Minute of meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 16 June 2023 for noting
Perth and Kinross Council · 25 October 2023
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 25 October 2023 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 16 June 2023 at 10.00am in the Council Chambers, Council Building, 2 High Street, Perth. Present: Councillor L Barrett S Johnston, Head of Education and Learning, PKC H Robertson, Head of Services for Children, Young People and Families, PKC J Cunningham, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration T Leonard, Chief Inspector, Police Scotland (Item 6 onwards) J Hutton, Independent Advocacy Perth and Kinross L Sharkey, Chief Midwife, Women Children and Families Division, NHS Tayside A Rhind, Senior Nurse, Health Visiting, NHS Tayside (Up to and including Item 10) Apologies: Councillor M Frampton Councillor C Shiers S Devlin, Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services), PKC In Attendance: E Cruickshank, Child Health Commissioner, NHS Tayside; J Chiles, R Drummond, C McAuley, C Mackie, S Cooper, and J Guild (all PKC). H Robertson in the Chair 1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE H Robertson 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 3 March 2023 was submitted and noted as a correct record.
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4. MATTERS ARISING There were no matters arising from the minute of the previous meeting. 5. PRESENTATION – CHILD HEALTH COMMISSIONER, NHS TAYSIDE Elaine Cruickshank, Child Health Commissioner, NHS Tayside, joined the meeting and provided a presentation regarding the role of Child Health Commissioner within NHS Tayside. E Cruickshank advised she has been in post for approximately three months and prior to this, the role had not been filled within NHS Tayside for several years. The role sits within the Public Health Directorate and reports to the Director of Public Health. The Child Health Commissioner is a first point of contact for referrals from external agencies including the Scottish Government, third sector partners and families. In response to a query from H Robertson regarding how the role of Child Health Commissioner fits with the Caldicott Guardian, E Cruickshank confirmed there is no direct impact. The role of Caldicott Guardian is established and will continue to inform the Scottish Government. In response to a query from Councillor Barrett regarding whether the role’s remit encompassed carers under school age, E Cruickshank advised this is being considered and links have been established with S Cooper, Service Manager, Services for Children, Young People and Families, PKC. H Robertson thanked E Cruickshank for her presentation, welcomed regular input from the Child Health Commissioner and extended an invitation to attend the meeting on a more regular basis. The Partnership agreed E Cruickshank be added to the Membership for future meetings. T LEONARD JOINED THE MEETING AT THIS POINT. 6. PERTH AND KINROSS CHILD PROTECTION COMMITTEE BUSINESS ACTIVITY REPORT SINCE 3 MARCH 2023 There was submitted a report by the Independent Chair of Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee (G/23/66) 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 on 3 March 2023. R Drummond advised a focus of work has been the development of the Child Protection Committee Improvement Plan for 2023-2026. He advised the ambitious plan which identifies 18 actions, was approved by the Child Protection Committee on 6 June 2023. R Drummond further advised that input has been received from the Care Inspectorate, with positive feedback received. It was noted that an update on the plan would be brought to this meeting, as well as a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council, in the Autumn.
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In response to a query from Councillor L Barrett regarding resources to deliver the ambitious actions of the Improvement Plan, R Drummond confirmed it is a three year plan and although leads for actions have been identified, timescales are indicative only. R Drummond advised the first update due in Autumn will provide a good opportunity for monitoring progress. H Robertson added that staffing issues continue to present challenges and managing staffing and supports is critical to ensure minimal risk. The Partnership noted and endorsed the update. 7. CARERS STRATEGY 2019-2022 FOR ADULT AND YOUNG CARERS – UPDATE There was submitted a report (G/23/79) by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) providing an update on the progress towards the identified outcome in relation to supporting young carers and to note the refresh of the Joint Carer Strategy which will be presented to the Integrated Joint Board on 21 June 2023, for approval, with the Young Carer section being presented for approval to the Learning and Families Committee on 23 August 2023. In introducing the report, H Robertson advised the needs of young carers continue to grow, with numbers identified also increasing since the pandemic. S Cooper advised the new strategy captures the requirement for support for Parent Carers and work continues with PKAVS who have been a lead partner throughout the initial strategy and its refresh. In response to a query from L Sharkey regarding carers below school age and health involvement in the initial strategy, S Cooper confirmed health colleagues were involved in the initial strategy and although attempts have been made for involvement throughout the refresh, input has been minimal. L Sharkey expressed concern regarding lack of input at this late stage in development of the refreshed strategy. It was agreed S Cooper and E Cruickshank would connect regarding this following the meeting to have an amendment added. The Partnership: (i) Noted the progress made towards supporting young carers to achieve their potential in Perth and Kinross. (ii) Noted the refreshed Carers Strategy for 2023-26 which will be presented to the Learning and Families Committee on 23 August 2023. (iii) Agreed that Outcome 7, Action 5 – Support for young carers pre-school age, of the Action Plan within Appendix 1 would be amended to reflect the NHS Young Carer Representative be Elaine Cruickshank, Child Health Commissioner. 8. WHOLE FAMILY WELLBEING FUND There was submitted a report from the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (G/23/67) providing a summary of the progress in the development and implementation of the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund
