Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2024 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2024 were agreed as an accurate record.

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any items(s) of business on today’s agenda.

There were none.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

There was none.

The Chair asked that these actions be covered under the Performance Report item later in the meeting.

To receive a verbal update on the Protected Characteristic Working Group.

The Corporate Parenting Board received a verbal update from the Youth Service Co-Ordinator on the Protected Characteristic Working Group. The Board heard that a consultation with young people had taken place on April 18^th 2024 and this had gone well. The young people involved in the consultation had raised questions such as, what are the important areas the protected characteristic should cover, and where would the inclusion of the protected characteristic be most meaningful for young people. The consultation had identified five key areas where young people felt that a protected characteristic would be most important to them.

The Youth Service Co-Ordinator explained that the main concern young people had about a protected characteristic were around stigma and the opt-in/opt-out nature of the characteristic. Young people had continued to raise questions around why this was important at this time in their lives and the meaning behind the characteristic. Young people also had concerns about the lasting nature of being identified as having been Care Experienced and the possibility that they may no longer wish to identify with this characteristic later in life.

The next scheduled meeting of the Protected Characteristic Working Group was set for the 20^th May 2024 and was being facilitated through the Head of Safeguarding and Wellbeing for Croydon & Coulsdon Colleges and Croydon Council. This meeting of the Working Group would also include young people who had been looked after outside of the borough and asylum seeking young people. The Chair commented that they would like to see any recommendations from the Working Group fed back to the Board and then on to the Executive Mayor.

Young people spoke about the importance to them of adopting the characteristic being a choice and raised concerns that it could be seen as a label. The Board heard further concerns that the characteristic could be used to discriminate against Care Experienced Young People. The Chair thanked the young people for their feedback and commented on the need for the Board to have a better idea of how young people viewed the characteristic as a benefit or a concern. The Youth Service Co-Ordinator responded that this could be provided for the next meeting of the Board, as the information had already been recorded from previous meetings of the Working Group

ACTION – For the Board to receive a summary of information from past meetings of the Protected Characteristic Working Group about young people’s views of a protected characteristic as a benefit or concern.

The Director of Children’s Social Care explained that there had been a discussion at the Council’s Corporate Management Team (CMT) earlier that day about how corporate parenting was embedded across the Council. The Board heard that the Council’s Equalities Strategy would be refreshed later in the year, which would be a good opportunity to formally embed Corporate Parenting into the processes of the Council. The Director of Children’s Social Care explained that it would be valuable to consult with other councils to explore what work they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22/24

To receive a verbal update from the Children’s Participation Team and Children in Care Council.

The Corporate Parenting Board received an update from the Children’s Participation Team. The Youth Service Co-Ordinator shared with the Board that a new staff member had been on-boarded, bringing the team up to four full time employees. The Board heard that the Children's Participation Team was starting to see more opportunities to engage with a wider range of young people.

The Board heard that there had been a recent lunch for young people with Mark Riddell MBE (National Implementation Adviser for Care Leavers at the Department for Education) and that there had been positive feedback on the progress being made in Croydon. The Chair informed the Board that she had also met with Mark Riddell with officers and that positive feedback had been given on Croydon’s improvement journey.

The Board heard about the important work that the Children’s Participation Team did in creating spaces where young people could be vulnerable, and that the team had developed ‘Principles of Participation’ to clarify the ask and expectations of both officers and young people. The Youth Service Co-Ordinator explained that the Team were working on the launch of a new Dementia Café and how young people could be involved.

To receive a verbal update on Constitutional Changes as they relate to the Corporate Parenting Board.

The Director of Children’s Social Care informed the Board that the Corporate Parenting Panel had now been renamed to the Corporate Parenting Board at the last meeting of Full Council. The Board heard that this had required work across the Council and special thanks were given to the work of Jane Scott (Subject Matter Expert). The Board were informed that there had been some changes to the membership of the Board and a new Terms of Reference.

The Chair thanked all those who had worked on the changes to the Corporate Parenting Board and explained that this showed the Council’s commitment to young people and those with care experience.

To receive a verbal update on the Permanence Sub-Group.

The Corporate Parenting Board received a verbal update on the Permanence Sub-Group discussion which had taken place in April 2024.

