Issue - meetings

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years,  presented the corporate parenting report.  He advised that the Council was still awaiting the final report on the Ofsted inspection.  He thanked all the staff who worked so hard in the lead up to and during the inspection.  He encouraged members to complete their profiles setting out the opportunities they could support for children in care. The next corporate parenting meeting was on 24 March 2022. There continued to be challenges in the system with some notable areas of improvement but there remained issues where improvements were required.

A member asked about DBS checks for members. He believed that all county councillors should be DBS checked as they could come into contact with vulnerable children during their case work. 

Cllr Davies said that any members who wished to be DBS checked could be but it was not a legal requirement. 

Answering further questions, he said that he was not aware of any unaccompanied children coming to the county from Ukraine but he assured members that appropriate support would be provided should they do so.  He confirmed that more than 40% of care experienced young people were not in employment or education and steps were being taken to address this.  In answer to a question about the instability of long-term placements, he explained that there had been a significant fall in the number of Foster Carers through the Covid pandemic and this had a particular impact. He stated that locations for the family hubs had not yet been agreed and an engagement exercise was being undertaken with families. In terms of work placements, the Council had a number of care experienced young people on work placements and steps were being taken to increase the number.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the report.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the Corporate Parenting report.

Members were advised that the Council’s Ofsted inspection would be completed this week. The Cabinet Member remarked on a notable increase in morale amongst officers in children’s services the day the inspection was announced, and thanked officers for their hard work over the last few weeks. He also thanked members for not submitting questions to Council on children’s services which had allowed officers to focus on the inspection.

Members noted that the date of the next Corporate Parenting meeting had been detailed incorrectly in the Corporate Parenting report and would take place on 24 March 2022. New mentors had been recruited from the ambassador programme, with regular challenging meetings held with the Cabinet Member.

One member queried what the expected timescale was for verbal feedback and the formal written report from Ofsted. Cllr Davies replied that whilst they would be given some indication on the outcome of the inspection when it finished this week, they could not talk about it until the formal written report had been produced, which could take a matter of weeks.

One member took the opportunity to thank officers in children’s services for their efforts during this challenging time.

Another member asked whether the Cabinet Member thought the number of children in care would surpass 1000 by 2025 or whether he thought numbers had reached their peak and would start to reduce? Cllr Davies responded that there were several factors contributing to the numbers of children in care, however he hoped with the introduction of family hubs, youth support services, and early intervention, that numbers would not continue to increase. However, it was noted that the number of children in care was increasing nationally, with local authorities still grappling with the impact of Covid.

There was a further question as to whether the Council had eyes on those care leavers residing in accommodation deemed unsuitable? In response, Cllr Davies explained that the Council had an obligation to reach out to care leavers; however, the difficulty was that care leavers did not have an obligation to respond.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the Corporate Parenting report.

Members were advised that there was a concern that a date for the Ofsted inspection date had not yet been set. This was a concern as it was believed that, as a result of the improvements made, Children’s Services in Gloucestershire were no longer inadequate. It was important to get this confirmed by Ofsted, as the current status was affecting recruitment. This concern had been raised with Ofsted in writing.

Additionally, in the face of a record number of children in care and high staff turnover amongst children’s social workers, an additional payment was being made to front line workers for their loyalty.

Members were invited to submit their One Page Profiles if they had not already done so. However enough profiles had been completed already to be able to launch the programme.

Cllr Davies also commented on the tragic case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and reflected on the importance of the work carried out by Children’s Services and the daily decisions that they made.

One member requested a breakdown of the costs totalling £5 million involved in supporting two children. Cllr Davies responded that he would look at what information could be provided to the member.

Another member asked whether the Cabinet Member would look into introducing preventative measures, given that there were increasing numbers of children in care. In response, Cllr Davies explained that this increase in the number of children in care was a national trend, and in Gloucestershire, a request to increase spending on youth services and family hubs had recently been considered by Cabinet. Further announcements on this would be made in the new year.

There was a further query from a member as to how children requiring support from Children’s Services were supported with the transition to Adults Services.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the Corporate Parenting report.

The report updated members on the activity of the Corporate Parenting Group. In particular, at its last meeting, the Group relaunched the One Page Profile; considered the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Annual Report 2020/21; and received the Fostering Service Annual Report 202/21.

It was understood that there had been significant growth in the Children in Care population, and therefore caseloads had remained high due to this increase in demand. The ‘Language that Cares’ campaign had been launched focusing on the language used to communicate with and about care experienced children and young people. Additionally, a fast track assessment had now been introduced to address the decline in foster carer enquiries across the County.

Members were asked to complete One Page Profiles which could be shared with Children in Care. Council would be updated on progress with these at future meetings.

One member queried why there were more children in care now than 7 years ago. In response, Cllr Davies acknowledged that there were a number of causes, including as a result from previous problems with the service. There had also been a post-Covid increase in cases, and it was an issue that was being addressed.

Following a query as to whether members should be DBS checked, it was explained that it was not mandatory and that the role of members was not to engage one on one with young people without the involvement of Children’s Services.

