Agenda item

This report provides an analysis of the performance data and trends for an agreed set of measures relating to looked after children on behalf of the Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee.

Dr Christine Cocker gave a presentation at the meeting on the Haringey Children’s Academy. Dr Cocker was an Independent Chair and had been carrying out this role since March 2020. It was noted that the Haringey Children’s Academy had been in operation for a year. Each academy was slightly different and Dr Cocker stated that she and colleagues had worked really hard in ensuring that the building blocks that were necessary for the initiative to succeed were put in place. The Academy structure had five faculties, as follows:

·                    Education and Learning Pathway Faculty – Head: Eveleen Riordan

·                    Career Pathways and Professional Development Faculty – Head: Beverley Hendricks

·                    Management and Leadership Faculty – Head: Joe Derilo

·                    Organisational Resilience, Health and Wellbeing Faculty – Head: Susan Otiti

·                    Early Interventions and Prevention Faculty – Head: Anne Marie Dodds

Dr Cocker stated that there would be an annual audit of training needs in Children’s Services, which would be fed into the work of the faculties. The following areas were also addressed as part of the presentation:

·                    Set out the progress since launch in 2020 – Foundations

·                    Provided an example of the launch of the microsite, not live just yet.

·                    Work priorities for 2021, including launching the learning management system in Children’s Services and involving young people and families in the work of the academy.

In response to a question from Councillor Dogan regarding the learning management systems and the platforms they were looking to adopt for their provision, Dr Cocker stated that it was important to develop a system that staff could use and would find useful. It was noted that it was already a requirement for social workers to record their learning and this data would also be used in developing a new management system.

In response to a question from Councillor Palmer about shared learning and any commerce opportunities and best practice that could be taken from other local authorities, Dr Cocker stated that there had been a number of Local Authorities that had paved their way before and that colleagues in Essex had developed a very fine academy. She added that there was an opportunity to do something unique here for all staff working in Children’s Services. Dr Cocker stated that she was more than happy to come back and provide an update to the Committee when more progress had been made.

The Chair then moved to the report. Richard Hutton (Performance and Business Intelligence Officer) introduced the report, as set out in the agenda.

Officers responded to questions from the Committee:

·                    Councillor Palmer recognised that there had been delays in the adoption process and wished to know the main challenges faced by the service as a result of Covid and how the service was trying to overcome these.  In response, it was explained that there had been some delay in family finding, as the usual mechanisms did not exist during the pandemic. There were delays in the Court system, which had resulted in a delay in getting the adoption ratified by the court. There were currently 9 children with carers that they were unable to process their placement orders, as a result of the delays. There were also the pressures of the workforce to take into consideration.

·                    In response to a question regarding the figures and whether it was expected that these would change dramatically after lockdown easing, Mr Hutton indicated that some change was expected, however the figures had been pretty stable during the lockdown and he believed that as we were nearing the end of the municipal year the figures would broadly stay pretty similar. 

·                    Councillor Demir was encouraged to see that 98% of looked after children had an up to date health assessment and questioned how these had been carried out and the impact Covid had had on children and the difficulties being faced. In response, it was stated that face to face visits were being carried out when they were able to and there was also the option to come into the Bounds Green centre or for staff to travel to where they lived. The majority of health assessments were being done virtually during the lockdown, which many young people welcomed and preferred. The service was seeing lots of problems relating to the mental and emotional health of children during this time. A number of children were feeling uncertain and anxious, especially those with learning disabilities, and there had been an increase in the number of children being referred for additional support.

·                    Dr Abusrewil added that they had continued to see children from August to the current lockdown, with the majority of meetings being face to face. They were trying to see those children that they had not seen in the previous 6 months face to face this time round, which was determined on a case by case basis. This had proved difficult with a current staffing restrictions, however they were ensuring those children that needed to have a face to face meeting were receiving these, as well as providing physical examinations, where necessary. There was a lot to be done on mental health issues and the local CAMS services were providing an on call service for those children, as well as the Kooth online counselling service.

·                    In response to a question from Councillor Mitchell regarding the figures surrounding unaccompanied asylum seekers, it was explained that there had been a high number of young people that had turned 18 which put them into a different category. This meant that they would still be with the young adult service, however there had been lower numbers of referrals in 2020, along with it also being much harder to travel during the pandemic, which had all had an impact on the figures.

·                    In response to a question from Councillor Culverwell regarding mobile phones, it was stated that it was a different generation and that mobile phones were essential for many young people. They were seen as an effective form of communication and were usually funded out of the foster carers allowance. It was confirmed that this was not a generic offer. 

·                    In response to a question from Councillor Chenot regarding remote learning during the pandemic, it was explained that a large number of laptops had been secured last year and the service had worked with schools to ensure that those looked after children that had to work remotely had the necessary equipment to do so. Priority was given to vulnerable children, with daily reporting of those children to ensure that their education remained intact. The virtual school was doing a lot of work on remote learning and the service was satisfied that they had adequately met the needs of most looked after children.