Joint area review

Authority Area

Review of services for children and young people

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Authority Area

Audit Commission Healthcare Commission HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate HM Inspectorate of Constabulary HM Inspectorate of Prisons HM Inspectorate of Probation Ofsted

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Authority Area

Age group: All Published: 22 July 2008 Reference no: 211 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Authority Area

Further copies of this report are obtainable from the local authority or at www.ofsted.gov.uk London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 1

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joint area review

1. Safeguarding 5 2. Looked after children and young people 11 3. Children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities 15 4. Service management 20 5. Capacity to improve 20

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assessment arrangements 29

London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 2

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Introduction

1. The most recent Annual Performance Assessment (APA) for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets judged the council’s children’s services as outstanding and its capacity to improve as outstanding.

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Introduction

2. This report assesses the contribution of local services in ensuring that children and young people:

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Introduction

• at risk or requiring safeguarding are effectively cared for

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Introduction

• who are looked after achieve the best possible outcomes

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Introduction

• with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve the best possible outcomes.

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Context

3. Tower Hamlets is a geographically small but densely populated urban borough in east London. As its name suggests, it covers a number of long- established communities which grew up from villages, such as Spitalfields, Bethnal Green and Mile End, as well as areas of more recent, major regeneration such as the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf. The current population is just over 200,000 but this is predicted to rise to 300,000 by 2026. Tower Hamlets is a relatively young borough, with 24% of the population aged under 18, compared with an England average of 18%.

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Context

4. Half of Tower Hamlets’ residents are from Black and minority ethnic communities, and in 2007, 70% of children starting school were from minority ethnic communities, with the majority being of Bangladeshi origin. The Bangladeshi community, which makes up more than a third of the borough’s population, is over-represented in some indicators of deprivation, such as overcrowded housing. Following a long-established historical pattern, new communities continue to arrive in the borough. Somalis now comprise the second largest Black and minority ethnic group and this community continues to grow. In 2006, only 56% of Tower Hamlets residents of working age were in work or looking for work, compared with 69% across London and 74% nationally. All the wards in the borough are amongst the most deprived 10% nationally; the proportion of children eligible for free school meals, at 50.6% in primary schools and 56.5% in secondary schools, is the highest in the country.

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Context

5. The Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Group was established in April 2006. Membership is drawn from a wide range of partners and reflects that of the Tower Hamlets Partnership. The Children’s Services Directorate was launched within the council in September 2006. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 3

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Context

6. Tower Hamlets has 69 primary schools, six nursery schools, 15 secondary schools, six special schools including one residential school, and one pupil referral unit. All but one secondary school have specialist status. There are 21 children’s centres in the borough and 66% of schools provide the full core offer for extended services.

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Context

7. Post-16 provision is provided through six school sixth forms, one further education college and six principal work-based learning providers which serve Tower Hamlets and adjoining boroughs. Entry to Employment provision is coordinated through the Learning for Growth partnership, with an average of 315 young people in learning at any one time. Adult and community learning is provided by Tower Hamlets local authority Lifelong Learning service. The 14–19 partnership, known as the Hub, has representation from all providers, including all secondary schools, Tower Hamlets College, work-based learning providers, higher education, the Education Business Partnership, the Learning and Skills Council and the local authority.

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Context

8. Children’s social care services are provided through the Children Looked After and Leaving Care service, the Resources Service which includes two children’s residential care homes, a Fieldwork Service which includes one family centre, two advice and assessment teams (East and West), the Royal London Hospital Social Care Team, four family support and protection teams, an integrated service for children with disabilities and a child protection and reviewing service. Services to children and young people who are at risk of offending, or who have offended, are provided through the Tower Hamlets Youth Offending Service.

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Context

9. Primary care is provided by Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust (PCT), which is coterminous with the local authority. Acute hospital services are provided by Barts and the London NHS Trust. Mental health services are provided by East London NHS Foundation Trust, which covers neighbouring Hackney, Newham and the City in addition to Tower Hamlets.

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Context

10. A team of 12 young inspectors from the borough contributed to the inspection evidence for the investigations on safeguarding and on children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Main findings

11. The main findings of this joint area review are as follows:

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Main findings

ƒ The arrangements for safeguarding children and young people are good. Early intervention and preventative services offer a wide range of effective support to vulnerable families, including for young people at risk of offending. Good, coordinated, multi-agency support is provided to children and young people considered to be at significant risk of harm. However, there is variation in the timeliness of assessments across social care teams. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 4

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Main findings

ƒ Support for looked after children is outstanding. This is because of robust permanency planning, high quality placements, very good services to support their health and education, and high aspirations for their achievement. The holistic care leaving service is of exceptionally high quality. All services value the contributions of children and young people to their own planning and to service development.

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Main findings

ƒ Provision for children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good. Strong partnerships, a shared drive to enhance inclusion, a determination to engage with families, and good planning characterise the provision of services available to them in Tower Hamlets. The development of multi-agency care pathways to support children and young people with disabilities is at an early stage of development.

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Main findings

ƒ Service management and the capacity to improve further are both outstanding. Innovative and creative leadership and strong partnerships, underpinned by high ambitions, drive improvement. Prioritisation is excellent, with a major focus on prevention and reducing inequalities. Good capacity and excellent performance management ensure the delivery of services.

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For immediate action

ƒ ensure that an appropriate way is found for the successful dissemination of the findings of this report to children and young people in the area London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 5

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For immediate action

ƒ ensure that all initial and core assessments are carried out within the recommended timescales.

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For action over the next six months

ƒ strengthen the monitoring role of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) in relation to partners’ wider actions and accountabilities

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For action over the next six months

ƒ ensure that more families are able to access direct payments

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For action over the next six months

ƒ embed the care pathways to support planning for children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Equality and diversity

12. Equality and diversity issues are integral to the strategic and day-to-day work of the authority and of its partners, reflected in the award to the borough of Level 5 of the Equalities Standard. There is a deep understanding at all levels of the key challenges and the need to combat inequalities, based on comprehensive shared intelligence. All plans give a very high priority to meeting the needs of vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups within the borough’s diverse community. There are many examples of creative and well-targeted initiatives to combat inequalities. Prime examples of excellent partnership working include the ongoing work with the Muslim community on developing a shared understanding of and approach to safeguarding, the focused work with families whose children are at risk of offending, the targeted youth work project for the Somali community, the development of improved access to recreation and

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Equality and diversity

sporting activities for young people with disabilities, and specific recruitment and training programmes aimed at minority communities. Consultation with young people and their families is thorough and informs priorities and actions well. A key characteristic of the work across the partnership is the understanding of the complexity of equalities issues, uniformly high aspirations and the recognition that there is always more work to do.

