Agenda and minutes

Councillor Heaton  )  unwell

Councillor Jackson  )

Councillor Watson   –  personal

Mary-Anne Cosgrove

Kathryn Higgins

Audrey Taylor

In the interests of transparency, Councillor Power declared that she is employed by The Children’s Society as their Local Public Affairs Manager.

This did not preclude her from taking part in the discussion or voting on any item on the agenda.

Last meeting held on 17 January 2022 (for confirmation)

The Board agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 17 January 2022 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Report of Head of Children in Care

Treza Mann, Interim Service Manager, Children in Care and Leaving Care Services, presented the report, updating the Board on the 2021/22 Q3 performance (1 October to 31 December 2021) of Children in Care and Leaving Care Services.

Resolved

(1)  to note:

(i)  the performance data relating to the work with children in care and leaving care;

(ii)  that Social Care will continue to monitor performance in respect of dental checks and address any barriers to ensure improvement;

(iii)  that the Head of Service will work with the Virtual School to ensure changes to the PEP for non-statutory school age children are strengthened in line with Peer Review recommendations;

(2)  that the Head of Children in Care be requested toupdate Board members (by email) in respect of Pathway Plans for Care Leavers.

Verbal update from the Engagement & Participation Lead Officer.

Jon Rea, Engagement and Participation Lead Officer, updated members as follows:

Happy, Healthy Lives theme discussion

Discussion this term had focused on happy and healthy lives, from the perspective of social behaviour and activities to support happy, healthy minds and bodies. Conversation with the group had been held online and face to face. The main findings from this work were:

·  CiC need to have access to a wide range of social opportunities and activities to develop good, all-round health and well-being behaviours;

·  the role of social workers and carers in facilitating young people’s participation in these activities was critical, especially before a young person was old enough to travel independently;

·  there were lots of opportunities for social development for young people to get involved with. The Board can promote better partnership working with organisations to encourage and support more uptake of opportunities by CiC;

·  in particular, uniformed groups and sports clubs provided ideal settings for CiC to develop friendships, learn new skills, keep fit and develop good character attributes, such as helping others, team-work and personal discipline.

Forthcoming meeting dates for 2022

Summer term - Theme: Education

Autumn term - Theme: Skills for independent living

*For the Autumn term onwards, it is hoped that meetings with Board members will also feature contributions from Care Leavers, supported by the Leaving Care Team.

Regional residential for East Midlands CiC Councils

The East Midlands Regional Participation Leads Group, which is chaired by Nottingham City, has secured £6,000 from the Regional Improvement and Innovation Alliance for a two-day/one night residential for young people and staff from each of the ten regional Local Authority CiC Councils. The event takes place at Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire over the weekend of 15-16 October 2022. Up to 40 care-experienced young people aged 12-17 are expected to take part, with additional mentor input from Care Leavers.

The residential will explore how we change the language culture of care, to help make the language of care less institutionalising and more organic and familial. This is work many CiC Councils have been doing individually, so the residential will be a chance to share learning and ideas, with the aim of proposing a new framework to help guide LAs on improving practice around terminology, engagement approaches and communication processes.

We are working with the RIIA Placements Commissioning working group on the workshop programme for the residential, and will be inviting Corporate Parenting Board members and senior officers to join the event on Sunday 16 October to be part of the shared learning and validation of the new guidance framework.

To note / discuss agenda items for municipal year 2022/23

The Board noted the work plan for 2022/23, and added the following items to the July 2022 meeting:

·  Regulated / unregulated placements;

·  Fostering update.