The Corporate Parenting Committee of Brent Council met on Monday 15 July 2024 to review the annual reports on the outcomes for looked-after children and care leavers, and their health needs. The committee discussed progress in staff recruitment and retention, improvements in health services, and the ongoing development of accommodation pathways and independence skills for care leavers.

Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2023-24

Councillor Gwen Grahl (Chair) led the committee's review of the Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2023-24¹. Kelli Eboji, Head of LAC and Permanency at Brent Council, presented the report, highlighting key achievements and areas for development.

A significant priority for the Looked After Children and Permanency (LACP) service has been the recruitment and retention of social workers. The report indicates success in this area, with permanent social workers recruited through various initiatives, including converting agency staff to permanent contracts and an international recruitment campaign.

The report also details continuous efforts to improve health services and outcomes for looked-after children (LAC) and care leavers, with a focus on emotional wellbeing and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Work has been undertaken to ensure young people understand how to access their health histories, improve collaborative reporting with health partners, and provide targeted wellbeing support for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) and former UASC.

Future development work for Brent Care Journeys is underway in anticipation of the end of the partnership with Barnardo's in March 2025. This initiative aims to continue involving young people in the design and improvement of services. The report also outlines ongoing work on accommodation pathways and the development of independence skills for care leavers, particularly those in semi-independent provision.

The committee was informed about efforts to promote the voice and engagement of children and young people, including improving the uptake and usage of the Pathway Plan App and the completion of a new cycle of the Bright Spots Survey. The development and improvement of practice in relation to life story work for children in care is also a priority, with the introduction of a three-monthly case summary to provide a narrative of each child's journey through care.

The report also sets out the priorities for the LACP service for 2024/25, which take into account issues identified in the February 2023 Ofsted Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) and ongoing quality assurance activities.

Annual LAC Health Reports 2022-2023 and 2023-2024

Kim Lewis, Head of Clinical Services for Brent Children at Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH), presented the Annual LAC Health Reports for 2022-23² and 2023-24³.

The CLCH LAC health team works collaboratively with the wider system to improve outcomes for children and young people. The team supported 369 children at the end of the 2023-24 year, an 8% increase from the previous year. The Royal College Intercollegiate Framework⁴ provides guidance on nursing staff provision per LAC, which CLCH monitors closely.

However, the report highlighted challenges in recruiting nurses to the service during the reporting period, leading to a reliance on agency and bank staff. These staffing issues have now been resolved with a full permanent team in place. Due to these challenges, there was a temporary pause in health team attendance at some meetings to ensure core health plans for children and young people were completed. Attendance at these meetings is now being reinstated.

The timeliness of health assessments for 2022-23 showed that 92% were completed on time. Challenges in timely completion included waiting for appointments from hosting boroughs, re-booking appointments due to non-attendance, and information transfer delays between the health team and the Council's LAC team. A meeting has been scheduled to address these issues.

The report indicated that 97% of LAC children were registered with a GP in 2022-23, with final data for 2023-24 pending. For young people who do not wish to register with a GP, the health team signposts alternative services. Patient experience measures showed that 95% of children agreed or strongly agreed that the service was good.

The health service is developing an animation about the LAC health service, in collaboration with children and young people, to raise awareness, provide information about available support, and address misconceptions about the LAC population. This project is due to launch in January 2025.

The reports also detailed service improvements, including enhanced networking with system-wide partners, the assignment of specialist roles to nurses within the LAC team, future training provisions, improvements to the interpreter booking system, and enhanced information sharing between teams.

Committee members raised concerns about the low percentages for dental and optician health checks, with a target of 95%. Kim Lewis explained that GPs do not conduct these checks, and the health service works with children and young people to encourage access to opticians and dentists. Kelli Eboji added that this is discussed during health assessments upon entering care, but refusal by young people and frequent placement changes can impact these figures.

Regarding low immunisation rates, the committee was informed that GP records are not always immediately accessible, and there is a significant cohort of UASC with incomplete immunisation histories. The local authority's responsibility for immunisations is also limited when parents refuse consent, particularly for children under Section 20 arrangements.

The committee also discussed the potential for commissioning a health service for care leavers post-18, with Trish Stewart, Director of Safeguarding at CLCH, noting that a review of LAC services across North West London is underway, which may incorporate this provision.

¹ Annual Corporate Parenting Report 2023-24: https://democracy.brent.gov.uk/documents/s143530/8.+Annual+Corporate+Parenting+Report+2023-24.pdf ² Brent Looked After Children Annual Health Report 2022-2023: https://democracy.brent.gov.uk/documents/s143553/9i.+Brent+Looked+After+Children+Annual+Health+Report+2022-2023.pdf ³ Brent Looked After Children Annual Health Report 2023-2024: https://democracy.brent.gov.uk/documents/s143555/9ii.+Brent+Looked+After+Children+Annual+Health+Report+2023-2024.pdf ⁴ Intercollegiate Guidance: Knowledge, skills and competencies of healthcare staff: https://democracy.brent.gov.uk/documents/g8003/Public%20reports%20pack%20Monday%2015-Jul-2024%2017.00%20Corporate%20Parenting%20Committee.pdf?T=10 (Page 36)