Transcript

Hi, my name is Councillor Stephen Rowan and hello, please come and join us for a seat. Give your name and sit very like this, thank you. You'll pick it. Thank you. Okay, so as I say, my name is Councillor Stephen Rowan chairman of this panel. I'd like to welcome the following senior officers, Andrew Morris, head of service, leaving care and supportive living. Deborah Crawford, head of service, prospering and adoption. Paul Fisher, co-preparity manager. And we also got Ben. And I remind you, meeting is being recorded and the recording will be uploaded to the County Council's website. After the meeting has concluded, I would therefore like to remind you all of your comments. Sorry, that all of your comments will be accessible online and can be reported by the media. I would like to begin with the help and safety announcement. There is no fire drill and plan this morning in the event of the fire alarm sounding. We need to leave the building through the rear doors away. When we then wait in the car park for further instructions, also I remind you to turn off the knowledge on your mobile apps and laptops and iPads. And if you have any questions or wish to make any statements during the course of the meeting, please can you raise your hand and my vice chairman will then take out of it. So we move on to the formal agenda, first up apologies for absence of stroke replacement. And then, Emily, do we have any. Yes, thank you, Chairman. We have apologies from Caroline Sanders or our team rep. Absolutely. Item two is decoration of members interest. Do any members wish to declare any interest that has not been there previously in that community interest form. Item three minutes of the meeting and panel of the 14th and March, 2024, this item is to confirm the minutes of our previous meeting, which can be found on pages three to eight of the agenda pack. Can I propose that they are a true record. And as for a second, please. Council not say thank you very much. We will now vote on the minutes you are voting on, whether you agree that the minutes are correct, all those in favour. And again, I'd like to thank you. Thank you. Those minutes are agreed. So, for is announcements. I would like to remind members that there is a workshop on employment education and training in relation to children in care and care leaders, which has been arranged by the Council development group for Tuesday, the 5th and June. At two o'clock light teams, and Chris, if you haven't responded to the appointment to do so, please. I attended one of my favourite events. The fostering world held on the 19th April, which I must say was superbly run. I think it ever really was good to see it was fantastic. The highlight for me, I was sat with Margaret and Robert Isdale, who have been fostering, I think since 1975. Yes. Lovely people, they won the lifetime achievement award. I spoke to Robert and said, what are you going to find to do, because the suggestion was that they were going to retire. And he said, oh, I've got plenty to do. I then went on and spoke to Margaret and said, have you got to anything to do? No. I thought, hmm, I'm not as sure as retirement's coming. And that proved to be the case. They're going to do the rest back out. Well, I mean, I mean, the awards to me are just superb to listen to what some people are prepared to do for our care for children. The only thing that I did get slightly wrong, during my little bit at the end, I wanted to mention Ann and Polly, because whilst their names came up two or three times during the events, nothing came up about thanking you for attending this panel. The contributions are very hard, which ain't it? So thank you very much. The next thing that we have coming up are the Faber Awards, which we held on Saturday, the 22nd of June. Those are just something different. So I encourage anybody, I'll just pick them along, come along. Ben's going to walk them later. He's going to sneak it into his report. It's a little bit in the reports, I'll tell you a bit about it. Yeah, it's a big piece of work to do. It really is a super event. Yeah, important to go to that, just for your own education. And I live from my point of view. Andy Moore tonight did what we've got one council have to do. We did our corporate parenting presentation for West Lindsay on teams last night. We have thinkers eight or nine counselors joined us. They thought they weren't going to get involved, but the same for all their answers to the end of their contributions to the end, and it really was well supported. And they were very complimentary about our service, not just what Andrew and I were doing, but the whole service, which I thought that they didn't need to say that. We've got one left to arrange, which is Lindsay. Yeah, he's Lindsay. So that's my next target. And then we'll have done all the district councils and city of Lincoln, you've been Boston twice. We've been to know these links. And so that's me finished. Andy, have you got anything that you wish to mention? Okay, that's great. Thank you. So we move on to item five, which is the corporate parenting panel review. This items on page nine, nine to 18 at the agenda fact sets up proposed changes to the panel, and to achieve tangible outcomes for young people in the authorities care. The report will be presented by Andrew Morris, head of service leaving care supported living. The panel is invited to give consideration to suggest he changes and offer comments on the proponents. Okay, thank you. And this, this is a paper here, the corporate parents panel to update brief members of this panel about something that we're going to the full council. It's this month is made for baseball council for constitutional change and recreational constitutional change. And this is about bringing the paper to you for your awareness about what's being proposed and how we're going to adapt and change our corporate parenting panel works. First of all, just in the paper, I think it recognizes that we have an engaged and well represented corporate parenting panel. And this, this, this agenda is really starts to drive and I think over the last few years it's adapted and start to move in a way that's change, change in the services we deliver to young people but we want to make it, if an our aspiration is called a parenting panel, less corporate more parenting. And this is about bringing it, bringing it to life the corporate parenting panel process and this recommendation reads about a number of subtle changes to it, but still puts corporate parenting on very much the pedestal that it needs to be about the reflecting the needs of our blood tap to children not care leaders. I won't go through the report too much detail, as to say, nationally, there is a recommendation and the parentheses to the report was a review of corporate parenting by the chief advisor to the Secretary of State around the needs of care leaves and what corporate parenting panel should look like so If you use a lot of history, I believe the report's 2021. There's been a number of years ago, this recommendations may be moving slowly through the process with democratic services. Thank you for watching them services about that around this, making sure that we get this right that our panel could become less corporate more parenting. So the proposals are really to look at how we how we changed how