Agenda item

The Panel considered the Corporate Parenting Scorecard, which provided an overview of June 2023.

The Head of Children Looked After & Support Services explained that the new format would help the Panel to develop oversight using the data at each panel meeting. It provided key performance indicators and a snapshot of what is happening for our children. A full snapshot had been provided initially to identify patterns, themes and trends, but just the overview will be provided in the future.

It was highlighted that:

·  There were 248 CLA at the end of June 2023 (under 18), compared with statistical neighbours.

·  Forty-three unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were taken into care in the last three months.

·  There had been a 3% increase from the previous year to 59% of CLA from BME communities, due to an increase in unaccompanied children.

·  One hundred and fifty-five children (62.5%) lived with foster families, which was below statistical neighbours (65%) in southeast and (69%) in England. The children were supported through in-house services. The aim was to move children from residential provisions and place them into family homes.

·  Although there had been a reduction of children with 3+ move in June (11%), this had increased over 12 months period from 7%, which was higher than statistical neighbours (10%) in England but in line with the South (12%). It was noted that children in Slough placements would need to be reviewed to try and reduce the number of children living in residential homes.

In response to a question about placements that were not registered with Ofsted, it was noted that just two young people were in such placements and strict safeguards were in place with appropriate risk assessments carried out. Ofsted was also informed about regular visits made, one daily and one weekly, whilst the search for placement was on-going.

With regards to a question as to why CEYP were NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), the Virtual School head explained the academic years 12 and 13 – Post 16. There were 97 Post 16 and 43 of them were unaccompanied and new to the country. Seventy six percent were either in employment, education, or training. In addition, some of the children had arrived late in the academic year, which meant that appropriate provisions were not in place immediately, with access to education being tailored to the young people’s needs, but this was now in place for all. Every young person had a Personal Education Plan (PEP) in place.

In relation to the data for 19-21 Education Employment and Training, which was below comparator groups, the Panel discussed that further consideration would have to be given as to what could be done to support this age group. One suggestion was to develop a skills plan for Slough to make a clear statement of what the Council was doing to support this group as corporate parents. For example, the CPP could work to ensure that all CEYP had opportunities to access work experience, apprenticeships and employment within the ‘Family Business’ (SCF/SBC), with each department prioritising the needs of CEYP in their service plans.

The Panel Resolved to: Note the Corporate Parenting Scorecard for June 2023 period.