Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Cllrs Alexander, C. Harris and Patel. Cllr Peacock substituted for Cllr C. Harris.   

The Chair will consider the admission of late items of urgent business. Late items will be considered under the agenda item they appear. New items will be dealt with at item 11 below. New items of exempt business will be dealt with at item 15 below

There were no items of urgent business.

A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at the commencement of that consideration, or when the consideration becomes apparent.

A member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member’ judgement of the public interest.  

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2009.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December be agreed as an accurate record.

Confirmation was provided that there were currently no disabled CiC (Children in Care) placed at Hazelmere.

RESOLVED:

That the following information be forwarded by email to Committee members by 5 February:

·      Retention rates of in-house foster carers and a breakdown of number and types of carers.

·      Details of the number of CiC who came through the EDT (Emergency Duty Team).

Leaflet setting out mechanisms by which CiC can raise concerns/make complaints: a draft leaflet had been developed, with consultation to be undertaken with a small group of young people prior to anticipated publication by mid February.

RESOLVED:

Draft leaflet to be forwarded to Committee members by 12 February.

Attendance at homework club on a half termly basis to obtain the views of CiC: agreed that Cllr Allison would continue with this role and report back to the Committee as appropriate.

Booklet for ward Cllrs and governors setting out guidance on responsibilities in relation to corporate parenting: agreed that sufficient information on the subject had been forwarded to allow the action to be considered complete.

Re-offending rates for CiC: agreed that information be provided on rates at the next meeting and then routinely reported alongside accompanying offending rates as part of performance data monitoring.

A needs assessment progress report on care leavers employment opportunities.

The Committee considered a report setting out the employment and training opportunities for care leavers, at the support of the Leaving Care team. It was confirmed that 70.2% of Haringey’s care leavers were currently engaged in education, employment or training which exceeded the national average.

Members proposed that green industries be considered as an area for future focus for employment or training opportunities due to its increasing profile in line with the development of the green agenda.

The Committee were advised of the recent establishment of a 16+ forum consisting of key partners such as Connexions, Haringey Guarantee etc to ensure a co-ordinated approach to prioritising and securing opportunities for care leavers. The forum also aimed to increase links with local businesses and neighbouring boroughs to allow benchmarking of best practice. An Education, Employment and Training Action Plan was also in place to address gaps in provision. Key future targets included improving the promotion of opportunities to young people and staff and data monitoring to allow a targeted approach for those young people identified as not being in education, employment or training.

RESOLVED:

·      That a update report be provided to the Committee in 6 months time to include a breakdown of young people classified as ‘unemployed for other reason’ e.g. due to pregnancy, being in custody etc. In addition to provide information on the support and opportunities available for young care leavers with disabilities.

To receive a verbal presentation.

The Committee received a presentation on duties relating to the housing of care leavers and the housing options available, including private sector rented and supported housing. The Committee requested a breakdown of information on the type of housing allocated to care leavers over the previous two year period.

In response to a question regarding the financial support provided to care leavers when moving into a permanent home, confirmation was provided that local authorities had a duty to provide funding to every looked after child for those purposes and Haringey provided £1.5K which was similar to other LAs

The Committee were advised of the significant impact of the recent Southwark court ruling, requiring all 16 and 17 year olds presenting to the Council as homeless to be considered as Looked After Children. Confirmation was provided that information was being gathered to assist in forecasting future demand and financial impact to monitor against statistical neighbour information. Improvements had been made to co-ordinated working between the Housing Service and Children’s Service teams including introduction of new protocols and a new dedicated Southwark team in place to manage the new demand.

One area of concern expressed by Members was how a realistic picture of housing provision in the borough, particularly the shortage of two bedroom properties, was conveyed to care leavers. Confirmation was provided that a multi-disciplinary approach was used to manage housing expectations e.g. through teenage pregnancy co-ordinators, and the feasibility of covering housing information in PSHE sessions in schools was being investigated. 

The Committee requested that figures be provided at the next Committee meeting on the number of pregnancies amongst CiC population in the borough.

To consider specified performance data for CiC.

The Committee considered a report setting out the December performance monitoring data in relation to CiC within the Children and Families service. The Committee requested that in future performance data be provided in tabulated form to allow easier comparison between current and past performance.