this panel works but first of all say that this this recommendation to full council has been through children's D on T executive D on T. So it will be consideration of full council also heard here. So it's been through the usual process before and there's been any suggestions to change. But let's go perform more parents is about putting young people at the heart process about how we encourage representation of views, and probably the presence of young people at corporate parenting panels make it about them and how they're driving the agenda and the agenda is what they want us to consider. And our view is not what we do here really effect and change within service, so that young people in care and leaving care, have the views and we hit and we make organizational changes and recommendations based on what they say. So, what we're looking to do is envisage making six simple changes to the corporate parents up on a process is, first of all, they can prepare to panel thematic. So each meeting will have a theme and some of those things would be health, accommodation, permanence, education, employment, training, fostering, whatever we wanted particular agenda to be, would then be supported by Ben team in terms of participation, and participation services in leaving care to take the issues and things we're going to take discuss a group of people to capture their views before we prepare papers and representations come to members present information to you based on the thematic basis. So we could really make a difference to what the young people want us to hear and what we're going to listen to young people, but also it gives us an ability for the feedback loop to go back to young people say as a result is corporate parenting rate these recommendations. So young people aren't just being heard, but they're actually finding out that their views and their ideas are making organizational change to the services that have been to the team. We're looking at changing performance reporting process. So the performance reporting is thematic based on the theme that's being bought to corporate parents panel. But I wanted to say that in terms of our standard quartery reporting, we would still ordinarily present those two children screws need and to this panel as well. So we're not going to take away the quarterly report because I think that's key information from children services that use corporate parity panel members need to hear. We've got to change the cover of the rates of corporate parity panel and the key thing is going to be it's about taking these meetings offline in terms of the live streaming, because what we want to do is encourage the presence of young people at these meetings. And as they stand and one of them I looked after children or care leaders to be present in the room and be available on screen to the public to see. And what we're hoping to do this isn't going to happen overnight, fortunately, if it's agreed at full counsel but we're hoping to encourage and work out the way to encourage young people into these meetings so that they can give their views. And have live feedback from the young care experienced person of foster care, maybe somebody can support a living care expansion person is left there some big university. All those different voices and views we could hear that would change how we, how we present information to use moments for scrutiny to oversee what's been doing with follow up to children and care leaders. Using different methods of engagement virtual engagement and voices for choices engagement the panel update later, and makes an actual presence in the meeting room to encourage again new new methods of information coming into the room. And demonstrates what our dedication to our children care by proving that what they bring to us here is heard and we feed back to them what we did about what they said. So there's a genuine feedback loop, which will hopefully encourage more young people to give us their views, but sometimes I know it's like myself if I give a view and I don't get any feedback from what my view was. I'm not encouraged to I doesn't necessarily motivate me to give my view again, and the same thing except for our young people. And also to me this reaffirms the role of the corporate parent in panel in a new way that gives us an ability to be more flexible and creative what you selected members might want to hear and us as officers want to bring to you to raise awareness of particular issues that might need a ring consideration. What it also does it gives us the ability to invite in other partners into this meeting. For example, on a thematic basis if we were going to talk about the roles about district counselors as we talk about last night, we can invite senior officers and district counselors to the meetings come and talk about what it is and present data and information about what it is they do for our North to children and care leaders. And that brings scrutiny not just of the local authorities in court, but the wider corporate parent and partners, for example, health and mental health district councils, the police, and all those other organizations that work with our young people and have a role in safeguard in promoting their welfare. So, I won't go into too many details, it with just within the paper but I've broken each of the, each of the areas that we're looking to change down into more detailed information. And I mentioned that we're going to keep the quality reports in this is, but also change, give you the opportunity to ask for particular performance information around a particular theme that we bring to corporate parenting. So, outside of that, if this is a green at point council may, then we're going to pull together a meeting myself, the ball and number of the heads of service with the council road to look at what those first exploratory themes might be. And I've invited health colleagues it's to that meeting as well so we can look at what those first first thematic meetings will be, we'll give this a go and see how we get young people's voice into the room. All I'd say it's called parents panelists I think this is going to be a bit of an exploration for us all, as we do something different, and number of authorities are trying this across the country now some of the speaks with the colleagues and see what their experience in finding. That's the most important thing that this panel serves a function for scrutiny as well as the young people that we get to represent. All suggestions, all suggestions are thought it's not set in stone this is not so long until not to basically the moment what's happening is that we have to get the council to make changes, but the changes aren't everything that and is read out it's just that we've not won't have to stream it we answered to full council anyway here. And I'd be interested on feedback at the end of the meeting if we can, is that the meetings will be held in here, rather than council chamber. But yes, any questions or any thoughts. And it's great idea what provision and we provide. Children that want to remain anonymous or don't want their identity to be disclosed to a wider group of people, including us. I think we should look at various ways that we can provide that. Sure, this is a good question it's a good point. And what the aspiration is is if young people are confident feel and