The Head of Service for Children in Care & Care Experienced Young People and Subject Matter Expert introduced the item and explained that the meeting had been well attended and had including young people ambassadors. The Board heard that the Sub-Group had split into two groups to discuss what ‘permanency’ meant to young people and how young people felt this was working for them. The Sub-Group had come back together and discussed:

-        The importance of defining ‘permanency’ as this could mean different things to different individuals.

-        The importance in the consistency of relationships.

-        The way young people were introduced to, and related to, respite care.

-        The temporary nature of placements and the difficulties young people had investing in relationships.

-        The burden of bureaucracy on young people compared to non-care experienced peers.

-        Young people’s feelings about being labelled as high-risk.

-        The importance of feeling safe for young people.

The next steps would be:

-        A Survey for young people around what ‘Permanence’ means to them.

-        An exploration of how permanent homes can be made to feel more ‘homely’.

-        To look at delegated authority documents for children in foster care to empower foster carers to make more decisions that can give young people additional freedoms.

-        Some work around young people being able to participate in activities that peers can undertake as normal recourse without the need for onerous paperwork (e.g. sleepovers).

The Subject Matter Expert explained that some of this work was already in-train and that a Permanence Transformation Group had met earlier in that day to discuss these and similar topics.

The Social Worker from the Fostering Service informed the Board about ongoing work to change the perception of fostering families to make these feel more like an extended family. This had been undertaken by creating a ‘Hub’ of fostering families who could offer each other respite and create social bonds through leisure activities and shared experiences. The feedback had been that this had felt more natural through the reduced involvement of social workers and the creation of an extended family feeling where young people could feel safe in other households. The Board heard that the approach was helping to also provide support to the foster carers and facilitate skill sharing. The Board heard that the ‘Hub’ had facilitated natural family contact for brothers in different foster households. The Board were informed that the most important outcome was happier young people who had more of a familial feeling in their households and placements.

The Chair asked how many ‘Hubs’ had been implemented and heard that this was currently the only one. The Subject Matter Expert explained that the Council was evaluating this work currently and costing up a potential further role out. The Chair commented that it would be good to hear from the young people involved in the ‘Hub’ at a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/24

The Performance report for March 2024 is attached.

The Corporate Parenting Board received the Performance report for March 2024. The Director of Children’s Social Care introduced the item and the Chair asked for updates to be given on the actions from the previous meeting.

ACTION (20/03/2024) – For the Panel to receive a further update on improvements to the duty system at the next meeting.

The Director of Children’s Social Care explained that work continued on email signatures to ensure these contained duty email and contact numbers. The Board heard that a telephone directory was being developed, that could later be rolled out to partners and Council colleagues, to ensure that the correct team or individual could be contacted directly. The Head of Service for Children in Care & Care Experienced Young People explained that work to improve the duty system was ongoing and that a letter was being developed that would be sent to young people, before their Personal Assistants went on leave, to explain the duration of leave and who could be contacted in this period. The Chair commented on the importance of having consistent contacts for young people even during periods of annual leave.

The Youth Service Co-Ordinator explained that, for extended holidays, their team wrote to young people to remind them of who they could contact for help if needed; the Chair praised this practise. 

Councillor Wilson asked for an explanation of how work was allocated by the duty system. The Head of Service for Children in Care & Care Experienced Young People explained that the duty team rotated on a weekly basis, with the Team Manager overseeing the duty team. The Board heard that the aspiration was that there was more planning and formal handovers in preparation for duty weeks. The Chair asked what the timeline was for achieving the desired improvements to the duty system and heard that it was expected that this work would take around three months.

In response to question from the Board about how the success of improvements would be evaluated, the Head of Service for Children in Care & Care Experienced Young People explained that mystery shopper calls and dip sampling would be used. The Director of Children’s Social Care stated that the aim of the improvements were to create better integrations in the duty system resulting in better outcomes for young people. The Director of Children’s Social Care added that the introduction of the Care Leaver App would create an additional point of contact for young people.

ACTION – For the Board to receive an update in three months on the improvements to the duty system and the results of mystery shopping and dip sampling exercises.

ACTION (20/03/2024) – For an update on Pathway Plans to be given at future meetings of the Panel (CLA 15).

The Director of Children’s Social Care explained that Pathway Plans were being written, but that managers were pushing these back when they were not of a satisfactory standard. The Board heard this demonstrated that managers were becoming more confident in ensuring that plans  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26/24