Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence from those Members who are unable to attend the meeting.

The Chair welcomed Board Members to the meeting. Apologies had been received from Councillor Elizabeth Reynolds, Councillor Carole Pattison and Christine Carmichael.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 29^th June 2021.

The Board considered the minutes of the last meeting held on the 29^th June 2021.

RESOLVED- That the minutes of the previous meeting be approved as a correct record.

The Board Members will be asked to say if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have disclosable pecuniary interests, which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the items or participating in any vote upon the items, or any other interest.

No interests were declared.

Most debates take place in public. This only changes when there is a need to consider certain issues, for instance, commercially sensitive information or details concerning an individual. You will be told at this point whether there are any items on the Agenda which are to be discussed in private.

It was agreed that all agenda items would be held in public session.

The Board will receive any petitions and hear any deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also hand in a petition at the meeting but that petition should relate to something on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10 (2), Members of the Public should provide at least 24 hours’ notice of presenting a deputation.  To register a deputation please email executive.governance@kirklees.gov.uk. 

No deputations or petitions were received.

The Board will hear any questions from the general public. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, questions should be emailed to executive.governance@kirklees.gov.uk  no later than 10am on Monday 4 October 2021.

No questions from the public were received.

To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Board will consider an Annual Report from One Adoption West Yorkshire.

Contacts:

Suzanne Whiteley, One Adoption West Yorkshire

Michelle Rawlings, One Adoption West Yorkshire

The Board considered the One Adoption West Yorkshire (OAWY) Annual Report for 2020 – 21 presented by Suzanne Whitley, Service Delivery Manager, and Michelle Rawlings, Interim Head of One Adoption West Yorkshire. They gave an overview of the work undertaken by OAWY as well as a general update in terms of the national picture with regards to adoption. It was noted that:

·       Nationally, the latest figures released showed that there was no longer a gap between children waiting and the number of adopters available.

·       There was a mismatch between the needs of the children requiring adoption and the adopters willing to consider these priority children.

·       The government had provided £1million to the adoption sector to improve the recruitment and preparation of adopters with a key focus on attracting more adopters from black and minority ethnic communities.

·       The national campaign #YouCanAdopt was launched in September 2020 focussing on myth busting about who can adopt and was followed up with a pilot project for Black Adopters in Birmingham and London.

·       A further campaign around adopting brothers and sisters together was launched with a more targeted approach to seek adopters specifically for priority children.

·       The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) was committed until July 2022 and the next Spending Review was predicted to clarify the longer-term plans for the ASF.

·       2020/21 had been an unprecedented year for OAWY as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

·       OAWY maintained the Duty and Advice service and (whilst staff worked from home) and provided the same level of support for families as before the pandemic.

·       OAWY had continued to work in partnership with Operational Leads across the 5 West Yorkshire Local particularly focussing on the impact of coronavirus upon children’s care planning and moving into adoption.

·       Discussions had also taken place around the implementation of aligning adoption and special guardianship payments and joint audit work had also been discussed and agreed.

·       The work across the region from the Education Lead alongside the five VirtualSchool Heads(VSH) continued togrow. Thehelpline waswell usedand accessedby adoptive parents, schools and other professionals offering advice and support asneeded. 

·       This helped gain a current understanding of the difficulties faced by families and professionals and how best to support them. 

·       Work had continued to   increase the awareness of attachment and trauma in West Yorkshire schools through the delivery of workshops and training sessions to school staff, childcare provisions and to adopters inpartnership with the service delivery teams.

·       The two key areas for development regarding Special Guardians (SG’s) was the implementation of a regional support plan and the implementation of a regional approach regarding the financial support to SG’s.

·       Atherapeutic parenting programme designed for SG’s called ‘Guiding Guardians’ had beencommissioned. The first program was in March and OAWY made a group application to the fund on behalf of the region.

·       The Kinship (formerly Grandparents Plus) project was progressingwell with the further supportprovided from theASF Covid-19funds.

·       Between April 2020 and March 2021, 207  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Board will consider a report giving key highlights from the latest Performance Monitoring Data for the Children’s Service.