One member asked what the response would be to the issues raised in the IRO report, which included too many unplanned voluntary care admissions in an open-ended timescale, and too many changes of social worker experienced by children in care. The Cabinet Member explained that the service was on a journey and that there were still areas to improve. Measures were being introduced to address these issues, including the introduction of the social workers university which provided training, particularly for newly qualified social workers.

A further question was asked as to whether there was an understanding of the population of children in care placed in Gloucestershire from out of County, to which it was explained that the responsibility for these children remained with the originating local authority.

Several members queried whether this report to Council reflected the true position of children’s services performance, and whether the report to Council needed to be more transparent. In response, Cllr Davies acknowledged that the service was not where it wanted to be and that it was on a journey of improvement; Children’s Services was subject to scrutiny through the Improvement Board and Children’s Scrutiny Committee, both of which receive extensive, detailed reports on performance.  This report to Council tried to highlight the most pertinent and relevant points affecting Children in Care. Nevertheless the report would be looked at to ensure that it was comprehensive.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Stephen Davies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the Corporate Parenting report.

The report explained what it meant to be a corporate parent, particularly what it meant for individual councillors. It was understood that councillors had a personal responsibility to consider the impact their decisions had on children in care and to consider what they could do to help these children.

Members were asked to complete One Page Profiles which could be shared with Children in Care.

One member queried the wording in the care leavers’ offer regarding the management of debt. They suggested that it should be reworded to encourage money management and the avoidance of debt. Cllr Davies responded that whilst debt was something we often had to manage in life, they would look into the wording.

There was a further query as to whether children in care were offered the chance to learn to ride a bike or take driving lessons when they turned 17. Cllr Davies explained that he would make sure information on this was available to children in care.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the Corporate Parenting report.

It was understood that the appointment of 7 members as Corporate Parenting champions would take place following the election in May.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present report.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the Corporate Parenting Report.

Cllr Boyles provided members with an update on Gloucestershire County Council’s Virtual School Annual Report (2019/20), outlining the educational achievements of Children in Care (CiC), and the work being done by the Virtual School to support CiC to develop and learn.

It was noted that attendance had increased to 92.6 percent for all school age children and exclusions were down to 12.1%, as a result of training and the launch of the persistent absence strategy and CiC protocols. However, there was still work to do in this area, which had been identified in the improvement plan.

Pupil Premium Plus and Personal Education Plans (PEPs), alongside joint working had been making a difference to learning, however more needed to be done to improve educational outcomes. It was intended that PEPs would become smarter, and that this would be monitored by the new Virtual School Management Committee and the Corporate Parenting Board.

It was noted that 17 care leavers were at university, and 6 care leavers had graduated in summer 2020.

Cllr Boyles thanked all Virtual School staff for their work, particularly during these challenging times.

Members were reminded to complete their one page profiles to help identify areas where CiC can be specifically supported.

One member expressed concern regarding a recent report which raised concerns that young people in Gloucestershire had been at risk, and requested a report to understand what had been going on. Cllr Boyles responded that a meeting was due to be held to discuss the case, and he would ensure that reassurances were given.

Another member requested an update as to how the Trevone House facility was progressing. 

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the Corporate Parenting report.

Cllr Boyles drew members’ attention to the importance of the ‘One-Page Profiles’ in helping young people in care to access work and career opportunities. He reflected that members, as corporate parents, should help children in care as they would if they were their own.

One member asked for an update on the establishment of a Youth Council, following a motion to Council. In response, it was understood that young ambassadors played a vital role by attending Corporate Parenting meetings, mentoring officers, and working with the care leavers’ group.  Partners were also working together on the child friendly Gloucestershire project, which worked to promote the voices of young people.

Several members raised questions regarding the most recent letter from Ofsted on its visit to Gloucestershire children’s services in October 2020, and expressed their concerns about its findings. One member commented that debate on the Ofsted letter should take place at Council as all members were responsible for the care of children in Gloucestershire.

In response, Cllr Boyles reminded members of the journey that the Council had been on so far, and of the Council’s ambition to continue improving. Members were advised that there would be an appropriate opportunity for members to debate and raise any queries on this topic at Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

One member sought clarity on the process for helping young people to engage in the process of their care, and in supporting them to use technology, where processes have moved online as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In response, Cllr Boyles explained that the visit rate for Gloucestershire during the pandemic had been the highest in the South West, and that they had been working with the courts on ensuring access to the virtual courts.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the annual report 2019/20 which highlighted the wider improvement activity underway in Gloucestershire.

He drew members attention to the ‘Councillor One Page Profile’ which could help facilitate giving a child in care work experience.

One member referred to the national issue of child poverty and the need for early years intervention and emphasised the need to look more broadly.

Responding to questions Cllr Boyles expressed confidence on the upcoming delivery of Trevone House and the due diligence that had been undertaken on the contract. This was still on schedule for delivery around October, but he would check as to whether there had been any delays due to Covid-19.  He would explore the possibilities around arrangements for the opening of the site in the contact of the pandemic.

