Effective partnerships are in place to commission and deliver fully integrated, high quality, sustainable outcomes for people
Supporting and monitoring our residential homes
In Conwy County we have the highest number of care homes in north Wales and a programme of regular monitoring is needed to ensure quality of care and to support delivery. Our Monitoring Service has resumed a programme of visits to care homes, domiciliary care agencies and community-supported living projects who had previously received regular support from us over the phone. The monitoring visits focus on the quality of care and support delivery within the home settings. They can also highlight any concerns that the home may be experiencing, and make recommendations for improvement.
What were the challenges?
Unfortunately we are still experiencing the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in this sector, compounded by the cost of living crisis, increased costs, and ongoing recruitment challenges.
We recognise our role in providing continued practical support and guidance for homes in Conwy to enable them to deliver high quality services in challenging circumstances. You’ll find more information on what we’ve done to help them further on in this report.
What’s next?
In addition to bi-annual monitoring visits, we continue to hold regular monthly online meetings with Conwy care home managers to share information and discuss issues, including workforce development. We also offer regular telephone support to the homes on a fortnightly basis.
The Domestic Violence Panel
The Domestic Violence Panel was initially a pilot project aimed at establishing a multi-agency partnership to provide advice, support and therapeutic interventions to those victims of domestic violence who are most at risk of their children entering the care system.
The Domestic Violence Panel was a three-month pilot introduced in April 2021 on the back of the Domestic Violence Forum that was established by the Vulnerable People Team. As a result of the forum, the Domestic Abuse Safety Unit (DASU) and the Strengthening Families Team began discussions about working collaboratively with victims of domestic abuse from trauma-informed and child-centred perspectives, integrating the Safe and Together Model and its principles. Since this initial pilot, the panel continues to meet bi-monthly, and provides consultation sessions with DASU to share information about those victims most at risk, the children and the perpetrators and make plans for increasing safety.
This collaboration with DASU has helped to integrate specialisms from Children’s Services, DASU, Y Bont and Family Centre members to develop outcome-based intervention plans for some victims and their children. From this panel, the Strengthening Families Team has provided therapeutic support to perpetrators of abuse, to help change behaviours and increase safety for victims and their children.
As of February 2023, representatives from the DASU team have been working from our Colwyn Bay offices once a fortnight, within the Children, Families and Safeguarding services. They are available for general advice if domestic abuse is, or may be, a concern for individuals and families we’re supporting.
Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
We have mentioned our MASH team in previous reports and can now confirm that it is in phase two of the pilot. We have invited additional agencies to be part of MASH, including the National Probation Service, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Regulatory Services, Youth Justice Service and Education. We have found that having additional agencies around the table has offered the opportunity to allow for better information sharing and more informed decision-making.
Work has been completed with North Wales Police to look at the CID16 process and to improve the content within these reports. Feedback has been provided to officers about the information that should be captured when they are completing a CID16. As a result we have seen improvements in reports, and evidence that Police staff are gaining a better understanding of the definition of Adult at Risk, Child Protection and Early Help.
We have seen an increase in Social Workers attending our daily MASH meetings to discuss safeguarding concerns, seek advice and clarify actions to manage concerns.
We have worked closely with our in-house Assessment and Support Team and other teams to manage the cohort of individuals who arrived at the Hilton Hotel to ensure that all safeguarding concerns were addressed and appropriately responded to.
We have recently taken part in an independent review which was undertaken by Liverpool John Moore’s University. The review aimed to look at ‘front door’ provision across Wales, we are currently awaiting the formal feedback specifically for Conwy.
There is a piece of work ongoing to improve responses to report-makers (as per the procedures). This will ensure that all report-makers understand the outcomes of the safeguarding reports that are submitted.
What were the challenges?
As we are still operating in a pilot phase we have not been able to expand the team to cope with current demand. We also had to relinquish our Police Researcher in April 2023, and at this stage there are no plans to replace them.
What’s next?
