The Corporate Parenting Board of Croydon Council was scheduled to discuss updates on the health and adult transitions for care-experienced young people, alongside a performance report. The meeting's agenda also included a review of the Board's terms of reference and an update from the Children's Participation Team and Children in Care Council.

Terms of Reference

The Board was scheduled to review its current Terms of Reference, which outline its purpose and objectives. The Corporate Parenting Board is an advisory body aiming to support and make recommendations to various council departments and partnerships on matters related to corporate parenting. Its core objectives include ensuring a Whole Council and partnership approach to high standards of care for looked-after children and care-experienced young people, promoting stable relationships and homes, and focusing on improved outcomes in areas such as well-being, educational success, and positive pathways into adulthood. The Board also aims to ensure the voices of children and young people inform service development and to develop data and quality assurance information to measure key performance indicators. The terms also detail the Board's membership, which includes elected councillors, care-experienced young people, carer representatives, parent/grandparent representatives, and directors from relevant council departments, as well as an NHS Commissioner. The Board does not have decision-making powers.

Update from Children's Participation Team & Children in Care Council

A verbal update was scheduled from the Children's Participation Team and the Children in Care Council. In a previous meeting, the Practitioner Manager, Joel Pace-Jr, had reported on the partnership with the 16+ and Staying Close Team to introduce the Become Young Trainers programme. This programme offers ambassadors training leading to a Level 3 qualification, aimed at developing their skills and enhancing their CVs. Additionally, the Senior Participation Practitioner, Sepiso Mushekwa, had shared that a group of young people had applied for the Amplified Voices Grant through Coram Voice for their project titled Zalpha Society. This project focuses on amplifying young people's voices regarding the marketing and communication of services and opportunities. The previous meeting also highlighted participation activities such as young people attending service meetings, the launch of Precious House, and participation in a national conference on homelessness where two young people supported the delivery of a workshop.

Thematic Focus: Health and Adults Transitions

The meeting was scheduled to include verbal updates on successes and challenges related to the Adults and Health Transitions Strategy. A report on Health Developments in the Adults and Health Transitions Strategy was provided, detailing progress in improving health outcomes for Care Experienced Young People (CEYP) up to the age of 25. This included an allocation of £18,000 from the South West London Integrated Care Board (SWL ICB) for an extended health offer, with financial support for non-cosmetic dental treatment increased to £500 per young person for 2026/27. The wider offer includes support for free prescriptions and up to £100 for eye care costs. The report also noted national plans for a future scheme for care leavers in 2026/27.

Significant progress was reported in strengthening the health transition process, with Croydon Health's Children Looked After Health Team working with young ambassadors to improve statutory health summaries, now named Health4Life documents. Compliance with issuing these summaries had improved to 81.5%. Young people are also being supported to use the NHS App to access their health records.

Despite these improvements, the report highlighted significant pressures within statutory Children Looked After (CLA) health services, particularly due to children placed in Croydon by other local authorities. The ICB has invested £188,000 for 2026-27 in additional nursing, administration, and mental health resources to address this.

The SWL ICB has also supported care-experienced young people into NHS employment through a targeted recruitment programme, piloting four ringfenced vacancies. This programme used a simpler, value-based approach to recruitment, resulting in four young people being appointed, with three progressing into sustained employment or higher education. The report also mentioned the evolving role of the ICB as a strategic commissioner with a focus on reducing health inequalities.

Performance Report

A Performance Report for March 2026 was scheduled to be presented. The previous meeting's report for February data indicated that current performance was not at the required standard. To address this, weekly performance clinics were introduced to monitor compliance with key requirements. A review of processes identified that pathway plans had been completed for all young people aged 16 to 25, exceeding statutory requirements and creating additional pressure. A revised approach was to be introduced from age 21, where pathway plans would only be completed if needed or requested, with a more flexible care experienced clinic model. The quality of pathway plans was also noted as requiring improvement, with a focus on making them more accessible, relevant, and outcome-focused, co-produced with young people. Feedback from young people highlighted the importance of strong, consistent relationships with Personal Advisers (PAs) and a need for greater flexibility and a personalised approach.

The performance data for March 2026 indicated a total of 555 Children in Care, with 457 being local and 98 Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). For Care Experienced Young People (OPEN), there were 674 individuals, with 381 local and 293 UASC. The report detailed various performance indicators, including the number of CLA, rates of CLA, and the percentage of CLA with up-to-date health assessments, pathway plans, and care plans. Several indicators related to health assessments and dental care for children in care were highlighted as being in the Red RAG status, indicating performance below target. Foster carer DBS checks and annual reviews were performing well, indicated by Green RAG status. Adoption timelines showed positive trends with Green RAG status. For care-experienced young people, indicators for being in employment, education, or training (EET) were mixed, with some aged 19-21 showing Green status, while those aged 17-18 showed Red status for suitable accommodation. The number of care-experienced young people in touch with the authority remained high at 99%.