The Joint Area Review Report made tough reading. Reading it at speed in order to debate it does not make for a balanced, temperate view.

So I will return later with comment, analysis, and also news from the rest of the meeting, for tonight restricting myself to quotations from the report itself: 

The contribution of local services to improving outcomes for children and young people at risk, or requiring safeguarding is inadequate

§                There is an inadequate range of services for those children and young people who have a high level of need but who do not meet thresholds for child protection. The quality and timeliness of completion of assessments is poor. There are inadequate arrangements to ensure safe staffing across a range of agencies.

The contribution of local services to improving outcomes for children and young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is inadequate. Services to meet health needs are inadequate

. Capacity to improve is inadequate

targeted service delivery for vulnerable groups is inadequate. Capacity and performance management are inadequate to provide sustainable, consistent and effective services.  

Grades4: outstanding; 3: good; 2: adequate; 1: inadequate

The above are from the main findings. Below are three of the statements that hit home hardest for me. Some relate to the Health Service rather than being solely the SCCs responsibility:

Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are badly affected by key shortages in the health service. There are insufficient health visitors to complete all two-year checks, delaying possible diagnosis until children start school. Too limited access to physiotherapists, and occupational, speech and language therapists, disadvantages children severely at all stages, especially during transitions between settings. Waiting lists are long and children are sometimes removed from the list without explanation

. CAMHS thresholds are too high, with access for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities being limited to those at the very high level of need. Referral procedures for this service are complex. Very troubled teenagers wait over a year for treatment

Too many children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are excluded from school. In 2006, nearly half (47.69%) of statemented children in mainstream secondary schools had fixed term exclusions and, in 2005, 23.7% in special schools had fixed-term exclusions.