The Children, Young People and Education Scrutiny Commission is scheduled to consider a range of reports concerning the welfare and development of children and young people in Leicester. Key discussions are expected to focus on safeguarding partnerships, family therapies, corporate parenting, workforce recruitment and retention, and the support provided to children and young people arriving from abroad seeking safety.

Leicester Safeguarding Children Partnership Yearly Report 2025-2026

The commission is scheduled to review the Leicester Safeguarding Children Partnership's yearly report for 2025-2026. This report, submitted by Laurence Jones, details the activities undertaken by safeguarding partners – including the police, health services, and the local authority – over a 12-month period. The report highlights strong progress despite rising demand, workforce pressures and national reforms, with key achievements including significant work on child sexual abuse and the recruitment of Young Scrutineers. Challenges noted include a significant and notable increase in demand at the front door and the implementation of legislative reforms. The report also outlines partnership business priorities for 2025-2027, which are child sexual abuse, neglect, harm outside the home, and belonging.

Family Therapies Annual Report

A report on the delivery of Family Therapies is scheduled for discussion. This report covers the period from January to March 2026 (Quarter 4) and provides an update on services such as Multisystemic Therapy (MST), MST for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST CAN), Functional Family Therapy for Child Welfare (FFT-CW), Safe Steps Home, and Family Group Decision Making (FGDM). The report indicates that across all teams, 440 families and 809 children were supported throughout the year, with a reported 95% success rate in keeping families together. The report also highlights the invest to save model, suggesting that in the previous financial year, the teams successfully diverted 171 children from entering the care system, resulting in estimated savings of £5.5 million. The report will also introduce new team names for some of the family therapies services.

Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2025/26

The commission is set to receive the Corporate Parenting Annual Report for 2025/26. This report provides an overview of corporate parenting activity and performance from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026, identifying local performance against the five priority areas of the corporate parenting strategy: Active Participation, Education Training and Employment, Mental Health & Wellbeing, Preparing for Successful Living, and A Place To Live. The report notes that the Wellbeing & School Act 2026 strengthens corporate parenting duties for local authorities and statutory partners. Activities undertaken to support active participation include producing podcast recordings and developing a language guide for working with children and young people. In education, training, and employment, the Virtual School Team oversees support for looked-after children and care leavers, with a focus on improving GCSE outcomes and school attendance. Health and wellbeing priorities include reducing health inequalities and developing an oral health pathway.

Impact of Recruitment and Retention Activity

A report on the impact of recruitment and retention activities within the Council's Children's and Education workforce is scheduled for discussion. The report outlines the challenges faced nationally, including skills shortages and increasing complexity of need, and details the actions being taken by Leicester City Council. These include targeted recruitment, apprenticeship and development pathways, international recruitment, and initiatives to improve retention. The report notes that a dedicated Children's Social Care resourcing pilot is showing positive results, and all 35 internationally recruited social workers have been retained to date. A Social Work Academy is also being established to provide an integrated approach to learning, professional development, and career progression.

Children and Young People from Abroad Seeking Safety

The commission will receive an update on children and young people arriving from abroad seeking safety, often referred to as Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). The report details that Leicester City currently supports 49 UASC who are looked after by the council, representing a small proportion of the total looked-after children. The report highlights the council's duty as Corporate Parents to meet the social care, health, and education needs of these children until they turn 18. It also notes that the majority of young people supported by the Leaving Care Team are aged 18-23 and arrived unaccompanied from abroad as children. The report mentions that the Home Office provides funding for supporting UASC, with projected claims for 2026/27 expected to be £2.9 million for 131 cases. The report also touches upon the challenges of integrating these young people into the community and the support provided through the Virtual School and the Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) Service.

Work Programme

The commission will also consider its work programme, with a review of upcoming items and potential future topics for discussion. This includes items such as the Youth Justice Plan, Care Leavers Strategy, and updates on SEND reform.