Issue - meetings

Building Stronger Foundations - Children's Services Transformation Business Case

This report provides an update on the progress of the Children’s Building Stronger Foundations (BSF) Programme. The programme is coordinating the action needed to sustain and accelerate the required improvements in children’s services, namely the achievement of recurrent savings and to safely and appropriately manage and reduce the demand for statutory services. The report notes good progress made and proposes a detailed business case for a new service delivery model for children’s services.

The proposed new model will bring together many services and support for children and families into locality arrangements, with two integrated locality teams within natural communities across the area. It will enable delivery of savings of £2.9m in 2024/25 growing to £5.3m per year by 2026/27, as well as securing current performance levels, improve impact and outcomes for children and young people, and create capacity to seek continuing improvement.

The model will enable the service to respond to the changing children’s service agenda and be flexible enough to deal with un-predicted changes thereby building in system resilience. It will support the delivery of an early intervention culture, assisting children’s needs to be identified and met at early stages of concern to reduce the demands on statutory social care services.

Additional documents:

Appendix 1 for Building Stronger Foundations - Children's Services Transformation Business Case , View reasons restricted (71/2)

Decision:

RESOLVED that Cabinet: -

(a) Noted the progress made with the Children’s Services Transformation Programme and delivery of savings; and

(b) Approves a business case for the full implementation of a new children’s service delivery model by 1 October 2024 to meet the strategic and operational requirements of the service and the Council, and to achieve financial efficiencies and savings enabled by investment approved in July 2023.

Voting: Unanimous

Portfolio Holder: Children’s Services

Reason

The investment will enable improved outcomes for children and young people in BCP, and the more effective and efficient services which are needed to secure an improved Ofsted rating. In turn, this will contribute to the achievement of c. £5.3m in annual financial savings within the current MTFP cycle.

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'F' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

Cabinet was advised that the report provided an update on the progress of the Children’s Building Stronger Foundations (BSF) Programme, and that the programme is coordinating the action needed to sustain and accelerate the required improvements in children’s services, namely the achievement of recurrent savings and to safely and appropriately manage and reduce the demand for statutory services.

In relation to this Cabinet was informed that the report noted good progress made and proposes a detailed business case for a new service delivery model for children’s services.

Cabinet was advised that the proposed new model will bring together many services and support for children and families into locality arrangements, with two integrated locality teams within natural communities across the area, and that it will enable delivery of savings of £2.9m in 2024/25 growing to £5.3m per year by 2026/27, as well as securing current performance levels, improve impact and outcomes for children and young people, and create capacity to seek continuing improvement.

Further to this Cabinet was advised that the model will enable the service to respond to the changing children’s service agenda and be flexible enough to deal with un-predicted changes thereby building in system resilience, and that it will support the delivery of an early intervention culture, assisting children’s needs to be identified and met at early stages of concern to reduce the demands on statutory social care services.