Agenda item

The Strategic Director for Social Care and Education submits a report which summarises the key findings from four key activities undertaken to explore social work practice. These are the Healthy Workplace Survey, Employee Engagement Survey, My Time Peer Review and Annual Health Check. The Scrutiny Commission is asked to note the content of the report and comment on and endorse the progress made in improving the approach to social care practice within Adult Social Care, express its support to the continued progress and change in practice culture that has occurred in Adult Social Care, and consider what further information could be provided which would assure the Commission that a positive change in social care practice continues to be embedded in adult social care services.

The Strategic Director for Social Care and Education submitted a report which summarised the key findings from four key activities undertaken to explore social work practice, namely Healthy Workplace Survey, Employee Engagement Survey, My Time Peer Review and Annual Health Check. The Commission was asked to note the content of the report and comment on and endorse the progress made in improving the approach to social care practice within Adult Social Care (ASC), express its support to the continued progress and change in practice and culture that had occurred in ASC, and consider what further information could be provided which would assure the Commission that a positive change in social care practice continued to be embedded in adult social care services.

The Chair commended all employees in adult social care, and the challenging roles they undertook.

The Assistant Mayor noted that the report was about support for a range of staff. It was noted there were issues around money, but social care was down to the quality of staff, having the right supervision and support for staff, so they could work effectively for the residents of the city. Reports stated the section was going in the right direction, and were important for staff and the service.

A presentation was delivered on Social Care Practice (attached for information), and the following points were made:

·                  Findings showed how views and opinions on social care had changed over the last few years.

·                  Social work was challenging and emotional, and management visibility was paramount.

Councillor Chaplin joined the meeting at this point.

·                  Officers explained how an environment of trust, supervision time and team meetings had allowed staff to raise issues and concerns. Staff morale and confidence had increased over the past two years.

·                  Liquid Logic had been introduced a number of years ago, and processes that were initially difficult have improved over time. People had now got used to it, and it was considered better than the previous system, though more work could still be done to further streamline the system.

·                  Generic social work teams had now moved into a specialist team structure, which was better for staff and service users.

·                  The self-assessment pilot had allowed practitioners to work autonomously, and relationships to evolve with service users. Case file audits had been introduced.

·                  During the pilot, staff told managers that they were more engaged and implemented self-monitoring skills, felt more empowered and responsible. The pilot would now be rolled out in all service areas.

·                  Data on staff time was useful, to assure that people were doing what was expected of them, and staff had welcomed the change.

·                  Lots of positives had been gained from the My Time Peer Review with Nottingham City Council. Various things identified included LCC management supported workers, there were regular opportunities for supervision, reflective practice, positive risk taking and decision making, which gave a focus on moving forward with improved working. Areas to consider were how practitioners could develop further, and how lessons learned could be implemented into practice.

The Chair said it was clear a couple of years ago that staff needed to be given opportunities, and that the information presented at the meeting was very positive. The Strategic Director said it was important the Commission heard the information from staff, to talk about what practitioners do in social care was difficult to articulate, and credit should be given to the staff who had volunteered to come and speak about the impact they had on peoples’ lives, which was the driver for most officers. He added it was important to hear staff say they were more confident, with the ability to challenge one another, and to feel they had done a good job.

·                  There were numerous different methods of support, both formal and informal, such as support from colleagues, divisional meetings, reflective practice where difficult cases and topics could be discussed, regular supervision, and the opportunity to approach the managers to discuss pressing urgent concerns. People were encouraged to reflect on their practice before they went home.

·                  It had been reported there was a lack of continued professional development for unqualified staff. The new Learning and Development Manager was developing support across the service, for example, an apprentice scheme for unqualified staff working in social work-type roles. There would be commitment for them to go to university, but a lot of training would be on site. Work would also continue with the corporate OD Team to look at leadership, with 360 Degree appraisal, and a bespoke development programme for leaders. The Chair invited the Learning and Development Manager to a future meeting of the Commission to discuss her work, and for a report to be brought back to the Commission in six months time.

·                  Comments following the Healthy Workplace Survey, of having no significant improvement of choice in what staff could decide to do in their work were from a specific team, i.e. the Contact and Response Team and was due to the nature of the work. Other teams had greater ability on the control of what they could do; more freedom and creativity.

·                  The focus was on trying to achieve a consistency in quality in how the service interacted with people, and staff would always be supported in the decision making. There used to be lots of complaints, for example, with regards to officers not getting back to people. The nature of complaints has shifted towards people not liking the outcome of decisions, for example eligibility. It was noted the frequency of complaints had reduced.

·                  Some areas would never be free of the demand for telephone services, but there was flexibility for those that manned the phones to undertake other roles.

·                  It was noted that whilst new managers wold be expected to cover the full range of tasks, such as difficult HR conversations with staff, the Heads of Service or colleague managers would support a new manager as they made the transition from practitioner to management. A coaching programme for team leaders would be repeated, as people got a lot out of it and became confident team managers.

·                  Only a very small number of the people surveyed were bank staff, and information on this would be provided to the Commission Members.

·                  The combined department was new. Apprenticeships were a joint decision between management in discussion of temporary staff, and there would be 15 apprentices sponsored. An exercise on governance arrangements would be undertaken, and conversation would be held with children’s colleagues to see if there were opportunities to develop practice.

·                  The levels of sickness had gone down substantially in the last year and were under target. Information on sickness levels would be provided at a future meeting. Managers worked on the assumption that if people were confident and supported in their job, it had a positive impact on their health and stress levels.

The Chair thanked everyone for their input, and asked that a message be delivered to staff to say the Commission was pleased with what they had heard at the meeting.

It was AGREED that:

1.          The report be noted;

2.          The Learning and Development Manager be invited to a future meeting of the Commission to discuss her work;

3.          A report to be brought back to the Commission in six months time on professional development opportunities;

4.          Information on the number of bank staff to be provided to the Commission Members;

5.          Information on improved sickness levels to be provided at a future meeting;

6.          A report on how social workers were supported to be provided at a future meeting.