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X

13. The contribution of local services to improving outcomes for children and young people at risk or requiring safeguarding is good . London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 6

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

Successful, targeted work to promote community safety and safeguarding across the diverse community of Tower Hamlets. The range and impact of early intervention, preventative and parental support services, particularly the joint response to domestic violence. The good range of targeted Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and substance misuse services for vulnerable children and young people. Strong and effective multi-agency arrangements to track and monitor missing children. Secure arrangements for the safe recruitment and vetting of staff in local authority services and schools. Low levels of exclusion from school, supported by effective preventative strategies. Under-developed monitoring by the LSCB of some aspects of the partners’ wider actions and accountabilities, including Multi- Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). Variation in the timeliness of initial and core assessments across social

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

14. Healthy lifestyles are promoted very strongly for children and young people in Tower Hamlets. A successful teenage pregnancy strategy has led to the significant reduction of conceptions in the borough. Sexual health education is well targeted and based on good analysis of local needs. Nine specialist sexual health clinics for young people operate throughout the borough, offering evening and weekend services. The screening for sexually transmitted infections is very effective; through good and inclusive outreach work the targets for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea screening have been exceeded; in 2005/06, 28% of new patients aged below 25 years of age accessing clinics were from the Bangladeshi community. An excellent, integrated drugs treatment service for children and young people offers very timely and effective interventions to young offenders. Lifeline provides specialist Tier 3 interventions and treatment and a CAMHS clinical nurse provides specialist support to

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

individuals with serious dual diagnosis problems. Lifeline also supports targeted work with young people at risk of substance misuse, which has led to a marked increase in the number of referrals to specialist substance misuse services and in those accessing drug treatments. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 7

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

15. CAMHS provide good support to universal services, including an effective foundation course, which has led to improved multi-agency work and improved quality of referrals. There is a comprehensive range of community-based and targeted provision, including services for looked after children, assertive outreach and pre-admission and discharge planning for adolescents, school- based early intervention and paediatric liaison. The purpose-built Coburn Centre is a local facility that provides excellent and timely acute in-patient CAMHS provision for all young people up to 18 years of age in Tower Hamlets. Waiting times for new non-specialist CAMHS cases are in line with England averages. The service is developing outcomes measures and has piloted some work with the CAMHS Outcomes Research Consortium.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

16. Most children and young people in Tower Hamlets report that they feel safe and receive good quality information about keeping safe. However, children and young people told inspectors that while they generally feel safe in school, they sometimes feel less safe outside their immediate communities or in public spaces such as parks. Services work well together to provide children and young people with a safe environment. Children and parents affected by domestic violence are increasingly identified and supported by excellent partnership work and services. Almost all schools inspected since September 2005 have been judged by Ofsted as good or better in ensuring that children and young people stay safe. Clear policies, advice and guidance are provided on the prevention of bullying, with evidence of good targeted action taken by schools and the local authority. Regulatory inspection of the council’s children’s

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

homes show actions in respect of their safeguarding practice for the storage and use of medication to be at least satisfactory. The fostering service, last inspected in November 2006, was judged to be good in safeguarding matters. Excellent work has taken place with Imams, Islamic leaders and African pastors in the borough in raising awareness and understanding of safeguarding matters, including missing children, domestic violence, forced marriages and the sexual exploitation of young Bengali women. This work is supported by recently published guidance for mosques and madrassahs.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

17. Children and young people are supported well in developing socially and emotionally. The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme has been implemented in all primary schools and is being introduced into secondary schools, leading to improved outcomes for children. Good support is provided for parents to maintain positive relationships with their children through effective, well-coordinated, multi-agency parenting support programmes. For example, parents seen during the inspection commented very positively on the services provided by the Eva Armsby Family Centre. A satisfactory range of support provision for young carers is in place to enable them to lead as normal a life as possible.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

18. Good and effective action is taken to identify and reduce anti-social behaviour through well-targeted, multi-agency prevention activities and initiatives. The youth service reaches increasing numbers of young people through a range of community-based activities, for example the Somali youth London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 8

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

project and initiatives designed to promote community cohesion. In the evaluation of the youth service, young people expressed high satisfaction with the provision on offer. Information on activities is clearly presented, for example through the booklet ‘Places to go, Things to do’ and the Tower Hamlets summer university brochure. However, some young people told inspectors that they did not always know what was available, or that they did not always feel comfortable or safe going to activities outside their immediate community. Young inspectors judged that while there was indeed a wide range of activities on offer, some youth facilities appeared insufficiently resourced. Partnership with the police and voluntary agencies is strong. Almost all secondary schools have a community police officer and pupils report feeling safer at the start and end of the school day as a result of closer supervision at the school gate. Six inter-generational projects have been launched across the

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

borough and residents’ surveys demonstrate a slight drop in the perceived fear of crime. The Youth Offending Team (YOT) has delivered a training programme on understanding anti-social behaviour to around 400 young people identified as at risk, so that they can make a more positive contribution to their communities.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

19. Action to reduce levels of offending and re-offending is vigorous, though this issue remains a challenge for the borough. While there has been a reduction in numbers re-offending, the rates of first-time offending have risen, though at a lower rate than in other London boroughs. There was an increase in youth-on-youth violent crime in 2007, though there are some early indications from local data that these figures are reducing. The partnership’s multi-agency strategy to tackle youth crime is coordinated by the YOT management group and is closely linked to the community safety partnership. The youth inclusion programme, which has been extended to six of the eight local area partnerships, targets 300 young people at risk of offending. Work is increasingly focused on those most at risk, for example the younger siblings of persistent offenders and young people whose parents have offended. Of the 103 young people targeted by the Youth Inclusion and Support Panels between