want to, we will find if we can a way to get some views probably live fed into the meeting, but also the opportunity to participation teams to capture their views and thoughts in an anonymous way presented to corporate parents and panel completely anonymized a young person in our pair said this so that there'll be there'll be two ways to do it. Usually, I don't think in the early stages we're going to be having young people in the room straight away. We need to find the right people that are confident to do that as well and people that aren't going to feel able to want to go into the room to present information but I think what you will get is using up participation team to take the theme of the meeting to our young people to see if there's anything they want to add. We'll be off the information to us in a lot of in a lot of eyes away. Yes, then. Thank you Chairman. I read this really great interest because I've been on this panel in the past and I think the automatic thing is a brilliant idea, because I think it'd be more interesting as a member and involving other people. I think it's more on changes, possible changes to constitution, I think you quote, involving district counselors. And I'd like to know how you think that could work. You just said that you've had some conversation with the seven district councils and Lincoln Council. So it's different like this here, that you would like three, dual patterns really county councils that are also district counselors. And I know in the past district councils will involve, because they're helping caregivers with them getting housing, etc. So that's the start for me, thank you, Chairman. First of all, and some of the members rather than already dual matters that's right. So we're looking, there will be for the Democratic services and the political representation to select who sits on corporate panel with the aspiration of having people that carry both of those responsibilities to make sure that's fed into the meeting. Specifically about theme that relates to district councils see how we can invite senior officers and members from those district councils to this panel to come and speak about what it is they're delivering and why. And from the road shows that Council and I've been taken around the district councils. It's been really enjoyed actually happening to support out to counselors, what they have achieved over the last five, six years, for example, council tax exemption for all caregivers up to 25 free leisure access priority allocation on housing. Freedom to move housing registers across all seven district councils type of local connections and Lincoln share, and a lot of counselors actually, because they haven't necessarily been in their seat for the last five, six years. We're really hard to, we didn't know we'd achieve that. You know, it's certainly really nice, maybe it's asking us council in the room to think about what else is district councils overseen delivered that's different to the county council that we could utilize to benefit our lot to the children and care leaders. Anybody else wish to make some info and thought. That's great. Thank you. Thank you very much, and so that concludes this discussion. I propose that the panel has reviewed the report and supports the suggested changes to the corporate parenting panel. I'm kind of sure to raise your hand if you're in agreement, please. Yeah, that's unanimous. Thank you very much. Okay, get at me. Again, item six is making sure children and care council losses for choices, people see update report. This item is on pages 19 to 24 of the gender pack and provide summary of the recent activities regarding the link to your children and care council voices for choice to be for see. And the actions for future progress, the summary calls the period between October 23 and April 24, the report presented by Benley really practice supervised quality standards. And the panel is invited to provide comment and steer regarding before see activities and meetings are taken with the reported period future planning and delivery of people see meetings and activities. Thank you. I want to go really thanks for the introduction. That's great. So yeah, so this report covers most recent activities up until April 2024 from October 2023 and I'm going to squeeze in a little bit of what's going on in May and June as well. So, yeah, so the children care council, I think, as everybody, hopefully around the table knows is some, it's a mechanism and a forum for us to gain a lot of views of children and people who are in care. So, since September 2023, we've changed the format of delivery, and that's been based on feedback from from the children people we've moved to daytime meetings in school holiday times, and that's helped help to help with like transport and time. And it's enabled us to provide nice food for them and some fun activities so this report talks about how things have gone since since then essentially so. Next time, but when we had the first meeting we had 13 young people attend, and the meetings are very much focused around looking at our caring promise. So talking to the young people about their experiences of education and employment, the support they've received their own life and just getting their feedback. And as time has gone, and you can see here with the numbers are numbers of engagements fluctuate, and it's becoming clear that when we put on some form of fun activity, the numbers increase. When we have a meeting where we have a dual activity such as, for example, a cooking session, or a first day session, it's not quite as popular. And so, for example, we had in the October after we had the escape rooms in Lincoln, where we had 19 young people attend, we've had a meeting and a trip to see if the pants of mind at the first floor we had 14. So there's a clear kind of picture I think is coming through over recent recent months. So our meetings are taking place in holiday times but there's also some online meetings happening in between. In regards to us as the report talks about in here, and the development of the training resource. So what the young people have talked about is they want to develop some form of training resource that can be shared with, with professionals and carers, which gives their view. So, you know, they want to give their views about how they sometimes feel about being labeled as being a child in care. They want to talk about the bullying that some of them have experienced and the help they've received around that. And they want to talk about the reasons why children are in care, and the fact that it's not always a negative reason. And they also want to talk about the positives of being in care as well, because that does come out in our meetings in our children and care. Council meetings, young people do talk about their positive experiences when we sort of asked them about it. So, yeah, there is this, this thing about, and I get what the young people are saying that children care is seen as a as a as a negative thing out there in the world when actually they want to challenge that in some respects, which I think does reflect very well on the support that our children and people received from our frontline staff really. So, some of the work that is been going on really is about trying to develop that resource that training resource and how that is going