St Helens Borough Council: local authority assessment

St Helens fostered an inclusive and positive culture of continuous learning and improvement. Local authority staff had ongoing access to learning and support to ensure Care Act 2014 duties were delivered safely and effectively.

Staff and leaders told us senior leaders were highly visible throughout the local authority and staff could seek support and guidance when needed. There were clear lines of communication between heads of service and frontline teams, with monthly communications meetings including strong pathways for senior leader interactions. Frontline teams had regular supervisions and peer support was used to discuss complex Care Act 2014 assessments and safeguarding enquiries. Newly recruited staff were mentored, and induction programmes were tailored to people’s needs, allowing them time to gain confidence and skills in their role. Staff were able to use suggestion boxes and staff surveys as well as supervisions to provide feedback, which was shared with senior leaders.

Senior leaders told us there was support for continuous professional development, including a mix of online learning and in person training with additional mentoring and peer support. Frontline teams could use the local authority’s internal training portal to book training to support them in their role. Staff and leaders told us there were mandatory training programmes which they had to complete every 12 months to ensure they were confident and competent in their role. For example, safeguarding training supported them in recognising, reporting and recording all safeguarding incidents appropriately to keep people safe.

Staff and leaders shared examples of staff members who had begun their career with St Helens in support roles and had successfully gone on to achieve qualifications in social work through the local authority apprenticeship scheme. Staff completing their Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE) within St Helens gained full time qualified posts within the local authority. Staff discussed the clear progression pathways and were encouraged to undertake additional courses to further their development such as BIA Courses and Approved Mental Health Professional (AMPH) courses. This not only strengthened the knowledge and experience of frontline teams but also provided a more holistic approach to the Care Act 2014 assessment process.

Senior leaders told us the local authority was a culturally competent employer. For example, St Helens was a Disability Confident Employer, guaranteeing interviews for disabled applicants who met essential job criteria. St Helens was committed to making reasonable adjustments to ensure equitable opportunities for all candidates from diverse backgrounds. For example, people with a disability could access the local authority’s Supported Employment Programme. This was designed to help people to access employment where they might otherwise struggle. The programme was tailored to people’s needs and provided 1-1 mentoring and support in the workplace where appropriate. One staff member told us the Supported Employment Programme had been life changing and provided them opportunities to learn new skills and gain confidence in their role.

Frontline teams regularly linked in with other teams and specialist advisors to discuss complex cases and situations to ensure they were working in line with legislation and best practice. This enabled teams to access a wider range of knowledge, shared experience and emotional resilience and as well as affording them the opportunity to have reflective practise discussions. Staff shared examples of adaptive training, based on identified themes and trends they were experiencing in their workloads. For example, self-neglect and drug awareness training was enhanced following feedback from frontline teams who requested more up-to-date training around street drugs younger people were using in the area.

People shared how co -productive engagement sessions had enabled them to be involved in the design of the Learning Disability Strategy (2023) and Mental Health Strategy (2023). Staff and leaders told us these strategies focused on key actions to address the strategic priority of supporting young people with learning disabilities during their transition to adulthood. One key step was to explore the possibility of reintroducing a dedicated transition social worker within the Adults of Working Age team, who would collaborate closely with the Children’s team. The plan also included the creation of a multi-disciplinary transition panel to address the specific needs of people as they moved through the transition process.

People told us there were a number of coproduction and engagement opportunities available within adult social care. Co-production was at the heart of the local authority’s commissioning principles, for example the recently commissioned Carers Centre. Senior leaders worked with people with lived experience to coproduce a number of strategies and action plans including the All-age Autism Strategy (2022-2025) action plan, All-age Carers Strategy (2023) action plan, Learning Disabilities Strategy (2023) action plan, and the Mental Health Strategy (2023) action plan, all linked to the Adult Social Care Strategy (2024-2027). Partnership Boards had been re-established to facilitate this work and to monitor progress.

