Making services for children workour consultation on the governance arrangements we need in Waltham Forest

September 2006 EveryChildin Waltham Forest

Matters

September 2006

Introduction

Making services for children work: our consultation on proposed governance arrangementsIn Waltham Forest, the agencies responsible for providing services to children and young people have a good record of working well together. Our strategy for the future development of services for children and young people was published earlier this year and has wide support.

The strategy commits us to transforming services. To achieve this we need to develop and establish a new, inter-agency, governance framework.

The purpose of this consultation is to get the views of our partners about a proposal for inter-agency governance structure and principles, including decision-making roles and accountabilities.

We believe the arrangements proposed in this paper will result in a simple, transparent inter-agency governance framework. It is intended to be enabling (rather than controlling), and to allow delegation, with decentralised decision-making.

It is also driven by the needs of the respective local areas. It does not cover detailed responsibilities of individuals or organisations: these will be developed fully following formal agreement with all main statutory partners after the outcome of this consultation.

The deadline for responses is Friday 3 November 2006. Please use either the tear-off form at the back of this document, or the form available at www.walthamforest.gov.uk/children-act-consultations.htm

Councillor Clyde LoakesLeader of the Council

Councillor Chris RobbinsCabinet Member,

Children and Young People

Proposed inter-agency governance structure for children services

Waltham Forest

local strategicpartnership

board

Partnerdecisionmakers

Council leader

Cabinet member,children and

young peopleChief executive

Children and

young peopleboard

Partnerdecisionmakers

Executivedirector, children

services

Localsafeguardingchildren board

Performance management and

monitoring team

Managers forummeeting

Transformationteam

Commissioningteam(s)

Areamanagement

teamArea

managementteam

Areamanagement

team

Specialist childrenservices

Accountability line

Communication line

Some people find ordinary management charts easier to understand. If this is the case for you please go to www.walthamforest.gov.uk/children-act-consultations.htm

1.1 The purpose of the document is to take forward priority eight of the strategy for children and young people. This priority is to develop and establish a governance framework for children services in Waltham Forest. A more colloquial word for governance is ‘control’, but there is no easy, straightforward word or phrase that can be substituted for the word governance.

1.2 For the purpose of this document the term governance is taken to mean the set of arrangements and procedures that enable the partners involved in services for children and young people to take decisions together. These arrangements are designed to ensure that inter-agency working is co-operative and effective, and that the partners are clear how decisions are made and where responsibility for these decisions lies.

1.3 This paper focuses only on inter-agency governance at a ‘representative’ level. This means councillors, school governors and board members of partner agencies, for example. ‘Officer’ level inter-agency management arrangements are briefly described, but these are being put in place through agreement at senior management level within those organisations. They are therefore not for consultation. Management arrangements within the many agencies, services and partnerships involved are already in place, and are, of course, a matter for those bodies.

1.4 Establishing corporate governance, in an inter-agency context, is one of four ‘essential building blocks’ set out in the statutory guidance1. These building blocks are:

• front-line staff providing integrated delivery to the child and family;

• shared processes used to support their work;

• joint assessments of need, plans and commissioning arrangements with pooled budgets – setting priorities and delivering the necessary resources; and

• the inter-agency governance arrangements needed to agree the overall vision and drive through change.

1.5 These are the four layers of the now famous ‘onion’, with outcomes for children, young people and their parents at the onion’s ‘core’. Inter-agency governance - the outermost layer - is crucial to the new duties placed on the council and its statutory partners to co-operate to improve the five outcomes for children.

Inter-Agency Governance

Families Community

Outcomes for children and young people

Integrated Processes

Inte

grate

d Front Line Delivery

Integrated Strategy

Parents

1. Background and context

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1.6 While the statutory guidance notes that ‘a set of effective arrangements (at each of the four levels set out under paragraph 1.4, above) will be a children trust in action’, the legal requirement is for all statutory agencies to co-operate and work in partnership. This consultation is solely focused on governance arrangements, and is based on the need for clear, inclusive and effective ‘direction and enabling’ arrangements for services for children.

