Agenda item

(To Follow)

 

Recommendation: That the Panel considers the content of the draft Final Report and agrees conclusions and recommendations for submission to the Executive.

The Panel was asked to consider the Draft Final Report on its review ‘Sufficiency and Permanency (Perceptions of Children in Care)’, a copy of which was circulated prior to the meeting.  In addition, an Addendum report, updating on the key points within the main report, was also submitted.

 

Proposed conclusions were circulated to Members prior to the meeting and were agreed as follows:-

 

a)     The Panel wishes to acknowledge that due to the need for Children’s Services to improve with urgency and pace, significant progress has been made since the Panel commenced its review.  This is supported by the Department for Education’s Children’s Commissioner recommending that Children’s Services in Middlesbrough no longer required oversight by the Commissioner and was endorsed by the Minister for Children and Families in July 2021.

 

b)     The Panel also acknowledges that improvements were made despite significant demand on services coupled with the Covid pandemic which called for alternative and inventive ways of working.

 

c)      The Panel recognises that whilst the number of children looked after in Middlesbrough remains high, it has significantly reduced – with a 19.5% reduction during the period November 2020 to November 2021.

 

d)     The Panel feels reassured that since the start of its review, significant improvements have been made across Children’s Services in Middlesbrough, with the following areas most recently noted as having improved by Ofsted:-

 

·        Senior managers are realistic and know their service – they are aware of progress and areas that still require improvement.

·        Social Worker caseloads have begun to reduce.

·        There is stronger practice in relation to immediate safeguarding concerns and in support provision for children in need where serious concerns exist and they are on the ‘edge of care’.

·        Social Workers are enthusiastic and know their children and families well and are committed to improving their lives.

 

e)     The Panel also notes positive progress has been made in the following areas:-

 

·        An increase in the numbers of children being adopted, where it is in their best interests, with more Middlesbrough children being adopted than from any other Tees Valley local authority in the last 12 months up to December 2021.  Parallel planning has been improved between Middlesbrough’s fostering service and Adoption Tees Valley.  In addition, Adoption Tees Valley continues to promote interest in adopting through continuous recruitment events managed by a dedicated Marketing Officer.

·        A significant reduction in the number of children living in connected carer placements and an increase in the number of children whose permanency has been secured via Special Guardianship orders.

·        A 50% reduction in the number of children residing in Placements with Parents during the 12 month period to August 2021.

·        A significant reduction in external residential placements in the six months up to December 2021.

·        An increase in young people being placed in Middlesbrough residential provision.

·        An increase in the use of in-house foster care placements as opposed to Independent Foster Agency placements.

 

f)       The Panel is aware that there are areas of the service that require further development and is keen to ensure it is kept updated on progress.

 

g)     The Panel heard that Children’s Services has implemented a sophisticated data analysis package to monitor demand, impact and trends and to support improved performance reporting and social work practice.  A raft of Performance Management Framework indicators are in place and appropriate scorecards are being developed by the Service Area and Children’s Services Improvement Advisor, with input from the relevant Chairs, for use by this Scrutiny Panel, the Children and Young People’s Learning Scrutiny Panel and Corporate Parenting Board for governance and assurance purposes.  The Service has also developed a set of seven proxy indicators with indicative targets based on statistical neighbour averages with the ambition of achieving the statistical neighbour average for children looked after over the next three years.

 

h)     The Panel recognises that the Futures for Families Service has been successful in providing support for young people on the edge of care and has prevented 37 young people becoming looked after.  The service also provides support to fragile placements and placement stability has improved.

 

i)       The Panel notes that there have been improvements in practice with consistently high numbers of children looked after being seen by social workers; improved management oversight of cases; consistently high (99%) numbers of children looked after having a recorded Personal Education Plan and more than 90% of children looked after health assessments being carried out.  The Panel notes that an area for improvement is dental assessments where 66% of children looked after have had an assessment in the last 12 months, however, this has also been impacted by Covid.

 

j)       The Panel is aware of the need to increase the number of Middlesbrough foster carers in order to provide sufficient local placements for Middlesbrough children and acknowledges that in-house capacity has been increased due to continued foster carer recruitment drives and a range of initiatives including managed social work teams (Innovate) specifically working to: bring children from expensive external placements back to Middlesbrough; reduce the number of children placed with parents on care orders (where safe to do so); progressing plans for Special Guardianship where children live with a connected persons carer; and ensuring support is provided for children living with foster carers where the placement is at risk of breaking down.  This work has realised significant cost reductions.  The Panel acknowledges that there are specific groups of young people for whom more specialised carers/placements are required including older children/teens, parent and baby placements, sibling groups, children with complex needs and/or disabilities, children from minority ethnic groups and that these children can wait longer for permanent homes.

 

k)      A Corporate Parenting Strategy has been devised and adopted which includes a Permanency Strategy and Sufficiency Strategic sitting within it.  Each strategy was shaped by input from children and young people in Middlesbrough.

 

l)       The Panel heard that Children’s Services had developed a social work practice model ‘Children and Relationships First’, developed with the workforce.  This was supported by the recently established Centre for Practice Excellence which, as well as supporting the practice model, provides co-ordination to driving innovation and best practice across the whole system of support for children and young people and offers tools and resources to support the practice model, workforce development, quality assurance arrangements and opportunities to share and develop best practice.

