Agenda item

(To receive a report by Carolyn Knight, Head of Service – Quality and Standards and Principle Social Worker, which invites the Panel to consider a the annual report on the Independent Reviewing Service for 1st April 2021 - 31st March 2022)

Consideration was given to a report by the Team Manager - Quality and Standards, which invited the Panel to consider the annual report on the Independent Reviewing Service for 1st April 2021 - 31st March 2022. Members were advised that new ways of working were continually being perused to engage with CYP and parents through the use of technology facilitating hybrid and virtual meetings dependant to what best fit the stakeholders. 99.77 per cent of reviews were carried within acceptable timescales and 225 reviews were rearranged from January 2022 to March 2022. CYP were offered consultation documents prior to reviews and were regularly engaged by the service seeking to identify satisfactions and areas of improvement. There was rise of 49 children in care over a 12-month period which subsequently had an impact of the demand for reviews. Delays in court processes impacted the number of foster care changes for some children.

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

·       The increase in the children in care population resulted, in part, because CYP were not exited from care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the delay for court hearings resulted in CYP, who were going through the process of adoption or fostering, being unable to have their care plans legally ratified. To address this, CYP were not taken before the court unnecessarily as per the public law outline. As court capacity increased, CYP in care were expected to decrease

·       Other local authorities saw similar increased in their children in care population, however Lincolnshire’s still sat at 49 per 10,000 whereas statutory neighbours sat at 54 per 10,000 and all of England averaged at 63 per 10,000.

·       Lincolnshire, for the first time, was seeing staffing shortages in care for children, in particular social workers being offered greater remuneration through agencies. It was observed that new generations of social workers often operated with different employment expectations to previous generations. Whilst Agency staff often expressed interest in staying with the Council permanently, however commuting demands relocating deterred them. A shortage of Social Workers was a nationally concern. the Council saw growing vacancies, they were not at the level of other local authorities. Current social workers were offered part time and flexible working arrangements where practical to encourage retention and vacant roles were backfilled through the redeployment of early help workers. All staff were supported through a wellbeing service which they were aware of and could access whenever they needed to.

·       The Heath Visiting Service visited all CYP who were of concern and mitigated a great deal of the dependence of General Practitioners (GPs). Furthermore, if the Health Visiting Service felt that an appointment with a GP was necessary, they were often highly effective at securing one.

·       Supported living schemes were inspected under the Regulation 44 process through a light touch exercise looking at care standards and establishing independence. It was not currently a regulatory requirement to undertake Regulation 44 inspections, although this was expected to change over the coming years. The current light touch process was an additional safeguarding practice undertaken to provide additional assurance to senior managers. It was clarified that six of the eight CYP in supported living schemes were in education, employment and training (EET). 

·       Family financial pressures were considered relevant in CYP’s protected in their family networks. If that incident were to occur, the Council would intervene to ensure that the child or young person was safeguarded. Currently, there had been no increase in children in care resulting from socio-economic pressures, however officers still worked closely with families to ensure stability.

·       Officers stressed that foster carers were very highly valued and children in care greatly benefited from family settings. The Council sought to recruit further suitable carers while also expanding its residential estate to house further children.

·       Each child in care benefitted from an individual care plan which included contact with any and all family members, therefore, even if siblings had been split, opportunities to bring them into contact would be considered and reassessed regularly.

·       The Panel endorsed the work undertaken in the Absent Fathers task and finish group adding that their residents relayed to them the issue’s importance.

·       It was clarified that the Lincolnshire Secure Unit housed a mixed of welfare and criminal justice young people. The six young people in the secure accommodation, as referred to in the report, represented those accommodated on welfare grounds, thus, were not exhaustive of the overall occupancy. Moreover, the secure unit was considered to deliver outstanding service by inspectors, offering a number of supportive interventions. While accommodation within the secure unit was considered to be draconian, young people were supported to promote positive life choices and behave appropriately within the community.

·       Lincolnshire had a number of methods to support to recruitment of new social workers. The Council had close links with Bishop Grosseteste University and Lincoln University, which offered Social Care degrees, offering students work experience opportunities. The Central Government Scheme Step Up To Social Work resulted in a number of successful post graduate candidates now employed. The Council, a contributing member of the Apprenticeship Levy, primarily relied on internal apprentices to ensure the long-term sustainability of its care workforce. Apprenticeship opportunities were focussed on staff already in a similar role, particularly early help. Commissioned services were also being explored as a potential area from which to recruit social workers. Generic advertising to the wider public had not previously proven resource effective due to the time commitments involved.

RESOLVED

1.       That the Panel received and endorsed the Independent Reviewing Service Yearly Report.

2.       That future wording detailing the occupancy of the Lincolnshire Secure Unit be amended to reflect the timing of different residence and the wider capacity.