Minutes of Meeting
West Locality – Local Safeguarding Children Group (LSCG)
Held on: 19 May 2016 Time: 2.30-4.30pm
Venue: St Edmund's CF School, Kilham's Way, King's Lynn PE30 2HU
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Present: / Post Title / Dept/OrganisationJane Bane (JB) / Norfolk Constabulary
Rob Cole (RC) / Team Manager, Early Help & Family Focus / Children’s Services, Norfolk County Council
Gaye Clarke (GC) / Department for Work and Pensions
Charlotte Driver (CD) / Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
Michelle Frazer (MF) / Leeway
Hayley Griffin (HG) / Head of Social Work Operations (West) / Children’s Services, Norfolk County Council
Ross Hefford (RH) / Housing Options Manager / West Norfolk Council
Annabella Hudson (AH) / Clinical Team Leader / Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation Trust
Jane Jewson (JJ) / SEN Cluster Manager, Swaffham & King’s Lynn
Trudy Lock (TL) / Leeway
Carol Manning (CM) – Co-chair / Head of Services & Partnerships (West) / Children’s Services, Norfolk County Council
Kerry Murray (KM) / Library Manager, King’s Lynn Library / Cultural Services, Norfolk County Council
Ellie Roberts (ER) / School
Michelle Walker (MW) / Action for Children
Fiona Whyman (FW) / Inclusion Manager / Eastgate Academy
Sandra Wilson-Low
(SW-L) – Co-Chair / Senior Client Services Manager / FIP and Home Group
Sarah Gooderson (SG) – Minutes / PA/Executive Support / Children’s Services, Norfolk County Council
Apologies:
Aneliese Allen / Paul Evans / Mr A Kennedy
Lisa Harrison / Pauline Finnerty / Catherine Knox
Sophie Bates / Suzie Fiske / Diane Leeds
Sophie Baxter / Teresa Frost / Tracey Mahoney
Jane Belfield / Tania Fulcher / Anne-Marie Mensink
Julie Bowyer / Paul Garrard / Sharon Parnell
Teresa Coe / Nicky Hampson / Andrew Powell
Lisa Cook / Zoe Harding / Louise Ramsay
Lynn Cook / Jade Harrison / Louise Scales
Kirsten Cooper / Sarah Hewitt / Kirsty Scott
Sarah Cubitt / Margaret Hill / Tracyann Wheeler
Miss H Dew / Arlene Hutchens
Emma Edwards / Jo Huxtable
Sarah Ellis / Simon Jones
Item / Minute / Action and due date
1. / Welcome and Apologies for Absence
Ø SW-L opened the meeting by welcoming those present, and introductions took place.
2. / Gaye Clarke, Department for Work and Pensions, gave a talk re Universal Credit and Welfare Reform
Ø Universal Credit will encompass six current working-age benefits. The DWP wants people to be encouraged to work by a combination of in- and out-of-work benefits. We are getting rid of the 16-hour rule to encourage people to take up full-time work; we’ll be looking at income instead. Clients are allocated a work coach.
Ø An employer logs details onto the system so Revenue & Customs know how much a person is paid on a monthly rather than annual basis. Clients don’t have to reapply when circumstances change. UC decreases as wages increase.
Ø A single payment is made to household monthly with housing costs paid direct to tenant (to foster independence). Can also split payments between partners if evidence given e.g. from a police or social services report. Claimant or landlord can apply for alternative payment arrangement e.g. landlord can ask for rent to be paid directly to him/her. We’re encouraging landlords to get to know tenants and ensure they have a bank account. We offer help with monthly budgeting skills, to try to stop people getting into arrears and being evicted. A network of companies will help with budgeting, but the DWP relies on information. The work coach should develop a good relationship with people so that information is shared by the client.
Ø End of 2017 into 2018 will see the end of the current benefits system, with the change complete by 2020/21.
Ø UC in King’s Lynn went live for single non-householders on 14 March. Great Yarmouth should have gone onto the Full Service on 7 March. There are five offices a month being opened in our region. Lowestoft is next on 25 May. The roll-out probably means King’s Lynn will be last in the East Anglian region.
Ø We can temporarily make payments more frequently than monthly to vulnerable people e.g. those with issues of mental health, drug abuse, homelessness, DV, rent arrears, leaving prison or recent bereavement. People in supported housing will stay on housing benefit.
Ø How will domestic abuse victims find courage to ‘provide evidence’ to have money split with their abuser – all money could go to the abuser? Agencies have to make sure DWP are aware.