1.7 The desired outcome of this consultation is that we, as local partners, agree a set of joint governance arrangements that are effective. In other words that they are capable of driving change processes and creating

a sound framework for new ways of working. The aim must be for all of us to ensure propriety by defining levels of authority, responsibility and accountability.

1.8 This paper is divided into sections for ease of reference. Section two describes the current partnership arrangements. This is followed, in section three, by a proposal for ‘representative’ arrangements at the highest level, which will fit into the borough’s overall partnership structure. The officer-level governance proposals, and the inter-relationship with representative arrangements, are set out for information only in section four. Finally, section five sets out proposed arrangements for local area management teams.

2. Current partnership arrangements2.1 At a ‘representative’ level, there are currently three groups. These are the children and young people action partnership, the strategic learning action partnership, and the education strategic partnership board. The first two have a reporting line to the local strategic partnership (LSP) board. The third is a requirement of the statutory outsourcing of education support functions of the local authority by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in 2001.

2.2 These groups have generated some benefits for the authority and its partners. They have resulted in the engagement of quite a wide range of partners and stakeholders, and some commitment to joint planning and working. However, the two LSP groups are light

in terms of ‘representative’ members. Most members of both groups are officers of the council or partner organisations; they focus on consultation, having no decision-making powers; there is no clarity about accountability; and there is little business planning.

2.3 At ‘officer’ level there is a wide range of officer groups, working parties and boards. In most cases, the membership and terms of reference of groups are clear and effective. One example is the education management team, which is made up of senior lifelong learning and EduAction managers. However, this group excludes, amongst others, health and children social services officers, and thus is not an appropriate management team for children services.

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3.1 The representative partnership is crucial to the development of co-operative arrangements between the local authority, ‘relevant partners’2, and other ‘locally determined’ partners. It is suggested here that a single main partnership board – to be called the children and young people board – is established. It will be made up from all key relevant and local partners. This section is organised into two sub-sections, dealing with the membership and the terms of reference of the proposed board.

Children and young people board: suggested membership3.2 Although schools are not ‘relevant’ partners under the act, the statutory guidance on trusts states that ‘as the universal service provider that maintains contact with most children five days a week throughout most of the year, schools are central to the drive to improve all five outcomes for children and young people. They should therefore be appropriately involved in (trust) co-operation arrangements’3.

3.3 Given this imperative, and the obvious need to involve schools strongly at the highest level of governance arrangements, it is proposed to use the current schools forum as the ‘core’ of the new board. The forum’s membership is set out in the first table in the annex (page 9). It currently has 20 members, comprising head teachers, school governors and non-schools representatives and observers.

3.4 The forum meets eight times a year. It is crucial to schools funding and must agree the formula we use for allocating the schools’ budgets. The attendance is excellent, and heads and governors are keen to put themselves forward for membership. Given the importance of ensuring that schools are engaged in children services governance arrangements at all levels, the forum might be an excellent building block for a wider partnership board.

3.5 The membership proposed for the children and young people board is shown in the second table in the annex (page 9). It comprises a board of ‘representative’ members from all the relevant partners prescribed by the act, plus a range of local partners. The proposed local partners include councillors, voluntary sector representatives, board members of major partners, such as EduAction, and our proposed commissioner for children and young people.

3.6 In ‘pre-consultation’ discussions with representatives of a range of agencies involved with providing services for children and young people4, it was felt that the size of the board that was initially proposed (over 40) was too large to work effectively. To address this, the number of schools forum members proposed to represent school interests of the board has been reduced from 20 to 11. The total membership of the proposed board is 25 people (plus an independent chair, if agreed). This has been achieved by:

3. Partnership arrangements at a ‘representative’ level

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• reducing the number of primary head teachers from four to three (there will be a request made to the forum to put forward a head from each of the three local areas, if possible);

• reducing the number of primary school governors from four to one, and secondary school governors from three to one;

• reducing the number of non-school observers from three to one – which should be a representative of one of the two diocesan boards, in agreement with those boards (currently the Brentwood diocese holds the place). The special schools are already represented, and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) is not necessarily the appropriate body on a wider board;

• taking out the probation board and the strategic health authority representatives, a general practitioner, a parent and a young person from the original list, as health, youth offending, parents and young people’s interests are well represented on the board.

