Agenda and minutes

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

Louise Hallas was welcomed to the Board as the new Virtual School Headteacher.

Apologies were received from Councillor Carole Pattison, Councillor Richard Smith ,Elaine McShane, Service Director - Family Support and Child Protection, Ophelia Rix, Head of Service for Children in Care, Care Leavers and Looked After Children, Gill Addy, Designated Nurse for Looked After Children, Janet Tolley, Executive Headteacher of the Virtual School, Christine Carmichael - Kirklees Fostering Network, Barry Lockwood - Kirklees Fostering Network, Keely Lucas – Care leaver Representative and  Farah Munir – Care leaver Representative.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 12^th July 2022.

The Board considered the minutes of the last meeting held on 12^th July 2022.

In relation to the Minutes, the Chair of the Board highlighted that it was agreed for Board members to be invited to a meeting in respect of understanding the work of the virtual school. The Board had also put forward a challenge to members of the Council in respect of creating opportunities for care leavers.

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.  

No deputations or petitions were received.

The Board will hear any questions from the public.

No public questions were received

Mel Meggs, Strategic Director for Children’s Services will attend to speak to the Board about the Role of the Corporate Parent.

Contact:

Mel Meggs, Strategic Director for Children’s Services

The Board noted that this item was to be deferred until the next meeting due to unexpected circumstances.

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 Service for Children in Care, Care Leavers and Looked After Children

Janet Tolley, Virtual School Headteacher
Gill Addy, Designated Nurse for Looked After Children

Ian Mottershaw, Head of Service –Contextual Safeguarding and Y.E.S, Family Support and Child Protection

The Board considered the latest reports giving key highlights on Performance Monitoring data for Children’s Services.

Rahila Habib, Service Manager – Family Support and Child Protection presented the key highlights in relation to Children Entering Care, Children in Care and Placement Stability. It was explained that:

·         There was a decreasing trend in the number and rate of children in care from 62.4 (624 children) in September 2021 to 60.7 (607 children) in August 2022.

·         When considering the decrease, it was important note the ongoing work of children being returned home, and an increase in special guardianship orders.

·         From 1^st January 2021 to August 2022 there were 75 special guardianship orders made.

·         There was also an increase in unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people through the national transfer scheme.

The Board noted the update and the explanation for the decreasing trend of rate of children in care as positive and reassuring but highlighted that it was important to maintain oversight of the decrease. The Board were also interested in the increasing numbers of children who were placed outside 20 miles of Kirklees asking if this was due to lack of sufficiency or specific individual requirements. 

Rahila Habib responded to advise that there were some challenges in sufficiency alongside a number of young people who needed to be placed outside of the area to meet specific individual needs. Where this was the case reviews were ongoing to ensure that the placement continued to meet their needs. Tom Brailsford, Service Director (Resources, Improvement and Partnerships) added that a key driver of increase in out of area placements was the Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) placements for private fostering, whereas out of area residential placements continued to reduce. The Board were advised that there were focused plans to address the increase such as ensuring that strategies to support and recruit more foster carers were in place. In respect of wider sufficiency issues, work was ongoing to influence regional and national policy alongside taking local measures.

The Board noted a key objective in the report was to recruit more foster carers and to provide more local placement options. In response, Tom Brailsford agreed to provide a report in respect of promoting and recruiting foster carers locally to a future meeting of the Board.

The Board highlighted the decrease in the number of children missing as positive.  In respect of the number social worker changes the Board noted that this may be a result of the national recruitment and retention issues but requested reassurance around the processes in place to keep children safe when there was a change in social worker.

Rahila Habib, responded to advise the Board that all children had an allocated social worker. Changes were avoided wherever possible however, some changes were necessary for various reasons including challenges in recruitment and retention, as well as requests for a change from the young people. Rahila further reassured the Board that where there was a change in social worker that oversight was maintained, and risk levels  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Board will consider the Children’s Rights Team Annual Report 2021/ 2022.

Contacts:

Krissy Podgorski, Children’s Rights Team Manager
Anna Gledhill, Service Manager, Quality Assurance and Safeguarding

The Board considered the Children’s Rights Team Annual Report which was presented by Krissy Podgorski, Team Manager – Children Looked After Independent Service.

Krissy Podgorski explained that the three main functions of the CRT were Children Looked After Advocacy (Child Protection Advocacy), the Children in Care Council and the Independent Visitors Scheme. The purpose of the report was to inform the Board of the services delivered by the CRT during the period of 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022 and it was highlighted that:

·         133 young people were supported by the CRT within the reporting period and 492 separate pieces of advocacy were undertaken.

·         During the reporting period there had been an increase in requests to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who were required to have an age assessment.

·         The most common reasons for requests for support included assistance with Children Looked After Reviews and other meetings,supporting care leavers who had children going through Care Proceedings, support at Pre-Birth Assessments and supporting young people with their Personal Education Plan Meetings.

·         There was a higher volume of advocacy provided to Children Looked After (374) as opposed to Care Leavers (118).

·         Whilst the CRT supported children and young people living within the local authority area, those who live outside of the area were also able to access the service.

·         There were 89 advocacy issues raised which were resolved informally, with restorative work with other services/professionals being facilitated by the advocate. In the reporting period, there were 9 formal complaints initiated.