Contacts:

Ophelia Rix, Head of Corproate Parenting  

Janet Tolley, Virtual School Headteacher

The Board considered the latest reports giving key highlights on Performance Monitoring data for the Children’s Service for Children in Care, Fostering and Children’s Homes up to the end of August 2021. 

Ophelia Rix, Head of Service for Children in Care, Care Leavers and Looked After Children presented the data relating to ‘children entering care, children in care and placement stability’. Itwas noted that:

·       There was currently a decreasing trend in the number and rate of children in care from 68.7 (688 children) in November 2020 to 64.7 (648 children) in August 2021. The current 12-month average for Kirklees was 66.9 (670 children) and was below Statistical Neighbours 2020 rate of 92.2.

·       This may be due to the use of Special Guardianship Orders (SGO’s), an alternative legal order which gave parental responsibility of a child to connected family and friends.

·       The data showed that in Kirklees SGO’s were particularly effective in ensuring successful outcomes for children and young people.

The Board welcomed this information and requested that a piece of work be undertaken around understanding the use of SGO’s in neighbouring Local Authorities and suggested sharing Kirklees’s best practices with those authorities.

In relation to educational outcomes Janet Tolley, Virtual School Headteacher reported that:

·       100% of PEPs were completed within the Summer Term in-line with the new termly processes. 

·       The Virtual School was currently leading on all PEPs since the Covid-19 lockdowns began in March 2020. 

·       PEP meetings were currently held virtually and enabled the virtual school to be involved in every young person’s meeting whilst bringing together social workers and schools to provide high quality wrap around support.

·       100% of school moves since the start of the academic year were carefully planned across the service to ensure a smooth transition with no break in provision.

·       Absence/ Persistence Absence (PA) figures could not be compared to previous years due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic where reported absences were higher due to illness, and school bubble closures. 

·       This negatively impacted on the number of PA pupils, even though many of these young people were not attendance concerns. 

·       This was reflective of the national situation and the local one, where Kirklees was subject to public health restrictions and high rates of infection over a longer period.

·       The Virtual school continued to monitor individual attendance closely and work to support young people on an individual basis.

·       A key priority of the Virtual School was to support young people with their mental health to ensure that they were engaging with education in the recovery from the pandemic. 

·       The full detailed Virtual Head Teacher Report (containing the data for the previous academic year) was scheduled to be presented to the full governing board and then could be provided to the Corporate Parenting Board for consideration.

The Board noted that the information was reassuring, and it was agreed that the Virtual Head Teacher Report (containing the data for the previous academic year) be presented at the next meeting of the Corporate Parenting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Board will consider the refreshed Staying Put Fostering Policy Cabinet Report.

Contacts:

Lisa Warnes – Programme Manager, Children’s Improvement Team

Elaine McShane – Service Director, Family Support and Child Protection

The Board considered a report setting out the refreshed Staying Put Policy presented by Elaine McShane, Service Director - Family Support and Child Protection who highlighted the following key points:

·       All Local Authorities were required to set out how they will operate a Staying Put scheme. The refreshed policy set out the arrangements in Kirklees for Care Leavers aged 18 and above to continue living with their foster families.

·       The report was approved by Cabinet on 27^th July 2021 and was well received.

·       There was strong national evidence to support that young people’s life chances are improved when remaining in a supportive family home post 18.

·       The policy set out an improved support and financial offer which reflected the importance of Staying Put Carers and the role they play in equipping young people with the emotional confidence and practical skills needed to live independently, whilst they remain living in a supportive family home.

·       A key priority was to make sure no Staying Put Carers were financially worse off and there were a number measures included in the policy to mitigate the issue of Staying Put Carers experiencing a detrimental financial impact through their benefits being reduced.

·       The service was to work with existing Staying Put Carers and young people living these arrangements to communicate changes on a one to one basis to ensure support in relation to financial impact queries.

·       A simplified guide to Staying Put will be produced aimed at Foster Carers and young people who may be considering Staying Put for their future together.

