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Overall, outcomes are good. The council is wo rking with partners to ensure children and young people are provided with the safe environment to which they are entitled. Children and young people worr y most about traffic, crime and bullying at school and near home, but there is no suggestion that an y of these is more pr evalent in York than in other urban areas, and it is clear that the council takes effective steps to keep children safe. The ‘YorOK’ strategy provides a framework for action by setting standards which services for young peop le, children and families ag ree to meet in order to demonstrate that they are ‘safe’ settings.

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The Bichard recommendations are in place and fully operational. There has been a significant fall in the numbers of children on the child protection register and in the number of initial child protection conferences. An effective system of referrals is in place for targeting services on those in greatest need, and the authority acts swiftly to implement effective child protection plans. The record on completi ng child protection reviews within the required timescales is a good one, except that there were minor delays in the last year for two children in what is a small cohort that significantly reduced recorded performance. Ofsted evidence suggests that child protection procedures in schools are effectively in plac e. Staff in early years settings have also been trained in understand ing referral procedures for child protection, and are supported by the local authorit y in writing policy statements. Children and young people

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are effectively consulted; significantly, black and minority ethnic children think that bullying is handled well in the schools — an outcome of effective partnership between the local authority and schools. Recent in spections of the child ren’s homes and the Fostering Service have indicated good provision.

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The council has had significant success in re ducing the number of looked after children to 150 this year, largely beca use it has worked effectively to plac e 91 children for adoption over the last 6 years. The cohort of long-stay looked after children is small at 39; most are aged 7 to 16. The number of children placed outside the City or in Independent Fostering Agency placements has also fallen. However, there is reduced performance in disruptions in foster care placements in th e first year and the council needs to address generally its performance st ability for children looked after for long periods. Achievement of the Lo cal Public Service Agreement targets (f irst tranche) is shown in the overall impressive adoption performance. Performance has increased markedly in adoption placement within twel ve months of best interest decisions. Protocols for the safeguarding of children pl aced in the City by other councils are in

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place and fully operational. Similarly, the council has completed the necessary work on compliance with the recommendations of Lord Laming’s report into the death of Victoria Climbie, and has implemented pr ocedures for children transferring to other parts of the country and for approving guidance to partne rs for when children arrive from abroad. However, performance on re-r egistrations has reduced. The council has been a pilot site for the Na tional Integrated Children ’s System and has contributed significantly to developments, though the more detailed templates used have led to some delays in completing initial an d core assessments and in undertaking some reviews of child protect ion cases. Performance is ex pected to benefit in 2005–06, and should be monitored du ring regular meetings.

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The council has dealt appropriately with three allegations involving staff in schools in the last year. An earlier serious case review ha s led to a revision in the arrangements for monitoring the absence of children below st atutory school age. All services, including schools, have adopted recommended guidelines on handling allegations against staff, and have been reminded of th e need to check al l references before employing staff.

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Outcomes in this area are good. The quality of early years education is good, and helps children meet early learning goals. Test resu lts at Key Stages 1 an d 2 are above national averages and either above or in line with st atistical neighbours, with some fluctuations in science. Test results in Key Stage 3 and general certif icate of secondary education (GCSE) results are similarly hi gh by national standards, as are general certificate of education (GCE) advanced (A) and advanced su bsidiary (AS) level results, both in the school sixth forms and in the college. On e secondary school ha s serious we aknesses, but no school in the City has ever been placed in sp ecial measures. Pupils with special educational needs make good progre ss throughout Key Stages 1 to 4.

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These high standards are effectively supported by school improvement activity in the local authority. There are well embedded, rigo rous systems, based on the analysis of a wide range of data, for the id entification, monitoring and re view of priorities for the education of children and young people aged 3 to 19. Appropriate and well considered intervention and support are provided through the education development service (EDS). The EDS works effectively with other se rvices, such as the In clusion Services, to target particular su pport on the pupils in greatest need.

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Where there are weaknesses, the local authority has strategies in place to address them. For example, Fi scher Family Trust data suggest that pupils in the secondary schools, particularly in Key Stage 4, make rather less pr ogress than they might, so that the GCSE results, good as they are, re present a degree of underachievement. The authority is addressing this through detailed consultancy, focused on individual schools.

