A report will be presented by the Deputy Director – Children’s Social Care (Document “C”) which summarises the issues raised by looked after children who have used the statutory complaints procedures to seek redress for their concerns.  The report relates to the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

Members are asked to note the contents of Document “C” and to consider whether they wish to seek further information in respect of any of the issues raised.

(Irina Arcas – 01274 435269)

A report was submitted by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) (Document “C”) which summarised the issues raised by looked after children who had used the statutory complaints procedures to seek redress for their concerns. The report related to the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

In presenting the report the following issues were highlighted:

·        Four (current and formerly) looked after young people had made five complaints which had covered eight issues in total.  This was a similar figure to the previous year.

·        The complaints had related to service provision and staff and had been made via various methods.

·        All the complaints except one had been acknowledged within the two day deadline.

·        67% had received a response within the required timescale of ten working days.  This represented a decrease in performance compared with the previous year and was thought to be due to the increasing pressure on staff.

·        Six complaints were closed at Stage 1 during the period. Three had been partially upheld, two withdrawn and one resolved. One complaint had been escalated through Stages 2 and 3 and details of this would be included within the next annual report as it had been completed outside the current period.

·        Learning points had been noted in relation to the need for a clear time frame and parameters to be provided in respect of the support offered by the Adoption and Fostering Service and for clarity on both these issues for service users.

·        12 compliments had been received from young people in the same period. These had all come via the Exit Interview process for young people leaving care.

The Deputy Director responded to questions from Members as follows:

·        Managers did get feedback forms further to the completion of the complaints process which asked them what they had learnt as a result of it, but very few were then returned to the Complaints Unit.  It was accepted that lessons could be learned from those complaints that were even partially upheld.  It was noted that Ofsted always asked the Authority what lessons had been learnt from complaints.

·        Note was also taken of the things that could be learned from the compliments made.

·        If complainants were not happy further to the completion of the complaints process the Complaints Unit would usually be aware of this.  In the past complainants had been asked to complete a survey but the outcome of the survey had generally been dependent on the outcome of the complaint and it was considered that direct feedback was more honest.

·        All young people leaving care were offered an exit interview.  The numbers of such interviews undertaken in a year could be provided after the meeting.  They were not done for those leaving foster care.

·        The compliments about members of staff had included people from different teams.

Resolved –

(1)       That the contents of Document “C” be noted

(2)       That the Deputy Director – Children’s Social Care be requested to provide the following additional information in future reports:

(a)       More detail on the substance of the complaints made, any learning points from the complaints and how the learning points are disseminated within the Service.

(b)       The numbers of exit interviews undertaken; in order to provide some context in terms of the number of compliments received.

ACTION:       Deputy Director – Children’s Social Care