The Scrutiny Performance Panel – Child & Family Services met to review the Annual Wellbeing Performance Report and the Children's Reviewing Team Annual Report for 2025-2026. The meeting highlighted sustained demand and increasing complexity within services, alongside ongoing efforts to improve safeguarding, early intervention, and the participation of children and young people.

Annual Wellbeing Performance Report

Councillor Alyson Anthony, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, presented the Annual Wellbeing Performance Report for Child and Family Services for 2025-2026. The report detailed a year characterised by sustained demand and increasing complexity across services, with a strong focus on safeguarding children, supporting families, and improving outcomes.

Key successes highlighted included the front door responding to 17,137 contacts, early help hubs supporting 2,603 individuals, and family support working with 2,819 children and young people. Preventative services achieved positive outcomes, with 69% of early help cases and 77% of family support cases closing with improved outcomes. The Evolve youth service reached 2,647 young people, the highest in six years. A significant achievement was that 99% of children and young people were seen as part of their assessment. The number of children looked after reduced to 473, and the service received over 200 compliments, with feedback praising child-focused, empathetic, and supportive practice.

However, the report also outlined significant challenges. Contacts at the front door increased by 13%, and assessment activity rose for the fifth consecutive year, with 64% of assessments identifying needs requiring a care and support plan. Child protection investigations rose by 5%, with 491 children on the child protection register. Neglect, physical abuse, and combined categories remained significant concerns. Increasing complexity and larger family groups added to the coordination and planning of assessments. Placement sufficiency remained under pressure, with residential placements increasing to 58 and 16 children spending time in unregulated provision. Fostering capacity reduced, with 117 approved fostering households at year-end, and recruitment did not keep pace with deregistrations. Workforce capacity was affected by vacancies, recruitment and retention difficulties, and sickness absence.

The priorities for 2026-2027 include stabilising and supporting the workforce, strengthening prevention and early help, and embedding the Mosaic system to improve placement sufficiency.

During the discussion, officers explained that the rise in demand is driven by increasing referrals and the growing complexity of family circumstances, including issues such as domestic abuse, parental mental health, substance misuse, neglect, and family breakdown, often with multiple issues presenting simultaneously. While overall demand remains sustained, there are positive indicators such as strong early help outcomes and a slight reduction in children looked after.

Regarding safeguarding concerns, neglect, domestic abuse, parental mental health, substance misuse, and family breakdown were identified as the most significant. The service responds through timely risk assessment, robust safety planning, multi-agency working, and purposeful child protection planning, supported by the integrated safeguarding hub, CMET, and partnership practices.

Progress in recruiting and retaining foster carers is being prioritised through Foster Wales Swansea, with enhanced support for carers. While there has been an increase in interest, approvals have not kept pace with deregistrations. The service aims to reduce reliance on external placements by developing in-house provision and collaborating with independent fostering agencies. The process for becoming a foster carer can take up to six months, depending on factors like DBS checks and assessment availability.

The issue of children in unregulated placements was addressed, with 16 children spending time in such provision. The council is working to grow in-house fostering and partner with independent fostering agencies to develop local provision. Some of these unregulated placements are in properties on a pathway to becoming registered children's homes. The Care Inspectorate Wales Assurance Check confirmed a strong approach to governance and quality assurance of unregulated provision. Ward councillors will be informed when properties are purchased for regulated placements to address resident concerns.

Recruitment and retention difficulties persist, particularly for social workers and in residential children's homes. Efforts include creating progression pathways and focusing on staff wellbeing. The use of agency staff has been significantly reduced. The academy model for social workers and supporting existing staff to qualify has helped alleviate some pressures, though this has led to a higher proportion of newly qualified staff in child protection court teams, requiring additional support. Grant-funded prevention and intervention services experience general staff churn.

The Mosaic system, intended to improve recording, data access, and decision-making, has a revised live date of March 2027. Significant work is ongoing to prepare for its implementation across child and family and adult services.

Relationships with the education sector are positive, with regular meetings and a high level of professional consultation activity involving schools. The education safeguarding team plays a key role in addressing concerns raised by schools.

Children's Reviewing Team Annual Report

Lisa Edwards and Jessica Trickey, Team Managers for the Children's Reviewing Team, presented their annual report. The report detailed the team's work in child protection conferences and looked after children's reviews, highlighting sustained demand, increasing complexity, and operational pressures.

The team held 1,664 looked after children reviews and 913 child protection conferences. A key focus has been on improving the participation of children and young people in their reviews and conferences, with 21 children attending their child protection conferences and 132 accepting advocacy support. The team has also organised creative participation events to build positive relationships with children and young people.

The main reasons for children being placed on child protection plans include neglect, domestic abuse, parental mental health, substance misuse, and family breakdown, often with cumulative factors. Repeat child protection involvement was also noted, with case management teams working collaboratively with families and professionals to agree on plans to prevent children returning to the register. Multi-agency audits are conducted to understand patterns of repeated involvement.

The team is committed to further improving engagement with young people, with ongoing initiatives such as accessible written materials, seasonal events, and a focus on consulting young people to develop services. The team measures the impact of Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) by celebrating positive outcomes and achievements of care-experienced young people.

Challenges remain in the transition from children's to adult services, although a transition review project has commenced. Barriers to accessing housing, training, and work opportunities for care-experienced young people persist. Educational issues affecting children include trauma impacting engagement and additional learning needs, leading to risks of reduced timetables and exclusions. The Local Authority Education Coordinator for Children Looked After and Vulnerable Learners is working with schools to promote trauma-informed approaches.

The report also highlighted the importance of measuring and reporting on outcomes, with plans to link in with the learning and innovation team to find better ways of capturing and sharing this information.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Performance Panel – Child & Family Services is scheduled for 10 November 2026, with agenda items including a corporate parenting board update and a review of local authority sufficiency.