Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

              That Councillor S P Roe be elected as the Chairman of the Corporate         Parenting Panel for 2022-23.

RESOLVED:

              That Councillor C L Perraton-Williams be elected as the Vice-              Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel for 2022-23.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor M A Whittington and K Cooke.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED:

           That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 May 2022 be approved         as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

As requested by the Panel, the Corporate Parenting Manager had compiled a list of proposed benefits to be added to the core offer for looked after children. Briefings had been arranged between the Chief Executives and the Executive Councillors at District Councils to liaise with them about possible benefits that could be added to the core to align the offer across all districts. It was hoped free access to travel for all care leavers could be obtained in future.  

(To receive a report from Head of Service – Fostering, Adoption and Leaving Care, which invites the Panel to consider and comment on the Children in Care Performance measures for Quarter 4 of 2021/22)

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Children’s which invited the Panel to consider key performance information for Quarter 4 of 2021/22 that was relevant to the work of the Panel.

Of the 18 measures reported, 10 had not met their target and two were ahead of the target set by the services. Performance continued to be impacted by the affects of the pandemic.

Details of those measures that had not met their target were provided and were detailed within the report.

The Panel noted the difficulties in recruiting foster carers following the pandemic due to lifestyle changes.

Despite not meeting the targets, the number of children with up-to-date health checks, immunisations and dental checks was improving.

The impact of the pandemic on Children in Care had seen a disruption to learning, impacting on targets. It was hoped that performance in this area would begin to improve.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• The covid-19 pandemic and lockdown had increased the challenges presented by young people, however there was also seen to be a trend in the increase in challenges presented generally, which had begun to be addressed. Reassurance was provided that the Council were supporting young people who could not be safely placed in foster care placements. A disability respite facility with a residential home and therapeutic care was available for children posing more difficult behaviours. Residential staff were being supported to stabilise and regulate the emotions of the children with the hope of placing them back into a family environment. 
• The Council were in the process of increasing their residential estate to eliminate the need to place children in out of county care provision.
• The Panel recorded their total support to staff working under extremely difficult times. The dedication and passion of foster carers and residential staff was commended.
• It was questioned why numbers had of children in learning had not increased despite the Virtual Schools participated in the National Department for Education (DfE) Post 16 pilot which was completed at the end of March 2022. The Panel were reassured that despite the figures, the project had been extremely impactful, and it was hoped further funding could be provided to continue the work.
• It was recognised all young people had individual challenges and it was important that their needs were met in a holistic and individual way, which only saw small increases in numbers within targets. It was also noted that as the cohort of children fluctuated regularly, data was difficult to report on.
• It was requested that the Panel receive further details of the impactful work of the DFE project at a future meeting.
• Reassurance was provided, that children in care had full and timely access to mental health support. The Lincolnshire Care Quality Commission (CAMHS) service had received a score of outstanding at a recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection. However, it was acknowledged that mental health issues in children were increasing. Support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

(To receive a report from Lisa Adams, Service Manager - Barnardo’s Leaving Care Services, which invites the Panel to consider a report which details the performance of Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service regarding care leavers)

Consideration was given to a report by the Service Manager – Barnardos which invited the Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service Annual Report 2021/22.

Lincolnshire Leaving Care Service offered advice, support and assistance in relation to accommodation options for young people aged 16-25, Children in Care and 16- and 17-year-old homeless and Care Leavers.

The report highlighted the key work of the leaving care service during 2021-22, which included the supported lodging scheme, help accessing and maintaining appropriate education employment and training opportunities, improving participation and funding opportunities.

A number of new initiatives had also been introduced including the recruitment of a Mental Health Specialist and a well-being worker to work with Lincolnshire Care Leavers who would benefit from additional input to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

Lincolnshire County Council had also agreed to the recruitment an additional 2 posts into the service that will be based in the South of the County to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who had been placed within the County.

