Agenda item

The Panel will consider a report for information providing assurance on Residential Children’s Homes and Fostering Provision.

Contact:        Joel Hanna – Head of Service, Children Looked After and Residential Services

                     Anna Gledhill – Head of Service, Fostering Services

The Panel considered a report, which provided assurance and information on Residential Children’s Homes and Fostering Services in Kirklees presented by Joel Hanna, Head of Service for Corporate Parenting.

The Panel were advised that:

• The majority of children in care in Kirklees were in family settings, with Foster Carers or Kinship/Connected Carers. A small number of children lived in residential, small group homes. 
• Placements were also commissioned from independent fostering agencies and independent care homes where necessary.
• There was a national deficit in placements available for children; local and national campaigns had been launched to recruit foster carers.
• The report set out the position for recruiting Foster Carers.
• A team was working to recruit Foster Carers, and advertising on Kirklees vehicles was planned.
• All independent Care Homes and the six Kirklees Care Homes were subject to Ofsted inspections, regulations and standards.
• At the time of writing the report, 34 young people were living in externally commissioned provision, and 16 in Kirklees Care Homes.
• Some young people living in Care Homes could have been suited to Foster Care, however suitable provision had not been available. Placements may be short-term while foster provision was found for these young people, however they may settle and the residential placement may then become the most suitable placement for them.
• The Service had sought to expand provision and last year opened a sixth Children’s Home which had not yet been assessed by Ofsted but was settled and stable and would be inspected by the end of March 2025.
• Existing Children’s Homes were in the process of being refurbished as the young people living there moved on.

In answer to a question about the decrease of Foster Carers, and whether there was a shift toward carers choosing to work for private fostering agencies, Joel Hanna explained that the ten year low in the number of Foster Carers applied to both private agencies and local authorities. The trend in recent years had been that more Foster Carers were leaving than joining.  As a result, the DfE were working with local authorities on regional campaigns. Foster Carers in Kirklees received renumeration for their work, and received a skills level payment, which allowed Foster Caring to be an alternative to other paid work. The Panel was informed that there was a drive to increase the number of Kirklees Foster Carers, as agency fees doubled the cost of placing children through a private fostering agency. 

The Panel asked how confident the Service was that the residential homes would improve their Ofsted judgements on the next cycle of inspection, and whether good practice was shared across the homes. Joel Hanna advised that several activities had led to improvements, including:

·       Creating a progression route and enhanced leadership capacity for residential practitioners.

·       Recruiting residential practitioners internally from Family Time Team.

·       Moving residential staff around homes to share good practice.

·       Making improvements to the building at a home currently at Requires Improvement.

·       Monitoring visits ensuring that the other home at Requires Improvement is on a positive trajectory.

The Chair advised that she had visited the Kirklees Fostering Network in September 2024, where she had met with Foster Carers to hear their first-hand experiences and challenges and also to meet a number of foster babies.

RESOLVED –

(1)  The Panel noted the report and thanked the Officers for their contributions.