- We hope to expand the team by recruiting to additional posts, and include Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board at some point in the future
- We’ll be making further improvements to processes
- We have plans to develop a dedicated intranet page for MASH, as well as a direct line and e-mail address, so that all safeguarding enquiries can be managed and contained within the hub
Conwy Disability Service Employment Pathways
Bryn Euryn Nursery has operated from the site at Dinerth Road for around 30 years. The re-development of the site to provide a new café, shop and nursery area has provided the impetus to re-design our offer, raising people’s aspirations and supporting them to gain paid employment. The Council are in the process of tendering the café to a third sector organisation which will provide opportunities for people with disabilities to understand what they might like to do in relation to work, and to gain skills and experience in the workplace. Service delivery across the café, Bryn Euryn Nursery, Tan Lan and Gardens Etc will align models of support to focus on enabling people who are furthest from the workplace to access paid work wherever possible.
The Disability Service Manager chairs the regional supported employment strategy steering group which oversees the co-production of a regional supported employment strategy for people with learning disabilities. The strategy proposes that the six County Council learning disabilities services put in place a supported employment service to support more people with learning disabilities to be in paid employment, including funding for specialist job coaching. The current employment rate for people with learning disabilities known to adult social care is only 4.8%.
We hope to secure funding from the Regional Integration Fund (RIF) for the next three years to implement this model across the region. To prepare for the new approach, the transformation programme has funded ‘Introduction to Supported Employment’ sessions for all of the operational teams, and seven members of the Conwy team completed the training with good feedback. Following on from this, the transformation programme is funding a Supported Employment Techniques course which provides the underpinning knowledge and skills to be a job coach and five staff from the Conwy Work Opportunities Team will be attending. Transformation has also provided funding to employ an in-house Employability Coordinator to lead on this work. The appointment is pending.
Significant progress has been made to implement a ‘work first’ approach within the service. Staff have a better understanding of what works to help people with learning disabilities find, get, learn and keep a job via the supported employment model. Additional funding via the RIF will enable the service to scale up this approach and put in place quality-assured pathways so that people can be in paid employment if they choose. The Disability Service are also bidding for the Shared Prosperity Fund to support our overall model delivery.
This regional work will complement and enhance the Disability Service offer based around the development at Bryn Euryn, Tan Lan and Gardens Etc, providing a key pathway to employment for those supported within the service.
The Disability Service has also developed closer working relationships with the Conwy Employability Hub and have commissioned jointly with Denbighshire, Project Search, supported internships.
The vision is to provide a range of pathways for people with disabilities, as no one size fits all. The Employment Pathway Co-ordinator is key to the success of the re-modelling of services.
What were the challenges?
We experienced delays in the delivery of the site and budget pressures. Poor engagement from service users and families in relation to the initial stages of the development of the strategy were likely due to the timescales of the project being during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A key challenge has been the recruitment of the in-house Employability Coordinator to lead on this work, but this is now progressing. To drive forward this transformation in culture and attitude whilst coordinating access to the most appropriate employment support service (including the Conwy Employment Service) does require a dedicated focus and a lead, due to operational pressures on the team.
What’s next?
A workshop for the regional steering group to review the draft Supported Employment Strategy and input into the action plan. The regional transformation team is leading on this and will work with All Wales People First to do this with citizens.
Following the workshop we will know if additional resources are to be made available via RIF for the supported employment service model. If successful, the aim is for the Supported Employment model to go live from September 2023 and to be independently evaluated
In relation to Bryn Euryn, Tan Lan, and Gardens Etc, we’ll be piloting the Employment Pathway Coordinator, undertaking a review of the existing job descriptions, and re-structuring the service to deliver our overall new model.
We see a key aspect of raising aspirations to be providing opportunities for young people with disabilities to have paid Saturday jobs. As a result we will pilot this within the café and Bryn Euryn Nursery once the service is established.
Bron y Nant Respite Centre
There are two elements to the project at this site, incorporating the respite building at Bron y Nant, and the nursery, shop and café at Bryn Euryn. Bron y Nant is progressing well, but there has been some slippage and the keys are expected to be handed over during the first week of April, five months later than originally planned.
At Bryn Euryn, the site has been made available to the Bryn Euryn Nursery team to prepare for the public opening in the spring. They will run the shop and garden centre once they open, and we’re currently working on setting up the shelving, counter and cash machine. The café will be tendered out following a successful ‘meet the buyer’ event.
We have been working with partners in the crematorium and cemetery to create a joint entrance with Bryn Euryn Nursery, and we’re pleased to say that the nursery was handed over to the team at the beginning of March 2023.