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Attendance in primary school s is good, and in secondar y schools about average. Intensive efforts to reduce absenteeism in se condary schools have maintained a broadly static position for some years; more recently, there is evidence of considerable improvement and this might helpfully be fo llowed up in the Joint Area Review. The number of permanent exclusions is low, an d the authority, in collaboration with its schools, is having considerab le success in reintegrating those pupils who have been excluded. The supply of school places is rigo rously managed, so that there is little waste of resources.

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The authority places considerab le emphasis on arts and sp orts provision, though some schools still have a way to go in meeting government expectations. The youth service effectively targets young people in traditiona lly hard to reach groups, and the Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) progra mme concentrates particular attention on those who have been identified as most at risk of offending and anti-social behaviour. The programme has demonstrated a 25% reduct ion in incidents of nuisance by young people in those areas of the City in which it works.

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There is good inter-ag ency work in support of looked after children. In 2003/04, 64.3% of young people leaving care did so with at least one GCSE A* to G: above the national average, but nevertheless below target. In the last three years the council ’s performance for the absence from school of looked after children has improved but remains below that of comparators. The percen tage of care leavers gaining five or more higher grades fell in 2003/ 04 amongst a small cohort.

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York’s record is acceptable. Crucially, most children attend school regularly, are not easily excluded and, if excluded, have a g ood chance of reintegr ation. There are few exclusions for bullying, which schools appear to handle well. The rate of youth offending is low and reducing (for exampl e, the number of final warnings is falling) and the rate of recidivism is also low. There has been a 66 % reduction in the numb er of young people committing burglary, and 57% of young offe nders carry out community reparation. The council needs to renew its ef forts to reduce offending by young people who are looked after, where rates of offending remain above the average for unitary councils. However, concentrated attention is required to addre ss rates of offending by some young people who are looked after who are four times as likely to offend as those in the general population.

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Services appear to be working very effectiv ely to support the youn g people most likely to offend. In addition to the PAYP progra mme for 13 to 19 year olds, a Youth Inclusion and Support Panel (YISP) assi sts children aged 8 to 13 who are identified as being at risk. This is located within the Youth Offending Team and is serviced by a multi-agency steering group. All children wh o receive a police reprimand are screened for eligibility and offered the opportunity to refer to th e YISP. Of the 23 young people who have received a service through the YISP, none have gone on to receive a final warning or to appear before the courts. Th ere is 100% access to a CAMHS service for young offenders within timescales.

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The views of young peop le are gathered and are influential. Every school has a school council, and most schools are involved in conferences and other events organised by children and young people themselves. The Youth Forum manages a fund for projects developed by, and for young pe ople. Effective attention is paid to diversity, partly through the youth service. The ‘Network 2’ monitoring scheme also provides a support mechanism for vulnerable young people.

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The number of looked af ter children communicating their views to statutory reviews has risen slightly from what was already good performance. Th e measures taken to prevent them from receiving final reprimands or convictions have not yet been entirely successful.

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Once more, outcomes are good overall. York is a relatively prosperous city, and few children or young people suffer from the extr emes of poverty. The pr oportion of children entitled to free school meals is low. Howe ver, there is a considerable amount of low- wage employment, and 14.7% of chil dren live in relative poverty.

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Education for young people aged 14 to 19 is of generally high quality; staying-on rates post-16 are high, and the number of young people not in education, employment or training is correspondingly low. The proporti on of care leavers in employment, education or training is the highest in the country. There is good pr ovision for the vulnerable; for example, all disabled young people aged 14 to 18 have a transition plan for their move into adult life. Nevert heless, a high proportion of youn g offenders are not in education, employment or training, and young people with emotional and behaviour difficulties have some problems in maki ng the transition to work.

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Moves to redesign the 14 to 19 curriculum, described by the authority as ‘fairly traditional’, are strongly in place but at an early stage. Relatively few 16 year olds have a vocational qualification, an d some young people drop ou t of education at 17. Some 10% go into jobs without training. The local au thority is leading, wi th the local Learning and Skills Council, Connexio ns and the Lifelong Learning Partnership, a coordinated strategy, with relevant prio rities, a well-defined vision and strong partnerships. A business forum has been establ ished and the development of a skills centre is aimed at providing a work-related curriculum to improv e opportunities for the most disaffected. A 14 to 19 entitlement is in process of being es tablished; nevertheless, at this stage, the vocational offer for young people who ar e neither disaffected, nor outstandingly successful at school, is relatively limited.