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

April and September, only two went on to offend during that period. Operation Curb, a partnership led by the police, diverted police and youth service resources to five youth crime hot-spot areas around transport hubs and routes to and from school, with a noticeable reduction in crime. The Rapid Response Team works across the borough to defuse incidents before they escalate and engage young people in peer mediation. The Brick Lane Youth Development Association is pro-active in targeting young people from Black and minority ethnic groups who are involved in crime, through its mentoring service, the Aasha gang conflict mediation project and the Amaal girls’ project. The YOT service has strengthened the parenting and restorative justice elements of its programme. Some 82% of young people supervised by the YOT are in full-time education, employment or training, a 5% increase on the previous year and higher than the London average.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 9

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

20. Clear protocols and strong tracking processes are in place regarding missing children and children missing from education. School attendance is broadly in line with national averages and is improving. While levels of unauthorised absence are high compared with those found nationally and in similar authorities, they are now reducing in both primary and secondary schools, and the local authority takes a firm line on extended periods of absence from school through rigorous monitoring and enforcement arrangements. Levels of permanent exclusion are low; the pro-active work of the Social Inclusion Panel and the Youth Inclusion and Support Panel is effective in targeting and supporting children and young people at risk of exclusion.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

21. Education is provided for almost all children and young people who do not attend school or who have been excluded. The local authority’s attendance and welfare service works in partnership with local agencies, including the YOT, independent Islamic schools and local mosques, to identify children and young people at risk and to place them in appropriate education provision. This provision is monitored well by the local authority through improved data systems. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in February 2008, the overall effectiveness of the pupil referral unit was judged to be good. This unit, which has 248 children and young people on roll, takes responsibility for the provision of education to those excluded from school, those educated other than at school, including those with medical conditions and some young people released from custody. In the last year, 54% of young people were reintegrated

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

successfully into mainstream education and all Year 11 leavers achieved at least one qualification. By December 2007, 80% of those who had left the pupil referral unit in June 2007 were in education, employment or training. Arrangements to monitor the relatively small number of children educated at home are secure.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

22. The partnership has prioritised a range of effective and high quality early intervention and preventative services to secure the best outcomes for children and families within the community, without the requirement for formal referral to social care services. Children’s centres, schools and youth provision are central to this work, and family group conferencing is well established and focused effectively on preventing family breakdown. Extensive preparations for the launch of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and lead professional role have taken place, with 930 staff trained thus far. A recent evaluation by the local authority has shown that the CAF and the role of the budget-holding lead professional have been very effective in securing better outcomes for families. However, the CAF is not yet used consistently across all agencies and its purpose as an assessment rather than referral process is not always clearly

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

23. Good action is taken to minimise the incidence of abuse and neglect, including private fostering arrangements. There are robust systems to manage referrals and assessments across social care duty teams. Referral rates of children in need are below those of comparator local authorities, although this London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 10

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

figure is increasing due to the excellent multi-agency response to incidents of domestic violence. Re-referrals are comparatively low as a result of good initial assessment. Assessments of individual cases examined during the review were of good quality and the introduction of two new reviewing officers for children in need has strengthened the scrutiny of care plans.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

24. Performance on the timeliness of the completion of initial and core assessments has fallen, with currently 68% of initial assessments and 73% of core assessments completed on time. This performance is better than in similar authorities for initial assessments and broadly in line for core assessments. However, significant variations in performance exist between teams, with lower performance by the children with disabilities and hospital social work teams, which are achieving at best 53% of initial assessments and 59% of core assessments completed on time. The drop in performance is attributed to the introduction of a new ‘live workflow’ management system and is being tackled through close monitoring and managerial oversight.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

25. The number of children who became the subject of a child protection plan increased in 2006/07. The overall figure is now more representative of the ethnicity of the population of the borough, as well as reflecting the increased focus on the impact of domestic violence. The percentage of child protection conferences held within 15 working days of a strategy discussion is good compared to the level found in similar authorities. Successful interventions with families and regular scrutiny of children on the register have contributed to good re-registration and de-registration rates. All children and young people on the child protection register are reviewed within the required timescales and are allocated to qualified social workers who are well trained and supported to understand and meet their needs. Quality assurance arrangements are strong; cases are regularly and very effectively monitored, both through good

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

supervision and also the rigorous, independent chairing of child protection conferences.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

26. The arrangements for agencies to collaborate in safeguarding children are good. The LSCB works well to ensure that actions are in place to safeguard children and young people in Tower Hamlets, but some aspects of its wider monitoring role are underdeveloped. The LSCB was independently evaluated last year, and as a result it has strengthened its constitution and business functions. Leadership is effective and meetings are well attended by partners, who make an increasing contribution to the work of the Board. The multi- agency action plans arising from the three recent serious case reviews, completed prior to February 2008, have been monitored and disseminated well; the lessons learned have been acted upon promptly, and have informed improvements in social care practice, for example in relation to domestic violence.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

27. Criminal Records Bureau and other staff vetting checks are carried out thoroughly by the local authority and renewed every three years, and schools’ procedures are rigorously monitored. A comprehensive training programme is in London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 11

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

place. The LSCB has recently undertaken an audit of the compliance of partner agencies with safer recruitment practices and reviewed its inter-agency protocol. Clear procedures and systems are in place for managing allegations against staff.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

28. The approach to the screening and management of violent and sex offenders is satisfactory, and includes the involvement of most agencies. However, the local authority and relevant partners acknowledge that support for the management and administrative support of the MAPPA requires strengthening.