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(WFWF) including the report for the Scottish Government which will be included with the Tayside Plan Annual Report 2022-23. H Robertson acknowledged that the project has received considerable funding for the parliamentary term which should enable newly developed services to have significant impact true to begin within the timeframe. However, full transformation to early intervention and prevention for whole families will take some time. C McAuley advised robust consultation will also take place with communities to inform funding allocation to the third sector. The Partnership: (i) Reviewed the content of the report and approved the Annual Progress Report to the Scottish Government. 9. GIRFEC STEERING GROUP – UPDATE ON PROGRESS There was submitted a report (G/23/68) by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) providing an update on the progress of the reinstatement of the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) Steering Group. The decision to establish the group, as a sub-group of the Children Young People’s and Families Partnership was agreed by the Partnership following the publication of the refreshed GIRFEC practice guidance on 30 September 2022. In introducing the report, H Robertson advised that A Rhind, Senior Nurse, Health Visiting, NHS Tayside and S Johnston, Head of Education and Learning, PKC, co-chair the group. S Johnston continued that following liaison with Tayside partners, a decision was reached to not develop a joint plan as has previously been the case, but collaboration work will be undertaken where necessary and links are established with the NHS GIRFEC Group. A Rhind confirmed she is a member of the NHS Tayside GIRFEC Group as well as the Angus group, ensuring robust links across Tayside. H Robertson commented on the huge undertaking of the Group and the importance of their work. The Partnership: (i) Noted the proposed Terms of Reference and key priorities for the PKC GIRFEC Steering Group. (ii) Request the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to seek updates on progress at Children and Young People and Families Partnership meetings. 10. MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING OVERVIEW GROUP There was submitted a report (G/23/69) by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) reviewing progress to date of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Overview Group. In introducing the report, C Mackie advised this report is the first to the Partnership following establishment of the Mental Health and Wellbeing
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Overview Group in June 2022. The Group will meet quarterly, and their work informs the Local Outcome Improvement Plan. In response to a query from T Leonard regarding a Police Scotland representative on the group, C Mackie confirmed a representative would be very welcome. J Hutton also volunteered a representative from Independent Advocacy. In response to a query from S Johnston regarding impact of the interventions so far, C Mackie confirmed it is too early to show impact for most projects, and it is anticipated this will generally be difficult to reflect given the short term nature of the funding. S Johnston offered to share funding monitoring tools used by Education Services, which C Mackie confirmed would be useful. The Partnership: (i) Requests the Mental Health and Wellbeing Overview Group review the role and remit of the group in line with the proposals noted and changes to membership suggested. (ii) Requests the Overview Group review the action plan to show streamlined actions aligned to local outcomes, which should be specific, measurable and timely, and include where appropriate, funding and financial information. (iii) Requests the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) to submit a six-monthly progress report to the Partnership. A RHIND LEFT THE MEETING AT THIS POINT. 11. THEMATIC APPROACH TO PERFORMANCE REPORTING There was submitted a report (G/23/70) by the Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) continuing the thematic reporting plan for performance and outcome information focused on children, young people and families. The report sets out a suite of information around the second of the themes, namely Outcomes for Vulnerable Children, for consideration and scrutiny by the Partnership. In introducing the report J Chiles confirmed that Looked After Children with more than one placement in a year, is not necessarily negative in that it could reflect a move to a more suitable placement. J Chiles also advised data regarding Care Leavers is significantly impacted by “unknown economic activity” and while work is ongoing in conjunction with Skills Development Scotland to improve accurate record keeping, this does rely on other sources. H Robertson thanked those involved in the production of the report for the additional narrative provided alongside the data. The Partnership: (i) Considered and commented on the information set out in Appendix 1. (ii) Provided guidance to inform the future direction of thematic performance reporting.
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12. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS There was no other competent business. 13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership will take place on 15 September 2023.