male. However, the table on page 77 showed that more female pupils were accessing counselling than male pupils. Councillor Barret asked for clarification regarding these figures. In response, S Turner confirmed that the report on page 74 should have said "predominantly female" rather than "predominantly male." A Singh expressed his appreciation for the helpful report and thanked the teams for ensuring young people have someone to talk to and hailed the investment in "Clown Doctors." which allowed young people to express themselves. The Partnership Agreed: (i) To review and approve the proposals contained in the report. (ii) To add the date of April 2025 for the Strategic Lead – Education and Learning to bring back future ‘Counselling in Schools' program reports for Scottish Government. 9. THEMATIC APPROACH FOR PERFORMANCE REPORTING There was submitted a report (G/24/79) which continues the thematic reporting plan for performance and outcome information focused on children, young people and families. It sets out a suite of information around the second of the themes, namely, Outcomes for Vulnerable Children, for consideration and scrutiny by the Partnership. Presenting the report, J Chiles advised that Perth and Kinross Council remains significantly above the national and comparative levels for retaining placements in community settings and shows that they are supportive of
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central placements which has seen a noticeable change in the increase of Kinship carers as opposed to foster careers. J Chiles further advised there was an ongoing issue around the proportion of Child Protection Planning Meetings held within agreed timescales during the last reporting period However, there has been significant improvement in this area. The situation will be closely monitored, and updates will be provided to track continued progress. A Singh noted the large proportion of 'unknown' data on page 95 of the report, which impacts the reported levels of sustained employment, education, or training. He advised that there were various reasons for this and based on experience, as young people mature, they were less likely to maintain contact. The focus, therefore, was around ensuring that they know where to seek help if needed and feel empowered to initiate contact. There was an acknowledgment that young people may also choose to disengage as they transition to independent living. The Partnership Agreed: (i) To note the content as set out in Appendix 1. (ii) To continue receiving updates on thematic data based on a chosen theme on a quarterly basis. 10. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS Review the membership and contact colleagues who were unable to attend or send representatives. Ensure that we are reaching out to the correct individuals for future meetings and that these meetings are scheduled in their diaries in advance. 11. DATE OF NEXT MEETINGS 13 September 2024 29 November 2024