Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 4 - Civic Centre. View directions

Contact: Carl Craney  Tel: 01902 555046 or Email: carl.craney@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence (if any)

Minutes:

No apologies for absence had been received.

2.

Declarations of interest (if any)

Minutes:

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

3.

Minutes of the previous meeting (1 July 2015) pdf icon PDF 79 KB

[For approval]

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 1 July 2015 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

4.

Matters arising

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the meeting held on 1 July 2015]

Minutes:

With reference to Minute No. 4 (matters arising), the Chair, Cllr Val Gibson, enquired as to the present position with the review of inter alia, the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). Emma Bennett, Service Director, Children and Young People, reported that the review was still work in progress. Alison Hinds, Head of Looked After Children, reported that a report on this matter would be submitted to the meeting of the Board scheduled for 6 January 2016.

 

With reference to Minute No. 4.2, the Chair, Cllr Val Gibson, reminded the Board that a report on outstanding matters would be submitted to all future meetings of the Board.

5.

"This is my friend"

[To conduct an exercise between the Members of the Corporate Parenting Board and the Children in Care Council]

Minutes:

The Board and representatives of the Children in Care Council conducted an exercise, “This is my friend” and reported back on the outcomes.

6.

Priorities identified by the Corporate Parenting Board and the Children in Care Council

[To discuss and compare priorities for Looked After Children]

Minutes:

Casey Gavin identified, on behalf of the Children in care Council the following priorities for Looked After Children:

·         Children in care having contact with siblings without supervision being provided;

·         Preparing for independence;

·         Out of City placements.

The Service Director, Children and Young People reported that a contact centre had been established and that the current contract was being reviewed. The Council was keen to facilitate contact between children in care and their siblings. Contact without supervision was dependent upon the ages of the children involved amongst other factors. With regard to preparing for independence, she advised that this was part of the “New Belongings” project and undertook to circulate a copy of the latest iteration of the report to the Board. She explained that “New Belongings” was part of a Government initiative and that Wolverhampton had been selected as one of the pilot sites. An Action Plan to cover the next 12 months had been prepared and would be launched during Care Leavers week. With regard to Out of City placements she assured the Board and the representatives of the Children in Care Council that the Council was keen to reduce the number of Out of City placements and where no alternative existed to try to ensure that it was as close to Wolverhampton as possible. Circumstances did, however, sometimes dictate that there this type of placement was necessary and appropriate. She referred to a recent conference she had attended with three representatives of the Children in Care Council in connection with Looked After Children in Education. Cllr Stephen Simkins suggested that the “New Belongings” project be the topic of a future joint meeting between the Board and the Children in Care Council. Alice Vickers, Corporate Parenting Officer advised that the next joint meeting was scheduled for 30 March 2016.

 

Cllr Stephen Simkins enquired as to whether there was a role to play in schools to improve contact between children in care and siblings. The Corporate Parenting Officer, undertook to raise this issue at the next meeting with the Designated Teachers and to report back to a future meeting.

 

Resolved:

1. That the priorities identified by the Children in Care Council be noted;

2. That a copy of the latest iteration of the report on the “New Belongings” project be circulated to the Board;

3. That the “New Belongings“ project be the topic of a future joint meeting between the Board and the Children in Care Council;

4. That the Corporate Parenting Officer raise the issue of the role of schools in improving contact between children in care and siblings at the next meeting with the Designated Teachers and report back on the outcome to a future meeting of the Board.

7.

Feedback and arrangements for the next joint meeting

[To consider the outcome of this meeting and arrangements for the next joint meeting scheduled for 30 March 2016]

Minutes:

Resolved:

That the “New Belongings” project be the main topic for consideration at the next joint meeting scheduled for 30 March 2016.

8.

Adoption Agency Interim Report pdf icon PDF 200 KB

[To consider a report on the work of the Adoption Service for the period April 2014 to March 2015]

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Louise Haughton, Senior Social Work Manager – Adoption, presented a report which detailed the work of the Wolverhampton City Council Adoption Service in the year April 2014 to April 2015. The report updated the Board in relation to adoption both nationally and locally and included legislative and practice changes and how these impacted on those affected by adoption in Wolverhampton.