to be delivered and that is proving to be quite a, an ongoing task really. So that's happening throughout this year. The group has also been reviewing some I'm taking a review of the council's offer to care leave us so they're providing some some feedback around that as well. And, and we've been consulting with them around the fab awards. So the fab awards, like Councilor is taking place in next month. It's a very, very big event to organize. And there's about 700 children and people have been nominated for awards so we talked to the young people about how that event will look and what they want to see us being involved in that event. So they're giving us feedback around that whole time as well. The thing that is taking place currently is we've been asked to lead a East Midlands regional participation group to develop a track, another training resource to use across the region with with student social work and youth work students and professional staff in the different local authorities and we're doing that in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University so the plan there is for some people to attend the day at Nottingham Trent University to talk about their experiences. And for that to be filmed and then included in an online resource. So, those are the main things that the Children Care Council has been involved in over the last number of months and we are, we are trying to progress this. This sort of training resources so that's kind of where the focus of the most recent meetings has been taking place along with the plans for the fab awards. So, coming up, we have obviously the fab awards in June, we have our next Children Council meeting in May half term. So, I think council members, the relevant ones are invited to that, that's taking place in Lincoln and the afternoon activity is a nerf gun war for anybody wants to take part in that. So we're hoping that numbers will be good for that event. And in terms of, again, trying to increase the engagement involvement of our children and people in the Children Care Council, our participation offices are going around meeting frontline teams and talking to frontline teams. And then emails have gone out this week to our children care to our two main children care teams answered to those as well and all the other teams to encourage staff to nominate young people to to attend and our next meeting. So, we're finding numbers of fluctuating engagement is varying. And there does seem to be a bit of a theme that the more exciting and activity we put on, we do get more more attendees. But there's issues with that in terms of budget and transport and various issues around that but just wanted to reassure or provide any assurance I can to the current panel that we are doing. Everything we can to market the Children Care Council to raise awareness of it and to hopefully encourage young people to to attend so that's where we are currently. The final things to update because it's just very, very new in June as well we are just in the process of finalizing an event for care leaders to come to on 10th of June to give feedback about the leaving care service. And that's taking place at it's a go carting center in Lincoln. So, again, you want to do some go carting the option is there for you. That's the end of the report. So more than happy to invite any questions or comments. Thank you for the report. Is there a minimum number that we say the event won't take place if it falls below this number. Okay. In my head, I have a minimum number, but sometimes on the day that minimum number goes below. So the meeting that we had spreading some community sense of the cooking session. Nine young people due to attend. On the morning we've had five cancellations so, or didn't just know it shows so in the end we left with four young people. We've, we've kind of had like in in previous, sometimes a sort of background figure of six as a minimum number. And unfortunately we have had occasions where that number is gone below that just just last minute cancellations or, or no shows really. The other question I've got is, is there a better time of the day, when there's a better take I mean mornings are better than afternoons or afternoons are better than even because I'd rather watch television. We've the definite feedback we've had from from previous times is evenings is the worst option so we used to have some of them in a lot of meetings in the evenings and the issue there is they weren't starting to sort of half six or seven o'clock and something people were saying we don't get home until, until nine half nine and then they don't want to come out after being at school. So what we can see from some of these events is we have had higher attendance in school holidays in the daytime. And it has the feedback has been even when some haven't been able to attend they said it's for the reasons that they got the stuff on. But, but it does allow the flexibility to help to arrange transport when it's in the daytime in school holidays, and we do get more time so they can have some food and we can fit in a better activity. So I'm, I think, how we're currently doing it I think we need more, we need to carry on to get a more full of picture, but what we're doing is based on the feedback of the people, really, we're doing money. Anybody else. Thank you, thank you for report, you know, I think I can go for the war, we know, and I'm not in the country, so important on it. It is very interesting, you know, for me, when you put on the children in the car is the local, or they come from far away you know that instant like you have like a 19 Lincoln. Or older, only six people turn or lie, even like we don't need to turn out even though we're lying. Yeah, why so long since we're going to be sitting here alone. Yeah. So, yeah, 14, that's the Lincoln, the life was in Lincoln, in Lincoln children on the house to Lincoln, we're talking about cooking only for his sleep. Yeah. In the children in Lincoln, how are you going to get to sleep. I'm transport for every, all of them. So, so the ones who come to Lincoln, they come from sleep, the ground and games for service ones from Wispage. So, yeah, we don't find the geography, but actually so much of a challenge because we're able to arrange transport. We do want to make the meetings go around county more. But, but yeah, we don't think they're happy to come and travel. And it's the evenings is when they weren't happy to travel. But yeah, they come from, it's not just 19 young people from from Lincoln or 14 of the federal just from Lincoln, they, they come from from all over. You know, and coming like, is it good, we put need on, but how to promote the children to come forward. Yes, that's, that's a, I agree, important, how you sell in it. I mean, last week I went through the young care. My uncle in high school in Boston. Children were killing to come through a cooking class. You know, but that's cool. Another source of wine for an hour, two hours, they really enjoyed it. And one kid wants to come and join, but he's too late, but would it teach and not allow it. So, depending how you sell it. Yeah, so in terms of raising awareness and about the children care council, the, we send the regular comms out in the foster and newsletter. And like I was saying in the report, we are staff go and visiting all the different from one