Home > Meeting documentation

Meeting documents

Corporate Parenting Panel
Wednesday, 13th January, 2016

Corporate Parenting Panel Minutes

Date:
Wednesday 13th January 2016
Time:
5.00pm
Place:
The Council Chamber, The Town Hall, Katherine Street, Croydon
 

Attendance Details

Present:

Councillor Alisa Flemming (Chair)

Councillors, Andy Stranack, Shafi Khan, Matthew Kyeremeh, Maggie Mansell 

 

Officers:

Ian Lewis, Paul Chadwick, John Martin, Dawn Maxwell, Wendy Tomlinson, Lisa Fenaroli, Oretha Wofford, Reni Ravi, Dionne Sang

Absent:
Cllrs Maria Gatland and Bernadette Khan; Hermin Billy, Kay Wallis.
Apologies for absence:
Cllr Maria Gatland, Hermin Billy, Kay Wallis. Apologies for lateness were also given by Cllr Shafi Khan and it was noted that apologies had been received from both Cllr Maria Gatland and also Cllr Bernadette Khan.

Item Item/Resolution
MINUTES - PART A
A1/16 MINUTES

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting be agreed and signed by the Chair.

 

Cllr Bernadette Khan asked for minutes to be amended to reflect that she had raised concerns about the continued practice of the Police to interview children at school without an accompanied adult. With this amendment the minutes were approved.

 

The meeting was opened at 5.10pm by Councillor Maggie Mansell and then adjourned for 10 mins as the Chair was running late from a previous meeting.

 

The meeting started at 5.20pm and the Chair apologised for the late start. It was also agreed that item 7 (virtual schools) would be heard as the last item on the agenda, in order to allow any discussions about the part B items to be taken at the end of the part A meeting.
The Chair welcomed everyone and especially the young people and thanked them for attending.

A2/16 DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST

None

A3/16 URGENT BUSINESS (IF ANY)

None

A4/16 EXEMPT ITEMS

To confirm the allocation of business in Part A and Part B of the agenda as printed. The Clerk gave an explanation to the Panel and the attendees of the Part B of the report and that it was exempt from the public.

A5/16 VERBAL PRESENTATIONS (AGENDA ITEM 6)
ACCOMMODATION

The Lead Officer, John Martin introduced Reni Ravi to present the item.


There has been a slight dip in the figures which after analysis shows that there has been a 10% increase in young people from Albania, with most of them getting a negative decision from the Home Office.


Some of the strategies in place to increase this include:


- Working with young people to get them working with consultancies
- Working with the Princes Trust
- Working with Croydon's HR department and Apprenticeship team.

 

The Head of Virtual School informed the panel that there is a project based in the Leaving Care Service which provides CV writing sessions and drop in workshops in conjunction with the Princes Trust, Blue Torch Bell and the Children In Care Council.


A poll of young people suggests 42% were undecided as to their chosen career path although the top choices included fashion, retail and construction. She added that there is an 8 week workshop which is run in the Turnaround Centre.


Having heard the presentation from Officers the Chair then asked the young people to make their contributions and thanked each in turn at the end of their contributions.


ES spoke first:


He feels that his education wasn't supported and his life always seemed hectic. He had multiple things to deal with and also feels that a pathway was set for him not necessarily to that which he wanted.to do. He felt as a young person, it was a lot to think about and much too hectic for a young person to deal with alone such as his housing needs, finding food, dealing with everyday bills etc. In order to receive adequate housing he had to make the decision to leave his family and move to North London by himself. He proceeded to get a job as a graphic designer without having any help as he felt belittled by the job centre and didn't feel that he was spoken to very well. On becoming a father he found that this was an added pressure but again didn't feel supported. He felt that the system really set him up to fail.


He felt that the help he received was quite interesting. He was sent to different bed and breakfast accommodation as has had to live in approximately 8 different locations. He had to pay more than half his salary on rent which with the responsibility of having a child proved very difficult. He ended up having to go back to his mums. He felt that he had no one to turn to and also realised that the older he got the less help there was available. He didn't feel as though he had any stability.