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X

29. The contribution of local services to improving outcomes for looked after children and young people is outstanding.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

Very effective multi-agency support, promoting very good health outcomes and raising educational achievement for looked after children placed within and outside the borough. Low numbers of looked after children as a result of very effective preventative services and exceptionally robust permanency planning. Comprehensive access to the placements service, providing significant placement choice, quality monitoring and market management. A holistic and comprehensive service for care leavers which is of an exceptionally high quality. Strong partnership with faith communities, which is significantly reducing the number of children who are looked after and is promoting kinship care. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 12

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

30. A highly effective preventative strategy for children at risk, including family group conferences and qualitative parenting assessments, helps to prevent children from coming into care and ensures that, where possible, children are returned safely to the care of their families. As a result, the number of looked after children in the borough has reduced steadily over the last three years and is well below the national average and that in similar authorities. Services for unaccompanied asylum seekers are fully integrated with those for other looked after children. A wide range of specialist projects supports families, including those from different ethnic communities. Well-developed partnerships with leaders from the Muslim and African communities contribute very significantly to the impact of this work. The Adolescent Resource Centre Outreach Team is reducing unplanned admissions to care for teenagers. It

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

provides good support to young people at risk because of poor school attendance, but its links with the attendance and welfare service are underdeveloped.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

31. Provision to meet looked after children’s health needs is very good. The proportion of looked after children receiving an annual health assessment is very high. A designated doctor oversees comprehensive medical assessments, and dedicated nurses carry out reviews and monitor plans; young people have a say in where medicals are conducted. A good proportion of looked after children are registered with a GP (95%) and a dentist (69%), and are up-to- date with their immunisations (65%). Children and young people are well supported in accessing health services through specifically targeted provision, including a dedicated worker for looked after children and care leavers within Lifeline (a specialist substance misuse service). The Options sexual health service and the looked after children’s nurses provide drop-in clinics at the two residential homes. The two designated nurses are family planning trained and

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

the looked after children teams have received sex and relationships education training.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

32. Healthy lifestyles are well promoted through work with foster carers, residential homes and other service providers. For example, foster carers are now better able to help the young people they foster to access sports and to promote dental health, and they have received substance misuse training. One of the residential homes has successfully tackled smoking cessation and is promoting an interest in healthy eating through growing vegetables. The pregnancy rate amongst looked after young people is low. Good support for these young women is provided by the Family Nurse Partnership Gateway midwifery service, with good follow-on support from the care leaving service.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

33. Good Tier 2 CAMHS provision is provided by Help4U, and is well regarded by its users and other agencies. A member of this team spends half of their time in the fostering and adoption teams to help secure placement stability. A multi-dimensional treatment foster care service (a specialist foster care service consisting of salaried carers and 24-hour support) has recently been established. This is a good development but has yet to have an impact. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 13

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

34. Levels of kinship placement for looked after children are low, because alternatives to care are promoted and funded. These include the extensive private fostering service, which supports 85 children, and the growing use of special guardianship. All looked after children have an allocated social worker and receive regular visits and reviews. Most young people, carers and parents report that they are satisfied with the support they receive from social workers.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

35. An excellent Access to Resources service ensures choice for almost all planned placements; it provides robust quality control and actively manages the market. The service is working hard to increase placements, through partnerships with neighbouring boroughs and the private sector, through discussions with housing colleagues, and through targeted recruitment by Tower Hamlets’ own fostering service. The percentage of looked after children placed at a distance from the borough, at 9.4%, is higher than in similar authorities (8.7%) but below the national average (11.7%). However, the cohort is very small and all have complex needs, or have been placed at a distance as the placement of choice. Placement stability is regularly monitored, with good performance on short-term stability. After several years of good performance on long-term placement stability, there was a drop in 2006/07 to well below that in similar authorities, caused by two specific cases from a small

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

cohort. Figures for 2007/08 show that the position has now improved and the indicators are that the well-established strategies to reduce placement breakdown should ensure sustained progress. Permanency planning for all looked after children starts from admission, and parallel planning is being used to very good effect. This is demonstrated in the high numbers of children placed for adoption (at 16.5%, almost double the national average), and the growing use of special guardianship.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

36. Their most recent inspections judged the adoption service as good and the fostering service as outstanding. Carers and children have expressed high levels of satisfaction with the fostering service. The in-house children’s homes were both judged as good in their recent inspections, and young people have also reported satisfaction with in-house residential provision. At 18.4%, the number placed in residential care is slightly higher than in similar authorities (17.3%), but this is a reflection of the profile of looked after children in the borough, where effective preventative services mean that a higher proportion of the looked after population have more complex needs.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

37. The Looked After Children Education Team, social workers and schools work together very effectively to promote individual educational progress, supported by good tracking procedures to monitor and address underachievement. The process is equally robust for children placed outside the borough. As a result, all looked after children have up-to-date, high quality Personal Education Plans, which set closely monitored targets for each child, including targets for out-of-school activities. Where educational targets lack ambition, these are challenged with schools. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 14

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

38. The educational achievement of looked after children was historically higher in Tower Hamlets than in similar authorities. As performance nationally has improved, this difference has reduced. Performance in 2007 in achieving five or more A* to G grades at GCSE, at 50%, was in line with that of similar authorities. Performance in achieving five or more A* to C grades was good, at 23.9%, and more than double the national average of 9.8%, but still significantly below the performance of their peers in the borough. In moving to narrow this gap, the authority is setting ambitious improvement targets, including at Key Stage 2, where recent results showed that the target of 60% was achieved in English and just missed in maths and science. School absence levels, at 7.8% in 2006/07, are very good compared to those found in similar authorities (13.1%), and there are very effective processes in place to monitor

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

attendance on a daily basis. No looked after child has been permanently excluded from school in the last three years. Bursaries are used to fund additional tuition or out-of-school activities, with 74 looked after children and care leavers benefiting this year. The authority is introducing cards to access leisure facilities for children placed within and outside the borough.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

39. The ratio of young care leavers in education, employment or training is significantly higher than in similar authorities, and there are growing numbers staying on into higher education (23 this year). A dedicated officer works with young people who are not in education, employment or training, and few remain out of education or employment for long periods. For those who do, this is generally linked with poor health or young parenthood. Effective partnership working with local employers and colleges helps to create work experience, training packages and employment opportunities for care leavers, and the limited availability of apprenticeships for older care leavers is being tackled. All care leavers have allocated personal advisers, and those placed out of the borough receive an equal service. The quality and timeliness of pathway planning is exceptionally good, with a two-year handover period between the

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

Looked After Children Team and the Care Leaving Team.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

40. Living arrangements for young people in Tower Hamlets who are moving towards independence are of a high standard. Most looked after young people remain in their foster or residential placement until their eighteenth birthday. Some 94% of care leavers were assessed as having suitable accommodation in 2006/07, which compares with around 87% across the country; young people met during the review generally supported this view. Concerns raised by young people about the quality of housing provided for young asylum seekers who are care leavers have been tackled, and specialist staff support them with issues relating to their immigration status. Payments processes for care leavers are well organised and promote responsible behaviour, with financial rewards for regular college attendance.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

