Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration introduced the Corporate Parenting Annual Report 2020/21.

The annual report provided an overview of what the Council was doing well, key achievements in the last year, the key challenges and plans to address those challenges in 2021/22 and beyond.

The Cabinet Member gave a summary of the key achievements in 2020/21, which included:

Ø  Strong and effective senior leadership with an unrelenting focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable children, young people, and their families;

Ø  Lead Member led Corporate Parenting Group going from strength to strength with honest conversations with children, young people, foster carers, and partners resulting in better understanding of experiences, what needs to be different and agreed actions for improvement;

Ø  Further work to do, but continued improvement in partnership working, with education and health outcomes improving;

Ø  Innovative and exciting Specialist Intervention Service continues to develop interventions that reflect children, young people and community needs to help keep children in their families or return home;

Ø  For those children in care, a strong in-house fostering service supported by the Mockingbird programme continues to keep placements stable and responding to the variety of needs of our children, with stronger Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) footprint evident.;

Ø  Effective Virtual School during the pandemic demonstrating good outcomes for children in care and care leavers; and

Ø  Work with care leavers underpinned by “no expiry date” ethos for our care and support offered, with strengthening relationships, good rates of keeping in touch, and celebration of their achievements.

The Assembly resolved to note the Corporate Parenting Annual Report for 2020/21 and the plans for 2021/22.

The Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration introduced a report on the Adoption Annual report 2021.

The adoption functions of Tower Hamlets, Newham and Barking and Dagenham were delegated on 1 October 2019 to the London Borough of Havering within terms drawn up in a detailed partnership agreement. Adopt London East (ALE) formally commenced operational activity on that date.

An Adoption Service review in Barking and Dagenham was undertaken in August 2020 and an area for improvement was identified in relation to contract monitoring meetings and performance metrics.  The Cabinet Member advised that the report before Assembly verified the processes that were now in place to ensure formal assessment against targets, holding ALE to account on overarching contract performance.

The Cabinet Member stated that ALE had been operational for 18 months, with 12 of those months being in Covid related lockdown.  Despite that much had been achieved:

•  The highest rate of children placed in all London Regional Adoption Agencies (RAA’s);

•  Adopter approval in line with or higher than all London RAA’s;

•  A large increase in the percentage of black and LGBT adopters;

•  A new adopter support offer, both locally and pan London;

•  A Covid support offer independently evaluated as outstanding and praised by the DfE;

•  Rapid response to Covid including quick development of online training and support

•  A productive partnership with We are Family delivering webinars and podcasts as well as direct support; and

•  A clear and positive website showcasing work.

In response to a question, the Cabinet Member advised that one of the biggest challenges the Council faced currently was to get siblings adopted together as many larger families were now being presented to the Council.

The Assembly resolved to note the contents of the Adoption Report for 2020/21.