Issue - meetings

The following officers were in attendance for this item:

- Barbara Peacock Executive Director (People)

- Philip Segurola, Interim Director, Early Help and Children’s Social Care

A presentation was given on the recent Deep Dive on Missing Children, which

covered the following areas:

- Strengths and areas requiring improvement

- An acknowledgement that front-line practice on missing children is underdeveloped

- Information on the work of the Improvement Board and planned Deep Dives

- Feedback on a recent programme of audits on current practice in addressing the

needs and risks faced by missing children

- Planned improvements to services

Asked how many children were missing at present, officers replied that there were 24 looked after children currently missing, the majority of these unaccompanied asylum seeking children. They added that some had been missing for some time and that the council was working with its partners to find them. Officers stated that there were also 9 missing children who were not in care.

Officers explained that the police had two categories of absence:

- “Unauthorised absence”: this covered children going missing for several hours

- “Missing children”: this category covered children going missing for far longer periods

Members noted that the council accommodated looked after children from other boroughs. Officers were asked for the reasons why this was happening. They replied that this was due to issues of suitable accommodation in some boroughs or because the child might be housed with a relative who lived some distance away from his parents’ home. They added that Croydon was popular with other boroughs because it provided good support to unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Members were informed that the number of children in care was rising nationwide and that there had been a drop in adoptions. Many care leavers were also staying with their foster carers for longer under the “Staying Put” scheme. Overall, the borough does not have sufficient numbers of foster carers. Other boroughs housing looked after children in Croydon tend to use private fostering agencies, which charge about twice the cost of a person fostering Croydon’s looked after children.

Officers highlighted the fact that gang culture was a key factor in children going missing.

Members asked whether social workers had the necessary skills to deal with the various challenges presented by missing children. Officers acknowledged that some social workers needed to improve their understanding of procedures relating to missing children and that there were issues with record keeping on Return Home Interviews (RHIs). It was explained that notes on such interviews were sometimes held as e-mails or in other formats, but not on the CRS system where they should be stored, and that some social workers thought that the NSPCC was in charge of carrying out all Return Home Interviews. Officers acknowledged that there was a clear need for greater consistency in record keeping.

Members asked whether new social workers were provided mentoring and support by their team. Officers acknowledged that induction and accountability both needed improving.

In answer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37