Agenda and minutes

The Chair will open the meeting and will welcome those present.

Following from the Annual Council Meeting, members voted in Cllr Wheller as Chair and Cllr Richard Biggs as Vice-Chair of the Corporate Parenting Board.

The Chair opened the meeting and welcomed those present.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their decision councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the formal meeting held on Thursday 24^th November 2022.

The minutes of the formal meeting held on Wednesday 30^th November 2022 were confirmed and signed.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit up to two questions or two statements for each meeting. Alternatively, you could submit one question and one statement for each meeting.  

All submissions must be emailed in full to megan.r.rochester@dorsetcc.gov.uk by 8.30am on Tuesday 23^rd May.

When submitting your question(s) and/or statement(s) please note that: 

·       no more than three minutes will be allowed for any one question or statement to be asked/read  

·       a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context, and this will be included within the three minute period 

·       please note that sub divided questions count towards your total of two 

·       when submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g. the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder) 

·       Include your name, address and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting. 

·       questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda 

·       all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.   

There was no public participation.

Theresa Leavy, Executive Director for People and Children,

 to set the scene of the meeting.

Paul Dempsey, Corporate Director for Care and Protection, set the scene for the meeting and informed the board of the number of children in care and care leavers. The Corporate Director assured the board that it had been a very busy but successful year with the number of care leavers growing. He also discussed the recent OFSTED review and informed the board that the outcome was positive and drew members attention to the benefits of personal advisors for care leavers. Helping them with advice regarding housing, health, etc. Mr Dempsey welcomed Cllr B Quayle to the board and invited him to say a few words.

Cllr B Quayle informed members and officers that he had been working with children’s services for the last 2 years and had taken the time to read the officers detailed reports and was delighted to be a member of the Corporate Parenting Board.

To receive a report from Louise Drury, Head of Service Children in Care.

Members were introduced to the Corporate Parenting Dataset and were given an update on the number of children in care as well as the positive progress that had been made. Members also received an overview on strengths and difficulties questionnaires as well as attendance figures and care leavers accommodation. Members were also informed that officers were continuing to work hard to ensure children were placed within their local communities and noted that more needed to be done to complete health assessments on time. It was also highlighted the increase in the number of children in education and an increase in children being adopted. It was noted that the number of children being adopted was higher than the national average.

Members raised the following questions and statements:

·       Clarification of attendance figures of children in care.

·       Potential to have prioritised mental health assessments and members wanted to ensure that health assessments were completed on time.

·       Cllr K Wheller felt the figures were looking good. She informed the board that she’d spoken to young adults to get their feedback and praised the hard work that officers were doing to support children in care.

·       Attendance was something that needed to be monitored and was reassured that there was a process in place. Members were pleased to hear that numbers in further education had increased.

The Corporate Parenting Board Dataset was received and noted.

Gerry Connell, Fostering Services Manager, to report.

Gerry Connell, Fostering Services Manager, introduced members to the Fostering Annual Report. Members were informed of the challenging year, but he praised the work of foster carers. He also addressed the Mockingbird project as well as the reduction in foster carers. Mr Connell discussed the different ways in which they were recruiting, particularly external marketing and increasing their digital footprint. Members were also given an update on the fostering panel, and he had been impressed with the chairing which had been a positive stride forward. In addition to this, the Fostering Services Manager also discussed foster carer training and carer support and the work that had been done on therapeutic support for carers.

Members were also given an update on the budget and highlighted the importance of placing children with Dorset foster carers. Mr Connell also discussed the long service aware which ensured that children were apart of. Another aspect of the report was complaints, he informed members of the number of complaints received and assured members that officers had been working hard to reduce them.

Members raised the following questions and statements:

·       Members were pleased with the improvements that had been made.

·       Recruitment was a concern. Members questioned whether there had been any correlations with other authorities to see what they’d implemented.

·       Members noted that the service needed investments.

·       Interested in the management of aspirations of looked after children to ensure they weren’t missing out.

·       Questions regarding additional funding to support children.

·       Members felt that officers had delivered on the promise from last year and felt as though they were moving in the right direction, creating a more positive experience. 

·       Members recommended a mystery shopper to see what work people do.

Lianne Chorley, Fostering Panel member, gave members an update on the number of panels. She informed members that training had been completed and that they were currently trying to encourage diversity across the panel. Ms Chorley assured members that relationships had been build and there had been a significant amount of positive feedback. She highlighted the future from the report and was pleased with the future investments for foster carers. The Fostering Panel Member also highlighted that Dorset was the first local authority in England to do therapeutic work and felt the commitments to work ensured a great start for children.

