Briefing Paper 7

JAR end of analysis week feedback – 30^th March 2006

Big themes:

The Children and Young People’s Plan - will show what is intended [key document!]

Performance Management

· How good is quality assurance and how well is management information used ?

· How well are resources aligned to priorities ?

· How well members are aligned to priorities ?

· How well are things phased and focused – the agenda is very wide ?

· Can we demonstrate improvement ?

· How good is interagency working ?

Be Healthy:

The provision appears to be adequate.

· How robust is the planning to sustain this ?

Parents and carers appear well supported.

· What evidence is there of the impact of our work on alcohol and drug abuse ?

Provision for physical health is OK.

Interagency working for mental health appears good.

· Is there sufficient capacity for mental health provision ?

Provision for looked after children’s health appears good.

· Can this be substantiated in the fieldwork ?

· How well is the health of specific groups of children and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) supported ?

Stay Safe

Appears satisfactory – scope for improved interagency working and quality assurance

· Is the capacity adequate ?

· How good is the monitoring and evaluation of outcomes ?

· How good is interagency working around children in need ?

Interagency working around children on the Child Protection register appears OK.

4 cases will be pursued – 2 good + 2 weak.

No significant / serious issues raised by the case studies to date.

Enjoy and Achieve

Provision is inadequate

· What is the extent of the underachievement and underperformance ?

· How well are we addressing the inadequacies ?

Attainment in the early learning goals is above the national average.

Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 are very good.

Information to parents and carers about admissions is OK.

Standards at Key Stages 2, 3 and 4 are poor.

· Is there anything about our pattern of school organisation (particularly middle schools) which adversely affects standards and attendance ?

· Why are there such high levels of identified special educational needs and statutory assessments in middle schools ?

· Why are there so many excluded pupils out of school for more than a year ?

Out-of-school enrichment provision appears to be good.

· How significant are the issues raised by young people about transport ?

· Can we form a clear understanding of the reasons for underachievement ?

Procedures for statutory assessment are OK

Make a Positive Contribution

At least adequate

Good reach and outcomes of consultations

Children and young people are well supported in the emotional and social development.

· How well supported are youngsters from ethnic minorities, with English as an additional language, and from traveller communities ?

Young people appear to be well involved in key decisions about their local provision.

· How coherent are the arrangements for consulting young people (they appear to be fragmented) ?

· How well are young people consulted in council strategies (there is little reference to their contribution in council documents) ?

· Is anti-social behaviour as well managed by the Youth Offending Team as it appears to be ?

Looked after children and children with learning difficulties and disabilities appear to be well consulted about their own provision.

Achieve Economic Wellbeing

At least adequate

· What are the roles and relationships of all partners in 14-19, including the LSC, particularly with regard to training networks ?

Connexions is tracking young people effectively.

Arrangements for young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) are OK.

· Are there sufficient opportunities for work-related learning ?

· How well has the action plan from the 14-19 Area Review been implemented ?

The contribution of the IOW Partnership to the economic well-being of young people is OK.

· How secure are the transition arrangements for looked after children and children with LDD ?

Service management

Ambition is clearly evident.

· How well is this ambition being translated into action ?

· How well is strategic ambition underpinned by operational planning and procedures ?

· Is there a golden thread running from strategy through plans to appraisals and performance management ?

· Does the council’s ambition extend to and take account of hard to reach groups ?

· What is the council’s impact and contribution to partnership working ?

Prioritisation is clearly stated at high level

· What is the impact of the high level of change on capacity ?

· How well are priorities carried through into project management ?

Capacity – joint commissioning is underdeveloped.

· How good is workforce planning ?

· What is the impact of staffing shortages (eg Educational Psychologists; specialist Children and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS); school improvement team) ?

· How are schools’ budget surpluses being managed ?

· What evidence is there of the pooling of budgets ?

· What are the roles of members and officers ?

· How are matters such as asset management and school organisation managed ? *

Performance management – shows inconsistencies

· How is underperformance managed ?

· How much performance management is there – as opposed to performance monitoring ?

· Can we offer examples of performance management that is well embedded ?

· How good are our information management systems ?

· How well do we manage through to delivery, especially in cross-cutting areas ?

· How well do we use benchmarking to manage and improve performance ?

· What evidence is there that stakeholder surveys make an impact ?