Agenda item

7.1

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director, People Services, attaching the Fostering Service – Annual Report 2018/19.  The report contained information on the activity and performance of the Fostering Service in 2018/19.

7.2

In attendance for this item were Councillor Jackie Drayton (Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families), Carly Speechley (Director of Children and Families) and Paul Dempsey (Assistant Director – Provider Services).

7.3

Paul Dempsey referred to the report, which contained looked after children placement data and information on the voice of the child in care; placement stability; recruitment and retention activity and outcomes; recruitment plans for 2018/19; support and supervision for carers; permanency planning; temporary approved and connected carers; developments in 2018/19; and developments and improvement for 2019/20.

7.4

Councillor Jackie Drayton made reference to the recent Ofsted inspection of Children’s Social Care Services, specifically that part which highlighted the fact that young people’s views were affecting Council policy, and praised the excellent work of the Children in Care Council and the Care Leavers’ Union, as well as the staff in the Children’s Involvement Team. 

7.5

Members of the Committee raised questions, and the following responses were provided:-

·             101 responses were received from children as part of the ‘Bright Spots’ survey, which represented a 26% response rate. 

·             Every effort was made to try and find the best match for a child with a foster carer, with a high level of support being provided for the child, including information on where they would be going, introductions to the foster carer and a ‘wrap around’ support package.  Additional training would be identified for the foster carer if it was deemed necessary.  Also if it was deemed there could be issues regarding the placement, a ‘Team Around a Placement’ meeting would be held.  A considerable amount of work was undertaken by the Service in terms of matching teenagers with foster carers.  In addition, work was also undertaken with other partners, such as Education and Health, particularly the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).  For those children at home, every effort was made to try to prevent them coming into Council care, and various measures were put in place in order to minimise this.

·             There were, inevitably, foster carers who would leave the Service, with four such carers being deregistered due to safeguarding concerns, two where Special Guardianship Orders had been secured in respect of the children and 12 where carers had experienced a change in circumstances, such as moving out of the area, returning to paid employment, their own children requiring more support, becoming grandparents or having to deal with the care needs of elderly family members.  The comments received in terms of the experiences of those foster carers who had left the Service were generally positive.  It was accepted that foster carers would always leave the Service, so it was important that efforts were made to improve recruitment. 

·             There were several excellent foster carers in the City, many of whom had indicated that they received excellent support from the Local Authority.

·             In terms of recruitment, nearly all those applicants who failed the assessment process, did so at the final stage.  On average, around 100 applications would result in 10 approvals, which equated to around 10%.  It was common for applicants to drop out at the various different stages of the assessment process.  The recruitment process had changed significantly over the years, with annual reviews now being undertaken in respect of all foster carers, in terms of their on-going suitability, and which would include regular medical and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.  If such checks highlighted any areas of concern, relevant action would be taken in accordance with the Council’s safeguarding procedures.  Up to October 2019, there had been 15 successful applications, with all applicants being booked on to preparation training, 23 applicants were going through the assessment process – 11 families allocated by the end of October, 2019, which represented an increase on last year’s figures.

·             DBS checks were undertaken in respect of all adults in the household, together with other adults that visited households on a regular basis, or spent considerable time with the children.  All approved foster carers, as part of their responsibilities, were asked to ensure that the children were kept safe at all times.

·             The cost of placing a child with one of Sheffield’s in-house mainstream foster carers was approximately £400 per week and for those children placed with independent fostering agencies, the cost was approximately £800/£900 per week.  Costs in terms of placements in Council residential homes or independent residential homes was considerably more. 

·             A high number of foster carers welcomed the ‘Staying Put’ initiative, which involved the Service working with carers to support placements for young people staying with them after the age of 18.  There were around 28 young people in this position who, unless there were exceptions based on their specific needs, would remain with the foster carer until the age of 21.  Foster carers undertaking this role would receive financial support from the Authority.

7.6

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)      notes the contents of the Fostering Service - Annual Report 2018/19 now submitted, together with the information now reported and the responses to the questions raised;

(b)      thanks Councillor Jackie Drayton, Carly Speechley and Paul Dempsey for attending the meeting and responding to the questions raised; and

(c)      requests that the results of the ‘Bright Spots’ survey be circulated to Members of the Committee.