Several Care Leavers from Lincolnshire were working with the organisation ‘My Pocket’s’ on an animation project that will help children in care transition into the service.

The service was run by a stable management team who continued to work hard and work with local authority to recognise Lincolnshire’s young people at heart of what they aimed to deliver.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• Leaving Care workers and specialist workers continued to stay in contact and support young adults transitioning out of care to support with employment and training and ways to create opportunities for the young people.
• Assurance was provided that young people would always be offered a range of housing options before becoming choosing to become street homeless. In exceptional circumstances, young people were sometimes placed into Bed and Breakfast accommodation on a short-term basis before housing was made available and this would require sign off from the Corporate Parenting Manager and the Assistant Director – Children’s.
• It could be the case that some young people were deemed as being in unsuitable accommodation, despite that accommodation option being their desired choice. The 6% out of the cohort were either missing, in prison, or choosing to stay with family or friends in accommodation not deemed ‘suitable’ by the standards of reporting.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the report be received and endorsed.

2.      That satisfaction be recorded with the service provision to Care Leavers.

(To receive a presentation by Nicola Corby, Acting Principal Lawyer, which provides details of the Legal Services Lincolnshire end of year report for April 2021 to March 2022)

Consideration was given to a presentation by the Senior Lawyer – Children’s Services and the Lawyer – Children’s Services, which invited the Panel to consider the Legal Services Lincolnshire end of year report 2021-22.

The presentation outlined the role and work of the legal services team in relation to provide safeguarding support to children’s services and offer legal advice relating to children in the county, including court liaison. Legal advice for permanence planning for children was also offered.

The importance of developing positive working relationships with other partners was emphasised and efforts were made wherever possible for early intervention to manage risks outside of needing judicial oversite.

Details of the future focus for the team was provided and included information on the transition back to hearings in court buildings, the development of LWG Best Practice Guidance/ Build Back Better DfE Initiative? and close liaison with the case managers, TIME Project and the development of the FPL online system.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the update be received.

2.      That satisfaction be recorded with the efforts of the Legal Team, and that our comments from the discussion as recorded are taken under consideration

(To receive a report by Ben Lilley, Team Manager (Quality and Standards), which provides a summary of the activities regarding V4C between February – June 2022 and the actions to support future V4C planning and progress)

Consideration was given to the Practice Supervisor – Quality and Standards which provided an update on the activities regarding V4C between February – June 2022 and the actions taken to support future V4C planning and progress.

During the reporting period the delivery of V4C groups had been continuing to focus on holding face-to-face meetings following the easing of Covid restrictions. A summary of the V4C sessions by locality was provided. There were ongoing attempts to raise awareness of V4C to increase attendances.

19 children and young people attended the latest Big Conversation meeting, which was held on Wednesday 1st June in Skegness at the Storehouse Conference Centre. Discussions with senior managers and elected members were held with feedback provided by some children and young people.

Two of Lincolnshire Leaving Care’s young people had been invited to the Department of Education to meet with the head of Care Review Josh McCallister having contributed to the Care Collaborative. The young people had a tour of the Houses of Parliament and a trip on the London Eye with Lunch. The Panel viewed a clip of a Lincolnshire care leaver participating in an interview for BBC Newsround.

The Chairman had attended the Big Conversation event and commended the involvement of the children at the event which raised some importance points of improvement, which had been taken away for consideration by Officers.

RESOLVED:

1. That the report be received, and comments made be recorded;

That satisfaction be recorded with the overall activities and meetings undertaken.

(To receive a report by Kiara Chatziioannou, Scrutiny Officer, which invites the Panel to review its work programme)

Consideration was given to the Scrutiny Officer, which invited the Panel to review its work programme, as set out on pages 53-55 of the agenda.

The Chairman announced that continued to informally attend children’s homes across the County and the Sleaford Secure Centre and commended the positive relationships and interaction between staff members and children.

RESOLVED:

              That the work programme be noted.