The Corporate Parenting Committee was scheduled to convene to discuss several reports concerning the welfare and care of children and young people in Brent. Key items on the agenda included the annual reports on corporate parenting, the health of looked after children, and the work of Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs). Additionally, the committee was expected to receive an update from representatives of Brent Care Journeys 2.0 (BCJ 2.0).

Annual Corporate Parenting Report

The committee was scheduled to consider the Annual Corporate Parenting Report 2024-2025, which fulfils the council's statutory obligation to report on outcomes for looked after children and care leavers. The report summarises activities, strengths, and areas for development in supporting these young people in Brent.

The report highlights progress against priorities identified in the 2023/24 report, including:

• Maintaining progress in the recruitment and retention of Looked After Children (LAC) social workers and personal advisors.
• Improving health services and outcomes for LAC and care leavers, with a focus on emotional wellbeing, CAMHS¹ access, and targeted support for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC).
• Transitioning from Brent Care Journey to BCJ 2.0, embedding a new approach to participation for care-experienced children and young people.
• Developing accommodation pathways and independence skills for care leavers.
• Promoting the voice and engagement of children and young people in day-to-day practice, including acting on the Bright Spots Survey² findings.
• Improving and embedding practice in relation to life story work for children in care.
• Making the Corporate Parenting Committee more engaging for care-experienced young people.

The report also sets out priorities for the Looked After Children and Permanency service for 2025/26, taking into account issues identified in the February 2023 Ofsted Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS).

The report notes that on 31 March 2025, Brent had 296 children in care, a decrease from 307 the previous year. It also provides a breakdown of the demographics of these children, including age, gender, ethnicity, and legal status.

Regarding placement stability, the report notes that the number of Brent fostering households and approved fostering places has decreased. However, placement stability for children who have had three or more placements in a year has improved.

The report also provides data on permanency planning, care proceedings, and the participation of looked after children, young people, and care leavers in decision-making and service design.

Annual Looked After Children Health Report

The Corporate Parenting Committee was scheduled to receive the Annual Looked After Children Health Report 2024/25, which provides information on the health needs of children in care in Brent and the services provided to them.

The report notes a small downward trend in performance across health-related measures compared to the previous year. Possible reasons for this trend include fewer children coming into care, a higher proportion of adolescents, and placement moves.

Areas of focus for improvement in 2025/26 include:

• Improvement in timeliness for Under 5's six-monthly health assessments.
• Completion and recording of Strength and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQs).
• Recording of immunisations.
• A focus on substance misuse and the support available to young people.

The report also provides information on the Wellbeing and Emotional Support Team (WEST) and the support provided to UASC.

The report includes an appendix with further details on the delivery of health services to Brent Looked After Children by the Brent LAC Health Team, within Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust.

The report notes that the Brent LAC Health Team had 328 children on their caseload on 31 March 2025, compared to 368 in the previous year. The majority of Brent LAC are aged 5-16 years old, and a significant proportion are placed outside of the London borough of Brent.

The report also provides data on health assessments, health needs, immunisations, dental health, visual health, GP registrations, and emotional health.

Annual Independent Reviewing Officer Report

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Annual Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Report 2024-2025. The report informs the Corporate Parenting Committee about the contribution of IROs to quality assuring and improving services for children who are looked after.

The report notes that the IRO function sits within the Safeguarding and Reviewing Service, which consists of a service manager, permanent IROs, IROs commissioned via Aidhour, Child Protection Advisors, a LADO³, and a Contextual Safeguarding Lead.

The report provides an update on priorities for 2024/25, including recruiting new in-house IRO posts, implementing a new contract with a commissioned provider, improving the timeliness of LAC reviews, and increasing the direct participation of children and young people at their LAC reviews.

The report also provides data on the performance of the IRO service, including the number of LAC reviews that took place, the timeliness of reviews, and the attendance and participation of children.

The report notes that in 2024/25, IROs raised 27 escalations, with the main concerns being the lack of an available care/pathway plan at the time of the review meeting, placement planning meetings not regularly taking place, and drift in PLO⁴ actions.

Finally, the report sets out priorities for 2025/2026, including continuing to drive to make LAC reviews more child-led, ensuring that at least 90% of LAC reviews take place within statutory time frames, and robustly tracking all escalations until resolution.

Update from Brent Care Journeys 2.0 Representatives

The committee was also scheduled to receive an update from representatives of Brent Care Journeys 2.0 (BCJ 2.0). This was scheduled as an opportunity for members of BCJ 2.0 to provide feedback on recent activity.