This meeting covered a range of topics relating to the activities and performance of the Council's Children's Services in supporting children in care, care leavers and other vulnerable groups in the borough. It included an overview of corporate parenting activities, a report on complaints and compliments, and presentations on several services.

Wellbeing in Schools Hubs (WiSH)

The agenda included a report on the implementation of the new Well Being in Schools Hubs (WiSH). This is a new service providing targeted interventions for children, young people, and their families facing challenges that may impact the child's school attendance.

The service is being piloted in eight secondary schools across the borough: The Halley Academy, Thomas Tallis, St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich Poly Girls, Royal Greenwich Trust, Harris Academy Greenwich, Plumstead Manor and The John Roan. Each school will select 12 children and their families for support, focusing on issues such as poor attendance, being a young carer, potential undiagnosed mental health needs and emotional-based school avoidance (EBSA).

The report also included an overview of the approach to be adopted by the WiSH service, which is based on a systemic and compassion-minded approach. This includes practical support for families and activities with the child to build a positive relationship with the WiSH team whilst building their self-esteem and sense of belonging to the community.

Overview of RBG Corporate Parenting Activity 2023-2024

The agenda included a series of reports about how the Council is performing in its statutory role as a 'Corporate Parent' for children in its care and care leavers. This is a legal duty placed on all councils in England under the Children Act 1989 to act in a similar way to a responsible parent in relation to children in care.

These reports focus on the services and support provided for children in care and care leavers across all areas of their lives including their physical and emotional health, education, housing, contact with family members and their preparation for adulthood.

The reports included:

• An annual report on the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Service 2023-24. IROs are qualified Social Workers who have a statutory role in reviewing the care plans for children in care and in challenging the Local Authority if it is failing to meet its responsibilities as a Corporate Parent.
• An annual report on Corporate Parenting 2023-24. This reviews the efforts of all of the Council's departments and partner agencies in supporting children in care and care leavers. It also reviews the progress of the new Corporate Parenting Partnership Board and the action plans developed by its three dedicated sub-groups; focussing on Education, Employment and Training (EET), Health and Wellbeing and Resilience and Independence.
• An annual report on Fostering and Adoption 2023-24. This reviews the progress of these services in recruiting new foster carers, supporting children in foster care and preparing children for adoption. It also reviews the work of the 'Mockingbird' scheme in providing additional support for foster families.

School Admissions Annual Report 2024

A report was scheduled to be discussed on School Admissions in the borough. The report covers the outcomes of the primary and secondary admissions rounds for entry in September 2024.

It describes the challenges faced by the Council in managing applications when schools receive more applications from residents than places available, leading to some children being allocated to schools they didn't choose. This is compounded by residents of neighbouring local authorities often living nearer to Royal Greenwich Schools than schools in their own local authority.

The report also describes the challenges of in-year admissions (i.e. applications for places during the school year). Royal Greenwich coordinates in-year applications for community primary and secondary schools, and for primary academies.

Children’s Services, Complaints, Compliments and Representations. Annual Report 2023-24

A report was scheduled to be discussed that reviews all of the complaints, compliments and representations received by Children's Services in the period from April 2023 to March 2024.

The report details the numbers and types of complaints received and provides an overview of the reasons why people have complained. This includes complaints submitted under the statutory procedures for Children's Social Care and complaints submitted under the Council's own corporate complaints process. For those complaints which were upheld or partially upheld, the report also provides details of what happened and what action was taken to resolve the issues.

The report also summarises the compliments received by the service, and gives examples of what people have said in these compliments.