The Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday 09 September 2026. The committee's agenda included a review of annual reports on complex safeguarding, fostering, and the overall quality of practice within children's services. The committee was also scheduled to consider an overview report detailing key decisions and the committee's work programme.

Complex Safeguarding Annual Report 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to receive the Complex Safeguarding Annual Report 2025/26, which details the work of the Complex Safeguarding Hub (CSH). The report outlines how the CSH, a multi-agency team involving Children's Services, Greater Manchester Police, and Health partners, aims to protect children at risk of exploitation, violence, and extra-familial harm. It was expected to highlight that in 2025/26, 238 children received coordinated support through the Hub, leading to positive outcomes such as improved engagement in education, stronger relationships, and increased stability. The report was also anticipated to detail a 10% reduction in missing from home episodes.

Key areas for discussion were expected to include:

• The effectiveness of governance, quality assurance, and external scrutiny arrangements.
• Analysis of disproportionality, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and communication needs, along with actions to improve equity and inclusion.
• Positive outcomes for children, including reductions in missing episodes, strengthened educational engagement, and successful disruption activity against perpetrators.
• Strategic priorities identified for 2026/27 were to be discussed.

The report noted that Ofsted had previously recognised the support provided to children at risk of exploitation as exemplary.

Annual Fostering Report 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to review the Annual Fostering Report 2025/26, which provides an overview of the quality, effectiveness, and safety of Manchester's fostering service. The report was expected to highlight significant achievements, including an Outstanding Ofsted judgement, improved placement stability for children, growth in kinship care arrangements, and the introduction of innovative support models for carers. As of 31 March 2026, Manchester City Council was caring for 1,321 children and young people.

Key points from the report were anticipated to include:

• A 40% reduction in children experiencing three or more placement moves, with 67.7% of children benefiting from stable, enduring care arrangements.
• An increase in children living in kinship care, from 227 to 259, and a rise in young people benefiting from Staying Put arrangements beyond the age of 18.
• The launch of Manchester Hives, a co-produced, carer-led support model offering peer support, training, and practical assistance.
• A significant reduction in allegations against foster carers.
• Challenges related to foster carer recruitment, with a decrease in newly recruited foster carers, although retention performance had improved.

The report was expected to inform the committee's discussion on the innovation in the Fostering Service, governance and quality assurance, recruitment and retention challenges, positive outcomes for children, and strategic priorities for 2026/27.

The Quality and Impact of Practice in Children's Services 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to receive a presentation providing an annual overview of the quality of practice within children's services. The presentation aimed to offer assurance regarding how children, young people, and their families are being served in Manchester and to identify areas for continuous improvement.

Key themes expected to be covered included:

• The framework used to judge the quality and impact of services, focusing on understanding children's needs within their context and the effectiveness of interventions.
• Evidence of practice quality, including data, audits, observations, and feedback from children and families.
• External scrutiny, such as Ofsted inspections, Skills for Care assessments, and peer reviews.
• Feedback from children and families, highlighting the importance of trust, relationships, and feeling heard.
• Staff feedback from the annual social work survey, indicating positive aspects such as team support, management, and job satisfaction, alongside areas for development like the physical work environment and uptake of well-being activities.
• Initiatives to support practitioners and managers, including a learning hub, well-being offers, and development programmes.
• Drivers for change, including the needs of children and families, government reforms, and Manchester's ambition as a UNICEF Child Friendly City.

Overview Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an Overview Report from the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit. This report typically includes a monitor of previous recommendations, details of key decisions relevant to the committee's remit, and the committee's work programme.

The Recommendations Monitor was expected to provide updates on the progress of recommendations made at previous meetings, including the request for mandatory Corporate Parenting training for all councillors and the provision of data on age assessments for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC).

The Key Decisions section was to inform members of significant executive decisions relevant to the committee's remit, as published in the Register of Key Decisions.

The Work Programme section would outline the topics scheduled for discussion at future committee meetings, including upcoming reviews of the UNICEF Child Friendly City initiative, the Sufficiency Strategy, and budget proposals.