Lancashire has a well-regarded and high performing residential service for our most vulnerable children. However, it has been several years since this provision was last reviewed. Working across all the elements of residential provision and based on evidence and consultation this report proposes a change to the way we provide residential care.
Lancashire Education and Children's Services now have a strength based operating model known as Family Safeguarding. Supporting families to remain together and ensure that they receive care within the home, the benefits are that families can deal with their own issues more easily and become confident working alongside practitioners to find solutions to their needs. To support this new way of working, we must reshape our residential provision and purpose.
This report presents proposals to increase provision to support children to remain at home with support; to establish 2 reception units enabling better assessments of children in crisis, and to reconfigure the residential provision to enable Lancashire to care for more children and young people within the county boundary.
This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Expenditure > £1,700,000;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Notice of proposed decision first published: 16/12/2020
Anticipated restriction: Part I - View reasons
Decision due: 14 Jan 2021 by Cabinet
Lead member: Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools
Lead director: Executive Director of Education and Children's Services
Contact: Sharon Hubber, Director of Children's Social Care Email: sharon.hubber@lancashire.gov.uk.