 

Cllr Julie Hodgkiss referred to the Government target for the time taken with the adoption process and suggested that this should only be viewed as an aspiration with the best placement being paramount. The Senior Social Work Manager – Adoption acknowledged the point being made but commented that a balance needed to be stuck as when the correct placement had been identified it should be made to happen quickly. Cllr Peter O’Neill suggested that the Council’s good practice with adoption placements, in securing 85 during 2014/15, should be made known to other Councils.

 

Kyron Hughesenquired if one child in a family group was adopted whether contact with siblings was still encouraged. The Senior Social Work Manager – Adoption explained that contact would not normally cease for a variety of reasons. The law now provided for siblings to apply for a Contact Order enabling contact with the adopted sibling.

 

La-Myar Jamesquestioned why in certain circumstances only one child in a sibling group was adopted.  The Senior Social Work Manager – Adoption explained that this issue was considered during the care planning period and would depend on the needs of the individual children. Formal contact might reduce following adoption. She advised the Board that Adoption had very low rates of breakdown and offered greater stability to the child which could be better than familial contact. Social Workers would attempt to facilitate contact when appropriate.

 

Alicia Blewitt enquired whether the Council would provide support to adopted children in preparing for independence. The Senior Social Work Manager – Adoption advised that this support would normally be provided by the adoptive family.

 

Dasiante Dean asked why the numbers of successful adoptions had increased and whether the placements were of a high quality. The Senior Social Work Manager – Adoption explained that there were a lot of legacy cases which had now been dealt with and that the rate of placement had increased partially due to the high profile given nationally to adoption. She assured the Board that the quality of placements was subject to assessment by two Social Workers, a Manager and the Adoption Panel. She commented that there had been no breakdown in adoption relationships in the past three years which was a testimony in itself to the quality of the placements.

 

Tyrone Miller Coleman enquired whether adopted children had an allocated Social Worker. The Senior Social Work Manager Adoption advised that adopted children were not allocated a Social Worker but that adoption support was available.

 

Shereen Rafferty questioned why the amount of money allocated to adopted children was calculated and why it differed to that for Looked After Children. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Performance Monitoring Data pdf icon PDF 316 KB

[To consider the Performance Monitoring Data for September2015 ]

Minutes:

The Service Director Children and Young People presented the Performance Report for September 2015 (data as at August 2015) and responded to a number of questions.

 

The Chair, Cllr Val Gibson, reported that permanent staff had now been recruited to nearly all Social Worker posts which had reduced the dependency on agency staff.

 

Cllr Peter O’Neill enquired whether there was a Governor responsible for Looked After Children on the Governing Bodies of schools and if the increase in the number of Academies would be prejudicial to the position. The Head of Looked After Children reported that the Council enjoyed a good working relationship with the Designated Teachers.

 

Cllr Rita Potter enquired whether care leavers continued to receive support from the Council. The Head of Looked After Children confirmed that support and advice was provided in respect of housing and education.

 

Casey Gavin extended an invitation to the Service Director, Children and Young People and the Head of Looked After Children to attend the next meeting of the Children in Care Council. The invitation was accepted.

 

Cllr Julie Hodgkiss invited the representatives of the Children in Care Council to provide feedback to the Board on their experience of attending this meeting. The Corporate Parenting Officer undertook to arrange for the minutes of the next Children in Care Council meeting to be presented to a future meeting of the Board.

 

Resolved:

1. That the report be received and noted;

2. That the representatives of the Children in Care Council be thanked for their contributions to this meeting and for their attendance.   

10.

Exclusion of the press and public

 [To pass the following resolution:

 

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 on the grounds shown below]

 

 

Part 2 – exempt items, closed to the press and public

 

Minutes:

Resolved:

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 contained in paragraph 1 of the Act, namely information relating to any individual.

 

Part 2 – items not open to the public and press

 

11.

Councillors visits to establishments

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

Minutes:

Resolved:

1. That the offer of the Chair, Cllr Val Gibson, to visit Upper Pendeford Farm and to report back thereon to a future meeting be noted;

2. That the offer of Cllrs Peter O’Neill and Stephen Simkins to visit Merridale Street West and to report back thereon to a future meeting be noted.

12.

Chair's Announcements

Minutes:

The Chair, Cllr Val Gibson reported that the Looked After Children iAwards ceremony would be held on 5 February 2016 and that invitations to attend would be issued shortly.

 

The Chair, Cllr Val Gibson, reminded the Board that the Foster Carer Long Service Awards evening would be held on 23 October 2015.