teams on an ongoing basis just to raise awareness of the children and care council. And we've got links with our some workers in our children care teams are just this week, sending out emails to all the social workers in those teams to say, please nominate each nominate one person who may be interested in attending. So, we're trying all the time to, to raise awareness, and, and, you know, for my workers, I think, are, are hopefully doing that and trying their best and ultimately, you know, it's a voluntary group. And do the feet, some of the people that we do get is they, they, they don't feel they need to attend because they're happy in their lives and they, you know, they don't necessarily want to attend that kind of group and they've got the things on as well. I think, depending on how we go to try to sell to bring them out, you know, I mean, in that group, I went this, I asked why you come and say so I can meet some new friends. Yeah, yeah. And I think, and the lady who organizing that they had, he said, we send the email out on the Wednesday before events, tell them what you need to be. Yes. You know, but therefore I won't engage in anyhow, but to be in the table and whatever. And some quite interesting, you know, they say, Oh, I enjoyed it. I said, why didn't you come and throw that to cook my food. So I offered myself to know that. So they were inviting me. So you put in your thing and say that I can go there to show you how to cook my food. And I'm going to keep a mind job in the book basic thing and that. So, you know, I mean, I, I understand the care, you know, children and that, but I think we have to try to do something out more appealing. The way I think if I'm a teammate or either can't have a move, I don't know whether, you know, for the video game on game, maybe. Yes, thank you. The cooking one is one of the only ones that I'm attending that was disappointed. Yeah. Yeah. But we still got good feedback. Yeah, I was just going to say, Mike, we were actually directing the invites to the young people themselves because, you know, obviously, it's a foster care is the game for string. And also just maybe the social workers, no visit, actually having a focus and invite. We do the children, we do do that. We have invited the endurance children and people before as well. And we'll do that again. Because I know my young person, if I just went around without that direct invite. And I think for how we can make them feel a children to come out the only event, you feel like to make a first step out, because they feel maybe they don't want to come out. They make more children, but enjoy all these, you know, the new dynamic that they still not, you know, not half half 50 50, and somehow you need to be like a choice in the sense to come out. That's more important. They have to be able to be there in the care, whatever they need to be with you from course, to say, Oh, it's okay, you know, not mental good thing, you know, I come from here. From there somewhere you have to find a way to make children feel like it fun. Yeah. And we often have them. The key worker, the worker who's working most closely with that young person sometimes brings them along helps them and sits with them and, and gives them that reassurance to help build their confidence to attend. Hold the hand essentially to walk them into the meeting and provide that support so that does happen. It's an ongoing challenge to make that. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. And I think you have a fun job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. I think it was a great job. And maybe we're all corporate parents and either one take that role very seriously because I'm a visiting member. And I think it's good. And I think communication is key. I really do. And we all need that reminder that we're all prepared. And I think it's cracking you've got council and I hope all the children that are involved in it. So we really enjoy it because all of us, we enjoy what we do. Thank you. Thank you. Excellent comments. Anybody else who are kind of, no. Just just to add a couple of minutes. Even the four people, which I think was two pairs of siblings, if I remember. Yeah. There was things that came out of that that was relevant. That was still working for us, certainly for myself, the question. And that when I do the corporate parent presentation, we tell district council is about it. We say it can be a big sandwich at time. They don't pull any punches. They actually say what they think and they ask questions. And if we entice them to come with activity, we can understand there's a problem from funding point of view. But the value is there. We do get constructive things from it. And we do get direction for where things need to be changed. And one of the biggest things, just as an example is we had several young people telling us that. Whilst in school and the registers being written in right now, they are identified as children in care or care for children. And that was immediately dropped on by. All the officers really, but then Hannah's hand is certainly going involved with it. So things do come out of it. And there is value, but from the office, you can't be a problem. I think it ends. So yes, it's just a thought, really, because obviously I've been in different roles. And obviously council members changing and again, it's about understanding maybe participation with young people. I just want to be useful, maybe it's here to bring to another meeting the full range of how we engage with your people across the board, because obviously the particular report is about voices for choices for young people. But actually, as an authority and a poor parent, we engage with them on many, many different levels in many, many different ways, both formally and informally, and voices for choices. And the kind of long inspects is just one element of that engagement and getting young people's voices through. So I just wondered whether it would be worth coming back at some point to say, well, actually, this is the full scope of what we do, both on a regular basis, but actually on an hard hoc basis, one one people's views will kind of get to that, that sharing of information from them, because events are very good, you know, and they have value. As a lot of work goes on in the background, getting those young people's voices that isn't around that kind of event around that cooking or whatever, where we want to engage those hard-to-reach people as well. And that's a lot of work that obviously the participation team do, the independent reviewing officers do, the social workers do, the leaving care workers do. And I was more of, I suppose, a question to Council in terms of the point of where all of those kinds of mechanisms and what that can mean and how that fits in. Yes, I think your own knowledge. That's a good point. A couple of weeks ago, I got in right to the children who like to live in Microsoft, it was studied by Lincoln University, they do the survey, work with the children at school in Microsoft, and they go around and have different children. What you want for your area, why you want to live here, what you're looking for, the Council or school, whatever to do to make it better. And the children make a course card on different things, what they're like. They have children come into presentation and then they give