Agenda item

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, Helen Watson, Interim Director of Children’s Integrated Services and Evelyn Hailwood, Principal Manager, Independent Reviewing gave a presentation on the Council’s Reviewing Services, comprising Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO) working with Children in Care and Child Protection Co-ordinators (CPC) working with Children with a Child Protection Plan. They highlighted the following points:

a)  All IROs and CPCs are experienced and qualified Social Workers. The Service has a balance of male and female workers and reflects the diversity of the city population. They and their managers are independent of those delivering services.

b)  It is a legal requirement for every child in care to have an IRO appointed to them to monitor the performance of the Local Authority in relation to their case, participate in any reviews of the case, and ensure that that child’s wishes and feelings are properly considered. The service must be delivered within the framework outlined in the national IRO Handbook.

c)  Effort is made to ensure children in care understand the role of the IRO. Each IRO has a personal introduction to every child they’re working with and builds a relationship with them. Information is provided in a pack given to all children when they enter care which also contains practical items such as a toothbrush and toothpaste. Children are also supported to chair their own review meetings as much as possible.

d)  There are currently 689 children in care in Nottingham. Staff are watching our regional and statistical neighbours closely to understand the impact of Covid on the numbers coming into care as numbers have been rising with an increase of 4.2% compared with the previous year.

e)  The IRO handbook stipulates maximum caseloads per IRO of between 50 and 70 cases. Nottingham caseloads are marginally under the maximum recommended with an average of 69 cases each across 9.5 IROs.

f)  Reviews held within timescales are at 95% against a 90% target, and child participation in those reviews is at 92% against a 94% target and a 100% aspiration.

g)  Service developments underway include re-designing the conduct of children in care reviews to make them more child focussed, engaging with the Child in Care Council, introducing the coming into care pack and using case review forms to share learning within the service.

h)  The priorities for the service include building good relationships between IROs and young people to increase their confidence so they can chair and set the agendas for their review meetings, link individual IROs with particular social work teams to advise and support with care plans, visiting every child before their 20 day review to understand their wishes and feelings, and to widen understanding of the service across the wider social care community.

i)  623 children are currently subject to a child protection plan which is a higher number than our statistical neighbours. The core business of the team of CPCs is to chair child protection conferences within 15 days, to conduct reviews within three months and again at 6 months. The role of CPCs largely mirrors that of IROs but working with children subject to a child protection plan rather than those in care.

j)  CPCs have their own framework to work within which is updated yearly. It is recommended that CPCs can have up to 90 cases.

k)  The child is always involved in their conference (if of an age where they can do so) as are their parents. Cases have been conducted over Zoom during lockdown which some young people have found easier to take part in as it is less intimidating than coming into Loxley House. The person who chairs the initial conference will chair subsequent reviews wherever possible to ensure consistency. Chairs will ensure the views of children, parents and carers are taken into account.

l)  CPCs monitor the performance of the local authority to check how the plan is being progressed and will raise any concerns with the social work team.

m)  89 children per 10,000 are subject to a Child Protection Plan while the rate amongst our statistical neighbours stands at around 63 per 10,000 children. However, a review found that appropriate cases are coming in.

n)  There are 6 CPCs with an average caseload of 103 cases (above the recommended level of 90). 93% conferences are achieved on time and 95% of reviews.

o)  Priorities for the service include continuing to embed the use of one category in the child protection plan process, to develop a new framework for minutes of child protection conferences, to pursue all CPCs being recognised as Signs of Safety Champions for the Council and to develop the system for young people to provide feedback on meetings.

In response to questions from the Committee and in the subsequent discussion the following points were made:

p)  The Children in Care Council involves children and young people in care from a range of settings. They meet monthly to discuss issues and put forward their views and are consulted by services.

q)  The education of children in care is supported through the virtual school which has a headteacher and a team who ensure the child is receiving appropriate education that meets the aspirations for each individual child. The IRO would look at the child’s personal education plan and talk to the child about it.

r)  IROs would review options for the care of a child at an early stage and, when a child leaves care, the IRO will review where the child is leaving care to, to ensure its validity and stability and minimise the risk of the child coming into care again.

s)  An annual survey is conducted of children in care which has a good response rate and which looks at how children feel about their experiences in care.

t)  Children come into care from across the city, but rates tend to be higher in areas with higher levels of deprivation. The main reason for children coming into care is neglect with domestic abuse, mental ill health and substance misuse all being common factors.

u)  Education outcomes for children in care are improving.

The Committee thanked the contributors for the informative presentation.