To consider a report outlining the activity of the Conference and Review Service in relation to the reviews of Looked After Children during 2011-2012.

The Panel considered a report by the Team Manager Conference and Review which outlined the team’s activity in relation to the reviews of Looked After Children during 2011-12.

The Chairman queried what the Council’s procedure governing the oversight of review management had been before the statutory requirement had been introduced.  In response the Team Manager explained that the Quality Assurance Service within Children’s Services Operations had held the same responsibilities but the data collected had been reported to central government.  There had been no specific requirement to report findings to Members though it was acknowledged that some authorities did so.

Turning to the timeliness of reviews the Chairman queried why five children and young people had experienced late initial reviews.  In reply the Team Manager explained that several factors had been indentified including that all five were late notifications from the operational teams and that in three cases there had been a lack of clarity and slight delay in notification in the notification of a change in the children’s status to Looked After.  She added that the issues had been raised with the operational teams to ensure future compliance with the regulations.  She also stressed that the children and young people had not been disadvantaged in any way and that the performance target had of 95% had been met.

The Chairman next referred to the participation by children in their reviews.  The Team Manager explained the procedure governing participation and the efforts made to ensure that child’s views were made known.  She added that participation was defined as a child having taken part at some point in the review and did not mean that he or she had been present throughout.

A Member referred to the rising number of Looked After Children and sought clarification on the reasons for this.  In response the Interim Assistant Director Children’s Services confirmed that the number was continuing to increase year on year but that the rate per 10,000 of population was still below the national figure.  The Interim Assistant Director advised that she was now responsible for determining which children would be taken into care to ensure consistency.  She further advised that almost all of the later had come about as a result care proceedings and therefore was in line with national social care activity.  In addition Central Bedfordshire had also been more stringent than the legacy authority in applying thresholds and intervening to protect children. 

The Panel considered the ethnicity statistics for Looked After Children and noted that the white ethnic group was largely made up of two or three extended gypsy and traveller families.  It was further noted that, whilst some targeted work had been carried out with families in general that required special assistance, there had been no particular focus on gypsies and travellers.  Further discussion followed during which the possibility of measuring and displaying the data in alternative forms, such as by cultural background or by age, was considered.  During the discussion the Interim Assistant Director explained that the breakdown of data based on ethnic origin was a statutory requirement.

In response to a Member’s query regarding the placement of children with a foster carer (non relative or friend) outside the Authority the Head of Adoption and Fostering stated that a few children had required placement at highly specialist carers some 50 miles away but the majority were placed within 20 miles of Central Bedfordshire.

Turning to parental participation in the review progress, and in particular that by fathers, a Member commented on the comparatively low level of participation by fathers.  The Team Manager acknowledged the participation gap and the need to establish both why this had occurred and whether this was experienced by other local authorities.  The Interim Assistant Director stated that unfortunately in many cases the father was no longer present.  She stressed that a child’s links with both parents was promoted if this was appropriate for the child’s wellbeing.

The Chairman queried the current stability of the Review Manager establishment in view of the challenging staffing situation during 2010-11.  In response the Team Manager confirmed that, over the past year, there had been very high continuity of employment and stability in the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) provision.

The Chairman next queried the stability of placements for Looked After Children.  In reply the Team Manager commented that the recent Ofsted inspection had identified deterioration down from 74.2% to 63% in the number of Looked After Children remaining in the same placement but explained that this had arisen due to effect of a specific cohort of children on the statistics.  With regard to Ofsted’s concerns regarding placement availability the Head of Adoption and Fostering stated that work was being undertaken with colleagues in Housing to examine semi-independent provision and this would be reflected in the placement strategy contracting arrangements.  In response to a query regarding the time and resources required she explained that the number of Looked After Children concerned was relatively small.

Following further discussion the Chairman expressed his thanks to Members and officers for their work.

NOTED

the activity of the Conference and Review Service in relation to the reviews of Looked After Children during 2011-12 as set out within the Independent Reviewing Officers’ Annual Report.