·         Following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, regular face to face meetings of the Children in Care Council and the Care Leavers Forum had resumed and the membership had increased in both groups.

·         The Independent Visitors Scheme, also known as Care2Listen, was established in its current format nine years ago; and was coordinated by an Independent Service Officer.

·         A recruitment campaign was undertaken in October 2021 which resulted in 10 volunteers completing training in February 2022.

·         As of 1^st August 2022, there were 32 trained independent visitors and 29 children matched.

·         Rolling recruitment exercises were planned to increase the number of volunteers, and there was a particular requirement to recruit more males into the role.

·         The CRT were working to continually improve services to young people and there was currently a modernisation of the service taking place.

·         The review aimed to develop appropriate and enabling structures to allow young people to have a voice to shape and improve their lives.

·         Work was ongoing with the Child Protection Review unit to improve the advocacy offer within the child protection process, which included the strengthening of links with strategic groups and boards.

·         There had also been an independent review of children’s social care and the recommendations made would have implications for the advocacy service if they were progressed.

The Board complimented the work of the CRT as positive and thanked officers involved in the delivery of these services. The Children in Care Council was also highlighted as a good experience for young people,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Board will consider an update on the findings of the joint targeted area inspection (JTAI) of the multi-agency response to the criminal exploitation of children in Kirklees.

Contacts:

Ian Mottershaw, Head of Contextual Safeguarding and Y.E.S - Family Support and Child Protection
Elaine McShane, Service Director -Family Support and Child Protection

The Board considered an update on the findings of the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) which was presented by Tom Brailsford, Service Director (Resources, Improvement and Partnerships).

The Board were advised that the JTAI inspection was an inspection of the whole partnership, and the multi-agency response to children at risk of, or experiencing, criminal exploitation. The inspection took place from 27 June 2022 to 1 July 2022 and it was highlighted that the feedback was very positive. 

The headline findings were:

·         Partners at a strategic level enabled a well-embedded practice which supported professionals to work well together.

·         Children in Kirklees who were at risk of, or experiencing, criminal exploitation had their needs identified quickly and received multi-agency support to manage and reduce risk to them effectively

·         Leaders and managers had an effective oversight of the ‘front door’ arrangements and worked together to reduce risk and offer support.

·         The Youth Justice Service (YES) was found to be a successful resource that worked well with other agencies to reduce risks of exploitation.

·         The YES in Kirklees was also put forward by the Lead Inspector as an exemplar of good practice nationally.

·         The drop-ins engagement sessions (i.e.- from substance misuse teams) at Childrens Homes were also highlighted as being particularly effective.

There were also some recommendations arising from the Inspection. The Board were advised that key areas for improvement included, the recording of information in internal meetings, and taking a more targeted approach to training in an in person setting and engaging GP’s around exploitation. Jo-Anne Sanders, Service Director – Learning and Early Support expressed pride in the partnership highlighting the effectiveness of capturing young people’s voices and understanding their cultural needs.

RESOLVED: The Board noted the findings of the Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI) and welcomed the positive feedback.

The Board will receive a verbal update from the Chair of the Virtual School Governing Body.

Contacts:

Councillor Carole Pattison
Janet Tolley, Virtual School Head Teacher

The Board noted that there had not been a meeting of the Virtual School Governing Body and there was nothing to report at this time.

RESOLVED: That an update on the work of the Virtual School Governing Body be presented to the Board after its next meeting.

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

Contacts:

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

The Board considered an update on the Children’s Ambition Board presented by Tom Brailsford, Service Director (Resources, Improvement and Partnerships) who explained that the purpose of the Board oversees a range of strategies across Children’s Services, and it was important that this information was provided to the Board.

The Board were advised that the previous 2 meetings of the Board were cancelled due to the Joint Targeted Area Inspection, and the bank holiday. The next meeting was to take place next month, and the feedback would be presented to the next meeting of the Board.

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

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Board noted updates from Members in respect of interactions with Services.

The Children’s Scrutiny Panel continued to visit services, including a recent visit to the Parent Carers Network (PCAN). There was an upcoming Panel visit to the Dewsbury Child Protection Services with a focus on key national issues such as staffing and capacity and looking at how the Local Authority continue to manage those issues and ensure children remain safe.

The Chair visited the launch of Home Starts new premises. The Chair had also met with the Chair and Chief Officer of Home Start to discuss their staffing and looked forward to attending their AGM.

The Chair had also met with the Designated Nurse and the Chief Executive of Locala to discuss the pressures on the health service. This was followed by two further meetings with Locala Managers and the issue was also raised to the Director for Children’s Services. Movement had begun to resolve the pressures on the services.

Colleen Kenworthy, Kirklees Fostering Network representative, requested that Board Members be invited to a meeting of the Kirklees Fostering Network.

RESOLVED: The Board noted the update on Interactions with Services, and it was agreed that members of the Board be invited to a future meeting of the Kirklees Fostering Network. 

The Board will consider the agenda plan for 2022/23.

Contact:

Jodie Harris, Principal Governance and Democratic Engagement Officer

The Board considered its agenda plan for 2022/23.

RESOLVED: The Board noted the agenda plan for 2022/23 and it was agreed that the items highlighted during the meeting be added to the document for the Boards consideration.