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'You said, we did' annual report 2023

Introduction

This is a summary of actions taken by Children’s Services between February 2022 and May 2023. These were in response to the views of children and families gathered in 2021.

You said

People who use our services took part in a survey to find out what they thought of the service. They were:

  • 1,303 parents and carers
  • 669 children and young people

1,385 also completed a feedback widget embedded in an email to provide an instant snapshot.  Surveys were undertaken in a few different formats:

  • Paper
  • Over the phone
  • Digitally

From the feedback received we know that:

95% of service users felt treated with respect.

92% felt we took into account their needs, feelings and wishes.

93% felt generally happy with the service provided. 

82% felt their life had improved (This question was not asked in the Fostering team).

We did

We asked teams in Children's Services to:

  • analyse their service feedback
  • identify key actions for improvement

This report outlines the actions identified. It also outlines the progress that teams have made during 22/23.


Admissions and transport

Description of service:

Admissions and Transport service is responsible for:

  • Allocating primary and secondary school paces at community and controlled schools
  • Coordinating admissions for all schools at ages 4,7 and 11
  • Deciding eligibility for school transport to mainstream schools
  • Processing claims for free school meals

You said

Those who were not happy with the service commented on:

  • The Synergy Parent Portal system malfunctioning
  • Delayed or automated responses
  • Trouble navigating the online application process

We did

  • Synergy are introducing a new web-based portal which is easier to use and operate. The new system will be available in time for September 2023.
  • We send bespoke responses to those that need them. We will continue to use automated responses when appropriate for information.

Children in Care Council

Description of service:

The Children in Care Council is a group of young people aged between 13 and 19 in care and living in East Sussex. They meet to have their say on issues that matter to looked after children. Members serve for 3 years.

You said

Employment:

  • Young people wanted a CV that would give them confidence in applying for part time work.
  • National Insurance numbers are taking too long to arrive. This is preventing young people from starting work.

Accessible meetings:

  • Meetings with young people are occasionally held in school time. Young people have previously stated that they prefer meetings after school or at weekends.
  • My Voice Matters (MVM) meetings need to be young person friendly. They need to be more accessible for cared for children to attend.

Events and programmes:

  • Young people would prefer an in-person awards ceremony.
  • Young people wanted the rucksack project to continue into 2022/2023.
  • Young people want to develop the buddy scheme. They would like some questions about expectations and commitment.

Youth Voice:

  • Young people want all children cared for by East Sussex to know about Children in Care Council. All children can contact us if needed.
  • Young people are keen to reinforce positive messages and share experiences. Young people wanted better links with young people living in residential care.
  • Young people who were over 16 still wanted to be involved in participation work.
  • The waiting list for Children in Care Council was so long. Other young people felt they would never get a chance to become a member.
  • Young people must have an input into the training that adults who work with young people receive.

Covid 19:

  • Due to COVID 19, young people were unable to meet other Children in Care Council and youth voice groups.
  • There is concern from young people about possible lasting effects from lockdown. The trauma and anxiety that people have felt may not be a short-term problem. 

We did

Employment:

  • Young people had a one-to-one support session in which a CV was written for them.

Accessible meetings:

  • Designated teachers have been reminded about holding meetings in school time. Statistics are being reviewed in 2023.

Events and programmes:

  • Funding will continue for the Rucksack Project throughout 2022/2023.
  • 4 members have attended 12 hours of buddy training, and the service now have 2 active matched buddies. 

Youth Voice:

  • We produced a newsletter in December 2022. We posted it to all cared for young people age 8+ to raise awareness of the Children in Care Council.
  • Older young people are referred to the leaving care participation worker. This enables them to become involved in work on behalf of care leavers. Some older CICC members will continue as CICC ambassadors.
  • A film has been made with young people in care to highlight key messages for staff. This will be used for future training for social workers.
  • The CICC facilitates an annual lecture at Brighton University. This is with students doing their social work master’s degree.
  • CICC continues to regularly participate in interview panels for staff recruitment.
  • CICC collaborates with other youth voice groups for networking and campaign working opportunities.
    • Memberships have been renewed for:
      • Sussex Clubs for Young People
      • A National Voice
  • Opportunities are introduced at least twice a year for some young people on the waiting list. This enables them to become more involved with CICC work.

