Agenda item

To receive the Early Help, Children’s Social Care and Education Dashboard.

The Sub-Committee considered a report set out on pages 53 to 56 of the

agenda, which providedthe Early Help, Children’s Social Care and Education Dashboard.

The Sub-Committee commended the performance under indicators CYPE 20 and 21, noting the difficult environment of the last two years in which these had been delivered.

The Sub-Committee asked about CYPE 27 & 29 and heard the Director of Education responded that as CYPE 27 had increased, this had a knock-on effect to CYPE 29. The resource was being looked at as a whole to work across the whole age group as there were usually more assessments for younger children; an annual reviewing team had been brought in to look at the backlog. It was acknowledged that this indicator was stubbornly red on the RAG rating, but that more Education Health & Care Plans were issued within 20 weeks and there was month on month improvement.

The Corporate DirectorChildren, Young People & Education explained that indicators that were static were being reviewed regularly and CYPE 27 & 29 had recently been reviewed by the internal control board. Improvements in these areas had been reflected in a 2021 inspection, but demand and work in this area were huge. The Cabinet Memberfor Children and Young People commended the work that had been done so far but acknowledged the work still to be done; the Cabinet Member explained that their LGA mentor had complimented the work of Croydon’s SEN Service.

On CYPE 24, Members asked why this was increasing. The Director of Education explained that this was looked at in conjunction with CYPE 23; the NEET team was relatively small which meant that work needed to be focussed and was often on and with individuals, but figures had improved. It was noted that CYPE 24 was high due to the time of year with many young people transitioning between different education and employment settings. There was now a strategic lead for NEET who would maintain focus in this area.

On CYPE 04 and 06, it was asked when the missing data would be available. The Director Quality, Commissioning & Performance explained that this had now been completed and would be included on the next report. Members requested that on any Red or Amber ratings commentary was always provided as it was missing for some indicators.

The Chair requested information on the transfers of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) to other local authority areas, and the amount of time that UASC spent in the borough before they were transferred. The Director Quality, Commissioning & Performance explained that the new requirement for a mandatory National Transfer Scheme (NTS) came into place in November 2021, and the target period for transfers to take place had previously been 10 working days and was now reduced to 5 working days. This was designed to limit the impact on the child of staying too long in the area and becoming connected to the local community, starting school, etc. The Council referred to  the NTS as soon as young people arrived.  S April 2022, 16 children had been transferred through the NTS scheme and 73 before April 2022. It was noted that the NTS had only been made mandatory in November 2021.

Recommendations:

1. That an updated version of the report including the missing information was circulated to the Sub-Committee.

2. That all future versions of the report provide commentary for any indicators with a RAG rating of red or amber.