·       Regular updates on progress and the impact/outcomes as a result of implementing the policy will be scheduled in the forward plan and provided to Corporate Parenting Board

The Board noted the refreshed Staying Put Policy report and welcomed its arrival. In the discussion to follow the Board highlighted the importance of viewing Staying Put Carers as the continuation of family to young people and that the language used when engaging with Staying Put Carers should reflect this. The Board also suggested that an event should be held with tax advisors for staying put foster carers to help them understand the changes.  Elaine McShane agreed with the Boards comments advising that advice on tax could be included in the formal launch. It was also explained that some work was being undertaken to improve language to reflect that Staying Put Carers are family.

A question was asked around backdated payments. Elaine McShane responded to advise that the current understanding was that changes to payment would take affect from the date when the policy was approved by Cabinet, but agreed to check the information.

Responding to a question around reviewing and measuring the success of the refreshed policy, Elaine McShane advised that it was important not to wait for a formal review to make improvements where there was delegated authority to do so, but reassured the Board that any changes would be made in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member and that the Board would also  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Board will receive a verbal update in relation to the Virtual School Governing Body.

Contact:

Janet Tolley, Virtual School Head Teacher

The Board considered a verbal update on the Virtual School Governing body presented by Janet Tolley (Virtual School Headteacher) who explained that the Governing Body meetings were half termly and the next one was to take place on the 21^st October and an update would be provided to the Board at its next meeting.

RESOLVED: The Board noted the Virtual School Governing Body Update.

The Board will receive a verbal update in relation to the Children’s Ambition Board.

Contact:

Elaine McShane, Service Director – Family Support and Child Protection
Tom Brailsford, Service Director – Resources, Improvement and Partnerships

Tom Brailsford, Service Director (Resources, Improvement and Partnerships) gave a verbal update on the work of the Children’s Ambition Board. It was noted that the Board continued to broaden its scope of focus to include the SEND transformation programme and continued to monitor the work from the children’s social care 10-point improvement plan.  It was suggested that a report on SEND Transformation be provided to the Board in relation to Looked After Children, the Board noted the update and agreed that the report be presented to a future meeting.

RESOLVED:

1.    The Board noted the Children’s Ambition Board Update.

2.    It was agreed that a report on SEND Transformation be presented to the Board in relation to Looked After Children within the Calendar year.

The Board will consider verbal updates from Members in relation to progress and key issues following interactions with Services and partners to challenge the role of the Corporate Parent.

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

Board members shared verbal updates following interactions with services. It was noted that:

·       The Chair of the Panel had met with the independent Chair of the Kirklees Safeguarding Partnership, had attended a webinar on contextual safeguarding and had visited the Kirklees Food Network to understand the impact of families under greater financial strain.

·       The success of the Children in Care Council’s Safety and Music Project was highlighted and Board members suggested that work be undertaken to identify potential to expand the project.

·       The Children’s scrutiny Panel had established a work programme of visits to front line services.

·       Most recently the Panel had visited The Valley’s Cluster Children’s Social Work Team. The Board noted that front line staff were positive about their casework and opportunities for development. 

·       It was also noted that a member of the Adults Mental Health Team had been working alongside the children’s social workers to provide advice to the wider family supporting children and that this was an example of particularly effective partnership working between services.

RESOLVED: Board Members noted the update on Interactions with Services and it was agreed that:

1.    Work be undertaken in respect of expanding the Children in Care Council’s Safety and Music Project.

2.    The outcomes of future Children’s Scrutiny Panel visits to front line services be reported to the Corporate Parenting Board. 

3.    That the team planning the Children’s Celebration event be informed to send the relevant details to Kirklees Foster Carers.

The Board will consider its agenda plan for 2021/22.

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Enaggement Officer

The Board considered the work plan for 2021/22.

RESOLVED:

1.    The Board noted the forward work programme for the 2021/22 municipal year,

2.    It was agreed that all reports identified for presentation to the Board at a future meeting be incorporated to the work programme at the appropriate time.