3.7 It is not proposed to have any member specifically representing minority ethnic community or religious interests on the board. The borough is diverse, and it is expected that most main religious interests, and ethnic groups, will be represented. Given the incidence of disability, this is not necessarily the case. Therefore it is proposed that a member is sought from Disability Action Waltham Forest.

3.8 With regard to the chairing of the board, it is proposed to continue with existing schools forum arrangements for the eight forum meetings a year, but to have a different chair for the meetings of the children and young people board. There are at least three possible choices for chair . These include the election of a chair from members of the board; the cabinet member for children and young people; or an independent chair. There are perhaps strengths and weaknesses with each of the options, and the views of our partners and stakeholders are sought about this. However, the arrangement at the education strategic partnership board, which has an independent chair, has worked very well, and on balance, it is this option that is recommended.

Children and young people board: suggested terms of reference (what it should do)3.9 Our aim is the creation of a strong, focused main board, with a clear purpose, and associated responsibilities, powers and duties. It should complement, but not overlap with, the schools forum.

3.10 The purpose of the board is made clear by the DfES statutory guidance: ‘[a trust requires] strong governance, in particular a powerful integrated governing board or structure through which senior representatives of all key partner organisations can give strategic leadership and direction, and drive through change’

3.11 The main responsibilities proposed for the board are to:

• help to develop the strategy of services for children and young people, and the annual action plans for implementing it;

• focus on the five outcomes specified in every child matters;

• influence the main priorities for the three local areas, and review the work done;

• assist in the development of joint contracting and commissioning arrangements;

• identify areas for multi-agency development;

• ensure that all members of Waltham Forest local strategic partnership (LSP) board are kept properly informed about progress and issues in respect of partnership working relevant to children and young people.

3.12 The powers and duties of the board are set out in the following paragraphs. These are needed for it to be able to fulfil its purpose and associated responsibilities. It is proposed that the board (subject to the formal agreement of the council’s cabinet, and any other organisation affected) have the following decision-making powers:

• to approve or reject devolved funding to area partnerships, except for any resources that are within the remit of the schools forum;

• to approve or reject all neighbourhood renewal or other neighbourhood grant payments within the children services block;

• to approve or reject local area agreement proposals;

• to create any sub-groups, working parties or special interest groups as it thinks fit.

Issues for consideration:

- is the schools forum an appropriate basis for the

children and young people board?

- are the proposed representative groups on

the board the right ones? Should there be any

additional groups? Are any of the proposed

groups inappropriate?

- do you agree that the appointment of an

independent chair is the right way forward? if

not, what are your views?

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3.13 It is proposed that the board has a duty to consider, and comment upon (annually unless specified):

• the vision of the partnership – the extent to which the vision has been met, and any development of the vision it thinks might be appropriate; • the strength of partnership working – to be done, in part, through an evaluation of the extent to which we have worked towards the culture we aspire to;

• proposed budget allocations for the following year to the responsible agencies (which must provide the board with budget proposals);

• the proposed action plan for the following financial year; • joint commissioning arrangements, including any pooled budgets;

• the performance of services for children and young people in the previous local authority and school years, provided annually by the executive director children services;

• (quarterly) the performance of children services, against the action plan for the relevant year, with a focus on the five outcomes and the progress towards transforming services. A ‘traffic light’ reporting system will be used, with information about action being taken where activities have slipped, or where performance targets are unlikely to be reached;

• (every three years) the proposed strategy for the development of services for children and young people (the statutory children and young people plan).

end July

mid February

mid May

Date of meeting Core agenda items

Review of performance – first quarterService review – information about services or activities proposed for reviewCommissioning review, and recommendations for the following financial yearChildren services expenditure report for the previous year

mid October Main annual report of the director, and performance reviewService reviews, including proposed reductions and growthProposed devolved budgets, next financial yearNeighbourhood grant proposalsNext year’s draft action plan (three year strategy as applicable) for comment

Review of performance – third quarterFinal children services budgets for the next financial year presentedNext year’s action plan / three year strategy for information / commentArea partnership reports – proposed budget allocations for the next year

Review of performance – fourth quarter and previous full yearAnnual performance assessment (APA) final draft presented for discussionArea activity – reports of areas of previous year’s expenditure, outcomes

3.14 It is also proposed that the board should have a duty to consult children, young people and their parents, either through work it directs, or through requiring the executive director to report to it on consultation processes and outcomes. A comprehensive system to involve children and young people in decision-making within the governance structure is being developed.

