Management Information Sheet
Partnership arrangement between NCC Children's Services and Skylakes
On 14 April 2014 a team of 6 Social Workers with a Team Manager and back-up administrative staff employed by Skylakes Social Work (part of the Sanctuary Health and Social Care Group) commenced working on behalf of Norfolk County Council Children’s Services to support social work delivery at the assessment stage of intervention. The Team will be working with us for the forthcoming year.
In practice this will mean that whilst most social work delivery at the assessment stage will continue to be delivered by our 3 Divisional Duty Teams covering the West and Breckland, City and South and North/East Broadland Divisions respectively, the new Skylakes Team will cover an element of their normal workload (up to 90 children at any one time) to strengthen our capacity and thereby further improve our service to children and families in Norfolk. The Skylakes Team are receiving cases from the MASH and then conducting an Initial Assessment (and Core Assessment if required) working the cases through either to the point of closure or step-down to Family Support planning or transfer to our Child Protection and Children in Need Teams as appropriate.
The Skylakes Team will be communicating with professional colleagues and families as normal for the purpose of gathering information and planning. You will not therefore see any difference in the multi-agency safeguarding procedures that are to be followed. It will also be made explicit in the Team’s communication with colleagues and families that the Skylakes Team is acting on behalf of Norfolk Children’s Services.
The Skylakes Team will be working very closely with the MASH, the Duty Teams and all other social care operational teams to ensure a good standard of service is maintained. Close working relationships between the Team and yourselves, our valued partners, will also be of the utmost importance.
If you have any queries or feedback about the partnership arrangement with Skylakes both now or in the months to come, please do not hesitate to contact Paul Corina (Safeguarding Operations Manager, City/South – Tel: 01603 223750) or Jane Kett (MASH Manager – Tel: 01603 729194).