Agenda and draft minutes

The Commission stood in silence as a mark of respect following the sad passing of Councillor John Blackham last weekend.

The Chair wished to place on record the Commission’s condolences to his family and friends and how his contribution and engagement in the activities of the Commission would be sorely missed.

To consider and approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 21^st July, 2026 as a true and correct record of the proceedings and to be signed by the Chair.

Resolved:- That the minutes of the meeting of the Improving Lives Select Commission, held on 21^st July, 2026 be approved as a correct record of proceedings.

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

There were no items of business on the agenda that required the exclusion of the press and public from the meeting.

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public or press.

To receive a verbal update from the Vice-Chair on the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board from the meetings of 30^th June and 8^th September, 2026.

Councillor Brent provided an overview of the last two meetings of the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board held on 30^th June and 8^th September, 2026.

The meeting of 30^th June, 2026 was opened by the Vice Chair, Stuart Williams, Service Director for Children's Social Care who presented the current work programme and highlighted priorities for future meetings, including aspirations for care leavers, the IRO Annual Report, the Fostering Annual Report and the Children’s Takeover.

Members received the Voice and Influence Annual Report, which showcased key achievements during 2025/26. Updates were provided on celebration events, the work of the In-Care Voice and Look Ahead groups, advocacy services, Youth Cabinet elections, Youth Parliament activities, Young Inspectors and Young Journalists. The report demonstrated the wide-ranging impact of young people's involvement in shaping services and communications.

The Board received a performance update on children in care, care leavers and fostering services.

Members reviewed performance trends and improvement activity across areas including care entry and exit, placements, health, education, reviews, adoption, youth justice and support for care-experienced young adults.

The Service Director reported progress against the CPPB Action Plan, with 31 of 41 actions completed and most remaining actions on track. Two delayed actions were linked to unforeseen technical barriers. A refreshed action plan was presented, focusing on Health, Housing, Education and Skills, Homes for Children in Care, and Key Transitions, underpinned by the voice of children and young people. Members emphasised the need for priorities to deliver tangible improvements.

The Board also received an update on foster carer recruitment. Young people shared powerful messages about the importance of being listened to, understood and involved in decisions affecting them. The fostering service outlined its approach to recruiting, assessing and supporting carers, with a strong focus on relationships.

Members noted positive feedback, including 96% of carers reporting support for their emotional wellbeing and almost all carers feeling well prepared through training.

Finally, the Board received the latest Ofsted inspection report for Liberty House, which was rated Outstanding. This meant all of Rotherham’s children's homes were judged Good or Outstanding.

At the meeting of the 8^th September the Board received the final draft of the new Rotherham Care Leavers' Charter, which set out commitments from the Council and partner organisations to support care leavers present to Cabinet on Monday 14^th September, 2026.

The Board received the annual report of the IRO Service, which provided independent oversight of care planning for children in care and then went on to consider the annual report on fostering services.

Members discussed the ongoing national challenge of recruiting foster carers and the importance of local foster carers for local children.

The Board then also reviewed Quarter 1 performance information with the Service Director sharing the Corporate Parenting Priorities for 26/27 and the action plan that would support progress over the coming year. Each priority would have an allocated Lead Officer and Champion Member.

The Board also received an update in relation to the priority area in relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

To consider the performance outturn for the reporting year April 2025 to March 2026 for Children and Young People’s Services.

Consideration was given to the report presented by Councillor Cusworth, Cabinet Member and Deputy Leader, supported by Helen Sweaton, Joint Service Director for Commissioning and Performance, Anne Hawke, Head of Performance and Planning, Kirsty Woodhead, Head of Service, Family Help, Stuart Williams, Service Director for Children’s Social Care and Sarah Whitby, Head of Access to Education.

The report as submitted included the performance outturn for the reporting year April 2025 to March 2026 for Children and Young People’s Services and included areas of performance that were working well alongside other areas where a continued focus was required.

Three areas were highlighted of strong performance and three areas requiring continued improvement.

In terms of strengths, assessments were being completed promptly, enabling children’s needs to be identified sooner, support plans to be put in place more quickly and families to access help at an earlier stage. This contributed to maintaining the standards expected of an outstanding children’s service.

Secondly workforce stability had also improved, with fewer staff leaving the service and reduced reliance on agency workers. This provided children with greater continuity in their relationships with social workers, leading to improved planning and support. Reduced agency costs also enabled more investment in preventative services, including Early Help and Family Hubs.

Thirdly increased numbers of families were accessing Early Help services. More families were receiving support at the right time, while the number requiring further intervention after support remained low. This demonstrated the positive impact of early intervention in preventing issues from escalating.

The Cabinet Member also outlined areas where continued focus was required.

Demand at the front door had increased, particularly in relation to domestic abuse, neglect and risks affecting teenagers. Recent analysis undertaken through the Families First Partnership Programme had reinforced existing concerns regarding the ongoing impact of domestic abuse, which remained a significant factor in many cases where children entered care. 

Work was ongoing to strengthen assessment processes, improve access to Early Help through Family Hubs and better understand the drivers behind increasing demand.