The continued significant increase in the number of CiC was noted, including the impact of the Southwark judgement. 

In response to a query as to whether the Special Guardianship Order and adoption target would be met by March considering the time limitations, confirmation was provided that performance was highly dependent on the court system. The target was however considered to be realistic, with a number of cases in the system awaiting assignment of court dates.

To provide a verbal update and proposals for moving forward on the participation of children in care and the “Ministerial Stocktake”.

The Committee considered a tabled report setting out proposals for obtaining the views of CiC in the coming year, to be led by recruitment to the newly created post of Participation and Children’s Rights Officer for CiC. Mechanisms for engagement proposed included the organisation of a consultation event in the autumn, the use of an online forum or telephone surveys and the creation of a film or book.

The Committee recognised the importance of developing long-term mechanisms of engaging and seeking the views of CiC including the establishment of a CiC Council. However, the Committee strongly emphasised the importance in the short term of organising and hosting an annual CiC stocktake event locally as a matter of urgency, in order to capitalise on the recent national event and the commitment made by the Committee to run a similar event in Haringey. The replication of themes used at the national event could be used to allow a comparison to be drawn with views expressed by CiC in the borough. It was requested that this event be hosted by June 2010 which would allow time for informal consultation with young people.

This report sets out the proposal to establish a Head for the ‘Virtual School’ for Children in Care.

The Committee considered a report setting out proposals to adopt the Department of Children, Schools and Families national ‘virtual school’ model to track, monitor and raise attainment levels for CiC. Particular benefits of implementing this approach would be the extension of CiC educational support provision to 3-19 year olds as well as to CiC placed in the borough by other local authorities.

The virtual school staffing group would primarily consist of staff from the current CiC Education team, managed by a Head Teacher to lead on ensuring educational outcomes for CiC through for example, attending head teachers meetings within the borough.

The virtual school would be underpinned by a governing body to maximise outcomes for CiC by supporting and challenging the work of the virtual school. It was agreed that membership of the governing body should include at least two Corporate Parenting Committee members and proposed that membership be extended to include at least two  ex care leaver in order to provide an alternative perspective.  

Concerns were raised regarding establishing a clear line of authority to underpin the work of the virtual school, including mechanisms by which schools could be held to account where concerns in relation to CiC were identified. It was advised that successful training had been undertaken with designated teachers within schools in the borough to take the approach forward. The Committee considered that it would also be important to inform school governors in the borough about the new virtual school and its purpose in order to ensure successful sign up to the concept.

To consider any items admitted at item 2 above.

There were no new items of urgent business.

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for consideration of items 13 – 15 as they contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985): paras 1 & 2: namely information relating to any individual, and information likely to reveal the identity of an individual.  

RESOLVED:

That as items 13 to 14 contained exempt information (as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government 1972; namely information likely to reveal the identity of an individual, and information relating to any individual) members of the press and public should be excluded from the remainder of the meeting.

To consider the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2009.

RESOLVED:

·      That the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 7 December be agreed as an accurate record.

·      That the reports from recent Regulation 33 inspections of children’s homes be forwarded to Committee members. It was noted that the contract for undertaking Regulation 33 visits would expire in March whereby consideration would be given for inspections to be undertaken by staff from outside the service and young people. 

The Committee requested that their thanks be placed on record to the work of the staff at Muswell House towards improving standards at the home.

To provide a verbal update on safeguarding issues pertinent to the remit of the Committee.

The Committee were updated on a new child protection case that had arisen over the new year.

The Committee noted the retirement of the Chair of the Fostering Panel and the selection of a replacement.  

·      The Committee requested that a structure chart for the Children and Young People’s Service be circulated to members following confirmation that the management team was nearly fully staffed.

To consider any items admitted at 2 above.

Date of next meeting: 2 March 2010.

There were no new items of exempt urgent business.

RESOLVED:

That the following be included on the agenda for the next meeting of the Committee:

·       Strategies in place for managing CiC with particular challenging needs,  including suitably anonymised examples of the complexities of cases.

·       Progress report on improvements to the in-house fostering service.