3.15 The board will receive reports from the each of the three area partnerships (see section 5) These reports will show how each area partnership identified priorities for any funding allocated, taking account of any guidance given by the board, how it spent the money and whether outcomes were achieved.

3.16 The proposed meeting schedule, with items to be considered, is set out in the table below.

3.17 Board members will have training to enable them to perform their role effectively. Relevant officer support will be provided at meetings. The board will also have the ability to seek additional information from officers as well as independent advice if required.

Issues for consideration:- are four board meetings per year sufficient?- any comments on the scope of the group’s purpose, responsibilities, decision-making powers or duties?- have you a view about the core agenda items, or other items you think should be added?

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4.1 All organisations and agencies that will be working together in partnership have their own management arrangements. These do not form any part of this consultation. The paragraphs below set out the partnership management meetings that are being put in place by the executive director, in consultation with senior officers from partner agencies. This section of the consultation paper is for information, to make clear how the representative and officer levels of the governance framework fit together.

4.2 First is a performance management and monitoring team, made up from senior officers from key partners to cover strategic and operational issues as required. The group will meet monthly, and will be attended by all second tier managers from the children services directorate, senior EduAction staff (to be determined by EduAction’s managing director), a senior officer from both the primary care trust (PCT) and north east London mental healthcare trust (NELMHT), a youth offending team (YOT) manager and a police officer. It will be supported by the head of contracts, policy and performance and key managers from that team, which would be tasked with preparatory work for each meeting.

4.3 The meetings will cover issues such as school organisation, practical partnership issues, monitoring of activities in relation to the strategy’s action plan and best value performance indicators (BVPIs) outside those purely of concern to the children services directorate.

4.4 The second group is the transformation team which will meet six-weekly. This is a multi-agency team, chaired by the executive director, children services. The team will comprise the senior responsible officers for each of the six work-streams (see useful reference 8 for information about these).

4.5 Thirdly, there will be six ‘forum’ style meetings per year of the senior managers from all partners delivering services for children in the borough. The first of these took place on 12 July 2006. These meetings will provide an environment where officers from different agencies can exchange and explore ideas together, develop ways of improving outcomes for children and young people and build a strong foundation for effective partnership working.

4.6 This new model has a strong focus on leadership, and managing in partnership across agencies. This is essential for services that must, between them, develop a system that has integrated working at its heart.

4. Partnership arrangements at officer level

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5.1 One of the four ‘essential building blocks’ for successful delivery of children services is front line staff providing integrated, local and personalised services to children, young people and their families. Achieving this needs a high level of collaboration and joint working at local level by a range of different professionals and agencies. This in turn depends on these staff having a proper degree of autonomy over what they can do, within the strategic direction and monitoring framework agreed at a higher level.

5.2 A crucial element in the overall proposed system of governance is therefore the creation of area management teams, responsible for managing the delivery of joined-up services at a local level. These teams will be assisted in the development of area-based services by:

a) resources, powers and responsibilities being devolved, from the council and its major partners, down to area level; and

5. Local area inter-agency management teams

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b) schools and other area-based services being encouraged to work together at local level in various different ways (for example, by developing federations and joint governance arrangements, and suggesting pooling of responsibilities).

5.3 Arrangements for area management teams have not been completed. They are to be agreed by the management and performance monitoring team. However, area managers are in place, and it is highly likely that managers of all services operating in each of the three areas will form part of one of the three area management teams.

5.4 Terms of reference and membership of the area management teams will be finalised this autumn. These will be presented to the first meeting of the children and young people board for comment. It is intended that the terms of reference will comprise purposes and responsibilities, with powers and duties that will enable each area management team to fulfil them.

