Rachel
Farnham, Director of Children’s Care will present the scorecard to the Board
N.B The
scorecard will be circulated closer to the meeting to ensure information provided
is an accurate as possible.
Minutes:
The
Head of Looked after Children and Corporate Parenting was in
attendance and provided the Board with information relating to the
Corporate Parenting Board scorecard.
The Head of Service advised
that the scorecard was in place for the Corporate Parenting Board to see how
our performance was progressing and have the opportunity to challenge.
Key findings September 2022
were as follows:
CP1: Number of children in Care in Middlesbrough- Trend
·
Number of children and young people open to social care, in
particular Children looked after shows a fluctuated trend since September 2021.
·
Children looked after numbers vastly improved. They dropped down
below the 500 mark in January 2022, reaching 522 in August 2022- a 1% decrease
prior to last month.
·
Children looked after are down 2.6% in comparison to 12 month
prior.
CP2: gap
between Middlesbrough and Regional Children in Care (CiC)
per 10,000- trend
·
The rate of Looked after children per 10,000 shows a fluctuating
trend in the last 12 months reaching the lowest rate in January 2022 at
39.91.
·
The rate increased in recent months, reaching 53.49 in August
2022- thought this had recently decreased in September 2022 to 49.57
·
Middlesbrough remain above all external benchmarks, and have
fallen below our 2020/21 outturn.
CP3: Ration of children entering
to leaving care- Trend
· The
number of children starting a period of care remaining stable, until recent
months when the ratio increased. Scorecard shows that in August 2022, for every
09. Children starting care 1 ceased. The ratio still remains below the 2020/21
CP4: Average number of weeks
children spend in care (Ceasing care in month) –Trend
· The
average number of weeks children spend in care has shown a fluctuating trend in
the last 12 months. The number of weeks reached a highest in May 2022 at
182.00.
·
In
September 2022 the average number of weeks increased, exceeded the 2021/22
target (132.40), reaching 139.10.
CP5: FTE caseloads between 15-20 – trend
FTE caseloads between 15-20
reveals the peak caseload % was in July 2022 at 57%. The % has since decreased
to 59% in September 2022 and remain above the 2022/21 target (44.70%)
The Head of Service advised of
the following in terms of staffing and caseloads:
Looked After teams – There
were currently 15 social workers across the three looked after. This equates to an average of 17 cases per
social worker. There were 17 posts in
the establishment. They have an average
of 12 families each. There are two
vacant posts in the service that are not covered.
Pathways Social Workers– There
were currently 3.5 social workers carrying a combined caseload of 80 children
and young people. There were 4 vacant
social work posts not recruited to, 3 of which were covered with agency
staff. 1 post was not currently
covered. This was an average caseload of
120. They have an average of 20 families.
There
were 8 Pas currently covering 9 PA posts.
They have a current average caseload of 20 young people. Social workers were supporting capacity for
PAs and hold 30 young people.
CP7: % of CIC where plan of
permanence has been ratified- trend
The %
of children in care where a plan of permanence has been agreed has remained
above the 2020/21 target for the last 12 months remaining at 100% for the last
9 months.
This
highlights that the timescales of permanence agreements are significantly
improving.
CP8: %
of permanence arrangements resulting in SGO- Trend
The % of
permanence arrangements resulting in SGO remains above or meets the 2020-21
target of 20% in the last 12 months. The % reached 21% in September 2022.
This
shows great improvements across Children’s social care in regards to the
reasoning of cla ceasing.
CP9: % of ciC
placed with parents on care orders at home- trend
There
was currently 51 children placed at home with a parent. This had increased from the lowest point in
February when there were 41 children recorded as being cared for at home by a
parent.
This
has reduced from an overall high of 99 children in September 2020.
This
was an overall reduction of 48.4%
CP10:% of children who ceased to
be looked after in the period who were adopted- trend
The % of children who ceased to be looked after in the
period who were adopted has remained relatively stable across the last 12
months. In September 2022 the % reached
11% the same % as last month and a 1% increase in comparison to 12 month prior
CP13% of CiC in inhouse
foster placement – 12 month trend
The % of inhouse foster carer placements
has remained relatively stable in the last 12 months. The % remains below the
21% 2020/21 target in September 2022 reaching 19% - 0.40% in comparison to 12
months prior.
CP14- % of CiC placed with connected carers – 12 month trend
The
% of connected carer placements has slightly
fluctuated in the last 12 months. The % remains below the 2020/21 target of 29%
across all months recorded. In September 2022 the % reached 24.50% -0.55 % in
comparison to 12 month prior.
CP23- % of care leavers in
EET- trend
The
% of care leavers in EET is relatively stable across all recorded months
remaining below the 2020/21 target 54%.
The
highest recorded % was in May 2022 at 5.1% this has since decreased -1% to 50%
in September 2022.
Finally,
the manager provided information on CP24 - % of care leavers in suitable
accommodation – 12 month trend. The % of care leavers in suitable accommodation
remains below the 2020/21 target. 95% for all recorded months. In September 2022 the % reached 89% +1% in
comparison to 12 month prior.
Following
the presentation, there was some discussion surrounding suitable accommodation
for care leavers. It was agreed that Thirteen would be writing to in relation
to their support for care leavers and attendance at the Board.
AGREED
1. That the information be noted
2. That the Chair formally write to Thirteen.