Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Marian Humphreys and Jerry Roodhouse.

Apologies were also received from Debs McGarvey, Team Manager - Voice, Influence & Change Team.

None

The minutes from the meeting held on the 18^th November 2024 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

There were no matters arising

Presentation from the Young Peoples’ Voice?, Influence and Change Team? for the period covering - 2nd November 2024 – 31st December 2024.

The presentation was given by Liss Phillips, Family Support Worker.  The presentation covered the period from the 2nd November 2024 – 31st December 2024.

1)    There was a trip to escape rooms in Birmingham for children and young people in December 2024; including a trip to McDonald’s.  Two of the teams were victorious while others spent an hour trying to escape.

2)    On 14th December, 106 children in care and their fostering families enjoyed attending the pantomime in Leamington Spa to see the production of Beauty and the Beast. At the end of the performance, each of the children were given a Christmas present to take away with them which had been donated through our Family Information Service.  The panel thanked the Child Friendly Partners, McDonalds, Procure 4 and Pertemps, who donated money so the team was able to purchase these tickets.

3)    The panel was thrilled to hear that the Siblings in Care Project had won a national award..  Warwickshire’s Brothers and Sisters project won the Best Project Award recognising all the work that had gone into it.  The award was presented in November 2024 at the National Young People’s Benchmarking Forum.

4)    Young people and parents were invited to be on the panel for five interviews.  Representatives from IMPACT, Children in Care Council and the Care Leavers Forum, as well as Foster Carers sat on interviews and created their own questions for candidates.

5)    On the 7^th November 2024, the Voice, Influence and Change Team partnered with the Fostering Team for the “Hey We Hear You Event”; a chance for foster carers to respond to what children and young people said about their foster carers.

6)    The Voice, Influence and Change team were invited to present at the Foster Carer Panel Training event in November.  The training included hearing from children and young people about what they think makes a good foster carer, understanding sibling relationships and the panel experiencing some of the feelings and emotions that our children may experience in the care system.

7)    Families First Induction days invited the voice, influence and change team to have input into the induction days for Children and Families staff.  Quotes from our children, young people and families were collated and recorded to be shared first hand with the teams.

The Chair thanked Liss for the presentation.  Sharon Shaw, Head of Corporate Parenting added that it is so important that the service does as much as it can.  It can be hard to think of new ideas, but the team does work hard to find them.  The Chair requested that members of the panel continue to be invited to events.

Sharon Shaw, Head of Corporate Parenting presented the report to the panel, added that some of the content would be covered by Vicky Woodfield - Head of Service Safeguarding Communities in her item in relation to Missing Episodes.

The highlights from the report included the following –

1)    Between November and December 2024 there was an increase in the number of children entering care.  December was a very busy time.

2)    Most of the children entering care are with Warwickshire foster carers.  There has been a slight increase in the use of agency carers, although this has been mainly for sibling groups.

3)    60% of children in care are between 10 and 16 years old and work is underway to find the best accommodation for them with the aim of ultimately being able to return home.  The majority of the children want to go home.  There should be an increase in the discharge of care orders to reflect this.

4)    In relation to Health Care Assessments, it was confirmed that 90.6% of Children in Care have had a completed assessment within the last twelve months.   It was noted that 12.8% of the children with completed assessments are Unaccompanied-Asylum Seeking Children showing a slight decrease in terms of performance. It was confirmed that delays are now often as the result of a child being placed out of county

5)    It was noted that the majority of children coming into care are older, with a much lower ratio of babies.  Teams work to make sure that the right children are coming into care; and that the right placement wouldn’t be with extended family.  In addition, it was noted that the early help work is helping to keep children at home with parents.  There will be a clearly defined path of how to take children out of care and back to family, or extended family.  Teams are very proactive from day one – who is out there that can look after this child.  There has been an increase in adaptations to keep families together in a property.

The Chair thanked all the officers involved and for the comprehensive report. 

Verbal updates to be presented in relation to each of Warwickshire’s Children’s Homes.

Rachael Boswell (Interim) Head of Service - Homes for Children gave a verbal update in relation to each of Warwickshire’s Children’s Homes.  It was confirmed that three services are now being delivered.

1)     Cherry Tree: this is a reunification home, and four children have now been able to go home, or to other family members.  The manager is currently off sick so there are no children placed there at the moment.

2)    Acorn and Oak House are under one manager.  There are currently two boys at Acorn but there is a considerable age gap, and teams are considering moving the younger boy due to the current dynamic.  It has now been confirmed that OFSTED will be visiting Oak House on the 22^nd January, and it is likely that the younger boy will be moved there once registration is complete.

3)    At the home in Bedworth, there is one boy living there and his transformation has been phenomenal.  He is really happy there.  The current plan is focused on transitioning him to independence; this will be done at his pace.

4)    Silverbirch is now open and operational.  The first child moved in last week and we have had really great feedback from her and the previous placement.  The transition has taken 2 weeks but has gone really well.  She moved in from foster care, and short breaks provision.  The home manager working at moving a second child in, so she isn’t on her own for too long.

5)    There are plans for a new home in North Warwickshire for up to four children emotional behavioural needs.  Conversations are currently happening about age groups (mid to late teenagers) and the hope is to be operational by the end of 2025.

The Chair confirmed that she has visited most of these homes.  They are brilliant places, and I am not surprised that the children are doing really well.

