Minute of meeting of 17 June 2022
Perth and Kinross Council · 2 November 2022
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 2 November 2022 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 virtual meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership held on Friday 17 June 2022 at 10.00am. Present: Councillor L Barrett Councillor M Frampton (substituting for Councillor J Rebbeck) Councillor C Shiers H Robertson, Head of Services for Children, Young People and Families, PKC, B Atkinson, Independent Chair of Child Protection Committee T Leonard, Chief Inspector, Police Scotland L Sharkey, Chief Midwife, Women Children and Families Division, NHS Tayside In Attendance: J Chiles, R Drummond, and D Williams (all PKC). Apologies: Councillor J Rebbeck; T Glenn, S Devlin, S Johnston, K Ogilvy, S Rodger (all PKC). H Robertson in the Chair 1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE H Robertson welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies for absence were submitted and 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 4 March 2022 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. MENTAL HEALTH (i) Mental Health in Education and Children’s Services – June 2022 There was submitted a note, for information, regarding Mental Health in Education and Children’s Services. H Robertson advised that in Education and Children’s Services, mental health was an area of concern, with particular regard to available resources in the local area. H Robertson added that there was some positive collaborative work underway in this area, but that additional supports to address the myriad issues needed to be considered. B Atkinson advised partners that this was a major issue across Scotland, not exclusive to Perth and Kinross, and offered support to any multi-agency work around the issue. (ii) Work in Progress to Set Up Mental Health and Wellbeing Sub- Group There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (G/22/94). At the Partnership meeting of 4 March 2022, it was agreed that four sub-groups would support the work of the Partnership – Child Protection Committee, Corporate Parenting/The Promise, GIRFEC & UNCRC, and Young People’s Mental Health. Following a brief discussion with the Depute Director (Education and Children’s Services), work to develop the draft Terms of Reference for the Mental Health and Wellbeing Group commenced, and the core membership identified and contacted. An initial meeting has now been provisionally booked for 23 June 2022. This will enable further discussion around the role and remit of the group and the practicalities of reporting workstream progress against both the Perth and Kinross Community Plan priorities and the Connected Tayside Strategy/TRIC priority group 3 actions. H Robertson advised that the membership of the sub-group was outlined in the Terms of Reference (attached as Appendix 1), but added that these were not set in stone and could be amended. H Robertson added that the sub-group would help to develop a P&K response to children’s mental health. It was proposed that; The Partnership: (i) Noted the draft Terms of Reference, as outlined in Appendix 1 of report G/22/94, and work to set up the first meeting of the Mental Health and Wellbeing sub-group. (ii) Requests the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to provide an update to the next Partnership meeting of progress from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Group.
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6. CHILDREN’S SERVICES PLANNING There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (G/22/83) providing a summary of the context for Children’s Services Planning and an outline of priorities for the Children, Young People and Families Partnership (CYP&FP). It notes the allocation of funding to support Whole Family Wellbeing, reinforces the governance of this fund, and seeks the endorsement of a collaborative approach to support the development of community-based services for families. H Robertson advised partners that the delivery of a children’s service plan is a statutory requirement and added that, with regards to the previous Tayside joint plan, there was some complexities given the differing challenges of each Local Authority. H Robertson further advised that critical services had all been possible to deliver, adding that the report outlined broader objectives, and stressed the importance of the Partnership in delivering the aims of the plan. H Robertson highlighted the importance of helping families at the earliest possible opportunity and noted the role of the Partnership in managing the governance of the Family Wellbeing Fund. In response to a query from Councillor Barrett regarding young carers, H Robertson advised that this was still a high priority area, and further advised that work with PKAVS was ongoing and again highlighted the importance of early intervention in this regard. The Partnership: (i) Endorsed the approach to Children’s Services Planning. (ii) Agreed to promote the collaborative development of community-based resources for families. (iii) Agreed to reinforce the role of the Partnership to support improved outcomes for children, young people and their families. 7. PERTH AND KINROSS CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE BUSINESS ACTIVITY REPORT SINCE 4 MARCH 2022 There was submitted a report by the Independent Chair, Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee, (G/22/84) providing a summary of the key business activities of the Child Protection Committee since the last written update was submitted to the Partnership on 4 March 2022. In an update since the last meeting of the Partnership, B Atkinson advised partners that the Child Protection Committee was subject to risk-based inspection from the Care Inspectorate. B Atkinson advised partners that the Child Protection Committee had received a presentation from the Care Inspectorate on the revised inspection model and stressed the importance of preparation for this.
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B Atkinson advised that the Child Protection Committee Annual Report to Council would continue but stated that the Child Protection Committee would need to look in a more focused fashion at self-evaluation and improvement. H Robertson highlighted the consistent positive feedback the Child Protection Committee had received, stressing the importance of maintaining this and the importance of early work around evaluation. H Robertson highlighted to partners the importance of working in close collaboration with colleagues, adding that it was important to continue to seek sustainable solutions in order to deliver the best possible service. The Partnership: (i) Noted the information as set out in report G/22/84. 10. THEMATIC APPROACH TO PERFORMANCE REPORTING There was submitted a report by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (G/22/85) continuing 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. J Chiles advised that the data presented was largely based on national data sets, and that there was work ongoing to replace data which was no longer publicly available. He also advised that there had been a significant increase in the number of young people eligible for aftercare. The Partnership: (i) Noted the information as set out in Report G/21/155. 8. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS L Sharkey advised that work was ongoing around the implementation of the ICON programme, with Tayside being the first area in Scotland to roll out the scheme, having previously been implemented in some areas of England. H Robertson stated that it may be beneficial to bring forward a report on the programme to the December meeting of the Partnership. 9. DATE OF NEXT MEETING 16 September 2022 at 10.00am