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Being healthy: • the promotion of healthy lifestyles for children and young people, including their mental health • support for the he alth needs of looked after children. Being healthy: • provision of sport/PE in some schools.

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Staying safe: • the provision of a safe environment • child protection procedures • support for looked after children • impressive adoption performance. Staying safe: • completion of initial and core assessments • reviews of child protection cases • stability of placements • disruptions in foster care.

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Enjoying and achieving: • the quality of early years provision • low levels of exclusions and absenteeism • high levels of performance in key stage tests, GCSE and GCE • good performance of children with special educational needs. Enjoying and achieving: • modest progress in KS 4 • performance for children looked after below target.

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Making a positive contribution: • low levels of offending and re-offending • support for young people most at risk. Making a positive contribution: • impact of support to reduce offending by looked after children.

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Achieving economic well-being: • high standards 14-19 • good collaboration with partners on 14-19 coordination • low level of NEETs • effective support for the vulnerable. Achieving economic well-being: • limited vocational offer in the schools. Service management

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The council takes full account of the views of young people in developing strategies which are innovative, founded in evidence and ambitious. The council knows itself well, and is realistic and honest in confronting problems where they occur; it targets its scarce resources effectiv ely, and is particularly adept at protecting the interests of the most vulnerable. It cooperates effectivel y with partners and with government, and makes effective use of categorical funding.

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The council ’s self-assessment is essentially an accoun t of the current state of play in the City, and of what it proposes to do about it. It offers little historical diagnosis, and makes few claims for the impact of services. Be cause it is, in effect, a digest of current plans, it is by definition forw ard-looking. However, it is easily possibl e to infer from it that services, often through effective collabora tion with partners, have had an impact on outcomes for the most vulnerable children an d young people, improv ements in provision and in the alignment of provision to nee d, take-up of services, and the raising of expectations.

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The council is, and needs to be , parsimonious in the use of money, since it has fewer resources available to it than most. In education, for example, it is the second-lowest spender in the country. There are placement co st pressures in social care, but there has been recent significant success in reduci ng reliance on independent fostering placements. Nevertheless it is adept at targ eting its own resources and at acquiring bid funding, which it uses to facilitate well thou ght out innovation. It has achieved a high national reputation, as well as the confidence of its stakeholders for many aspects of its work. There are strong contributions from st aff in all parts of th e council to achieve effective implementation of the change for children agenda . However, there are some signs of strain, which manifest themselves in rising le vels of sickness amongst social services staff. That apart, the council’s overall capacity for further improvement is

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excellent. Areas for exploration in the joint area review

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Looked after children ’s heal th needs are addressed:

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• addressing looked after ch ildren ’s health needs.

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Children and young people are provided with a safe environment:

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• the protection of children from abuse and neglect.

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The incidence of child abuse and neglect is minimised:

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Agencies collaborate to safe guard children according to the requirements of current government guidance:

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• procedures for investigating seri ous allegations against staff.

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Action is taken to ensure that educatio nal provision 5-16 is of good quality:

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Children and young people are enabled and encouraged to a ttend and enjoy school and to achieve highly:

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• effectiveness of measures to discourage absenteeism.

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Action is taken to ensure that 14-19 educatio n and training is planned and delivered in a coordinated way, and to ensure that education and training (16-19) is of good quality:

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• action taken to ensure th at 14-19 education and trai ning is delivered in a coordinated way • progress in developing the voca tional curriculum in schools. Final judgements

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Please see your final annual performance a ssessment judgements attached at the end of this letter.

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FLO HADLEY Divisional Manager Office for Standards in Education JONATHAN PHILLIPS Director – Quality, Performance and Methods Commission for Social Care Inspection APA final judgements 2005: City of York Council

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The contribution of the local authority ’s social care services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people The contribution of local authority ’s education services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people. The contribution of the local authority ’s children’s services in maintaining and improving outcomes for children and young people. The council ’s overall capacity to improve its services for children and young people 4

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Grade Service descriptors Capacity to improve descriptors A service that delivers well above minimum requirements for users Very good

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A service that consistently delivers above minimum requirements for users Good/promising

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A service that delivers only minimum requirements for users Adequate

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A service that does not deliver minimum requirements for users Inadequate

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