41. A very high percentage (92%) of looked after young people participated in their reviews last year, and this has risen further to 95% in the first 10 months of 2007/08. Some young people and carers reported that, occasionally, actions are not taken forward as quickly as they would like. Independent reviewing London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 15

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officers confirm that in the small number of cases where this is an issue, managers take effective actions to ensure that these issues are tackled. Ambitious targets have been set in the Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) for active participation by looked after young people in consultation initiatives. Examples of effective empowerment can be seen in the involvement of care leavers in the recruitment of new staff and the regular meetings between senior officers and young people in the Rights and Action Players (RAP) group. Advocacy for looked after children is effectively embedded. The participation officer, user involvement officers and the children’s rights officer work closely together and are familiar figures to young people in the numerous consultation and social events they facilitate. Independent visitors are also available and two participation posts are filled by young care leavers as part of

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

a traineeship. Overall, there is significant evidence that young people’s views are regularly sought and that complaints are acted upon. At 1.5%, the percentage of looked after children in 2006/07 who were involved in offending behaviour is significantly lower than in comparator authorities (2.2%) and the national average (2.5%).

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

42. The Corporate Parenting Board is well informed and takes its work very seriously, supported by committed elected member and service user representation. The views of young people are sought and acted upon, resulting, for example, in action on housing allocation and the introduction of leisure passes. The Board is strengthening its scrutiny role, and has identified the need to develop further the understanding of corporate parenting across the council.

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X

43. The contribution of local services to improving outcomes for

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

Good multi-disciplinary planning and protocols. Care pathways to support integrated working for children and young people with disabilities are at an early stage of development or implementation. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 16

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

Good funding policies for children in schools, leading to a reduced number of statements of special educational need being required; those that are required are timely and of good quality. Some outstanding work on inclusion, with very good provision in mainstream schools. Good involvement of parents, leading to generally high levels of satisfaction. Some excellent work to engage with the views of young people, leading to provision with which they are satisfied. Good transition arrangements at all stages of a young person’s life. Developing provision post-16, with good and improving success rates at Levels 1 and 2, and increasing opportunities for those over the age of 19. The limited uptake by families of direct payments.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

44. Support for children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good. Strong partnerships, a shared drive to enhance inclusion, a determination to engage with families and good planning characterise the provision of services available to these children and young people in Tower Hamlets. As a consequence, they are safe, achieve well at school, enjoy their lives and are well equipped for the transfer to adult life. Where there are weaknesses, the partnership is already tackling the issues, although some of that work is at an early stage and has yet to secure the desired impact.

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45. Overall, the work of the area to help these young people to be healthy is satisfactory and improving. The needs of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are identified at an early stage. Support offered to babies and very young children by specialist workers linked to health, social care and education services is good and is valued by parents. For example, the Child Development Team ‘fast-tracks’ babies with possible learning and or physical disability. Health, education and social care services have collaborated closely on the establishment of integrated care planning through for example individual care plans. Specific multi-disciplinary care pathways which are designed to set out the treatment and support that a child receives to achieve the best outcomes are now under development for specific needs. The pathway for hospital discharge has been completed; those for palliative care, children with

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 17

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epilepsy, autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities are at early stages of development or implementation.

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46. Therapeutic work with the child and their family begins before the assessment is completed and a final diagnosis arrived at, and health services are provided in such a way that inclusion in education settings is supported. Children with physical and/or learning disabilities are enabled to participate in mainstream early years provision through inclusive provision in children’s centres, including in three centres which offer specialist provision to address particular disabilities. The Child Development Team completes annual reviews in schools. There is good integrated support for children attending special schools, for example Stephen Hawking School, where the number of children on roll who have health care needs such as gastrostomy and suctioning is increasing year- on-year. Additional resources have been put into the mental health trust’s Social and Communication Disorders and Learning Disability Team in order to

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

better meet the needs of children with moderate and severe learning disabilities. The transition planning process which oversees the move from paediatric to adult health services, which begins at age 14, is effective. A transition protocol is in place and multi-agency transition plans are agreed using pooled budget arrangements and dedicated transition workers. The mental health trust is establishing a personality disorder service in order to support young people with social and communication disorders moving into adulthood.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

47. The work that the area does to help all children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to stay safe is good. All special schools have child protection coordinators, who receive regular specialist training. Safe recruitment procedures are well embedded in schools and early years settings. The child protection procedures and processes operated by the borough reflect well the particular needs of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and include good guidance on intimate care. The recently updated guidance on bullying is an excellent document, which provides thought-provoking check-lists and deals very well with the special issues associated with children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Staff work well together and share information effectively, including through the increasing use of the CAF. However, some initial and core assessments take too long to complete.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

48. The range of support provided for families through respite care is good, including a wide range of day respite care, 19 foster respite carers and the residential short-break provision for around 30 children at Discovery House. However, some parents express frustration at what they perceive to be the lack of provision. Arrangements for palliative care are good; an ‘end of life care’ review was completed in October 2007, and the Community Nursing Team currently supports approximately 15 children, for example at Richard House, a hospice for children based in London’s Docklands. Arrangements whereby children and young people can report concerns they may have about their care are good. The authority has also completed 30 assessments of the needs of carers. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 18

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

49. Currently, 16 families access direct payments. The authority acknowledges that this figure is low and has set itself short and medium-term targets to increase these numbers. This development will be supported by a dedicated officer, who will take up their appointment by the end of April 2008. Those who already access this support reported very positively on the benefits this facility offers to their children and families.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

50. The work done by the area to help young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to achieve and to enjoy their lives is excellent. The good funding arrangements for special educational needs in schools are well established, and schools use funding flexibly to support early intervention. This, together with the precise criteria for issuing a new statement, have led to a significant reduction in the number of new statements since 2004. Where a statutory assessment is carried out, timescales are met by all agencies and the quality is good. The engagement of parents throughout these processes is excellent, resulting in low numbers of appeals made to and heard at the special educational needs and disability tribunal, compared to national figures. The extent to which children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are integrated into mainstream schools is impressive. The percentage of new

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

statements for a place in a mainstream school rose from 72% in 2004 to 80% by 2006, though nationally the trend was one of a reduction. These arrangements have, properly, allowed the special schools to concentrate on those with the most complex needs.

