Agenda item

Gina Power, Moya McKinney, Senior Managers, Children's Permanence Service, LCC

To receive an update on the development and remodelling of Children's Social care through the implementation of the Family Safeguarding, and the design of a looked after service.

Moya McKinney, Leaving Care Service, Lancashire County Council gave a brief overview on the Permanence Service and recent developments in both Children in Our Care and the Leaving Care Service, where both services have benefited from the focus of one Head of Service and five Senior Managers who work across the whole of the Council's footprint, with a flattened management structure and significant investment in staffing within the Leaving Care Service.  The reason for these changes is to ensure there is a clear focus on achieving consistency in practice and the offer, to all children and young people in Lancashire and an ambitious plan for the future.  This is particularly the case for Lancashire's young adults aged between 18 and 25 years in Lancashire.

The Leaving Care Service has seen additional staffing of two Senior Managers, withdrawal of two Practice Managers, increase of seven Team Managers, ten Personal Advisors as well as welcoming seven social work apprentices.  This has allowed the Council to reshape the service and be consistent with its offer to all care leavers. 

The Board noted that the key changes currently include more frequent face to face visits, an offer of direct service provision to young people over the age of 21, increased expectations of the multi-agency support made available to young people and having higher aspirations for them all.  Plans are also in place for stronger collaboration with our young people and our partners to deliver along key priority areas:

i)  More opportunities for all to achieve in education and employment.

ii)  More appropriate and sustainable housing for all our care leavers.

iii)  Achieving and maintaining good physical mental health.

iv)  Support to maintain family and social relationships.

v)  Ensuring our care leavers are effectively safeguarded and have appropriate timely support at any time they may not feel safe.

Gina Power, Children in Our Care Service, Lancashire County Council updated the Board on the new Children in Our Care Service, which comprises of three Senior Managers, 16 Team Managers and 93 social workers.  The structure has allowed the Service to bring together all of the Children in Our Care Teams across Lancashire, which will enable a consistent and improved service to all children and young people no matter where they live or who their social worker is.

The Board also noted that plans are in place for stronger collaboration with young people and the Council's partners to deliver within the key priority areas which are:

i)  Improving the mental health offer for children and young people in Lancashire, particularly those who have more complexed needs.

ii)  Achieving permanence and placement stability through increased focus on high quality homes for children in our care.

iii)  Supporting workforce development to encourage social workers to dream big for our children and work alongside them to create aspirational care plans.

iv)  More opportunities to improve children's physical and emotional health.

v)  Develop better reports which look for new ways to measure outcomes and success for our children.

vi)  Ensure that the right children are in our service.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, work has commenced on supporting the children's recovery, which includes supporting their educational needs, where they have missed face to face teaching time as well as their special talents which they may have missed.  Support is also needed, where relationships may have been lost with family and friends, during the last 12 months.  At the heart of everything the service does, is engagement and participation and to be involved in every aspect of what the service does, from writing a care plan with a social worker and a young person, involved in interviews for social workers and managers, or reviewing policies and procedures which young people are involved in currently.

During the third National lockdown, which is currently ongoing, the most important aspect of the service is to engage with the young people and visit them and this will continue to be the focus going forward.

It was noted that following the change in the Service and how the Board would know it was being successful, would be from feedback from care leavers, the better outcomes that were being achieved and reported to regularly at these meetings and in terms of children in our care coming through the service, that they are better prepared for leaving care, due to collaboration taking place with residential homes, foster carers and the Children in Our Care Teams.

Resolved:  That the Board noted the update and considered the impact for our children and young people in both the short and longer term.