Cllr Boyles clarified that social workers had been visiting children during the Covid-19 pandemic and referred to the guidance that was being followed.  He provided details on the court procedures that had been set up when there were disputes over care.

One member asked about exam results for children in care and those that had led onto university places. A response would be provided, including details on deferment of places.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the corporate parenting report.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the report which focused on the work of Voice Gloucestershire (Gloucestershire’s Children in Care Council). He encouraged all members to engage with the corporate parenting training which was delivered by the council’s Ambassadors for Vulnerable Children and Young People.

In response to a question Cllr Boyles updated members on the progress of Trevone House, explaining that the project had slipped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The construction was scheduled to complete in September 2020, with services commencing soon after. Cllr Boyles also agreed to contact the local member to share the contract details for the management of this facility.

It was stated that the work of the Ambassadors for Vulnerable Children and Young People was a highlight of the work of Children’s Services.

A member raised concerns regarding the reduction in the number of foster carers available. Cllr Boyles acknowledged that there has been a fall in numbers. This was, in the main, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic; many of our foster carers were older and had had to withdrawn from fostering support for health reasons. The Fostering Service was actively recruiting, but this was a challenge in the current circumstances.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, to present the Annual Report of the Corporate Parenting Group.

Cllr Richard Boyles, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding and Early Years, presented the annual report of the Corporate Parenting Group.  He thanked members of the Corporate Parenting Group, ambassadors, professional partners and officers at the Council for their work over the last year.  He was pleased that most members had signed the corporate parenting pledge but he said that he was disappointed that some members had failed to do this.  He encouraged members to read Members’ Matter for corporate parenting updates and information on upcoming events.   

A number of members spoke about a recent event they had attended at Kingsholm Stadium to celebrate care leavers.  They were concerned that care leavers often felt lonely and they hoped that support could be provided to help them in developing relationships alongside advice on housing, education and employment. They expressed disappointment that some members had still not signed the pledge.    A member believed that the Council could do more to mobilise people in local communities to support young people who had left the care system. 

Another member regretted that a motion that she had presented to Gloucester City Council to prevent care leavers becoming intentionally homeless had been rejected.  Cllr Boyles undertook to work with the six district councils to address the member’s concerns.

A member suggested that a schedule of corporate parenting events for each year be published so that members were aware of what was coming up well in advance.  They believed that personal invites should be sent out to members for events.  They said that they were pleased that two public engagement events had been held relating to the plans for Trevone House in Gloucester. 

Cllr Boyles agreed that this was a good approach and he would ask officers to make the necessary arrangements alongside notifications in Members’ Matter.  Referring to Trevone House, he said that there would be further engagement events with potential providers setting out what their plans were.  He recognised that there would always be a need for out of county placements but he hoped that the local market could be developed alongside Trevone House to reduce the number required.   

RESOLVED to note the report.

Cllr Richard Boyles, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, to present the report.

Cllr Richard Boyles, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, introduced the report.

A member said that he recognised that a lot of work was being done to turn around Children’s Services but he noted that the recent Ofsted progress letter had identified concerns that a number of children continued to have multiple Social Workers.  He asked what steps were being taken to address this issue.

Cllr Boyles stated that Advanced Practitioners were in place in each team to work with colleagues and understand caseloads.  He was pleased that 75% of team managers were now Council employees rather than agency staff.  Work was being undertaken with a specialist recruitment company to find people for the remaining posts.  He said that management information was being strengthened to make sure that there was a robust monitoring process in place to allow concerns to be identified.

RESOLVED to note the report.

Report from Cllr Richard Boyles, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People.

Cllr Richard Boyles, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, referred to the issues facing children-in-care in terms of their healthcare.  He provided information on the services that were in place including the introduction of dedicated children-in-care nurses from January 2018.

A member expressed concern that the recent press release on Children’s Services did not reflect the concerns expressed by Ofsted.  He did not believe that members were being kept informed of developments and questioned whether the Improvement Board was working as it should be.

Cllr Boyles advised that regular reports were provided in Members’ Matter to ensure that all members were kept up-to-date on the latest developments. He assured the member that there was no complacency amongst the members of the Improvement Board or senior staff.  He said that nothing was being hidden and the issues identified by Ofsted were being addressed. 

Answering further questions, Cllr Boyles advised that all the agencies involved had signed up to a data sharing agreement.  This meant there should be no delays in providing information as a result of the requirements of the Data Protection Act and related legislation.  He said that efforts were being focused on the needs of individuals which followed the core principles of  the NHS England pilot ‘My plan, my life’.  He explained that the number of children in custody was falling and the Police were aware of the need for children to be dealt with in an appropriate manner with proper representation. He stated that he did not wish to interfere with the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner but the Council was prepared to provide support where necessary.

In light of the importance of the issue, two members called for oral updates on the Ofsted Improvement Plan to be made at each full Council meeting.

Cllr Brian Robinson, the Chairman of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee, advised that the committee looked at the Improvement Plan at each meeting with members given the opportunity to ask questions of the Cabinet Member.

Cllr Boyles said that he would seek guidance on the best approach to reporting to members in future.

RESOLVED to note the report.