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51. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make good and sometimes very good progress at school. For example, in their latest Ofsted inspections, 82% of the borough’s primary schools were judged to be good or outstanding in respect of the progress made by pupils with special needs, whereas in comparable authorities the figure is 64%. The borough is active in monitoring children’s progress, and in addition to the good work done at school level over the progress of individual pupils, regularly compiles very good summary monitoring reports on the progress made by specific groups. These reports enable senior officers to identify issues and initiate work to tackle them. For example, when it was noted recently that young people who have a hearing impairment were not making the expected progress from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3, the authority introduced a targeted programme which led to positive

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

results. The support for behaviour-related issues is good: there were no permanent exclusions and relatively few fixed-term exclusions from special schools in 2006/07. The authority’s support services, notably the Educational Psychology Team, are very well regarded by schools.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

52. The range of leisure, recreational and cultural opportunities available for children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is good, for example the provision for sports activities at Mile End Leisure Centre. The young inspectors confirmed these findings, although some young people reported that they did not access these opportunities because of lack of information about what was available, and that they would have liked more informal opportunities to meet in inclusive environments. The authority makes London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 19

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excellent transport provision available for young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, with an automatic entitlement to evening or other programmes if one of these young people qualifies for free transport to and from school. Young inspectors did, however, highlight one issue over a new bus not being fit for purpose. The authority responded to this, and resolved the issue very swiftly.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

53. The area provides excellent opportunities through which the views of children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities can be expressed, and these are listened to well, supported by good advocacy arrangements. Young people spoke to inspectors of their positive experiences of involvement and have given examples of where their views have been acted on, not only in matters of their own care and provision but on wider issues such as the rapid response awards, and initiatives to make them feel safer. Young people described also the excellent support that they receive to help their transition at the age of 16. Of particular note is the ‘travel trainers’ scheme, whereby these children are supported in developing the confidence and skills needed to travel independently. This excellent and popular initiative, which is being expanded to help meet the level of demand, not only helps develop an

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

essential life skill, but enhances self-confidence and self-esteem.

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54. The work the area does to help children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to achieve economic well-being is good. Transitions are well managed at the ages of 16 and 19. The young people and their families report that they appreciate the support that they are given, including that through Connexions. The development of new opportunities for the 16 to 19 age range is good, including 150 new construction places for Level 1 and specific construction provision for young people with autistic spectrum disorder. Success rates for entry level, Level 1 and 2 courses are improving. Success rates for young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities on work-based courses are in line with national figures. Recent data show that the percentage of young people with learning difficulties and disabilities who do not go into education, employment or training is lower than the East London

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

average, although the percentage of all 16 year olds in the borough in this category remains high in comparison with the rest of England,. The work done through the Tower Project, which helps young adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities between the ages of 19 and 25 to find employment, is good, with 48 young adults helped into work in the last two years.

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X

London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 20

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X

55. The management of services for children and young people is outstanding. Capacity to improve further is outstanding.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

Strong cross-partnership commitment to children and young people, excellent leadership and outstanding capacity to make further improvements. Very challenging ambitions, with an excellent focus on the diverse needs of the community. Partners work together very effectively to target need and improve outcomes. A strong focus on prevention and early intervention, which is having an impact. Excellent involvement of children and young people in prioritisation and performance management. Good value for money. Robust and very effective performance management, targeting underperformance.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

56. The 2007 APA judged the management of children’s services and the capacity to improve further as outstanding. This is endorsed fully by the joint area review findings.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

57. The partnership’s ambitions for children and young people are outstanding. The partnership champions the needs of children and young people, and through its high aspirations provides innovative and creative community leadership in this area through, for example, the excellent development work on community cohesion and safeguarding in partnership with community religious leaders. Investment in children and young people is London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 21

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seen as key to building cohesive, inclusive and sustainable communities in Tower Hamlets, and children and young people are a strong focus in the strategic plans of the council and its partners. The challenging ambition to achieve a step change in outcomes for children and young people is clearly understood and shared by partners and reflected in their own plans, for example the joint work with the PCT to reduce health inequalities. Emerging needs, for example changes in minority ethnic groups and increased violent crime among young people, are tackled well through joint commissioning and regular review of the CYPP.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

58. The partnership’s ambitions are based on a thorough needs analysis, extensive consultation and intelligent use of data drawn from a variety of sources to identify local needs across the area. As a result, it has an excellent understanding of the needs of the complex local community. For example, the partnership recognises that raising the aspirations of mothers is key to increasing the attainment and achievement of young people in Tower Hamlets.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

59. Prioritisation is outstanding. There are very clear links between the priorities in the community plan, the Local Area Agreement, the council’s strategic plan, the CYPP and the lower level plans of the council and its partners. As a result, the common objectives and targets specified in the CYPP are translated into a wide range of highly focused and well-resourced activities to drive improvement. This process is repeated at local level where, for example, each local area partnership is prioritising activities to improve the health of young people. The CYPP includes a realistic assessment of the overall resources available to deliver the plan. Resources have been allocated to priorities, such as prevention and early intervention. This preventative focus is beginning to have an impact, for example on reducing the number of looked after children, reduced levels of permanent exclusions and achieving lower

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

60. The priorities reflect the diverse needs of the community very well, for example there are specific targets to increase the proportion of Somali young people, young mothers and young people with disabilities in education, employment or training. Engagement with children and young people is exceptionally good. In addition to extensive consultation with young people during the drafting of the original CYPP, young people have been represented on the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Group (CYPSPG) since its inception, and there is a standing agenda item to allow them to feed back on their activities. The well-attended Cotchin sessions, where young people question councillors, are held every month and have led to service changes, such as in the support for young people with anti-social behaviour orders and action to persuade young people stay on in education or training post-16. However, despite evidence of regular feedback from the partnership, the

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

outcomes of consultation are not always clear enough to young people. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 22

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61. Capacity is good. The partnership has made major investments in multi- agency working through coordinated joint work and the joint commissioning of services. This has enhanced its capacity to deliver services across the community, for example through targeted family support and health visiting. There has been extensive investment in preventative services: £2 million has been invested in children in need services to prevent care proceedings. The voluntary and community sector makes a significant contribution to key services, such as the youth service, but support currently provided to smaller local organisations does not enable them to contribute fully to strategic planning and commissioning.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