Covid 19:

  • Children in Care Council (CICC) members spoke at the annual Children and Young People’s Trust event in 2022. They were supported to highlight the impact of covid with Senior Management.
  • Some CICC members joined independent projects. These consulted on mental health provision in schools.
  • CICC members are working with health partners as part of a youth voice consultation group to:
    • promote positive mental health and wellbeing
    • looking at stigma and solutions

Customer Relations

Description of service:

The Customer Relations Team provide general advice, guidance and signposting to families. The team helps with:

  • finding childcare
  • taking feedback and complaints about Children’s Services

You said

The negative complaints received mainly related to the signposting of services.

We did

  • The team reviewed internal signposting arrangements to ensure customers are directed appropriately.
  • Worked with the Web Team to make web forms more accessible. 
  • Arranged for paper copies of forms to be sent or the information to be taken over the phone.

 


Early Help

Description of service:

The Early Help Service 0-19 helps support families from pregnancy until the age of 19. The service is made up of East Sussex County Council and NHS professionals. These offer a wide range of support:

  • at home
  • from a Children's Centre, or
  • from a Youth Centre

You said

The feedback presented themes including:

  • appreciation of support received
  • the difference the work has made to the whole family
  • feeling listened to

Parents and young people shared:

  • some frustration about the relevance of the support received
  • the support they received didn’t match their expectations
  • they felt overwhelmed when the support ended. They felt concerned at the mention of signposting to support from elsewhere. This was mentioned by both parents and young people

We did

  • To collect more data, Early Help now uses text messaging. This gathers service user feedback from Parents/carers and young people.
  • Youth Centres have introduced a system for young people to be able to offer feedback easily.
  • Teams have been reminded of the importance of gathering feedback. This will continue to identify ways to improve services.
  • Early Help has introduced new monitoring systems. These reflect on feedback received and actions on a quarterly basis.
  • Audits of case files show that there has been an increase in equality data monitoring.

Fostering

Description of service:

Fostering offers children aged 0-18 a safe and caring family while they are unable to live with their own. The team are responsible for placing every child in East Sussex who needs care.

Annual Monitoring

You said

37 comments were received that suggested changes.

Themes included:

  • information sharing / communication
  • a lack of face-to-face training
  • safety of managing contact (Covid risks)
  • staffing turnover and social worker availability
  • accessibility of training

We did

Life story work is a priority focus for the whole of the looked after service. 

  • There is a significant Life Story work project that is ongoing. This includes a focus on how foster carers can support children to make sense of their history.
  • All young people cared for by ESCC are moving on from being looked after with appropriate life story information.

Supervising Social Worker Stability

  • The service’s professional resources are nearly at capacity.
  • We recognise that we have a stable base of skilled, experienced foster carers. However, we are not recruiting new carers at the same rate that carers leave the service to retire. 

Flexibility of training available to foster carers

  • The scheduling of training for foster carers continues to run. It does its best to work around other commitments.
  • A senior training officer has been appointed.

Information to foster carers

  • We work with our colleagues and educate on the need for foster carers to be provided with information that is relevant to the care of young people.

Assessment

You said

One comment felt more face to face contact would have improved the process. 

We did

All applicants presented to the Fostering Panel now have the majority of their assessment face to face. This is in their own home.

This is a compromise of the process, normally all face to face, balanced against the much-needed recruitment of new carers. We have adapted to new ways of more flexible working.

Panel

You said

2 respondents recommended areas for improvement. 1 would have preferred a “face to face” panel meeting. Another felt there were too many professionals in attendance.

We did

The covid legacy gave us an opportunity to rethink the delivery of panel:

  • Fostering Panels are held as a mixture of live and virtual formats.
  • Live Fostering Panels are always to be used for new applicants.

Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) Programme

Description of service:

The Holiday Activity and Food Programme (HAF) provide a range of activities and food. These are during school holidays at local Holiday food and fun clubs. The Department for Education funds The HAF programme.

You said

  • Improve equality monitoring elements of the service user feedback form. This needs to be more accessible, especially for younger and SEND children.
  • Continue to improve the nutritional education aspect of the offer.
  • Increase promotion of the programme.
  • Parents and carers would like a simplified booking process for parents. Approximately 20% found it hard to book.
  • Data collection and eligibility checking process for providers.
  • Provision is needed in more locations, especially in rural areas.
  • Opportunities to engage with HAF should run in every school holiday.