Following a question from Councillor Jeff Morgan in relation to the potential for a reduction in the pressure on the budget, it was confirmed that it was hard to answer that at this point.  However, it is unlikely to have eased the pressure given that the council is paying for staff in homes that aren’t yet full.  It is hoped that once the homes are full, then I think we will see a reduction on the budget pressures.  It can cost up to £17k a week for a non-Warwickshire owned residential home Once the homes are full, there will be a clear saving to see.

Following a question from Councillor Caroline Phillips it was confirmed that the police have never been called to a Warwickshire Children’s home.

It was also confirmed that one of the neighbours of Silverbirch had knocked on the door and asked for a job having seen how well the home was running.

Stability of Children in Care over the last 12 months - (01/10/2023 to 30/09/2024).

Sharon Shaw – Head of Corporate Parenting gave the panel an update in relation to the Stability of Children in Care over the last 12 months - (01/10/2023 to 30/09/2024).

It was confirmed that there have been significant improvements in this area.  We all know that stability across the board helps children.

The number of children in care with two or more placement moves has dropped from 19.4% to 15.3%.

The number of children in care with two or more social worker changes has dropped from 37.5% to 18.1%.

With the new team structure in place, this is likely to reduce further.  It was noted that there may be a blip in performance information given the change in structure as all children move over.

It was confirmed that there have been improvements in very area and has been a key area the council has been working really hard to address. 

There will be a deep dive audit into children who have had more than 3 moves in a year to get an understanding of what happened and why.  This is an area of work we will continue to work on.

The Chair thanked everyone for all their hard work; adding that you can see that the work can only be good for the children.  They are more stable and more settled.  The performance figures have really improved.

Presentation in relation to Missing Episodes for Children in Care.

Vicky Woodfield - Head of Service Safeguarding Communities gave a presentation to the panel in relation to Missing Episodes for Children in Care.

The highlights of the presentation included -

1. The presentation started by confirming that responding to children in care going missing is the responsibility of multiple agencies and restorative approach to working with children, to reduce the likelihood of missing events.

2. As part of the process the Missing Children Practitioners offer a return conversation when a child is found or returns home.  Goal orientated work with children who repeatedly go missing is also part of this process.

3. Episodes of missing for a significant period (more than 72hrs) or frequently (3 times in 90 days) leads to a multi-agency meeting to consider the child’s support needs.

4. The panel noted that challenges for the team have included an increase in the total number of incidents of children reported missing, and that this is consistent with the national picture.  It was noted that the figure has been increasing over the last three years.

5. Revised service arrangements have been introduced in relation to the Multi Agency Missing Children Protocol.  The revised protocol will enhance arrangements and agency accountability to support investigations.  There will also be a new process to extend missing arrangements to Care Leavers transitioning to adulthood where concerns remain.

6. It was confirmed that the has been a reduction in the number of missing children.  Overall, the number of missing children is down by 19% for children in care, the number is down by 11%.  For the number of missing episodes, overall the figure is down by 30% and for Children in Care, it is down by 28%.

7. It was confirmed that 29% of all missing episodes were for more the 24 hours, and of those, 17% lasted more that 72 hours.  The average time a child is missing has reduced significantly in the last twelve months.

8. The panel noted that 20% of missing episodes were from out of county placements.

9. In relation to why children go missing the principal reason provided is wanting to meet with peers and associates (often unnamed or perceived to be risky), and boundary issues or instability within their home or care setting.   Other common reasons include engagement in drug and/or alcohol misuse, mental health concerns, and exposure to exploitation.
10. The priorities moving forward will be to continue to reduce the incidences of missing children.  The Missing Children Development Plan will –

§  Continue to create an understanding of procedures and processes in place.

§  Work with supported accommodation providers to support, raise awareness and drive expectations.

§  Implement inter-agency Missing training via the Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Partnership, incorporating views and experiences of children missing from care.

§  Implement a preventative model to highlight the dangers of going missing.

Councillor Caroline Phillips thanked officers for the information adding that it is information that the panel has wanted to see for a long time.  It had been great to see all the work being done.

Following a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Items from the Forward Plan relevant to the remit of the Panel.

The Chair asked that any suggestion for the meeting in June 2025 to contact herself or Helen Barnsley, Senior Democratic Services Officer.

Councillor Jeff Morgan raised a question in relation to the recent news coverage of grooming gangs; asking if there was any evidence of the issue in the Warwickshire/Coventry area, either currently or historically.

Nigel Minns, Executive Director for Children and Young People confirmed that Warwickshire had been one of the random local authorities chosen for an investigation into child abuse.  Overall, the report was positive.  The results included the decision to redesign what (grooming) networks mean to include brother/children at school and how they might be affected.  Unfortunately, there are always going to be county line gang that operated from cities into places like Warwickshire; criminal exploitation and sexual abuse tend to overlap.  It was confirmed that officers were not currently aware of anything that is likely to be anything other than “normal” operating in Warwickshire.

It was agreed that a piece of work on the overlap between criminal exploitation and sexual abuse would be brought to the June meeting of the panel.

Councillor Morgan thank Nigel Minns for the response adding that during his time as Portfolio Holder, there has been the occasional incident but that they had always been very quickly acted on.

The next meeting will be held on 24th March 2025 at 10am.

Meetings are not webcast and are not open to the public.

The next meeting will be held on 24th March 2025 at 10am.

Meetings are not webcast and are not open to the public.