Agenda item

This agenda item will provide a summary of performance for key performance indicators across the Children in Care (CiC) services. It will provide an overview of the services performance in comparison to the same period 2022-23. It will also provide trend data, graphical analysis, and latest benchmarking data against national and statistical neighbour averages where possible.

The Performance and Business Intelligence Manager presented a summary of the submitted report, which included a summary of performance for key indicators across the Looked After Children Services for Quarter Three 2023 to 2024. It also included a summary of Service performance in comparison to the same period in 2022 to 2023, trend data, graphical analysis and the latest benchmarking data against national and statistical neighbour averages (where possible). The following was outlined: -

·       The report provided a summary of quarter three which covered the period of October 2023 to December 2023.

·       In relation to the journey of a child, there had been 122 children entering care, this was a reduction of 25 from the previous year.

·       In relation to initial plans that were updated every three months for three cycles, 76% of these plans were up to date, within ten working days of a LAC Review.

·       In relation to placement stability measures, 63.3% of children were looked after for two years or more, this was slightly lower than the previous year.

·       In relation to three or less placement moves in a year, this remained similar to the previous year at 9.3%.

·       In house fostering numbers had reduced by 2, with 111 foster carer families registered with the local authority by the end of this quarter. There had been 15 foster carer approvals in this quarter and 15 foster carer de-registrations.

·       There were seven children in care known to the youth justice service and 13 children adopted in this quarter.

·       In relation to timeliness and the length of time that children entered care to being placed with an adoptive family, this was 343 days on average which was 200 days less than the previous year.

·       88.1% of looked after children had a regular updated health assessment, this was a 13% increase on the previous year. 68% of looked after children had up to date dental assessments, this was a 9% increase on last year.

·       89.4% of reviews were on time during this period and 91.4% of visits were up to date.

·       99.1% of children in care had an up-to-date education plan, this was 7% higher than the previous year.

·       There were 337 care leavers during this period, this was 15 more than the previous year. 72.7% of pathway plans were up to date and 95% of care leavers were in suitable accomodation. 72% of care leavers were in education, employment, or training.

·       There were 136 children discharged from care and 19.9% of those children were moved into permanence.

·       The overall picture for this period was positive. There were 497 looked after children to date, this included unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. There was a profiled budget for 545 children.

The Chair thanked the Performance and Business Intelligence Manager for the presentation and invited questions. This led to the following points being raised during discussions: -

·       There was a typing error on the performance on a page report (page 20 of the agenda pack) it should state 76.9% for initial health assessments.

·       Delays on initial health assessments were reviewed to identify any causes. An example was provided of how notifications of initial health assessments had caused delays, a new process was created to combat this which had made an impact on the number of delays. There was not a high level of delays, however this was more prevalent with Section 20 children who were placed with family.

·       Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) often faced delays due to requiring a double appointment for interpreters. There were also occasions where interpreters did not attend appointments as planned and the appointment had to be cancelled, this was being recorded by the service and would be raised as a contractual issue with the provider, if required.

·       There were audits completed after every clinic to determine a clearer picture of why there was delays and no-shows. It was advised that the UASC cohort were often fearful of engaging with health partners. It was acknowledged that further thought was required to improve the process of providing health information to young people to encourage engagement with services. An example was provided of Wakefield Council and their approach to ensuring face to face contact with all UASC as part of the process of settling into provision.

·       In relation to the stability of placements, it was requested that this data be separated into age ranges. It was agreed that this would be circulated to members of the Panel once it had been obtained and analysed. Placement breakdowns would also be scheduled as an agenda item for the next meeting.

·       The service was considering changing the scorecard measurement in relation to the care plans measure, to every six months, this would align with other neighbouring local authorities. The board was supportive of this potential change.

Resolved:- That the update be noted.