Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Shiva Tiwari and Co-opted Members Margaret Harvey, Sarah Jafri and Samir Qurashi.

Apologies for lateness was received from Councillor Boyland.

There were no declarations.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes’.

Any Other Announcements

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair made the following announcement: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.”

Committee reporting

At the last meeting Committee Members discussed the style of reporting to Committee meetings and the changes they wanted to see to enable better scrutiny. In response to the discussion, the Chair wrote to all Committee Members stating that the comments made had been taken on board by officers and changes were being implemented. From January, there would be shorter time for presentations, with occasional exceptions, and more time for questions. From February, trials would begin of changes to the reports, which would include a greater focus on benchmarking, outcomes and feedback from residents.

Requests to speak at the Committee on a matter within its terms of reference must be made in writing to the clerk named on the front of this agenda by 5pm two working days before the meeting.

There were no deputations.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 19 December 2023.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 19 December 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

There was no urgent business.

Report of the Director of Children’s Prevention, Family Help and Safeguarding.

This report sets out the findings, key messages, and recommendations of the Young Inspectors inspection of children and families experience of social care meetings.

The main focus of the young inspection was:

·                To find out about experiences of children, young people and parents/ carers in their participation in children looked after review meetings, child protection conference and child in need review meetings.

·                To identify main themes based on the feedback from focus group discussions and responses to questionnaires from children, young people, parents/carers and social workers.

·                To develop parents and young people’s meetings standards/ wishes to help ensure that they are more actively involved, have more ownership of the meetings and are supported in shared decision making.

·                To develop recommendations for the service based on the responses from families and professionals.

The conclusions that emerged from the Young Inspectors gave rise to eight key recommendations for Camden’s social care service.

Consideration wasgiven tothe reportof the Director of Children’s Prevention, Family Help and Safeguarding.

The Committee was given a briefing on the Young Inspector’s report by Elzbieta Chandrasena, Senior Development Officer Participation, and two young people before the formal meeting started. In their presentation they outlined the findings, key messages, and recommendations of the Young Inspector’s inspection of children and families experience of social care meetings. Alongside summarising the report, the young people described their personal experiences of social care meetings. Committee Members praised the young people for speaking about their lived experiences of social care meetings and the important recommendations formulated to empower children and young people. During questions, the following was discussed:

·       In relation to helping UASC meaningfully participate in social care meetings, a Co-optee asked if UASC could be accompanied by a friend who spoke the same language to help interpret in addition to a professional interpreter. In response, it was confirmed that it was possible. It would also be useful to have the young person’s native language as part of the questionnaires and surveys. A Member added that a professional interpreter might not speak the native language or specific dialect of a young person, but instead a common language, and in those cases important context and specific cultural references may be missed during a meeting.

·       In relation to section 7, response of the Corporate Parenting Board and how the findings would be taken forward, a Member asked the young people which recommendation they thought was most important. In response, they said that it was most important for the child to be prepared and understand what was in the report before the social care meeting and have assurance there would be no surprising information they were not previously aware of being raised. Adults should chat to the child before the meeting, the child should be made to feel comfortable in the discussion, and adults should ensure sure the meeting was centred around the child because it was about their life.

·       A Member requested the action plan and report on progress in response to the Young Inspector’s report recommendations (referenced in section 7.3) could report back to a future Committee.

·       A Member asked officers to what extent they were aware of the problems in the system highlighted in the report. In response it was confirmed that all of the issues were known to the service, however the report’s findings were a good reminder and would ensure a continual focus. The service had been working to simplify reports and introduced additional checks and balances to ensure reports were timely. The Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) wrote therapeutic letters to children as a direct line of communication to children and young people. The service would be working with the Council’s new social workers on all of the themes raised.

·       A Member asked the young people where the ideas for Young Inspector’s report topics derived form. In response, they said it was usually the Corporate Board meetings or Children in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

This report provides the Committee with an update relating to the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

Consideration was given to the update paper of the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families.

The Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families presented the update paper which covered the following areas: Department for Education (DfE) visit; fostering film project; upcoming care-experienced themed debate; and the Winter Camden Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. In addition, the Cabinet Member said that productive conversations were taking place with Google in potentially sponsoring a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) campus at a Camden Learning Centre.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for their update paper and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

·       In relation to the tragic incident in Skegness where a father and son had died, triggering a rapid review from the statutory safeguarding partners, a Member asked how Camden would respond and if there was any leaning for the Council. In response, it was confirmed Camden’s independent scrutineer and partners would pay close attention to the rapid review reporting to the national panel and any recommendations and learning resulting from that. Camden reviewed all national reports, panels and any learning that could be taken away.

·       To support young people who may be affected by the war in the middle-east, the Cabinet Member stated that Camden Learning were sending new materials to schools, including guidance for assemblies and PSHE lessons (personal, social, health and economic education) to support young people. There was also a planned event for headteachers to share information and additionally Camden Learning would be sending letters to teachers signposting them to Council materials. The local police had been briefed about what the Council was doing and how hate and abusive incidents should be reported.

·       In response to a Member asking what the learning capacity would be of the prospective AI campus, it was confirmed that classes of 30 learners would be accommodated for more intensive onsite programmes, but it would also function as an outreach hub designed to work with schools.

The Committee noted the update.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture.

This report provides the Committee with an update relating to the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture.

Consideration was given to the update paper of the Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture.

The Cabinet Member for Young People and Culture presented the update paper which covered the following areas: youth safety; Honest Grind Coffee award; Step into Our Shoes – Camden’s annual public health report launch curated by young people; Regent’s Park Guardians Winter Wellbeing event; National Youth Work Week; Youth Mission session; and the Youth MPs Football event.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member for their update paper and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

·       A Member praised the Youth Steering Group moving into the next phase of their work, following successful outcomes and progress made since the starting position when the group was established. The Member asked how many and what proportion of young people who interacted with the youth work system went on to become youth workers. In response, the Cabinet Member stated that the Council did as much as they could to find roles for those young people, including apprenticeship opportunities at Camden Council or peer advocates. It was also noted that Camden young people may end up outside of the borough.

·       The Youth MP in attendance stated how enjoyable and valuable the Camden Sixth Forms Football event was. They were pleased to have had the opportunity to hold a funded event for young people which accommodated pupils from a mix of schools to speak about mental health. They noted that it had been a challenge to advertise the event across the whole borough. The Cabinet Member stated that in the future they would like to track all opportunities for young people in Camden to support work in making opportunities available to the broadest range of young people.

The Committee noted the update.

Report of the ExecutiveDirector Childrenand Learning.

This report sets out the annual report on corporate parenting and provides an overview of the achievement, progress and challenges in meeting the needs of Camden’s children in care and care experienced young who are placed both in borough and outside the borough. The report also sets out the priorities for 2023/24. This report covers the period from April 2022 to November 2023.

Consideration wasgiven tothe reportof the Executive Director Children and Learning.

Brenda Amisi-Hutchinson, Head of Corporate Parenting, introduced the report which provided an overview of the achievement, progress and challenges in meeting the needs of Camden’s children in care and care experienced young people and covered the following areas: the profile of Camden’s looked after children population; improving outcomes – key achievements and areas for focus; workforce; and the key priorities for 2024 and beyond.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

·       A Co-opted Member asked if Camden had any targets to reduce the high number of foster children placed outside of the borough. In response, it was confirmed that Camden placed third in the country on that measure, however the challenge of placing children in-borough was also experienced by other inner London authorities. Where possible, Camden would always try and place children in-borough. It was noted that some children and young people were placed out of borough due to safety and safeguarding concerns, and also through trying to match children to carers to their needs, whether that be culturally, religiously or linguistically. It was noted there was a wider context and a care crisis which Camden had to contend with. The service was also supported by and in conversation with Housing colleagues in supporting foster carers in the borough.

·       In relation to care proceedings, a Co-opted Member asked if the Council considered 55% of care proceedings ending up with Supervision Orders a high percentage, when considering how traumatic that process could be for young people. In response, it was confirmed that this was an area of focus for the Council and the decision to take care proceedings was only made when there were no other viable options when measuring up the risks. During a care order, the Council continued to try and reunite families, and sometimes it was only during care proceedings that parents could fully understand the need for change. Kinship carers were another type of carer in the borough, where extended families would care for a child, supporting children remaining in their family networks.

