A growing number of children and young people
are showing signs of social and emotional mental health problems.
This issue has been identified nationally and in Doncaster.
Locally, this is evidenced through feedback from schools, through
our child and adolescent mental health services and in high numbers
of children presenting at A&E, having self-harmed or attempted
suicide.
The number of families open to early help has reduced steadily over
the last two years, in comparison to the number of families open to
statutory social care, which has increased. It is recognised that a
number of pressures relating to the delivery of the Early Help
offer have emerged which has necessitated a review of current
processes and procedures. In addition, a number of corporate and
partnership priorities have been identified during the COVID
pandemic that require dedicated leadership capacity.
The current pandemic has simultaneously increased the strain on
families and reduced school capacity to manage early help cases, in
particular step-downs from social care. This places a risk in the
system for vulnerable children and young people, especially any not
in an educational setting. These often end up in a re-referral into
Social Care, placing greater pressure on an already stretched front
door. Therefore, adding in extra Early Help Officers means that
educational settings can be better supported and the officers can
more effectively catch the step-downs and ensure support is
provided.
To provide support for the above, this ODR seeks to establish the
following posts:
• 2 FTE Early Help Family Lead Practitioners (Grade 7)
appointment for 12 months from the Doncaster Opportunity Area
funding.
See attached Officer Decision Record for further
information.