Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Paul Appleby and Emma Bennett.

There were no declarations of interest made relative to the items under consideration at the meeting.

[To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2019 as a correct record.]

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2019 be confirmed as correct record and signed by the Chair.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2019.]

There were no matters arising in relation to the minutes of the previous meeting.

[To receive the Schedule of Outstanding Matters]

It was reported that invitations had been extended to visit a residential establishment to take place on 21 November 2019. Councillor Rashpal Kaur and Councillor Udey Singh requested to attend.

It was noted that the discrepancy with the dental checks would be addressed in the Performance Monitoring Information report.

Resolved:

That the Schedule of Outstanding Matters be received.

[To receive the revised REACH Local Offer for Care Leavers Aged 16 – 25 for approval.]

Alice Vickers, Corporate Parenting Officer presented the REACH Local Offer for Care Leavers Aged 16 – 25 Annual Review report. The report outlined that The Local Offer for Care Leavers had been live for 12 months and a comprehensive review of the benefits and services accessible by care leavers had been undertaken in August and September 2019. This has been contributed to by care leavers themselves as well as a steering group set up to support the services provided as part of the Offer.

The report outlined the feedback received from a consultation event which had taken place on 10 August 2019 at Aldersley Leisure Village and provided an analysis of that feedback by the steering group. A number of recommendations based on the developments and additions discussed during the consultation were made.

The Corporate Parenting Board agreed the developments and additions that had been made to the Offer and approved the publication of the revised REACH Local Offer for Care Leavers Aged 16 – 25.

Resolved:

1.    That the developments and additions made to the REACH Local Offer for Care Leavers Aged 16 – 25 be agreed.

2.    That the publication of the revised REACH Local Offer for Care Leavers Aged 16 – 25 be approved.

[To participate in interactive group workshops with members of the Care Leaver’s Forum.]

Members of the Care Leavers’ Forum known as the Care Leavers Independent Collective (CLiC) delivered a presentation and provided an in-depth verbal update on the findings from the Care Leaver Offer review consultation.

It was reported that 13 care leavers attended the workshops held on 10 August 2019 out of the 280 care leavers that resided in Wolverhampton.11 of the 13 reported that they were aware of the Care Leaver Offer. A concern was raised by the young people as it was felt this was not enough engagement. The Board and officers present acknowledged the request from the young people that Young People Advisors (YPAs) could promote opportunities and events more effectively in future.

It was noted that care leavers had requested face to face counselling on matters such as domestic violence and child sexual exploitation (CSE). It was felt that, as vulnerable young people living independently for the first time, they would need to be aware of how to avoid these situations or know what to do if they already felt at risk.

It was highlighted that the training flat had been found to be beneficial and had been well utilised by young people who felt ready to try living independently.

The combination of the WVLiving passes with free Swift travel cards had been welcomed by the young people as the included free travel had proved essential for young people to get to work and interviews. It had also enabled them to visit friends, which had a huge positive impact on social connectivity and wellbeing. Care leavers had also requested access to bikes as this was often the preferred mode of transport for shorter journeys.

It was clarified that the Swift travel cards were valid on West Midlands buses, trains and trams. It was noted that the scheme had been vital and was hoped that it would become permanent. The young people planned to write to the West Midlands Mayor in January to seek support from the Regional Care Leavers’ Forum to continue the scheme or a similar one. It was reported that the Prince’s Trust had become involved with young people in Greater Manchester to set up a similar scheme and a member of the CLiC had been tasked with liaising with them to support this in Wolverhampton.

It was reported that of the 13 young people attending the workshops, only one stated they held a Health Passport. It was clarified that this was a document issued to care leavers which provided valuable health information such as NHS number, blood type, any allergies, etc. It was clarified that this scheme had been operating for 18 months and Health Passports were normally issued to new entrants into care or their carer when attending their first health assessment. It was thought that young people who had been in care some time prior to the launch of this initiative may not have been issued one. It was clarified that the document could be requested retrospectively by a child or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

[To receive the Assurance About the Use of Unregistered Placements in Wolverhampton report.]

Alison Hinds, Head of Children and Young People in Care presented the Assurance About the Use of Unregistered Placement in Wolverhampton report and highlighted salient points. The report provided reassurances to Board members regarding how the safety and wellbeing of young people aged 16-18 placed in unregulated supported accommodation was being promoted.  It was clarified that unregulated accommodation was a placement in accommodation that was not Ofsted inspected.

It was noted that in March 2019, Nadhim Zahawi MP, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families had written to Directors of Children’s Services and Chairs of Local Safeguarding Boards in all authorities highlighting the challenges face by many authorities in relation to these unregulated services and a report was presented to Children’s Leadership Team to offer reassurances for how placements were made and monitored from a quality assurance perspective.

It was reported that since then, a number of improvements to placement processes had been devised as listed at paragraph 3.8 and the progress of these improvements monitored as outlined in paragraph 3.9 of the report.

It was noted that all young people in unregulated supported accommodation would continue to receive support with their health and wellbeing as detailed in the Local Offer for Care Leavers.

Resolved:

1.    That the Assurance About the Use of Unregistered Placement in Wolverhampton report be received.

[To receive the Performance Monitoring Information report.]

Alison Hinds, Head of Children and Young People in Care presented the Performance Monitoring Information report and highlighted salient points.

It was highlighted that Wolverhampton was one of the only three local authorities that had been reducing the number of children and young people in care. 

It was noted that there was more to the statistics than just the figures therefore it was requested that additional narrative be provided as an explanation to the figures represented in the dashboard. 

The discrepancy with the dental checks had been resolved.

It was requested that Board members be provided with further information on the 24% of young people who were not available for education, employment or training for clarification.

It was noted that Wolverhampton were performing favourably when compared with statistical neighbours and engaging in good partnership working to achieve good results.

Resolved:

1. That the Performance Monitoring Report be received.
2. That additional narrative be provided as an explanation to the figures represented in the dashboard. 
3. That Board members be provided with further information on the 24% of young people who were not available for education, employment or training for clarification.

[That in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972]

Resolved:

That in accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information contained in paragraph 2 of the Act, namely information that is likely to reveal the identity to an individual.

[To receive verbal feedback on any visits to establishments undertaken by Councillors since the last meeting]

There had been no visits undertaken since the last meeting, however it was agreed that a report would be provided at the next meeting of Corporate Parenting Board for the visit on 21 November 2019.

[To receive assurance on the use of unregistered placements in Wolverhampton.]

Alison Hinds, Head of Children and Young People in Care presented the Assurance About the Use of Unregistered Placement in Wolverhampton report and highlighted salient points. The report provided reassurances to Board members regarding how the safety and wellbeing of young people aged 16-18 placed in unregulated supported accommodation was being promoted.  It was clarified that unregulated accommodation was a placement in accommodation that was not Ofsted inspected.

It was noted that in March 2019, Nadhim Zahawi MP, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families had written to Directors of Children’s Services and Chairs of Local Safeguarding Boards in all authorities highlighting the challenges face by many authorities in relation to these unregulated services and a report was presented to Children’s Leadership Team to offer reassurances for how placements were made and monitored from a quality assurance perspective.

It was reported that, since then a number of improvements to placement processes had been devised as listed at paragraph 3.8 and the progress of these improvements monitored as outlined in paragraph 3.9 of the report.

It was noted that all young people in unregulated supported accommodation would continue to receive support with their health and wellbeing as detailed in the Local Offer for Care Leavers.

Resolved:

That the Assurance About the Use of Unregistered Placement in Wolverhampton report be received.