you 10 things. What do you think we need in the car? What do we think? No one will come out. Some of them, they have from like Italy, the Council or different care, the perfection of form. Even Italy and only one thought that they come because some people child in their one second year school in Microsoft. And some children, if they don't want second year school, they want like a chain in center. And so they want to pay power, they have to do stuff like you said, bullying, that's the lead from the children, you know, going to school board. People doing secular doing a secular passed it on an old day. That's a good point. But they will spend life. I don't know how long they spend the Lincoln University to do this today. And they come out a summer local people, even the local council, never really alive. They want the children one in your area. So that's a good point. Maybe try to do something like that. They do this building and work with the children, they ask. You know, that's a good point. Some people don't realize it, what the children want. If you don't ask them. Yeah. Thank you. That's my point. Thank you. You know, I think it's maybe a general item for this, when we're actually now some young people here, because then we didn't have the presentation of what we do and get some feedback from the people that are involved in it. So yeah, thank you. Anybody else that a comment or thoughts? No, that's great. Thank you very much, then. So I propose that panel has reviewed the report and is satisfied with the reports, the activities and meetings undertaken within the reporting period. And then we wish to investigate. So something that that's exactly what we do do with the chance and the young people. Can I ask you to raise your hand if you're in agreement? Thank you. That's the analysis. So we now move on to. Agenda item seven, which is children in care, sufficiency strategy. 2027 annual update to the action plan this item on pages 25 to 44 of the agenda pack. Provides an annual update to the action plan of the children in care, sufficiency strategy. 2023 27 covering the period 2023 24. The report presented by private lecture senior commissioning officer children's commissioning. We, I think it's an apology. So I'm sorry, I'm not speaking. Okay. I do owe you an apology. I missed you out on my original, and I looked at it and it's. It's still been taking my hand. Take my hand. I apologize. The action why is that we endorse your data and your action plan for children in care, sufficiency strategy. 2023 27 covering 2023 24. Invite children's strategic commissioning to attend in May 2025 to provide an annual date on the action plan for the period. 25. Well done. Lots of day. So thank you very much for inviting me. As you've said, quite clearly, it's in a place on the annual activity covering the period. 2324 previously used to attend in January, but we re aligned it with the new strategy so that we could come. Following the end of the previous year, so we could give them more accurate view of kind of a reporting year in terms of activity and align it to. Reports and end of the year data. So this is a better way forward. The action plan has five key areas. So it's a little bit tighter than previous action. We'll just focus on five key areas of interest. And this is the first action plan. So the first annual update of the new current, what current 2327 strategy. So the five areas we've got the first one of the in house regulated placement. So just a little bit of a whistle stop tour. I'm not going to go through all of it because the reports fairly detailed and there's lots of information there that have been provided by officers and heads of service. Deborah and Andy in particular contributed a lot of information to the report. So please have a read because it does highlight a huge breadth of activity in terms of in house regulated placements has been a lot of work. This in. I say this year, I mean 2324 around foster care recruitment and retention. So DFB have provided a health check. There's some work on going around the foster link service practice workshops with foster carers and training is now online. So there's lots of really good work around. First care recruitment, making improving and increasing sufficiency of our in house foster care as and defra's team is working really hard on that there's effective links with commissioning. And placements teams have hosted duty desk and commissioning team placements team are sort of co located almost just upstairs and work really closely to identify in house foster placements versus independent foster placement. So that's a really effective working relationship that puts young people's needs and front and central really. We're looking at block placements in terms of commissioning so where we can identify kind of. Most of care independent foster care as I come to that in a separate section that we can identify best value and. Well, we can maximize placement capacity really, and all of those are reviewed through the placement management meeting which attended by officers and that this is usually going to be with the strategic placement for an ancient meeting. In terms of in house residential and new children towers. I think all of the new to I think of now open so we've increased capacity there as well. That all seems to be great at the moment and again though that capacity is also reviewed through the placement management meeting. Rachel Freeman who's the head of service for that area. Let me know that there's a regional campaign around recruitment of residential staff. So that's been looked at as well to try to improve capacity there because obviously staffing involved has an impact on the ability to deliver spaces and capacity itself. So that's linked to efficiency. And in terms of secure secure. Which is secure unit that's a work piece of work ongoing it looks like the new. Bigger more improved link and just cure unit it should be ready and completed by the end of 2026. And there are initial conversations ongoing now around a new seven year contract going forward. The new unit will also increase the number of welfare beds for Lincoln share so that will also increase efficiency and capacity for young people that might need a secure placement for a little bit longer. So that's our in house regulated placements in terms of independent regulated placements it's been a very busy year for commissioning and our placements team we've had. For has been quite busy in terms of the numbers coming through and we're focusing very much on relationship based commissioning so trying to build those effective relationships within Lincoln ship providers with the end of keeping our young people where we don't have sufficient capacity within our in house vision, or you have very particular identity by needs because that can sometimes require an independent placement as well as. And so that we keep them as close to home as possible. It means our social workers and our other services that are excellent in Lincoln ship and then wrap around our young people more effectively. And we keep on your people where we feel the best of it with most of their networks where it's appropriate for them to be. And we worked through the increases this year. And we're trying to kind of manage that on a regional level where we've got independent providers seeking being