Issue - items at meetings - Performance Improvement Report

Report of the Director of Children’s Services (copy attached).

1.       That the data and analysis in the PIR be noted and the action being taken to improve performance be agreed.

2.       That the Board agrees to the inclusion of an additional indicator in future reports – ‘The number of children with a child protection plan’ - in order to monitor the sharp increase in child protection activity.

3.       That the indicator ‘First Time Entrants to the Youth Justice System’ be removed as an exception report as performance was well above target during 2008/9.

15.1    The Board considered a report of the Director of Children’s Services concerning the Performance Improvement report, which presented the analysis for the final quarter 2008/09 (for copy see minute book).

15.2    The Assistant Director Strategic Commissioning & Governance highlighted the areas that were moving positively, namely in terms of the breast feeding record, under which Brighton & Hove came as the third best authority nationally. He pointed out that a number of challenges still remained, such as the issues around teenage pregnancy, child obesity and bullying in schools.

15.3    Councillor Randall referred to the young people not in education or training. He enquired what work was being done in this area for disabled children and queried whether children with ADHD were also considered in this work.

15.4    The Assistant Director confirmed that significant work was done in supporting children into mainstream school and to special schools and that the work also included transition support. The Director clarified that children with ADHD were also considered in this work, though in the lower range of the spectrum.

15.5    Councillor Alford referred to bullying in schools and enquired how the participants were recruited and how the information was recorded. The Assistant Director agreed to look into this information and report back to Councillor Alford.

15.6    Darren Grayson, PCT, reported that the teenage conception conference had taken place in the previous week and that the teenage conception plan had been relaunched. He proposed that regular updates be brought to the Board on the progress of that work. The Members were agreeable to this proposal. 

15.7   RESOLVED – That, having considered the information and the reasons set out in the report, the Board accepted the following recommendations:

(1)      That the data and analysis in the PIR be noted and the action being taken to improve performance be agreed.

(2)      That the Board agrees to the inclusion of an additional indicator in future reports – ‘The number of children with a child protection plan’ - in order to monitor the sharp increase in child protection activity.

(3)      That the indicator ‘First Time Entrants to the Youth Justice System’ be removed as an exception report as performance was well above target during 2008/9.