62. Decision making by the partnership is transparent and timely and takes place at the appropriate level. There are close working relationships between the strategic managers of key agencies, and the CYPSPG is effective as a multi- agency forum. Senior officer leadership is creative and highly effective and is supported by many examples of dynamic leadership at other levels. Secondments are used well to increase capacity and bring an external perspective and challenge to planning and performance. The Lead Member for children and young people, and councillors, work well with officers and engage actively with the community and with young people.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

63. The partnership has a strong financial position, with robust financial control. Children’s services budgets have been re-profiled to reflect integration, and there are pooled budgets for services for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and CAMHS. The partnership has delivered efficiencies of £1.5 million from the integration of children’s services and makes good use of grants and agency contributions to enhance its capacity. Value for money is good. Although there has been little need to reallocate resources until recently, the partnership is anticipating reductions in its relatively high levels of funding and is using reviews and commissioning to improve value for money. For example, the youth service has been re-commissioned on the basis of a service- level agreement guaranteeing certain activities. It now has a three-year budget, which makes savings, leads to clear outcomes and rewards efficiencies. A good

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

example of investing to save is the award-winning work of independent travel trainers in supporting 150 children with special needs, and their parents, to travel independently on public transport. This has both reduced transport costs and contributed to wider family independence. However, there is as yet no consistent framework for driving value for money at service level or in schools, where budget surpluses are too high.

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64. The children’s workforce development strategy is soundly based on an analysis of the existing council workforce and on consultation with children and young people. It is at an early stage of implementation, led by Children’s Services within the overall remit of the joint director of human resources for the council and the PCT. Tower Hamlets has effective schemes to ensure its workforce reflects the community and to build the capacity of local communities through accredited training and job opportunities. It runs a wide range of training programmes in children’s services, targeting local residents and Black London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 23

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and minority ethnic groups. These have been effective in doubling the proportion of Black and minority ethnic teachers, from 14% in 2000 to 28% in 2007, and increasing to 21% the proportion of Bangladeshi social work staff. Staff and, especially, teacher turnover is lower than average, though there is still relatively high use of agency staff in some parts of children’s social care.

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65. Performance management is outstanding. Staff across the partnership have an exceptionally strong commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people in Tower Hamlets. There is real determination to drive improvement. The targets in the CYPP are very ambitious, measurable, clearly linked to the priorities and owned by staff and providers. Though a high proportion of targets are not met, there is a strong record of improvement and a clear consensus that it is preferable to miss an aspirational target than to meet a less exacting one. Scrutiny has had an impact on improving performance, for example through its review of youth provision, which influenced the re-commissioning of the youth service.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

66. The partnership operates a robust performance management framework, with clear responsibilities and regular monitoring. Performance management of services is effective, for example the good quality assurance and auditing of case files. Partners share performance information well and there are plans to streamline this further. Performance reporting is transparent and accessible, using traffic-lighting and exception reporting. Reports are in the appropriate format for different audiences, with the most detailed reports presented to the sub-groups of the partnership board, information on local outcomes presented to the local area partnerships, and more summarised, graphically presented information provided in the annual report to the public. As a result, the partnership and local stakeholders know how well services are performing.

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Major strengths Important weaknesses

67. A range of effective approaches is used to target weaker performance, including intensive review and monitoring through a continuous improvement programme. The relatively high number of young people not in education, employment or training has been significantly reduced in 2007 through a coordinated youth engagement programme involving schools and the voluntary sector. This used teaching assistants to visit targeted young people to encourage them to participate in a range of activities leading to education and training.

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68. Young people are involved in the performance management of services in many ways. CAMHS users produced a video about their experience of the service and developed a CAMHS charter. Young people from the youth partnership are responsible for allocating funding from the Youth Opportunity Fund. Looked after children engage regularly with service managers and are involved in staff interviews and in training for new foster carers. A diverse group of young inspectors contributed actively to this joint area review, and the partnership plans to use young evaluators more widely to assess services. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 24

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69. Capacity to improve further is outstanding. The partnership has a strong culture of self-challenge and a demonstrable track record of improving outcomes for children and young people. There is highly effective leadership and very high levels of commitment to children and young people throughout the partnership. Planning is ambitious, rigorous and strongly focused on further improving outcomes for children and young people and their families. The partnership is very successful at working across agencies to identify opportunities to add value through cooperation, for example in reducing re- offending. It finds innovative solutions to complex problems, such as targeted inter-generational projects on particular estates to develop relationships between younger and older residents and reduce tensions. The partnership is self-aware and manages performance extremely effectively. London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 25

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Summary

Tower Hamlets Council consistently delivers services well above minimum requirements and makes an outstanding contribution towards improving outcomes in all five areas of the Every Child Matters agenda for its children and young people.

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Summary

Service management is of very high quality and the council demonstrates an outstanding capacity to improve. The CYPP is ambitious and comprehensive in its priorities for improvement, identified through a rigorous and accurate needs analysis. Excellent partnerships across services and organisations, pooling of budgets for key services and joint appointments contribute to high quality and well-coordinated services for children, young people and their families. The authority has a very good understanding of the needs of its communities and targets resources precisely to achieve good outcomes for young people, particularly in relation to their very low starting points. High expectations and an ambition to excel, combined with purposeful and well-judged interventions, succeed in supporting children and young people to overcome significant social and economic barriers. There are extensive opportunities for young people to

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Summary

influence the shaping of the council’s services, as well as to take part in the evaluation of their effectiveness.

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Summary

Strengths outlined in the 2006 APA have been sustained and good progress made in tackling the areas for improvement.

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Summary

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/pdf/?inspectionNumber=3052&providerCateg oryID=0&fileName=\\APA\\apa_2007_211.pdf London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 26

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PEOPLE

1. Outcomes for children and young people in Tower Hamlets are outstanding for being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being and good for staying safe. Very good progress has been made against some key health indicators, including infant and peri-natal mortality, breastfeeding and smoking amongst expectant mothers. There has also been a substantial drop in incidences of teenage pregnancy and targets for sexual health screening have been exceeded. Safeguarding indicators are good overall. Educational achievement between the ages of 5 and 19 has risen substantially and is good overall, though it remains lower than nationally. The achievement of those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is very good and that of looked after children is good. The proportion of young people completing an apprenticeship is well above national figures. The participation and engagement of young people are excellent and there is

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early indication that the many targeted actions to tackle crime levels are having an impact. The numbers of children and young people not in education, employment or training, though reducing, remains high.