treated and provide a significant degree of challenge back to the market around the increases to keep them proportionate recognizing that. There is a recruitment issue we are seeing increased demand, and other local authorities are also finding the same so it's a national picture of submission seat. But nevertheless commissioning officers are working really hard to build those relationships and keep costs. You know, stable and as low as possible, once accepting we want high quality placements for our young people, if we have to place them in an independent sector. And we are seeing high number of young people with complex needs. And I think that's coming through in terms of some of our placements at the moment, we've got really good relationships with send and the CWD teams. And we're working with so commissioning or working with independent non maintain special schools in particular to try to maximize independent placements. The majority of those basements in terms of special school placements in the independent sector are day placements and over 70. That's 75% of those are within Lincoln show. So, and that was that sort of indicates obviously 25% and not in Lincoln show the majority are still just over the border. So, the majority are within touching distance. If you like, we've got a few schools there, a few miles across so doing bordering authorities. In terms of commissioning other placements, we're looking at other things going on within commissioning at the moment around with commission CWD support and some mediation and the speech and language therapy review is ongoing. Our open select list, open successfully for new placement providers independent place and providers to join those procurement lists that opened in June 23 and is about to it will reopen June, July 24 with the end of increasing numbers on those lists so that we can again maximize capacity and high quality providers, you can use an approach, and that all sits alongside the transformation, actually ship permission. We build those relationships effectively and bring up and keep the majority of our children in care within you can share. And the third time is on forced accommodation, so we have an ongoing contract with Knacro for our youth housing service, which is 72. Some intense support capacity. In terms of occupancy around the advantage, 89% occupied, and that creates obviously depending on need. People sometimes have a little bit of capacity within the system for emergencies, because we do see young people kind of present quite late on in the week, late at night over a weekend and the service works really hard to accommodate them. In terms of our spot purchase independent placements with support accommodation around 50% of Lincolnshire and the majority of those that are outside of Lincolnshire are due to being in an area where that your person wants to be. We've placed them outside of Lincolnshire in the first place when they've been a child in care either in residential care and foster care, and that's their network. They would like to live there. And what's right encourage them to move back to Lincolnshire for our finished accommodation offer. We listen to the voice of the young people so sometimes those young people are outside of county. Obviously registration happened successfully, I think, around October time last year, and all of our commission provided some one of those through the US. And we all did less, Benardo supported lodgings, NACRO are in house provision we're all also admitted a compliant registration application by the deadline. And we continue to kind of work with upstairs, making sure all of our subsequent placements are with upstairs registered providers. So September it was due to start around April, but also delayed it I think part of due to the numbers within the system so there was some concern originally the off stage registration of supported accommodation 16 17 year olds might result in some providers in the market, we've not really seen that I think of instead of kind of realized that that hasn't happened and they've got far more providers than they were initially expecting which is great news for our young people who are now under a regulated quality led regime. But that just means that they've delayed inspection slightly, but just a little bit longer so we work in the market in a positive back and then subsequently after that. So that's a part of our company the silence seeking children and form a US care leaders numbers have increased last year so we had 41 referrals through the national transfer scheme, including 10 under 16. That's a bare number although at the same time we're not seeing spontaneous arrivals in any great numbers. And they used to always spontaneous arrivals but the national transfer scheme is trying to put the roots now through that rather than drops or presentations at police centres like it used to be. So we are seeing that through the national transfer scheme. And we've got 18 people in foster care and they are all out of county but that's a piece of work that we're looking at with the region at the moment, and seeing whether things possible to kind of support more local foster care and provision. We're struggling placing people in that but the closer to home if possible. And we've also created a 12 month age assessment unit that that's based in place for it's a poor bedded unit that with the intention and following some cases or that young people that are likely to be under the age of 18. And maybe it's a young person that's been in one of the age assessment age sorry the adult asylum hotels or potentially scumpton if it opens, come forward and claim to be a child. And we think that that's probable, they can be accommodated once that age assessment is carried out from the accommodated safely and with 11 of support from the provider and the social worker pending that and then they can move to their permanent placement. That's actually working really well at the moment and also allows us to take national transfer scheme referrals very quickly, pending and move to their more permanent placement so again it's working really well. Young people have access to eat and so education employment and training and virtual school have used people premium successfully to increase access to a soul around 68 cent by you at former US care levers remain in education. I'm glad to, as of this report certainly about 48 cent of the wider curly cohort so they're really really well engaged in education and kind of want to kind of, you know, improve their skills so that they can actually contribute effectively and get a good job. They want more education post decision so that's really positive as well, former US care levers make about 25 cent of our care lever cohort, respecting that to rise to about 30% by April 25. For those young people for all of our you asking people from the home office and under his head of service has been looking at how to use some of that money proportionately to support capacity in both accommodation services and support offer but also within our children care and leaving care teams to create capacity to support those in people. The final section is around a sort of final focus I suppose is around care levers and offset inspected the local authority children services in April 23 and standalone judgment for the experience and progress of care