Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director for Children and Learning informing the Panel on the approach the Council is taking to fulfil its duty to secure sufficient accommodation within the authority’s area which meets the needs of children that the Council is looking after.

The Panel considered the report of the Executive Director of Children and Learning which informed the Panel on the approach the Council was taking to fulfil its duty to secure sufficient accommodation within the authority’s area to meet the needs of children that were looked after by the Council.

Councillor P Baillie, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care; Robert Henderson, Executive Director Wellbeing – Children and Learning, Southampton City Council; and Julian Watkins, Service Manager – Children and Families, Southampton City Council; were present, and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the panel.

In discussion the Panel noted that:

·  The placement market was challenged nationally, however Ofsted had referenced that the service was not keeping up with demand and there were concerns that, unless the issues were addressed more children would be required to be placed in unregulated settings, or at expensive placements outside the local area, which are outcomes that would not be in best interest of our looked after children or the Children’s Services budget.

·  The Local Children’s Home project would be reviewed following a period of testing the open property market and there was support for this approach from the Cabinet Member.

·  Regarding the Fostering Strategy the panel recognised that there had been challenges caused by the pandemic and were concerned that after eighteen months the required outcomes had not been delivered.  The Panel noted that a marketing specialist and fostering ambassadors had been recruited to improve the collection and analysis of feedback from people who enquired about fostering but did not progress to become foster carers.  There would be a dedicated week in September to promote Corporate Parenting and Fostering.

·  Progress had been achieved with the specialist fostering schemes, the parent-child scheme and the step across scheme.  The parent-child scheme placed both the parent and the child with a foster carer for support and assessment.  If the assessment failed for the parent, the child would be moved onto a separate placement.

·  The long-term solution would be to intervene early to support children and families so there are less looked after children in Southampton.  The Panel noted that like a lot of local authority’s early support services had been stripped away through austerity which had contributed to an increase in children needing social work intervention.  The Children and Learning service would be investing in the development of the early help offer to provide support when problems first emerged before they evolved into a problem requiring social work intervention.

RESOLVED:

(i)  That following the identification of a suitable property to accommodate a children’s home, ward councillors and planning officers would be engaged prior to the start of the planning application process to help facilitate a positive discussion with the local community.

(ii)  That data relating to the number and percentage of looked after children aged 16+ accommodated in semi-independent provision would be circulated to the Panel.