 

m)    The Panel recognises the excellent work being undertaken by Pause, a national charity working with women who have experienced, or are at risk of, repeat removals of children from their care.  Pause offers an intensive support programme with the aim of breaking the cycle of repeat removals by supporting women to tackle destructive patterns of behaviour and to develop new skills and responses to create a positive future.  Pause is currently working with 11 women in Middlesbrough.

 

n)     In terms of improving perceptions of children in care, the Panel is encouraged to learn that increased engagement is taking place with children in care and care leavers through Participation People and is supportive of this being developed going forward.

 

The Panel discussed the proposed recommendations which had also been circulated to Members prior to the meeting and amendments were suggested to recommendations a), b), c), d), f), h), i), l), m) and q) and also the removal of number n).  It was agreed that the final wording would be circulated to Panel Members for final comment.   Subsequently, the following recommendations were agreed for inclusion in the Final Report:-

a)     The Panel supports the sustained efforts being made to reduce the number of children looked after in Middlesbrough in line with our regional statistical neighbours and that the performance scorecard being reported to LMT on a  six-weekly basis in relation to this indicator be shared with the Panel on a quarterly basis. 

 

b)     The Panel notes the high percentage of children (15.1%) who become looked after at birth and recommends that a specific piece of work be undertaken to establish why this is the case and that this work includes performance information and exploration of whether further interventions can be put in place to reduce this figure.  If appropriate, a set of performance indicators should be identified to monitor improvement over the next year in the first instance.

 

c)      That analysis be undertaken to identify any potential gaps in child protection provision in the more ethnically diverse wards and further work be undertaken to provide assurance that the statistical under representation/over representation of children of different ethnicities being looked after by the local authority aligns with the level of need amongst these groups.

 

d)     That work is undertaken to identify how the provision of Early Help can be increased in North Ormesby, (subject to further analysis and if this remains appropriate), and that the recommendations put forward by this Panel in its Final Report on ‘Locality Working from a Children’s Services Perspective’ regarding further assessment of demand and the number of Early Help workers assigned to the areas, be taken forward. 

 

e)     That the sustained efforts to increase the number of children being placed in an in-house foster placement be continued and that the targets established remain a key priority indicator for the service and performance be regularly reported to the Panel.

 

f)       The Panel appreciates the challenges faced by the service in relation to the recruitment and retention of Foster Carers and the continuous efforts being made to increase in-house Foster Carer provision. It is recommended that additional feedback is sought from Foster Carers leaving Middlesbrough’s Fostering Service to ensure that the information gained through the satisfaction surveys is fully utilised to focus on continuing improvement in this area.

 

g)     The Panel notes that there is currently very little advertising across the town to indicate that Middlesbrough Council needs and wants more people to become in-house foster carers. The Panel recommends that the work to increase the number of carers continues with pace and focus on additional advertising and marketing which should be analysed to improve awareness of the continuous need for more people to become in-house foster carers.

 

h)     The Panel appreciates that an essential strand to improving sufficiency is to continue to improve social work practice. It is acknowledged that numerous initiatives have been put in place to achieve this including the introduction of a Social Work Practice Model, a new Centre for Practice Excellence, the development of the Corporate Parenting Strategy, the work undertaken by the Future for Families Team, the commissioning of Innovate Teams and the effectiveness of the PAUSE project. However, whilst the Panel acknowledges improvements in the reduction of the use of Connected Carer Placements and Placements with Parents, it remains an area for improvement, and it is recommended that performance data is regularly presented to the panel in respect of these elements.

 

i)       The Panel recognises that particular progress has been made in strengthening the auditing process which provides a wide and in-depth coverage of the quality of services, however, a small proportion of social work practice continues to be identified as ‘inadequate’ through the audits.  Whilst the Panel notes the continuing reduction in ‘inadequate’ practice, it recommends that increased focus is placed on addressing poor quality practice through increased management oversight, support, guidance and training identified as appropriate for individuals, as set out in the Children’s Services improvement plan.

 

j)       The Panel would also reinforce that the day to day lived experience of the child should be at the heart of all social work practice and that this should be a key feature of learning and development to improve practice and a key part of the auditing process.

 

k)      That the improvement in the number of children being placed for adoption over the period 2018/19 (17) to 2020/21 (22) be continued alongside the improved focus on permanency planning.

 

l)       That progress against the set of seven proxy indicators with indicative targets based on statistical neighbour averages be reported to the panel and OSB on a quarterly basis.    

 

m)    That mandatory training to provide a basic awareness of the Children’s Social Care system, including information regarding key terms and phrases, be provided to all Council staff and Elected Members through the Middlesbrough Learns platform and that this be completed on an annual basis.

 

n)     That the local authority considers the use of certain terminology and acronyms that can be perceived as negative in relation to children in care/care leavers and that this be considered in conjunction with the young people themselves via the Children in Care Council, Care Leavers Forum and other participation routes.

 

o)     That the Participation Officer be asked to undertake a piece of work with children in care and care leavers through the various forums that have been established, to obtain their views around their experiences of the care system, what works well, what does not work well and to present their findings to the Panel and the Corporate Parenting Board.

 

p)     That opportunities are maximised to continually gather the views of children and young people in care, care leavers and their carers that can be used to shape and drive service improvement within the system.

 

AGREED as follows:-

 

1.      That the proposed conclusions, as set out above, be included in the Final Report.

 

2.      That the proposed recommendations, following the suggested amendments as discussed and following circulation to the Panel for agreement, and as set out above, be included in the Final Report.

 

3.      That the Final Report on Sufficiency and Permanency (Perceptions of Children in Care) be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Board on 11 May 2022 for consideration.