Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the Corporate Parenting Strategy and approve the three-year plan as set out within the Strategy; 

2.    Note the Responsibility of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People to Chair and convene the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board;

3.    Approve the Governance Arrangements for the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board and delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Children and Young People’s Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, Chief Executive and Assistant Director of Legal Services to amend the Terms of Reference.

Consideration was given to the report which presented the Corporate Parenting Strategy for approval. The Strategy set out the priorities for children and young people and outlined improvements to services and practices for children who were Looked After or had care experience. There were currently 509 children in care and 323 care leavers in Rotherham, with some overlapping between the 2 groups (due to young people being considered care leavers aged 16). These children and young people had a range of needs and experiences and lived in a variety of placements, suited to their needs. As such the Strategy had to outline priorities which met the needs of all children in care and care leavers and determine how these needs could be met over the next 3 years. The priorities for the Strategy were set out in paragraph 1.5 of the report.

The previous Strategy (Children in Care and Care Leavers Strategy) was published in 2017. The key achievements of the previous Strategy were:

·        Improved placement sufficiency through the residential transformation programme and the fostering plan.

·        Improved stability of placements for children in care.

·        Destination and permanence planning for children in care.

·        Stability of the workforce.

As part of the development of the oversight of the Service, evaluation of other local authority services (for example, Hertfordshire County Council and Leeds City Council) had suggested that the Corporate Parenting Panel be reconstituted as a Board, with external partners involved, in the new Municipal Year. This would reinforce the importance of the wider partnership across the Borough to support vulnerable children and young people and provide the collective leadership required to improve outcomes for children in care and care leavers. Partners provided the additional commitment to children in care and care leavers that a parent who was ambitious for their children would make, and it was important to continue to build upon this. It would also ensure that detailed discussions took place with Members about a range of confidential issues, including placements and direct service delivery.

The Board would continue to be chaired by the Lead Member for Children and Young People’s Services with a cross party group of Members invited to  attend the meetings. Membership would also include key corporate leads across all services relevant to children in care and care leavers, as well as health and education representatives. In order to facilitate the full attendance of children and young people, representatives would be restricted to attendees and documents would not be made public. It was essential to ensure that the voice of children in care and care leavers was heard clearly and in a way that ensured they genuinely influenced the development of policy and strategy moving forward. To ensure proper scrutiny continued for this important area of work, it was recommended that the Board report formally annually to Council and to the Improving Lives Select Commission.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the Corporate Parenting Strategy and approve the three-year plan as set out within the Strategy.

2.    Note the responsibility of the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People to Chair and convene the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board.

3.    Approve the Governance Arrangements for the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board and delegate authority to the Strategic Director for Children and Young People’s Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, Chief Executive and Assistant Director of Legal Services to amend the Terms of Reference.