·       A Member stated that non-white looked after children were significantly overrepresented in the system and there needed to be a thorough analysis of why that existed in Camden. The Member also stated there may be unconscious bias of white social workers towards non-white families which meant they misunderstood cultural aspects to a family dynamic, which could result in non-white children going into care. The Member stated that Camden should lead on work to address this issue. In response, officers accepted that the numbers of non-white children in care were high. They stated that it would be helpful to present the diversity of Camden as a whole to give more context to the proportionality. Officers stated that UASC were the main group of non-white children who made up a quarter of the care population, and it was a priority for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the ExecutiveDirector Childrenand Learning.

This report provides an update on the development of Family Hubs in Camden and the preparedness of Camden early education and childcare providers to deliver the new early education entitlements announced by the government in its budget in March 2024.

Consideration wasgiven tothe reportof the Executive Director Children and Learning.

Debbie Adams, Head of Early Years, introduced the report which covered the following areas: Camden’s implementation of the new Early Education entitlements; Camden’s Integrated Early Years and Family Hub service; funded delivery strands and Family Hub transformation; Family Hub governance; early education and childcare; Camden Local Inclusion Fund; and maintained nurseries.

The Chair thanked officers for the report and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

·       In relation to Camden’s Local Inclusion Fund (CLIF), a Co-opted Member stated they heard feedback that CLIF was not available when needed the most. Children with profound need were not eligible for this funding unless they were attending an education setting full time.

·       In relation to CLIF, a Co-opted Member stated that the wording in the report of ‘It is hoped that a new approach will also help limit the significant growth in spend that has happened in the last few years’ was the opposite of what they thought was needed and instead it would be desirable to see increased growth in spend on this service and to increase demand of the service. Early intervention in children’s lives prevented problems later in life. In response, it was confirmed that the CLIF budget had doubled over the past few years. Historically CL|F had been funded by the Early Years Designated Schools Grant (DSG), but now it was also funded by the High Needs Block (NHB) because of the increase in demand. The spending had to be manageable going forward for the service in a sustainable way whilst additional needs were exponentially increasing. The Council would be conducting a full needs assessment of the borough around SEND and how resources were spent for high needs. Following that review, there would be recommendations for the Council in how to make best use resources and provide the right support at the right time.

·       A Co-opted Member stated they heard feedback from someone within the service that there was a lack of appropriate spaces to for meeting with families, which was also a problem also raised by the Young Inspectors within their report explaining that it was problematic to hold their family meetings within schools. The Co-opted Member asked how the Family Hub was approaching this issue. In response, it was confirmed that the Family Hubs were making spaces for families to meet social workers.

·       A Member stated that the Governance Board appeared to be overly complex and urged the service to simplify the structure.

·       A Member commented that the Government 2-year-old funding was not fully thought through at central government level, which was now causing difficulty for local services in managing the low level of funding.

·       In response to a Member, officers stated that ‘Triple P’ were parenting programmes with different focusses. Currently Camden was using the programme to focus on 3–4-year-olds who were born during the pandemic, as part of the work to mitigate the impact of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report of the Executive Director Children and Learning.

This report sets out the work programme for the municipal year 2023/24 for the Committee’s consideration. The Committee will continue to be provided with an updated report on their future work programme at each meeting, for their consideration.

Consideration wasgiven tothe reportof the Executive Director Children and Learning.

The following was discussed:

·       The Executive Director of Children and Learning stated that the Annual Health Report would move from February to July 2024. The Annual Public Health Report on adolescent health would be added to the February agenda.

·       A Member requested that persistent absence be added to the forward plan.

·       A Member requested the action plan and report on progress in response to the Young Inspector’s report recommendations be added to the forward plan.

The Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee is asked to note the future meeting dates for the remainder of the 2023-24 municipal year:

·     Monday 26 February 2024

·     Wednesday 13 March 2024

The following remaining meeting dates of the municipal year were noted:

·       26 February 2024

·       13 March 2024 (additional meeting)

There was no urgent business.