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PEOPLE

2. The joint area review concurs with the 2007 APA judgement that service management in Tower Hamlets is outstanding. The partnership’s ambitions for children and young people are excellent. Investment in children and young people is seen as key to building cohesive, inclusive and sustainable communities in Tower Hamlets, and children and young people are a strong focus in the strategic plans of the council and its partners. The challenging ambition to achieve a step change in outcomes for children and young people is clearly understood and shared by partners and reflected in their own plans. Prioritisation is outstanding. As a result, the common objectives and targets specified in the CYPP are translated into a wide range of highly focused and well-resourced activities to drive improvement, with an increasing focus on prevention and early intervention. Capacity is good; major investments in multi- agency working through coordinated joint work and the joint commissioning of

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PEOPLE

services have enhanced capacity to deliver services across the community. Senior officer leadership is creative and highly effective, and there are many examples of dynamic leadership at other levels. Councillors work well with officers and engage actively with the community and with young people. Performance management is outstanding. The targets in the CYPP are very ambitious, measurable, clearly linked to the priorities and owned by staff and providers. Performance reporting is transparent and weaker performance is challenged. Young people from across the community are involved in the performance management of services in many ways.

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PEOPLE

3. Children and young people appear safe and arrangements to ensure this are good. The arrangements for safeguarding children and young people are good. Early intervention and preventative services offer a wide range of London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 27

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PEOPLE

effective support to vulnerable families, including for young people at risk of offending. However, there are variations in the timeliness of initial and core assessments and a lack of consistency of performance between social care teams. Good, coordinated, multi-agency support is provided to children and young people considered to be at significant risk of harm, with strong leadership from the LSCB. Multi-agency procedures to track missing children are strong and support for looked after children and care leavers is outstanding.

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PEOPLE

4. The impact of all local services in helping children and young people to enjoy their education and to achieve well is outstanding, and the recognition of the need to further improve standards is reflected in ambitious targets for all groups. The authority has established robust moderation systems to ensure that assessment of learning is accurate and raises expectations for children, a significant proportion of whom enter the settings as learners of English as an additional language. From very low starting points, children make generally good progress in the Foundation Stage; however, the proportion of children achieving age-related levels at 5 years is below national expectations. Standards over time at all key stages are improving at a faster rate than nationally. Children and young people make good progress, well above national rates, between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4, and the proportion attaining five

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PEOPLE

or more GCSEs at grades A* to C is in line with the national average. However, although increasing at twice the national rates, the proportion of young people attaining these passes including English and mathematics is well below the national average. Looked after children achieve well compared to those in other authorities, and the gap between their achievement and that of their peers is beginning to reduce. Access to recreation, leisure and cultural activities is very good, with some excellent targeted provision.

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5. The impact of all local services in helping children and young people to contribute to society is outstanding. Children and young people are engaged actively in shaping and evaluating the authority’s services. The youth service reaches very good numbers of young people through a range of community- based services. In the evaluation of the youth service, young people expressed high levels of satisfaction with the provision. Youth participation in activities such as the Youth Inclusion Support Panel and the multi-agency youth inclusion programme is very good; of the 161 young people supported by this programme, only two re-offended while on the programme. The number of first-time offenders to the youth justice system increased in 2007, but recent local data shows a small reduction. There has been a reduction in recidivism.

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6. The impact of all local services in helping children and young people to achieve economic well-being is outstanding. Through a detailed needs analysis and wide-ranging consultations, the authority has an accurate understanding of the needs of its young people and the barriers they face in achieving economic well-being. The authority, along with its partners, targets resources effectively to improve outcomes. There is an extensive range of initiatives and programmes in place to tackle the high rate of unemployment and worklessness in families. Young people at risk of not entering into education, employment or London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 28

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training are identified by end of Year 11 and supported by designated staff over the summer to engage them in available opportunities. There has been an increase in the number of young people who stay on in education post-16, and substantial increases in the number of young people who are going into higher education.

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7. The capacity of council services to improve is outstanding. The council, working with its partners, has a strong culture of self-challenge and a demonstrable track record of improving outcomes for children and young people. There is highly effective leadership and high levels of commitment to children and young people throughout the partnership. Planning is ambitious, rigorous and strongly focused on further improving outcomes for children and young people and their families. The partnership is very successful at working across agencies to identify opportunities to add value through cooperation, for example in reducing re-offending. It finds innovative solutions to complex problems, such as targeted inter-generational projects on particular estates to develop relationships between younger and older residents and reduce tensions. The partnership is self-aware and manages performance extremely effectively.

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London Borough of Tower Hamlets joint area review of children’s services 29

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ASSESSMENT ARRANGEMENTS

1. This joint area review was conducted using the arrangements required under Section 20 of the Children Act 2004. It was carried out by a multi- disciplinary team of inspectors from Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission and the Audit Commission. The review was undertaken according to the requirements of the Framework for the inspection of children’s services.

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ASSESSMENT ARRANGEMENTS

2. The review was linked to the contemporaneous corporate assessment of the local council by the Audit Commission and these findings, plus aspects of the most recent APA, are represented in the relevant part of the corporate assessment report.

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ASSESSMENT ARRANGEMENTS

3. This review describes the outcomes achieved by children and young people growing up in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and evaluates the way local services, taken together, contribute to their well-being. Together with the APA of children’s services, joint area reviews focus on the extent to which children and young people are healthy, safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and are well prepared to secure economic well-being. This review explores these issues by focusing on children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, children who are looked after and children at risk or requiring safeguarding. It evaluates the collective contribution made by all relevant children’s services to outcomes for these children and young people.

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ASSESSMENT ARRANGEMENTS

4. The review took place in two stages, consisting of an analysis stage (where recorded evidence was scrutinised) and a two-week fieldwork stage (where inspectors met children and young people and those who deliver services for them).

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