Foster Wales Conwy
In September 2021 Foster Wales was launched; the union of 22 Local Authorities working together, sharing knowledge and recruiting local foster carers to care for children locally. The focus this first year has been to inform and educate anyone considering becoming foster carers on why fostering for your Local Authority is advantageous to children and young people. We’ve kept our social media channels active sharing local posts, as well as Foster Wales messaging.
Face to face recruitment activity has returned, as well as the need to re-engage with the community following the re-branding. These community recruitment events have proved successful in engaging with the public, promoting community support, and getting Foster Wales Conwy talked about.
Retaining foster carers is equally important, as word of mouth remains the best way to recruit. This past year saw the return of much-needed face to face gatherings, and our bi-monthly support group for general foster carers are well attended. These are an opportunity for informal support, developing peer support, and networking with other colleagues, such as the Education and Health Looked After Coordinators, Principal Psychologist and the Workforce Development and Learning Team.
In October 2022 we held our first ever Appreciation Day to recognise our foster carers’ achievements and contributions on a day of reflection and celebration. Councillor Liz Roberts, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Safeguarding, was in attendance to thank the foster carers for their commitment and care to Conwy’s children and young people.
Foster Wales has developed a Learning and Development Framework, and in 2022 our workforce officers devised a learning plan to support foster carers to achieve the framework. Conwy foster carers receive a thorough plan that meets all 16 core learning areas identified by Foster Wales. Foster carers continue to be supported through eight-weekly supervision sessions, which take place both virtually and in-person following feedback from the foster carers themselves. If requested, additional face to face supportive visits are provided.
The cost of living crisis has significantly affected our foster carers. Every attempt is made to seek additional resources to help them, be it discounted tickets for Venue Cymru, free tickets to concerts or the Under 20s Six Nations rugby matches. Foster carers continue to receive a Ffit Leisure pass, a Max discount card (specifically for children who are fostered or have a disability), and CADW membership, all of which are invaluable during this difficult financial period.
2022 saw the Welsh Government share their ‘eliminate profit’ agenda, and in response we produced a Placement and Commissioning Strategy. One element covers the recruitment and retention of foster carers, focusing on targets and outcomes required by 2026. The ‘eliminate profit’ agenda has opened up the opportunity of grant funding to achieve our strategy, as this would not be possible without additional financial support.
What were the challenges?
The overwhelming challenge this year has been the cost of living crisis. Foster carers have been vocal about the impact it has had on their daily lives, and have requested further financial support. Managing the feedback has been quite challenging, and the situation has impacted on foster carers’ morale during support groups, their motivation to attend training, and the messaging they share through word of mouth to recruit new foster carers. Maintaining consistent support and unity from the staff team has been essential during this time.
What’s next?
Implementing the ‘eliminate profit’ grant funding in response to the Welsh Government agenda has enabled us to consider an uplift to the foster carer fees. The new Enhanced Payment allows Foster Wales Conwy to be a real alternative to the profit-making independent fostering agencies.
We’ll be undertaking targeted recruitment campaigns in response to our enhanced payment model and the ‘eliminate profit’ agenda.
We’ll continue with our consistent support, learning and retention strategies to retain our existing foster carers.
Youth Justice Service – working in partnership
The Youth Justice Service is regularly scrutinised by a Local Management Board. The Board Membership includes Chief Officers from each organisation and is chaired by the Conwy Strategic Director for Social Care. Two elected members also sit on the Local Management Board who are representative leads on Children and Safeguarding from both Conwy and Denbighshire Local Authority.
The Conwy and Denbighshire Management Board holds the responsibility to ensure that the Youth Justice Service is adequately resourced and able to meet both the statutory requirements for the local authority and our ambitions to support children and young people in both counties to reach their potential and achieve crime-free lives.
Funding for Conwy and Denbighshire Youth Justice Service is made up of contributions from statutory partners, Children’s Services, Probation, NHS, Police, Youth Justice Board, and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Community Safety Fund. Probation, Police and NHS resources are notionally allocated, based on staff seconded to the service. The terms and conditions of the Youth Justice Board Effective Practice grant and Welsh Government funding sets a clear expectation of how the allocation may be used.