6.1 This consultation is intended to be wide-reaching, reflecting the government’s statutory requirements5.

6.2 The consultation period will run through September and October, ending on Friday 3 November 2006.

A report, with appropriate recommendations, will be presented to the council’s cabinet in December 2006, and to the PCT, the mental healthcare trust (NELMHT) and the metropolitan police around the same time.

6. Consultation arrangements and timetable

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Membership of schools forum

Primary governor representatives (4)Primary head teachers (4)

Secondary head teachers (3)

Special school head teacher / governor

LSC nominated observer

Secondary governor representatives (3)

Non-schools representatives (3)*

Other observer **

* the non-schools representative places are held by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the diocese of Brentwood, and special schools.** the other observer is a nursery school governor.

Proposed membership – children and young people board

Notes:The unshaded-boxed members represent the extended membership, the shaded-boxed members the reduced numbers from the schools forum. See paragraph 3.2-3.8 for an explanation of the proposed membership of the board.

If the decision is to appoint an independent chair, this will mean one more member, increasing the size of the board to 26.

* members of the council – the lead member (who should be deputy chair), children and young people, plus two other members, one each from wards within the two other areas (the current lead member represents a ward in the south, therefore presently, the other two members should be from wards in Walthamstow and Chingford).

Connexions (1)The police authority (1)

The youth offending team (1)

The primary care trust (1)

A voluntary sector representative (1)

Members of the council (3)*

Children and young people commissioner (1)

EduAction board member (1)

Local college board member (1)

North east London MHT (1)

Jobcentre Plus / business representative (1)

Disability Action Waltham Forest (1)

Primary head teachers (3)

Secondary head teachers (3)

Special school head teacher (1)

LSC member (1)

Primary governor representative (1)

Secondary governor representative (1)

Non-schools representative (1)

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Annex

Useful references1. Children Act, 2004 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2004/20040031.htm

2. Statutory Instrument 2005 no. 2149 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20052149.htm

3. Statutory guidance on inter-agency cooperation to improve the well-being of children: children’s trusts http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/strategy/guidance/

4. Schools forum – Statutory Instrument 2002 no.2114 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/20022114.htm

5. Waltham Forest local strategic partnership board – membership and terms of reference http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/lsp-executive-board.htm

6. Local safeguarding children board - membership and terms of reference http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/lscb.htm

7. Management and performance monitoring meeting - membership and terms of reference http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/mpft.htm

8. Transformation team - membership and terms of reference http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/pmmt.htm

Footnotes to consultation paper1. Statutory guidance on inter-agency cooperation to improve the well-being of children: children’s trusts (see 3 above)

2. As prescribed in section 10(4) of the Children Act, 2004 (see 1 above)

3. Statutory guidance paragraph 1.19 (see 3 above)

4. Managers’ Forum meeting, 12 July 2006

5. Statutory Instrument 2005, no.2149 section 7(1)(a)-(h) (see 2 above)

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Consultation on governance arrangements – your feedbackPlease send us any comments you have on the proposed governance arrangements for children and young people’s services that are set out in the consultation paper.

Responses to the consultation should be returned in writing to Xenia Bourlet, children services directorate, Silver Birch House, Uplands Business Park, Blackhorse Lane, London E17 5SD by Friday 3 November 2006. Please use this form, or the electronic form, which is available at http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/children-act-consultations.htm. If you wish to respond in another way, for example, by letter, this is quite acceptable.

Information about you

Name:

Organisation (if applicable):

Postal or e-mail address:

If you are responding in a personal capacity please indicate in what capacity (e.g. parent, young person, councillor etc):

Please set out your comments below. Use additional sheets of paper if necessary – or complete the electronic template at the web address above.

Comments on paragraphs 3.2-3.8: membership of the children and young people board

Comments on paragraphs 3.9-3.15: terms of reference of the board

Comments on paragraph 3.16: proposed meeting schedule

Comments on section five: local area management arrangements

Any other comments

Thank you for completing this questionnaire. Please return it to the address at the top of this form by Friday 3 November 2006.

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