We did

  • HAF have reviewed the forms for service user feedback. The HAF Internal Working Group and Partnership Advisory Group colleagues gave input:
    • We have added accessibility features to the online form.
    • We have reduced the content for the under 12s SUF form.
  • Colleagues from the Healthy Habits Team have delivered nutritional education sessions. These ran in Easter and Summer programmes.
  • Provision is run across the Easter, Summer and Winter holidays.

Locality Social Work and Children's Disability Service

Description of service:

The Locality Social Work & Children’s Disability Service teams builds relationships with families. This is to reduce risks and support change over time. This includes:

  • Assessments, planning, intervention and review. This is underpinned by a good understanding of attachment and trauma. This is also underpinned by use of motivational interviewing.
  • Complex care planning resulting in multi-agency integrated interventions and support.
  • Making the right decision at the right time when planning for placing children in alternative care.

You said

The main themes regarding areas for improvement were:

Privacy and Trust

  • Children and families wanting more contact from the social worker.
  • More timely support.
  • Considering the young person’s privacy when writing reports.
  • Children and young people should have more control over their experiences. This includes what is talked about in their meetings. This also includes where the meetings take place and around transparency.
  • Social workers having time to keep young people in mind outside of their cases. For example, wishing young people good luck with tests. Also having time to advocate on their behalf to address bullying and discrimination.

Cyber Bullying

  • Engage effectively on digital platforms (WhatsApp).
  • Social workers understand digital platforms and cyber bullying. Advocate with schools to address bullying.

Identity

  • Social workers to feel confident and be informed for discussions. This includes discussions about identity, mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Trauma Informed Environment

  • More information around child protection conferences that is clear and easy to read.
  • Practical Improvements to waiting room spaces eg: providing refreshments, artwork.

We did

Privacy and Trust

  • Recruitment team set up with a focus on reducing workload through recruitment. This will allow for increased time with children and young people.
  • A webinar with the key findings from the Service User Feedback report. This was delivered to Social Workers and IROs.
  • A webinar was delivered on recording, child exploitation and drugs and alcohol. The webinar stressed the importance of:
    • Teachable moments
    • Providing choice, control and privacy as much as possible for children and young people
    • Amplifying the voice of the child
  • Launch of case recording policy and webinar. This stressed the importance of sharing photography and audio at conferences. This was to reflect direct work with children, and their wishes and feelings.
  • A re-design of a child’s plan written directly to children and young people will be launched in October 2023.
  • Direct work skills with children training has been re-introduced.

Cyber bullying

  • ESBAS have created a pool of resources and materials. These have been shared across schools to address cyber-bullying.
  • ESBAS have delivered parent/carer workshops providing practical advice on cyber bullying.
  • Delivery of a session on how to support young people subject to cyber bullying on single source. This was delivered by digital practice leads.

Identity

  • Allsorts training was expanded with workshops and webinars to increase practitioner confidence.
  • Development of The Disability Inclusion Toolkit. This is to help social workers gather the voice of children with special educational needs and disabilities. The tool provides a wealth of tools which follow the journey of the child and aid assessment.

Trauma-informed environment

  • Survey of children and families and practitioners completed. This is on current environment and what needs to change.
  • Findings of survey shared with workplace team and property services:
    • Artwork created by young people is displayed in all hub buildings
    • Refreshments are provided in waiting areas
    • Soft furnishings and toys provided in contact rooms in Hub buildings
  • Highlighted issue in webinar and PSW meeting at safeguarding unit ensuring practicalities of refreshments etc covered.

Youth Cabinet

Description of service:

The Youth Cabinet members are young people aged 11 to 18 years old. They are elected to represent the views of young people in East Sussex. The youth cabinet run co-produced campaigns.

You said

Three additional comments were received. These were all positive.

We did

Nothing identified from service user feedback.


Youth Justice Service (YJS, formerly the Youth Offending Team, YOT)

Description of service:

The Youth Justice Service work with East Sussex County Council Teams. These are  Children’s Services and the Reparation Team. They work with:

  • the Police
  • the probation service
  • the NHS
  • the voluntary sector

You said

The feedback was positive but there were only a limited number of responses.  A higher response rate will be a target for next year.

We did

The Youth Justice Service are running a survey through July 2023, with results returning in August.