Ø ACTION: GC to send Universal Credit links to RH and SG. / GC
3. / Early Help Hub update
Ø There has been a hiccup regarding information sharing in respect of the co-location agreement, but there is also good networking and information sharing.
Ø Advance warning is needed about which families are going to be discussed so that staff can prepare.
Ø There are fortnightly collaboration meetings with three remits: cases/families; what would best benefit your meeting; and agency updates. We need to work out how schools and children’s centres fit.
Ø You don’t need to sit in the Early Help Hub in order to be part of Early Help e.g. for MARAC, agencies are given a code and dial in. We should start using this method more.
Ø The borough council is to expand the operational partnership team space. There is room for about 12 desks. We are hoping for six hot desks in Vancouver House for joint working/assessment, but there is a problem with the change of telecoms provider. We hope it will be ready by July/August. The King’s Lynn Hub Steering Group meeting is on 10 June.
4. / FSP Update
Ø The paperwork has been changed internally (it is now Signs of Safety based) and staff are using it, with a roll-out to partners in June. Training is being developed that is more interactive, and asks ‘what does a good assessment look like?’
Ø FSP Training:
15 June: Hunstanton Children’s Centre.
20 June: St James.
21 June: Royston College.
6 July Hunstanton CC.
13 July: St James.
Book via Nikki King, Assessment & Training Officer in King’s Lynn. , Tel: 01553 614919.
5. / Communications Group Update
Ø The Communications Sub-group met with Abigail McGarry, NSCB Manager. We need to populate the West locality’s page of the NSCB website. An LSCG Website Survey was circulated.
Ø ACTION: SW-L to send electronic survey to SG.
Ø A quarterly newsletter is also being developed to disseminate information to practitioners. A volunteer is needed for the A Day in the Life feature – SW-L will get one of FIP to do.
Ø The generic LSCG email address coming. We also need visuals i.e. pictures of the West locality. / SW-L
6. / Serious Case Review: Case P
Ø Action Plans were distributed prior to the meeting. There were lots of missed opportunities in Case P; different agencies had information but alarm bells didn’t ring. School Nursing, the GP and Attendance were holding bits of information separately that needed adding together. The point was missed that the perpetrator doesn’t have to live in the house to commit crime. Assessments and a Written Agreement were done, but the case was closed. There was no enforcement of the Written Agreement, which wasn’t passed to Early Help by social care.
Ø There was much anti-social behaviour in the wider family, as well as housing issues, benefit fraud and domestic abuse. There were many layers of problems that affected people’s view – everyone focused on their bit without communicating and joining up the pieces. School Nursing didn’t think she stood out whereas others thought she was unkempt, sad, quiet, underweight etc. The main problem was lack of information sharing e.g. the hospital should have talked to the school nurse and Attendance, then the whole history should have been joined up and the case wouldn’t have left social care. It’s better to share information and break Data Protection rules than not share something important. The biggest piece of learning in this SCR is around professional curiosity and information sharing.
Ø The NSCB is developing training for frontline social workers/EH about how sex offenders operate and the Public Protection Unit should have some input about recognising deviant behaviour. It’s complex because perpetrators are not all the same, and there are non-protective mothers.
Ø We should organise a professional workshop on sexual abuse. This ties in with NSCB priorities and will incorporate the police, Children’s Services, Health, domestic abuse and professional curiosity. CD is to recruit someone; HG and JB are to lead. JB to put package together with colleague, Amanda Murr. / CD
HG/JB
7. / Networking Event – Ideas
Ø CM and SW-L are putting together a work plan, part of which is about networking. One idea is for School Fairs, which could include transition meetings for when children change schools. Can also provide parents with information re domestic abuse, drug and alcohol abuse etc.
Ø The LSCG could have a stand at the TA conference on 2 September. ACTION: JJ to let CM know details.
Ø Should the LSCG have a presence at secondary school parents’ evenings?
Ø Youth Offending have an open day for public and professionals on 15 June. ACTION: RC to let SG know details.
Ø Question: What have you done with your agency to highlight these issues and make things more robust? Please bring to the next meeting. / JJ
RC
ALL
8. / Agency Updates
Ø Leeway has won funding from the Big Lottery – a five-year contract for three domestic abuse case workers in the West. These will be in place by 4 July to undertake outreach and threshold work.
9. / Next Meeting
Time: 2.00pm-4.00pm
Date: 21 July 2016
Venue: St Edmund's CF School, Kilham's Way, King's Lynn PE30 2HU
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