Agenda and minutes

None

a)    11 June 2019

b)    25 June 2019

The Minutes of the meetings held on the 11^th June 2019 and 25^th June 2019 were approved as a true and accurate record.

Attendee:

-           James Harris  Strategic Director – People

-           Sally Jenkins  Head of Children and Young People Services

The Head of Children and Young People Services presented a brief overview to the Committee and highlighted the key areas for consideration. The Head of Service started by explaining the Welsh Government’s expectation of the reduction in Looked After Children in Newport and its feasibility, as well as the plan Officers had in place to achieve the reduction in Looked After Children

Members asked the following:

·                The Chair asked Officers to confirm the definition of Looked After Children, enquiring if that had included children living with parents and family, not just by the care system. The Head of Children and Young People Services replied to the Committee explaining that the term Looked After Children could include children with a care order, and children living with grandparents or the wider family network, as well as children living in foster care and residential homes.

·                Members of the Committee asked Officers to confirm if the proposal made to the manifesto by the First Minister for Wales, for the reduction in the numbers of children who were looked after across Wales, holds penalties if the target proposed were not met.  Officers explained to the members of the Committee that there would not be budget or staffing implications within the proposals set by Welsh Government; however a shift in culture required to manage increased levels of risk and that would potentially present challenges across the Council.

Officers assured members that the targets set would not influence the services decision making process, if a child was vulnerable within the family setting where the child needed to be removed.

·                A Member of the Committee asked Officers to explain the reasons behind Welsh Government asking Local Authorities to complete the templates that were outlined in the report.  Officers explained that there were concerns with the numbers of children who were looked after in Wales being significantly higher than in England. A perception could be that the Welsh were more risk adverse, with the implications for the children of Wales being more likely that they would be removed from their families care and brought up within public care. The other motivation for the completion of the templates were to reduce the cost pressure on the service.

·                Members enquired about the cost of out of county placements, asking for clarity on why this occurs. Officers confirmed that out of county placements only occur when Newport does not have the provision for the child with foster carers or spaces in a residential home. Officers confirmed that costs had reduced since the opening of the new residential home, and would continue to drop. It was also confirmed that the Authority were recruiting foster carers on an on-going basis.

·                A Member asked Officers to explain what risks were acceptable before taking the child into care.  Officers replied explaining that society had a different view than the Authority. Risk would be assessed on an individual  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Attendee:

-       James Harris - Strategic Director – People

-       Sarah Morgan – Chief Education Officer

-       Katy Rees - Assistant Head of Education - Inclusion

The Assistant Head of Education - Inclusion presented a brief overview to the Committee and highlighted the key areas for consideration.

Looked After Children may require Out of County residential placements which were determined by Social Services. Those pupils often had combined residential and education packages. Sometimes those placements had to be made quickly to ensure the safety of the pupil, however the education package would be reviewed within six weeks to ensure its suitability to meet the pupil’s needs. There were also pupils with Statements of Special Educational Needs who were classed as Out of County because they attend a local mainstream School in another authority. The table below illustrates the types of placements along with the number of pupils accessing the placements:

Members asked the following:

·                A Member of the Committee commented that with the average cost of placing a child Out of County costing around £30,000, would the Authority be able to offer places to neighbouring Authorities to generate income? This money could be then used to offset the costs of sending Newport young people out of county. The Assistant Head of Education – Inclusion replied explaining that there had been a reduction in the number of Out of County placements made by the LA over the last three financial years, and a further decrease was forecast for 2019-20. There were a combination of factors that contributed to the reduction of Out of County placements, which would include working with Newport Live and Catch 22. Close links had been developed between Social Services and the Education Department to ensure co-ordinated support for our most vulnerable pupils. Through the monthly Brighter Futures and Complex Needs Panels pupils at risk of placement breakdown were discussed in detail and joint solutions were considered to try to reduce the need for an Out of County placement.

·                A Member asked for feedback on the Newport Live project, Catch 22.  The Officer replied confirming that feedback from the young people as well as Newport Live was positive. They were holding regular meetings and getting up to date analysis of incidents and repeat offenses from staff internally to the project and those based in schools.

·                A Member expressed concerns around the term LAC for Looked After Children, the Member requested that Officers and everyone concerned should not abbreviate Looked After Children, to LAC due to the stigma of being labelled as a LAC child.  The Officer replied confirming that the abbreviation would cease to be used in Education documents.

·                A Member expressed an interest in the links with Social Services and the Contracts and Commissioning Team.  The Officers replied explaining that close links had been developed between Social Services and the Education Department to ensure co-ordinated support for our most vulnerable pupils. Through the monthly Brighter Futures and Complex Needs Panel, pupils at risk of placement breakdown  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

a)      Forward Work Programme Update (Appendix 1)

b)      Actions Arising (Appendix 2)

c)      Information Reports (Appendix 3)

a.    Proposal for revising Member oversight of Residential Homes Rota Visit Arrangements

Attendees:

·                Daniel Cooke – Scrutiny Adviser

a)         Forward Work Programme Update

The Scrutiny Adviser presented the Forward Work Programme, and informed the Committee of the topics due to be discussed at the next two Committee Meetings:

5 November 2019, the agenda items;

·      Education – Mid-Year Service Plan Review 

DATE, the agenda item;

·      Children and Young People Social Services – Mid-Year Service Plan Review

·      Adults and Community Social Services – Mid-Year Service Plan Review

b)        Action Arising

The Officer explained that the outstanding actions were being chased for responses.