Agenda item

This report provides an update on progress implementing the national children's social care reforms in Medway.

The reforms aim to:

·        help families receive support earlier.

·        strengthen child protection arrangements.

·        increase support available to kinship carers.

·        improve the availability of local placements for children in care.

·        improve outcomes for care leavers.

Progress continues across all reform areas. During the reporting period significant developments have included further design of the Family Help model, implementation of Family Network Support Packages, progress towards a Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, expansion of support for kinship carers and continued development of plans to improve services for care leavers.

The report highlights achievements, next steps and areas where continued partnership working is required.

Discussion:

The report was introduced and a presentation delivered on the reforms.

Members raised several comments and questions which included:

Speech and Language - concern was highlighted regarding the waiting list and the lack of experts in place to address issues with wait times. The Committee was informed that there was a national shortage of therapist and recruitment remained an area of challenge. Services continued to explore a number of initiatives as part of the joint workforce strategy to address this issue.

Kinship – it was asked how it was decided at the point that a decision was made for kinship care, what level of support was provided to the family and reassurance given that this was the right decision for the child. The Committee was informed that there was a comprehensive process in place with various assessments undertaken on suitability of a prospective carer. There was extensive scrutiny prior to decision making which also involved advice from legal colleagues, in particular where more than one carer had been identified as potentially suitable. There were risk assessments in place at every level to ensure that the right decision was being made. There was on going provision of support and periodic assessment of placements, and kinship carers were also informed of whom to contact at any point for support and to raise any concerns.

Sufficiency – it was commented that there were several children placed outside of Medway and it was asked how consistent the support that was  provided to those children had been. The Committee was informed that this was an area of ongoing priority. There was a strong robust quality assurance process in place for children and young people placed outside of Medway. There was ongoing extensive work being undertaken to minimise the need for outside placements such as ongoing recruitment of foster carers,  working with local independent fostering agencies as well as providers outside of independent fostering agencies. Utilising  resources as part of the regional care co-operative and south east region home and families to build on fostering networks. The aspiration was for all Medway children to be cared for in Medway.

Apprenticeships – it was asked how inclusive the Council was and how many SEND children were being offered apprenticeships. The Committee was informed that the Council continued to explore different means of provision of opportunities for young people to enable them to gain experience of employment. There were workstreams in place to support care leavers and keeping young people motivated. The Head of Children’s Partnership Commissioning added that work had been undertaken on development of videos for care leavers and young people, in partnership with Mid-Kent college on content that could assist in improving their wellbeing. There was also work being undertaken on starting a podcast at the college and inviting guest speakers to talk specifically about work, training and further education.

Workforce – it  was asked what the workforce’s views were on the reforms, and what feedback had been received on the impact of the changes to their way of working. The Committee was informed that the staff consultation had recently been launched. Staff had been aware of the reforms for a while and practitioners had taken opportunities to their views. However, with change, there would always be an element of uncertainty as well as opportunities and there would be learning along the journey. The focus was on building and strengthening relationships whilst continuing to share information and improve outcomes for children.

Support for families – in response to a comment on maintaining consistency  by practitioners and ensuring that information was shared with the non-residential parent of a child or young persons, the Committee was informed that this was an area of continuous improvement. There was additional training for practitioners in place, and this was one of the areas of focus for the upcoming practice week as it has been recognised as an area for development.

Decision:

The Committee:

a)     Noted the progress made in implementing children's social care reforms.

b)     Noted the key developments across all reform areas.

c)     Note the importance of continued partnership working in delivering the

           reforms.