Quality assurance of the Organisational Deliver Plan, consisting of key deliverable objectives supporting the priorities and outcomes of the Borough Strategy (2021-2030) were completed quarterly, with partnership committee and Cabinet oversight and scrutiny. The local authority’s performance framework consistent of over 100 performance measures aligned to agreed outcomes and adult social care business and service plans. Practice Audits included monthly case-file reviews completed line managers and overseen by the Principal Social Worker (PSW) and Principal Occupational Therapist (POT). Approximately 350 audits were completed each month, with a performance target set meaning 90% of audits should be rated as outstanding or good. Senior leaders told us for the past 12 months, this target had been met.

Staff and leaders told us senior leaders chaired a weekly Quality Assurance Panel, which considered applications for funding. Applications for funding were supported by case records prepared by social work staff and verified by team managers. The purpose of the Quality Assurance Panel was to ensure a uniform approach was taken to Care Act 2014 assessments, reviews, and support planning.

The local authority actively participated in peer review and sector-led improvement activity. The local authority drew on external support to improve when necessary. Staff and leaders engaged with external work, including research, and embedded evidence-based practice in the organisation.

Partners told us the local authority organised and participated in a number of staff and partner forums to share learning and best practice including a People’s Directorate quarterly interactive event promoting collaboration, feedback and knowledge sharing practices, twice-yearly question and answer session with the Chief Executive, a Wider Leadership Network, regional and national conferences, adult social work training hub Teams channel, and an equality, diversity and inclusion network. The local authority also worked with ADASS, for example on Workforce Race Equality Standards (WRES), and the DASS and PSW were members of the Northwest ADASS Executive Board.

The local authority worked collaboratively with people and partners to actively promote and support innovative and new ways of working which improved people's social care experiences and outcomes. For example, partners told us Technology-Enabled Care Model enabled the local authority and their partners to work together to meet their shared preventative strategies through key early interventions to reduce hospital admissions, keep people at home for longer, and provide independence and security for people living in the community. In November 2024 St Helens launched an innovative technology hub through their Contact Cares services, using assistive technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to improve data capture, recording and analysis. The local authority was also building a low-level background screening processes to allow their new AI bot to assist people and carers accessing front-door services. This was planned to speed up call answer times for the most vulnerable.

St Helens learned from people’s feedback about their experiences of care and support, and feedback from staff and partners. This informed strategy, improvement activity and decision making at all levels. There were processes to ensure learning happened when things went wrong, and from examples of good practice. Leaders encouraged reflection and collective problem-solving.

Staff and leaders told us feedback from people was obtained from roadshows, engagement forum, partners, surveys, compliments, and complaints, and through face-to-face feedback of people’s experiences of accessing services. The local authority was developing a new digital feedback option for people to easily access online. Information shared with the local authority was used to highlight key challenges and future actions.

Senior leaders identified area of learning from concerns and incidents as a key contributor to continuous improvement. Data provided by the local authority showed there had been 81 adult social care complaints received during 2023-2024 with 84% of complaints responded to on time, compared to 53% in 2022-2023. 61% of complaints were either upheld or partially upheld. Senior leaders told us adult social care complaints only had a 1-stage process at the time of the assessment, however, following a review of the Adult’s Social Care Complaints Policy St Helens were introducing a 2-stage process to afford people the opportunity to escalate their complaints if they remain dissatisfied. National data from the Local Government Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) 2023-2024 showed 6 detailed investigations had been referred to them with 100% uphold rate and 25% late compliance in completing actions by the local authority.

People told us of a number of changes made to carers services following a consultation exercise in 2024. These changes included providing a service including out-of-hours support around information and advice, providing virtual budgets to adult and young carers, and additional training for professionals in health, social care, education, and employment around the role of unpaid carers.

Providers shared examples of changes made following feedback. For example, in 2024 partners suggested a way to approach the chairing of the monthly Provider Forum to ensure discussions were being recorded for those were not able to attend. The local authority started to do this, and providers were happy with the new way the forum was chaired. Another partner gave an example of being part of Merseyside consultation group representing St Helens in decisions impacting on accessible public transport in Merseyside.

Senior leaders told us the outcomes and recommendations following and audit of mental health services in St Helens had developed new ways of recording and sharing personal information confidentially between partners to ensure a chronology of safeguarding events linked to individuals could be fully documented, allowing for improved risk-based decision making. Ongoing training and support were being provided to practitioners in this area, with bespoke feedback offered to appropriate teams to discuss the findings of the audit with areas for improvement, learning and development.