It was further noted that a small but important number of child protection visits were not taking place within required timescales. In response, management oversight had been strengthened, daily tracking introduced and additional capacity targeted towards the highest-risk cases.

In addition, meeting timescales for Education, Health and Care Plans continued to present challenges due to high demand and national workforce shortages. Efforts to address this included increasing assessment capacity, strengthening joint working with health and education partners and using Family Hubs to identify needs earlier and provide support to families.

Overall, the report demonstrated that the service was performing well, with clear strengths alongside identified areas for improvement. Therefore, the Commission’s scrutiny of performance, pace of improvement and assurance arrangements was welcomed.

Anne Hawke, Head of Performance and Planning, continued with the presentation slides as included in the agenda pack.

Further elaboration was provided for each slide which highlighted:-

·            Overview of Performance.

·            Scorecard Overview.

·            Family Help – what was working well.

·            Children’s Social Care – what  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

To receive an update on the performance of Rotherham’s Family Hubs Programme during 2025-26 and how it demonstrates its growing reach and impact across the borough.

Consideration was given to the report and presentation delivered collaboratively by Kelly White, Service Director, Family Help, Kirsty Woodhead, Head of Service, Family Help, and Amanda Needham, Service Manager, Family Help.

The Commission were advised the Family Hubs Programme and Rotherham had received Family Hubs funding since 2022. This investment had enabled the Council and its partner organisations to strengthen and enhance services for children, young people, and families across the borough.

The data presented related to the 2025/26 financial year. Family Hub registrations were a particularly important performance measure, as they helped the service understand which families were accessing services and, more importantly, enabled officers to identify, engage with and proactively reach out to families who were not currently accessing support.

The data showed that registrations had increased by more than 80% between 2024 and 2025. This reflected the significant progress made through the Family Hubs Programme, which had become increasingly embedded across the partnership. It also demonstrated growing awareness of the Family Hubs brand and a greater understanding among families of the benefits of registering.

In addition, registration processes had been simplified. Alongside the introduction of the Universal Baby Pack, measures had been taken to reduce duplication and make access to services easier for families. For example, parents could apply for a baby pack and provide consent to register with the Family Hub at the same time, creating a more streamlined and user-friendly process.

By way of a presentation the following was highlighted:-

-               Babies registered within six months of birth:-

•              Across quarters, between 74% and 89% of babies were registered with Family Hubs within six months of birth, demonstrating strong early engagement with families.

•              Continued effort to register babies after 6 months ensures families who may have missed earlier opportunities are still connected to Family Hub support and services.

•              In Q1 of 2026/27 89.1% of babies were registered within six months of birth, increasing to 90.1% when including those registered after six months.

-               Engagement with Family Hub Activities:-

•              Total attendances across all Family Hub, partner and commissioned services increased from 67,941 in 2024/25 to 82,863 in 2025/26, an increase of 14,922 attendances (+21.96%).

•              More children, young people and families are accessing support through the wider Family Hub system.

-               Geography.

-               Ethnicity:-

•              The programme continues to engage families from a diverse range of communities across Rotherham.

•              Attendance data shows that several minority ethnic groups are represented at levels above their proportion within the borough population.

•              Attendance by Asian or Asian British families has increased significantly over the last two years, with quarterly attendance growing from just over 400 attendances in Q1 2024/25 to over 1,000 attendances per quarter throughout 2025/26.

-               Deprivation:-

•              The Best Start Family Hubs programme is successfully reaching families in areas experiencing the highest levels of deprivation

•              More than half of all sessions were delivered in the most deprived communities

•              Over 30% of all attendances came from families living in the 10%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

To consider and approve the Commission’s Work Programme.

Consideration was given to the current work programme and the request to move the Youth Justice Inspection and Action Plan to December, 2026 and swap the CiC & CL Sufficiency Strategy 2023-2028 - Annual Update to March, 2027.

Resolved:-  (1) That the work programme for 2026/27 be approved with the current agenda items for inclusion and updated with today’s suggestions.

(2)  That the Governance Advisor be authorised to make any required changes to the work programme in consultation with the Chair and Vice- Chair and reporting any such changes back to each meeting for endorsement.

For the Chair/Project Group Leads to provide an update on the activity regarding sub and project groups of the Improving Lives Select Commission.

The Chair invited any progress reports on sub and project group activity and in doing so shared her own recent experience following a session the Chair and Vice-Chair had received on 29th July, 2026 to provide greater understanding on school finance and funding allocations.

The session was well received and a similar session had now be extended to Members of Improving Lives.  A session was, therefore, available on 5th October, 2026 at either 12.30 p.m. or 4.00 p.m.

Members welcomed the opportunity and opted for a later session, therefore, tasking the Governance Adviser with making the necessary arrangements (delivered via Teams)

Resolved:-  (1)  That the update be received and the contents noted.

(2)  That a session on schools finance be arranged for 5th October at 4.00 p.m. via Microsoft Teams and the invitations via Outlook be issued accordingly.

To consider any item(s) the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There was no urgent business.