Agenda item

The Panel received a report which provided an update on private fostering

notifications, assessments, and monitoring activity, and also provided a level of assurance to members that privately fostered children were being adequately safeguarded. The update covered the period from September 2022-23. The report was introduced by Keith Warren, Head of Children in Care & Placements, as set out in the agenda pack at pages 9-16. Cllr Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families was also present for this item, along with the Director of Children’s Services. The following arose during the discussion of this item:

a.    The Panel queried what incentives there were for people to come forward and notify the Council of their private fostering arrangements. In response, officers advised that the incentive was that the Council would provide them with a social worker who they would meet on a six-weekly basis to ensure the child’s support needs were being met. In relation to a follow-up question, the Director acknowledged that people did not automatically associate that having another person’s children staying with them for the summer constituted a private fostering arrangement. In this example, the child would not be in school and there would be limited interactions between that child and the state. It was acknowledged that part of the problem was around identifying children who were under private fostering arrangements and the challenge was to raise awareness of this through schools, GPs, hospitals and faith groups.

b.    The Panel sought clarification on whether private fostering arrangements came to the fostering or adoption panels, and whether councillors still sat on that panel. In response, officers advised that private adoptions were a separate process as they involved a family arrangement, and therefore those cases did not come to the fostering panel. The Cabinet Member advised that both the fostering and adoption panel still existed and that she sat on the fostering panel. The adoption panel was organised on a regional basis and the Cabinet Member advised that she was unsure of how Member representation on this was organised.

c.    The Panel commented that in terms of a social worker being an incentive, that many people may not see this as an incentive and may see this as a negative judgement on them. In response, the Director advised that the key selling point of private fostering arrangements should be seen as the safety and care of the child and emphasised that Members should encourage people to make a referral to Children’s services if they were involved in a private fostering arrangement.

d.    In relation to SEND fostering needs, officers set out that any child with additional needs that was part of a private fostering arrangement would be treated the same as any other members of the child population when it came to access to SEND services.

e.    In response to a request for clarification about the regional adoption arrangements, officers advised that previously every local authority had its own in-house adoption agency but that this was changed in around 2016 when the government brought in regional clusters of adoption agencies. Haringey was part of the London North cluster and the lead authority was Islington. Lydia Samuels already brought an annual adoption report to CPAC. The Cabinet Member suggested that the report could be brought to the Panel in future if Members wished.

RESOLVED

Noted.