The Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Gloucestershire Council was scheduled to review updates on early help services, including family and youth hubs, and parenting programmes. The committee was also set to consider annual reports on fostering and adoption, alongside performance and school system outcomes.

Early Help in Gloucestershire with Updates on Family Hubs, Youth Hubs and Parenting Programmes

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the implementation and delivery of the Gloucestershire Early Help Strategy for 2025-2028, in the context of national reforms under the Families First Partnership Programme. This included progress on developing Gloucestershire's Family and Youth Hubs models and an overview of the reach and impact of the county's parenting programmes. The report highlighted that early help involves offering coordinated support as soon as difficulties are identified, before they escalate to require statutory intervention. This approach has been reinforced by government strategies, including the Supporting Families programme, which transitioned into the national Families First Partnership programme in April 2025. Gloucestershire received £1.57 million in 2025-2026 to transform its early help and social care services, with a focus on the most vulnerable families. The strategy aims to create a common understanding of early help, outlining shared values and Gloucestershire's ambition for an impactful early help system. Key emerging themes from national and local data included an increase in school non-attendance, high crime rates in urban areas, gaps in rural services, rising demand for SEND support, increased parental stress, and over-representation of Black and ethnic minority children in support services. The report also detailed the implementation of Family Hubs, which aim to provide comprehensive support to families with children aged 0-19 (up to 25 for SEND), and the development of Youth Hubs, offering a range of services and positive activities for young people. The report noted that the commissioned youth service providers have the potential to play a pivotal role in delivering Gloucestershire's strategic priorities. Finally, an update on the in-house parenting team's offer, including various Triple P programmes, and the delivery of parenting programmes by Children and Family Centres was scheduled for review.

Fostering and Adoption Annual Reports

The committee was scheduled to review the Fostering Service Annual Report for 2024-2025, which detailed a year of progress and innovation in delivering high-quality foster care. Key achievements highlighted included a reduction in the number of children in care, strong performance in foster carer recruitment and kinship care conversion rates, and the expansion of the Mockingbird programme to enhance placement stability and peer support. The report also noted high engagement with training and development, improved audit outcomes, and strengthened carer engagement. The Fostering Service operates within a regulated framework, adhering to National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services and Fostering Services Regulations. The report detailed the service structure, including the Fostering Recruitment Team, Fostering Placement & Support Team, Fostering Support Teams, Kinship Assessment and Support Teams, and the Family Link Plus Team. National context on the decline in mainstream fostering households and the rise in kinship care was provided, alongside key issues such as burnout, financial pressures, and support challenges faced by foster carers. The report emphasised Gloucestershire's commitment to kinship care as the preferred option for children unable to live with their birth parents and outlined the county's forthcoming Kinship Local Offer. Performance in recruitment and retention was discussed, with a focus on the Fostering Recruitment Team's adaptive approach and the regional Fostering South West hub. The report also addressed foster carer resignations, panel activity, and training and development, including e-learning and accredited qualifications. Support and supervision roles, the Mockingbird programme, and quality of service were also detailed, alongside data on allegations and standards of care. The Fostering Development Plan, structured around five key thematic areas, was also to be reviewed.

Quarter 2 2025/26 Performance Report

The committee was scheduled to receive a strategic overview of the Council's performance for Quarter 2 of the 2025/26 financial year. The report included scorecards for Children's Social Care and Education. In Children's Social Care, measures related to quality assurance, children in need of help and protection, contact activity, children in care, and care-experienced young people were to be reviewed. For Education, the report was to cover the number of children with Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs), progress on assessments and plan issues, and persistent absence rates. The report also highlighted key strategic risks, including insufficient workforce capacity in Children's Services, increasing EHCP demand, and failure to develop sufficient placement capacity.

School System Outcomes Annual Report

The committee was scheduled to receive a summary of education outcomes for Gloucestershire in the academic year 2024-2025. The report covered outcomes from the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, and Key Stage 4. For EYFS, data indicated that Gloucestershire's percentage of children attaining a Good Level of Development (GLD) was slightly above the national average, but significant ethnicity and free school meal gaps were noted. Targets for GLD by 2028 were outlined. Phonics screening check data for Year 1 and Year 2 was also presented, showing Gloucestershire performing in line with or above national and regional averages. Key Stage 2 attainment measures for Reading, Writing, Maths, Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation, and Science were to be reviewed, with Gloucestershire performing in line with national averages in 2025. Key Stage 4 GCSE outcomes, including Progress 8, Attainment 8, Basics 5+, EBacc entries, and EBacc Average Point Score, were also to be presented, with Gloucestershire showing positive performance against national and regional comparators in several areas.

Work Plan

The committee was scheduled to review its work plan for 2026, noting future scrutiny and information items. This included planned discussions on the Youth Justice Plan, updates on 16-17-year-old homelessness, and progress on Motion 976. Future items for consideration included the implementation of the Families First Partnership Programme, supporting young carers, and recommendations from the Corporate Parenting Subgroup on placement stability.