Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests,

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting, Members were invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in relation to the business on the agenda or any other general interests they might have within the remit of the Board.

Cllr Fitzpatrick declared a personal non prejudicial interest in Agenda Item 4, Personal Education Plan, in that she had worked, previously, with the Virtual School Headteacher, on the School Improvement Team at East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 3 September 2019.

Resolved: That the minutes of the last meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board, held on 3 September 2019 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Board’s remit can do so. The deadline for registering is 5pm the working day before the meeting, in this case 5pm on Monday 25 November 2019.

Filming or Recording Meetings

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at

http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

It was reported that there was one registration to speak under the Councils Public Participation Scheme, in relation to the Boards remit.

A long-standing Foster Carer spoke on his knowledge and experiences and the current foster carer remuneration. He questioned the lack of regulation and requested that the current fees and allowances be reviewed. 

Members will receive an update regarding developments in the personal education plan process.

Members considered a report that updated them on the developments in the personal education plan (PEP) process.

The Virtual School Headteacher was in attendance to give an update and she highlighted the new process that had been introduced to ensure all looked after children from pre-school age to eighteen had a current, high quality, effective PEP that was accessible to education settings, social workers, Independent Reviewing Officers (IRO’s) foster carers and care providers. She confirmed that a personal education plan was an integral part of every looked after child’s care plan and was an evolving record of what needed to happen for looked after children to enable them to make at least expected progress and fulfil their potential. 

The Headteacher informed Members that she had consulted with schools, social workers and young people in care regarding the developments of the new PEP process and that early feedback from children and young people showed they were in favour of the new system and liked the way the ePEP recorded their views, wishes and feelings about education.

Members noted that the ePEP was not completed until the virtual school had signed off the quality and provided feedback to both social workers and schools through a red, amber or green rating with comments.

In answer to Members questions it was confirmed that:

·        The new attendance monitoring service was provided by Welfare Call Ltd and would enable the Virtual School Headteacher to ensure effective systems were in place to maintain an up-to date roll of our looked-after children who were in school or college settings and regularly report on educational placements, progress and attendance.

·        Consultation and briefing sessions with schools had taken place and it had been reported back that they liked the new system and were regularly adding to the PEP to ensure a green rating.

·        A Social Worker would initially input and complete the PEP on the new system with schools submitting data as and when required.

·        Information regarding a child’s mental health was currently provided by their school.

·        The Virtual school had a system in place to ensure that PEPs were of high quality and that they were reviewed regularly.

·        The system automatically reminded both schools and social workers when a PEP was due for review and allowed reports to be generated regarding children and young people’s learning needs and Pupil Premium Plus requests for additional support.

Members thanked the Virtual School Headteacher for her update and noted that the new system would allow for a more detailed and better quality PEP than the previous system, which should lead to better outcomes for children and young people in care.

Resolved: That the update be noted.

Reason: To keep the Board updated.

Members will receive an update on the arrangements in place across the City to meet the health needs of Children in Care. 

Members received an update on the arrangements in place across York to meet the health needs of Children in Care.

The Designated Nurse and Doctor for Safeguarding and Children in Care were in attendance to give an update and inform Members of the statutory guidance promoting the health and wellbeing of Looked After Children. They explained how Looked After Children had many of the same health issues as their peers but that the extent of these were often greater because of their past experiences.

Officers addressed various sections of the report, where it was noted that:

·        The relaunch and staged introduction of the Health Passports in 2018 supported children, young people and their carers’ in understanding their current and future health needs.  An audit was planned to take place during the early part of 2020 to establish how well they were used and how this impacted on the health care experienced by children and young people in Care.

·        The timeliness to ensure that all children and young people received an Initial Health Assessment (IHA) remained challenging. Members noted that the reasons for the delays were complex and multifactorial and that Officers were meeting bi-monthly to examine the data and agree actions to address specific issues.

·        All Paediatricians at York Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, who completed IHA’s, received annual training on how to undertake a quality Initial Health Assessment.

·        There was a pathway followed by health practitioners should a young person decline their initial or review health assessment.

·        In 2018 Harrogate District Foundation Trust (HDFT) developed a specific Looked After Children’s Dental Pathway to ensure that Children in Care across York and North Yorkshire could access the HDFT Community Dental Service via direct referral from professionals involved in their care.

·        The North Yorkshire and York Children in Care Health Professionals Network was chaired by a Designated Doctor for Children in Care and they met bi-monthly. The key function of this network was to continually strive to improve the health outcomes for all children in care in our area.

Members expressed some concerns in the analysis data, attached as appendix 1 and 2 of the report, and in answer to their questions it was noted that:

·        The main holder of a child’s Healthy Passport were advised on keeping the document safe and confidential.

·        The delays in offering paediatric appointments were a concern and that the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group had worked with York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to introduce key performance indicators which would allow greater scrutiny of the access to paediatric appointments. A new Single Point of Contact post within the Local Authority would support Social Workers in managing health assessment requirements, requests and liaison with those involved to request assessments in a timely manner.

·        The Sexual Health Services and the Specialised Nursing Team for Looked After Children were developing expertise and effective health care responses for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people.

Members thanked Officers for their update and agreed that health assessments were a comprehensive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Members will receive an update on the scorecard that contains relevant indicators which illustrate practice across Children’s Services in relation to children in care, over the year 18/19 and preceding years.

Members received a report that provided an update on the scorecard that contained relevant indicators which illustrated practice across Children’s Services in relation to children in care, over the year 18/19 and preceding years.

Officers gave an update and confirmed the scorecard was part of the Quality Assurance data management framework that enabled workers, managers and Members to track practice.

Officers highlighted the scores around children in care where it was noted that placement stability, health assessments, dental checks and cases reviewed within the required timescales were improving and that work would continue to increase all outcomes.

The Board thanked Officers for their update.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

Reason: To keep the Board updated.

To consider the Board’s work plan for the 2019-20 municipal year and to receive any updates Members may wish to give on their agreed areas of interest relating to the work of the Board.

Members consider the Boards work plan for 2019-20 municipal year.

Following discussion regarding the remuneration of Foster Carers it was agreed that the Chair of the Children, Education & Communities Policy and Scrutiny Committee would raise the subject at the next Scrutiny Committee meeting due to take place on 27 November 2019.

Members were informed that the next Corporate Parenting Board, due to take place on Tuesday 11 February 2020, would clash with the Shine Awards.  The Democracy Officer agreed to reorganise the date of the next Corporate Parenting Board meeting.  

Members discussed the work plan and agreed to receive a Personal Education Plan update on Tuesday 28 April 2020.

Resolved:

(i)           That the remuneration of Foster Carers be raised at the next Children, Education & Communities Policy and Scrutiny Committee.

(ii)         That the Board be emailed regarding a new February 2020 meeting date.

(iii)        That the work plan be approved, subject to the changes above.

Reason: To keep the Board’s work plan updated.