NS then spoke as follows:


He feels that he had good support from the Turnaround Centre and has obtained some good skills from college. He feels that his Social Worker has helped a lot but is currently in a situation where he is having problems with his landlord. Due to this he is not currently attending college. He highlighted the need for support for young people not used to dealing with landlords.


B then spoke as follows:


She expressed concern that between the ages of 16-22 years it was not made clear to her what Leaving care plan or structure has been put into place for her. Young people are not usually advised until 2 weeks before of what their Leaving Care plan will be. This does not give young people enough time to prepare themselves. At 16 the age of 16 no council property was available for her until she reached the age of 22 years old.
The panel raised the following concerns:

  • The level of support being received
  • That some young people may be isolated in their individual housing eg bedsits
  • The option for young people to meet up with more young people in the same position for mutual support


RESOLVED to note these concerns and build this into the CPP work programme.

A6/16 LEAVING CARE TRANSITION (AGENDA ITEM 8)

There was a short presentation. Most of the issues under this heading had been covered in the previous discussion. The officer told the panel that young people are encouraged to:

  • Share experiences
  • Attend self-help groups

It was suggested by the panel that there may need to be more of a transition procedure put into leaving care for young people.

RESOLVED to note the discussion

A7/16 VIRTUAL SCHOOL (AGENDA ITEM 7)

The Head of Virtual School started by outlining the positives of the virtual school and confirmed that a lot of work had been done. Recruiting is being done to a permanent post which would include set targets for young people and linking pupil premium and PEP targets. The reading levels have improved 25% above what was targeted and the results of the work being done can be seen.


There is however a need to look at young people such as asylums seekers who do not speak English.


The Chair advised the panel that she had visited the Virtual School today and was encouraged by the commitment and the work being done. She also noted that the school was in need of additional facilities such as tables, chairs and paint.


The Chair asked the young people to share their experiences.


S spoke first


She explained to the panel that she finds it hard to learn and has been diagnosed with dyslexia of which the school wasn't informed about when she first started. She is now given an extra teacher with her ‘pupil premium' but is still finding it hard and had her mock exams last week.


Y then spoke about her experiences


His first year of school was hard but eventually he got through it. He then went on to college and looked towards his future but found it hard to focus and find the time to study. He also did not have a permanent place to study. He was very happy with his social worker of 3 years and his key worker has been great. He feels like she is like a ‘mum' to him.


J (Out of Borough) - then spoke as follows:


He felt that the Virtual School identified the issues that he had and gave him a lot of support for every lesson. He feels that he has always been a good student.


I (J''s Carer) - Out of Borough also spoke as follows:


He feels that he can't speak highly enough of the Virtual School and they have always been "this is how we can do it". He feels that this has taken a lot of pressure off the carer because of the support given. It has been a pleasure working with them.


D then spoke about her experiences


She was placed with a family but her experience was that she felt isolated. She was made to do excessive housework on a weekly basis in order to be given any weekly money. She did not enjoy school and the most important thing for her is having the support which she feels she didn't get. At 16 she was placed in short term accommodation and at 19 found herself pregnant she felt that she had no future. She then made a decision to turn her life around and continued with her education even though she found it difficult with raising a child. She told the panel that she wanted to thank her social worker for all their help and support as she is now in her 2nd year in university and is really doing well for herself. As a young person she feels that she now doesn't put up any barriers against herself and what she can achieve. She is grateful and doesn't take anything for granted.


RESOLVED to note the report

 

The Chair asked that any further questions from the panel be directed to her and she will look into getting an answer.
Following the discussion Committee Members did not need to move a motion to go into part B.

A8/16 CORPORATE PARENTING WORK PROGRAMME (AGENDA ITEM 9)

This item was not presented as there was not enough time but the programme was self-explanatory.

A9/16 DATE OF FUTURE MEETING AND WORK PROGRAMME (AGENDA ITEM 10)
  • 9 March 2016 at 5pm
  • 6 July 2016 at 5pm
MINUTES - PART B
B10/16 VIRTUAL SCHOOL - CASE STUDIES
OFFICER: LISA FENAROLI

  • Virtual School - Part B report (248K/bytes)
The meeting ended at 6.45pm