Witnesses:
Mary Lewis, Cabinet
Member for Children, Young People and Families
Tina Benjamin,
Director – Corporate Parenting
Key
points raised during the discussion:
- The
Chairman invited Councillor Lesley Steeds, Chairman of the former
No Wrong Door (NWD) Task Group, to introduce the Report. The
Chairman of the Task Group was pleased to report that the Cabinet
Member for Children, Young People and Families had accepted six of
the Task Group recommendations outright and accepted the essence of
the remaining three. The Chairman of the Task Group supported the
Cabinet Member’s decision to maintain the name No Wrong Door
for the Service. The Chairman of the Task Group was assured by the
Cabinet Member’s representation that the accreditation of
Surrey’s NWD by North Yorkshire County Council would not
prevent further development of the service to meet local need. The
Chairman of the Task Group recommended that the Select Committee
agree that the assurances provided satisfactorily addressed the
concerns underlying recommendations 1, 2 and 8.
- A Member
asked for an update on the progress of the NWD project. The
Director – Corporate Parenting informed the Select Committee
that the Service was scheduling key training which was crucial for
the rollout of the NWD and ensuring that staff understood the model
and engaged with partners. An operational group of staff members
was established, and roles and job descriptions were being
developed. The Service was also considering what the NWD would look
like for foster carers who wanted to work within the model,
identifying the eligibility and pathways for young people, and
exploring the future working relationship with colleagues in social
care and other agencies. The NWD was on course to commence in
shadow form in late January/February 2021.
- A Member
asked if there were any risks of implementing the NWD Service. The
Cabinet Member stated that failing to introduce a new service for
teenagers at risk of becoming looked after was the greatest risk
and thanked the Task Group for its work and supporting the
introduction of the NWD policy.
- A Member
asked whether the locations for future NWD hubs were confirmed and
for the reasons behind any decisions made. The Director informed
the Select Committee that the first confirmed location was
Walton-on-Thames, in Northeast Surrey. This site fulfilled much of
the criteria for children’s development and hub work. The
Service had looked at where in Surrey most teenagers entered into
care to help decide in which quadrant the hubs were best located.
The Director hoped that the hubs would be spread across the county
as much as possible and commented that, ideally, the second hub
would be in the southeast of the county, but this was not yet
confirmed. The service was deliverable without dedicated NWD hubs,
by using the council’s existing residential
estate.
- The
Chairman noted that Cabinet agreed a refreshed Organisational
Strategy on 29 September 2020 and asked how the NWD
supported the council’s new priorities. The
Cabinet Member explained that outcomes for teenagers who entered
care were generally poor thus the NWD supported the priority that
nobody is left behind, by reducing care episodes and improving
outcomes for service users. Children
from ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to be referred to
children’s social care but would be supported differently and
more effectively with the NWD approach, thus supporting the
council’s priority to tackle inequality. The NWD model also
prevented young people from being placed out of county, and
resilient and connected communities were built when communities
supported their young people.
- AMember asked if,
hypothetically, North Yorkshire County Council did not hold the
intellectual property rights in respect of the name ‘No Wrong
Door’ and the model’s ten distinguishing features, but
had still offered to accredit the council’s No Wrong Door
service, the council would have still opted for accreditation and,
if so, why. The Director stated that the council would have still
wanted to work with North Yorkshire County Council if there was no
accreditation, as learning from a well-established system is
helpful when introducing a new policy. The Director added that the
name ‘No Wrong Door was widely understood by social workers
but would not necessarily be known to service users – the
hubs could be given any name, and young people would be consulted
in this respect.
- The Cabinet
Member for Children stated that the number of families living in
poverty in Surrey was projected to increase over the following
years due to COVID-19 and suggested that the Select Committee look
at how families were being supported through economic pressures at
a future meeting.
Recommendations:
I.
The assurances provided by the Cabinet Member for
Children, Young People and Familiesin respect
of recommendations 1, 2 and 8 of the Report of the No Wrong Door
Task Group satisfactorily address the concerns underlying those
recommendations.
II.
The Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and
Culture Select Committee endorses the decisions of the Cabinet
Member for Children, Young People and Families to proceed with the
accreditation of Surrey County Council’s No Wrong Door
service by North Yorkshire County Council and to maintain the name
‘No Wrong Door’ for the service.