levers. And was found to be good by opposite, but the wider general services judgment was outstanding as I'm sure you will know. And the service. Sorry, the inspection did highlight some improvements around that they wanted to see that they could be better for our care levers, particularly around the 21 plus service so that's part of the transformation program where I'm already looking at these and working closely with the Commission provided the Nardos to develop the 21 plus service looking at processes protocols mosaic, according all sorts of exciting things that brought a load of a lot more young people back to the service so that's really good in terms of post 21 support for our kind of leave this as well, commissioning have undertaken that service review of the Commission to leave in care service. That's been with bananas for a significant number of years, but the decision has been made to install some April 2025. Not in any way shape or former reflection in terms of the quality of the service but it does provide us an opportunity to align service more closely within house services so bring them into children and care teams make those links more effectively. We're working through that moment, in terms of statistics for our care levers 93% on average across the year we're in suitable accommodation, and around 48% of our care levers were engaged in education and employment and training, although Andy has just told me that that's now about 55% so that's rising, which is great. That is already said connections been agreed to district councils which has helped our care levers access to full accommodation more effectively across the county council tax exemption free prescriptions lots of things going on for our care levers. There's a lot of lodgings of us 23 beds and that is also I've said read registered so that's really positive, but those young people. And I don't think I've got any more if I've got any. There's so much activity going on in terms of capacity, sufficiency support the past year for all of our children in care. And care levers. Children's commissioning plays a very small part of that I think, and a lot of work is done by the kitchen and care teams. There's lots of people around the table creating efficiency and efficiencies and always about and efficiency of accommodation placement plays a very small, significant part that some of it is around sufficiency of service and support and I think there's been a lot of activity around that this year so and I think that summarizes our action plan. The sufficient, I just also wanted to say that efficiency strategy and the 23 24 lucky position statement are available online, the market position statement for 24 25 will be online shortly. And just need to finish the state and the statistics for that and that supports our sufficiency and our work with our placement providers, encourage them to kind of set up close to home so that we keep on your people. It can show where it's safe for them to be, if it's safe for them to be there. So that's my report to corporate parenting anybody has any questions. Thank you very much. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you for the report. Excuse me. And I predict saying there's so much information there is, and I was reading in bed last night, but I did get frustrated because some are a lot of fun. It's a bit corporate. There are a lot of actions, abbreviations, like on page 32 PM M SP, so if a report comes in like this, there are some people like me that do read things. It would be good if we could have a log, if you're going to use lots of abbreviations. Thank you. And I think they could have slipped through. I certainly, we certainly try to explain an acronym. The first time it's used and after that we tend to use it. I think there's the odd one that might have seen us through so sorry about. No, it's a good point. No chance to see it happens in the council, but it's a thing that I've got a thing about the frustrates me because I think, did I miss it first time, and I go back and I can't find it next to this long anyway. And it was very interesting. All the things that are going on. Thank you for that. Any further comments? No, so, I was going to give the opportunity to Andy, that you've done it about the improved education. I still haven't been done. Absolutely. But he did it. He did have the chance to do it last night. He was quite happy. Thank you. Thank you very much. The proposal is that Paul endorses the updated annual action plan for the children being care submission is a strategy. And the children's strategic commissioning be invited to attend in May 2025 to provide an annual update on the action plan for the period 2425. Can I ask you to raise your hands if you can agreement, please. Yep. Nice. Thank you very much once again. Item 8 is the core and check panel work program. This item on pages 45 to 48 and the agenda pack enables the panel to comment on the content of his own work program. The report will be presented by Tracy Johnson of C and scrutiny officer. The corporate parent advice to review and approve the work program and the highlights any additional activity, which could be included for consideration in the work program. Great. Thank you. Thank you. I had your members report to work program was published. I was just going to add that if the changes are approved at full council next Friday. And we need to re look at the work program to align it with the themed meetings and the department's meeting so Friday, the public example might need to come to a different month. Anyhow, where the of this housing condition was approved to come to. So, just to highlight that, I'm the next few months work program will be getting. Realigned to fit in with the themed meetings and performance meetings that it's all approved next week. And we look at the comment. Maybe I pull with regard to. Yes, I think it was. Most of my work in life has been in sales and marketing and marketing management. And there was a comment that says the marketing team are currently signing a marketing strategy. And the marketing is so important and everything and I know Devro is concerned about foster care is, I would like to see a report come back towards about what marketing we do and how it works. If members are thinking the same thing great, I'm happy to go off on my own little tangent. But I just invite some feedback whether we would like a report on the marketing around everything to do with corporate parenting. Yeah. I agree. You think it could be about saying. So, so if we could believe that as well. Yeah, please, that would be great. Yeah. So, that concludes this discussion. I propose that we approve the work program as detailed on pages 45 to 48 of the end of that process items are just added. Can I ask you to raise your hand if you're in agreement. One last thing before I end the meeting at the beginning, I did say that. I mean, we're probably going to be using this room more all the time. And just some feedback. Do you feel, come here in here, then using the council chamber. Yeah, I'm not going back. Don't come back, say it's too hard. Yeah. So, so in general, I think that that that was 12 folders. So, thank you everybody for your attendance. So, I'm sorry, you'll take concludes the business of the meeting. And thank you.

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