Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

Agreed:- (1) That the minutes of the previous meeting of the Looked After Children Scrutiny Sub-Panel, held on 12^th December, 2007, be approved as a correct record.

(2) That, with regard to Minute No. 6 (Performance Indicators Affecting Looked After Children), the Scrutiny Sub-Panel noted details of the current position concerning the recruitment, appointment and retention of qualified social workers, as well as the use of the multi-disciplinary Locality Teams.

(3) That progress reports about the following items be submitted to the next meeting of the Looked After Children Scrutiny Sub-Panel:-

minute number 4 – Offending by Looked After Children

minute number 5 – Work Placements for Looked After Children

Consideration was given to a report, presented by the Looked After Children Service Manager, stating that the Care Matters agenda contained a number of recommendations which were to be incorporated into the forthcoming amendments to the Children Act 1989, due in 2009. An Action Plan and Implementation guidance had been published, giving clear timescales for development.

The report stated that a key requirement was the development of a Looked After Children’s Council, which will meet with Directors and Elected Members, including Members of this Scrutiny Sub-Panel, in order to ensure their involvement in shaping and developing all aspects of the Borough Council’s service to Looked After Children. This work should begin with the development of the Borough Council’s “promise” to all of the Looked After Children.

A number of issues were discussed:-

- the composition of the Looked After Children’s Council and the representation of the young people themselves (including care leavers);

- the first meeting of Looked After Children’s Council would take place during the Autumn, 2008;

- ways of ensuring that the Borough Council would be informed of and would respond to the issues raised by the Looked After Children’s Council;

- the role of the Looked After Children Scrutiny Sub-Panel in regularly monitoring the progress of the Looked After Children’s Council.

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the establishment of the Looked After Children’s Council be welcomed.

(3) That a meeting of all members of this Scrutiny Sub-Panel and the Looked After Children’s Council (including care leavers) be arranged to take place during one evening in January, 2009.

(4) That progress reports about the Looked After Children’s Council be submitted at regular intervals to this Scrutiny Sub-Panel.

The following items are likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under those paragraphs, indicated below, of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended

Resolved:- That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in those paragraphs, indicated below, of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.

(Exempt under Paragraph 3 of the Act – information relating to financial or business affairs)

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Looked After Children Service Manager concerning the Leaving Care Service and Care Leavers Accommodation service, which have been subject to a service tender.

The report stated that Action for Children (formerly NCH, the National Children’s Homes charity) is the current provider of the Leaving Care service and part of the accommodation service. In order to provide a more streamlined and best value accommodation provision, the accommodation service currently managed by Action for Children and the post 16 residential provision at Hollowgate, off Moorgate, Rotherham (currently managed by the Borough Council) were all amalgamated into one Accommodation service and tendered as a whole.

The Scrutiny Sub-Panel noted that Action for Children had been successful in their tender for both services (minute references No. 67 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services held on 17^th October 2007 and No. 80 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member and Advisers for Children and Young People’s Services held on 31^st October 2007.

The report described both the existing service provision and the outcome of the tendering process. The new supported accommodation building at Hollowgate would receive Housing Corporation grant funding. The care leavers who would eventually be resident in the new building were currently staying in other accommodation nearby, for a temporary period until completion of the construction work in 2010.

The Scrutiny Sub-Panel welcomed Mary-Ann Barton, representing Action for Children, who explained the role of the charity in this service provision.

During consideration of this item, the Scrutiny Sub-Panel discussed the entitlement of care leavers to various state benefits and it was agreed that foster carers ought to be informed of the current entitlement.

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That arrangements be made for members of the Looked After Children Scrutiny Sub-Panel to make a visit of inspection of the new supported accommodation for care leavers at Hollowgate, on completion of the construction work in 2010.

(Exempt under Paragraph 3 of the Act – information relating to financial or business affairs)

(Exempt under Paragraph 2 of the Act – information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual)

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Looked After Children Service Manager concerning the OFSTED inspection of Rotherham’s Fostering Services, which had taken place during the week commencing 19th May, 2008. The report summarised the findings of the inspection. Also submitted to the Scrutiny Sub-Panel was the action plan of the actions required (statutory requirements) and the recommendations made to improve provision. The resource implications of the required actions were contained within the report.

The report stated that there were currently 382 Looked After Children with the Borough Council, of which 267 were in foster care placements with 111 foster carers. The Scrutiny Sub-Panel’s consideration of this item included discussion of the following issues:-

- the placement of children and young people with carers, using discretionary regulations to allow placement;

- resource issues and the practice of placing children and young people ‘over numbers’ in foster placements (eg: keeping sibling groups together and the alternative of having to seek independent fostering placements);

- the further inspection of Rotherham’s Fostering Services, by OFSTED, which was scheduled to take place during November, 2008;

- the need to recruit additional foster carers and alternative ways of achieving such recruitment;

- the arrangements for social workers’ statutory inspections of the placement homes of Looked After Children.

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the contents and the implementation of the Action Plan and recommendations be noted.

(3) That further reports be submitted to the next meeting of the Looked After Children Sub-Panel:-

(a) detailing the outcome of the further inspection, by OFSTED, of Rotherham’s Fostering Services; and

(b) describing the operation of the existing arrangements for social workers’ statutory inspections of the placement homes of Looked After Children.

(Exempt under Paragraph 2 of the Act – information likely to reveal the identity of an individual)

(Exempt under Paragraph 2 of the Act – information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual)

Consideration was given to a report presented by the Looked After Children Service Manager containing a statistical profile of Looked After Children in the Rotherham Borough area. The report provided the following details, as at 11^th September, 2008:-

- 382 Looked After Children in the Rotherham Borough area (compared with 337 reported at the December, 2007, meeting);

- 29 of these children were allocated to the children’s disability team;

- the number of children placed in the various types of care available;

- the incidence of absence from school;

- Out of Authority placements;

- information about the themes and trends resulting from the Regulation 33 visits to residential children’s homes.

Further to Minute No. 7(b) of this Sub-Panel’s meeting held on 12^th December, 2007, the report included information about the education being received by the Looked After Children who were currently absent from school.

Agreed:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the contents of the Regulation 33 Report (visits to residential Children’s Homes) be noted.

(3) That a further report be submitted to the next meeting of this Scrutiny Sub-Panel detailing the educational provision for Looked After Children.

(Exempt under Paragraph 2 of the Act – information likely to reveal the identity of an individual)