Agenda item

To receive and consider a report containing details of the service’s response to Covid-19.

Adam Davis presented the Review of Covid-19 Response report which was set out in agenda pages 17-24.

Some of the points made during the presentation are listed below:

·           During the pandemic Children’s Services continued to report to a range of forums and bodies, including the Department of Education (DfE), Berkshire West Safeguarding Children Partnership and Corporate Parenting Board (CPB);

·           One of the challenges in relation to social care had been to reach a balance between keeping the children protected and ensuring the safety and welfare of staff;

·           The majority of child protection visits continued to be face to face (95%);

·           There had been a reduction in the number of contacts received at the Front Door and also a reduction in the number of contacts that progressed on for a social care assessment.  However, in the last two weeks there had been an increase in the number of contact referrals;

·           Engagement with Looked After Children (LAC) and Care Leavers continued during the pandemic, with particular attention to Care Leavers during the Christmas period;

·           Engagement with Foster Carers continued and only one placement with a Foster Carer had to end because of Covid;

·           Ongoing communication and contact with schools was maintained throughout the pandemic, with weekly meetings and discussions with headteachers and senior school leaders about the management of schools and delivery of education in a pandemic context;

·           Schools were supported in relation to access to ICT and equipment to assist remote learning;

·           Schools were being supported to develop the Wellbeing for Education Return programme designed by the DfE;

·           Schools were supported in the development of the asymptomatic lateral testing;

·           Schools had continued access to the help provided by the School Improvement Team;

·           Support and guidance was given to schools in relation to the delivery of Free school meals;

·           Home to school transport continued to be provided to those eligible;

·           The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people was supported and included the provision of Kooth (an online counselling and emotional well-being support service provided for young people aged 11-18) and other material more appropriate for younger children;

·           There had been an amazing level of commitment and flexibility from the staff.  It was now important to mitigate the impact of working remotely, particularly for social workers.

During the discussion of the item the following comments were made:

·           In response to a question Adam Davis stated that one of the challenges had been relation to recruitment of staff to cover potential gaps as a result of Covid;

·           In response to a question Sal Thirlway stated that on reflection, taking stock at the beginning of the pandemic would have been beneficial, as the speed of changes from the central government was considerable;

·           Councillor Blumenthal asked about the uptake of Kooth and any feedback.  Adam Davis stated that this had been successful and it was agreed that any data would be shared with Members;

·           Councillor Clarke provided an update on the usage of Kooth:

·         during the period  1 July 2020 to 31st December 2020 and across the Borough there were: 

·         1606 log-ins

·         392 new registrations

·         61 chats with Kooth Counsellors, 626 therapeutic messages  exchanged

·         364 article reviews and 1,934 forum views

·         the majority of the new registrations were in the age bracket 11 - 13

·         71 % of log-ins were outside core office hours with between 7 to 9 pm being the most popular hours.

·         Wokingham Borough accounted for 67 % of all new log in across Berkshire West.

·           In response to a question Sal Thirlway stated that all CIC were provided with a laptop.  The criteria for access to a laptop in schools was the eligibility for a free school meal, targeting those most disadvantaged;

·           Sal Thirlway clarified that the service had been agile in commissioning home to school transport providers when needed and when not needed;

·           Carol Cammiss, Director of Children’s Services stated that the Council also utilised the wider refurbishing laptops scheme to provide laptops to those that needed them.  In addition, dongles were provided to strengthen Wi-Fi connections for young carers;

·           Carol Cammiss agreed to speak to the CCG about undertaking a survey to determine how useful the use of Kooth had been;

·           Councillor Mickleburgh asked what was the impact of Covid on children’s development and he also asked how the £100k grant for Early Years was being used;

·           Sal Thirlway stated that the impact of Covid on children’s development was still being analysed, both regionally and at a national level.  An initial survey showed that schools had noticed a slowdown in language usage and comprehension.  He stated that the grant for Early Years was a business grant to prevent closures;

·           Councillor Mickleburgh asked if the lack of clear pattern in complex cases (referred to in page 18) and increase in calls for services was cause for concern.  Adam Davis stated that sometimes it was difficult for small local authorities to establish patterns or themes; he stated that it was important to remain curious and support the social care team in their work;

·           Carol Cammiss informed that Public Health England was undertaking a research piece of work to understand the impact of Covid on 1-3 year old children’s social development.  Information about this would be shared with the Committee when available;

·           In response to a question Sal Thirlway stated that there was a good take up of schools’ staff take up of the lateral flow test.  He informed that the test was not compulsory.

Members were praised the work undertaken by Children’ Services during the pandemic and asked that this message and their thanks be passed on to the staff.

RESOLVED That the report be noted.