Members noted the officers report.

Allan Charlton, Aspire Manager, to report.

Allan Charlton, Aspire Manager, introduced members to the Adoption Annual Report to provide an overview of care placements. He informed members that adoption days had increased, and officers were working hard to increase this. Mr Charlton also discussed recruitment and the ways in which officer’s were launching recruitment drives. The report also highlighted voluntary adoption agencies, special guardianship numbers, in particular referrals and increases in the number of referrals.

Members raised the following questions and statements:

·       Management of the budget

·       Members referenced long term adoption and wider recruitment.

·       Questions regarding interim authorities.

Simon Fraiz-Brown, Service Manager Young and Thriving, to report.

Members were given an overview of the previous year. They were provided with information regarding activities with children and co-production of the Dorset Promise which would be implemented through informal workshops. The presentation also included details regarding the young commissioner’s programme which would be offered during the summer months to give young people the skills to analyse, plan do and review. In addition to this, the Youth Voice team and the importance of understanding their voices was also discussed. Members were informed that the next theme for care leavers was health, wellbeing, and relationships.

Members raised the following questions and statements:

·       Clarification regarding the Takeover challenge

·       Members suggested that children should take an approach in the decision-making process in future.

To receive a report from Louise Drury, Head of Service Children in Care.

Paul Dempsey, Corporate Director for Care and Protection, introduced members to the annual report. He informed the board that officers had invested a lot of time into care leaver accommodation, and they had opened the college house for adalescents. He also highlighted ambitions for children in education and noted that a higher percentage of children had been offered university placements. Mr Dempsey also discussed Youth Voice participation and informed members that work was continuing to respond to this. He also highlighted the workshops at informal meetings and how they would allow members to see the work completed by young children. Members were also informed of improvements in transitions and gave an update on the mockingbird constellations. Issues were highlighted in the dataset, but members were assured that work was being done to address these concerns. The Corporate Director for Care and Protection praised the development and continued hard work of the Corporate Parenting Board.

Members raised the following questions and statements:

·       There were no questions from members.

The Corporate Parenting Board Annual Report was received and noted.

Mark Rogers, Independent Chair, to report.

Mark Rogers, Chair for Birth-Settled Adulthood, informed the board of supportive pathways for children with disabilities or special educational needs. Members were informed of the hard work that had been implemented to assure timelines were being met. Mr Rogers also highlighted the importance and benefits of a programme director as well as key partners. Members were informed that officers were monitoring and were able to keep track and mitigate potential risks. He also discussed engagement with children and young people as an area of focus and highlighted areas of funding.

Claire Shiels, Corporate Director Commissioning and Partnerships highlighted the two elements of work. Members were informed that the focus was to prepare young children for adulthood through employment and education, ensuring that the service delivery would be as smooth as possible for the children and assured members that tracking would have been sought throughout.

Members raised the following questions and statements:

·       Members were interested in the identified risks; however, they mentioned that the benefits had not been mentioned and questioned as to whether there was a framework for measuring improvement.

To receive a report from the Service Manager Corporate Parenting & Care Leavers.

The Service Manager Corporate Parenting and Care Leavers delivered the Care Leavers Annual Report. He gave an update on the OFSTED inspection and highlighted key agencies and the hub area which had been used by care leavers. Included in his presentation was an update on pathway plans and he also discussed the value of young people’s voices and staff training. The Service Manager Corporate Parenting and Care Leavers informed members that he was proud to be apart of the leadership team and notified them that they were voted team of the year last year. He was pleased to see the progress of the Corporate Parenting Board.

Members raised the following questions and statements:

·       Members thanked the officer for his detailed report and praised all officers for their continued support for young people.

·       Clarification regarding unsuitable accommodation.

·       Members wanted to know what could be done to get children into education or employment to avoid social isolation.

·       Can more be done regarding apprenticeship schemes.

·       Members questioned whether there was data on lack of transport impacting on children.

Cllr K Wheller thanked all officers for their continued hard work and was looking forward to seeing their continued progress at the next formal meeting.

To confirm the details of the next formal meeting which is due to be held on Thursday 23^rd November 2023.

It was confirmed that the date of the next formal Corporate Parenting Board meeting would be held on Thursday 23^rd November and the next informal meeting will be held on Thursday 27^th July.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior

notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b)

of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall

be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following

item(s) in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the

meaning of paragraph 3 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

The Live Meeting will end before Members consider the following item.

There was no exempt business to report.