A report will be presented by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) (Document “H”) in relation to the work of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Service and the Annual Report which is required to be produced under the IRO Regulations.  The Annual Report provides evidence in respect of the effectiveness of the service, examines the quality of the reviews offered to young people and sets targets for the future development of the service.

Recommended –

(1)       That the Corporate Parenting Panel notes:

(i)         The work undertaken by the Independent Reviewing Officer Service and its ongoing role in providing robust and challenging reviews of all Care Plans.

(ii)        The improvements achieved over the last twelve months in terms of children’s participation, the continued improvement in timeliness and the successful introduction of a quality assurance process for the service.

(iii)       The contribution made and value added by the Independent Reviewing Officer Service through the reporting of quality assurance findings to the Strategic Leadership Management Group.

(iv)      The continuation of good collaborative working arrangements with social work teams and partner agencies in order to achieve the best outcomes for Bradford’s Looked After Children.

(v)       That the Independent Reviewing Officer Service Annual Report will be produced in December to synchronise with the Corporate Parenting Panel’s Work Plan.

(2)       That the Service’s Work Plan for 2016/17, as set out in the Annual Report, be endorsed.

(Imran Cheema – 01274 437915)

A report was presented by the Deputy Director (Children’s Social Care) (Document “H”) in relation to the work of the Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) Service and its Annual Report which was required to be produced under the IRO Regulations.  The Annual Report provided evidence in respect of the effectiveness of the service, examined the quality of the reviews offered to young people and set targets for the future development of the service.

The IRO Manager highlighted following points:

·         The figure for the number of looked after children (LAC) had been 941 as at 3 January 2017; this was an increase on the figure for the previous year.

·         The numbers entering and leaving care had been similar to the figures for the previous year.

·         There had been a significant decrease in the numbers exiting care in 2016.

·         The numbers of Interim Care Orders, Section 20 voluntary arrangements and Special Guardianship Orders.

·         There had been a significant decrease in the numbers placed for adoption. This reflected the national trend.

·         Placement with parents had increased slightly as had placements with family and friends.

·         The Service had carried out over 2500 reviews during the period April 2015 to December 2016, of which 98% had been completed within the relevant timescale despite increasing caseloads and staff changes.  Recruitment was in process to replace officers who had retired.

·         Positive feedback had been received from young people.

·         The Audit Grading System was now aligned with Ofsted requirements and this information  was being used in sufficiency reports.

The following responses were given to questions from Members:

·         Details were outlined in respect of the two IRO challenges that had escalated to Formal Dispute Resolution and it was noted that these had arisen as a result of matters of process not serious failures.

·         In terms of the statistics for ‘feeling safe’ this could be a matter of interpretation for the particular child for example it could be that they had had an issue at school or elsewhere outside the home. It depended what a child was worried about and what was relevant to them at that point in time.  Particular examples could be made available to Members to offer reassurance if they wished.

·         The uptake of Viewpoint (as a method of recording the views of young people) was slightly down on last year. A User Group was looking at ways to drive this forward.  It tended to be more popular with younger people and was now more accessible due to the introduction of an App. The content had recently been updated in consultation with the CICC.  It was thought that if children started using Viewpoint at an earlier stage they would be more likely to continue as they got older.

·         There was no statutory requirement for IROs to meet with a young person separately to the review meeting but it was considered to be good practice.

·         Viewpoint was not the only method of participation for LAC.  Many of the older young people preferred to attend the review meetings in person.

·         Work was being undertaken to look at how Viewpoint might be better utilised.

·         If a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) was entered into for a child they ceased to be a Looked After Child.  If they were under a Section 20 or ICO they remained in the system.

·         Working with children from newly arrived communities could bring different challenges.

·         Unaccompanied asylum seeking children were taken in a planned way through agreement with the Home Office; ten young people had been accommodated since October all of whom were over the age of 16.  These young people were deemed to be LAC and were allocated a social worker and therefore an IRO and would go thorough the review process.  Seven other unaccompanied asylum seeking children had arrived in the district other than through the Home Office initiative.

Resolved –

(1)       That the Corporate Parenting Panel notes:

(i)         The work undertaken by the Independent Reviewing Officer Service and its ongoing role in providing robust and challenging reviews of all Care Plans.

(ii)        The improvements achieved over the last twelve months in terms of children’s participation, the continued improvement in timeliness and the successful introduction of a quality assurance process for the service.

(iii)       The contribution made and value added by the Independent Reviewing Officer Service through the reporting of quality assurance findings to the Strategic Leadership Management Group.

(iv)      The continuation of good collaborative working arrangements with social work teams and partner agencies in order to achieve the best outcomes for Bradford’s Looked After Children.

(v)       That the Independent Reviewing Officer Service’s Annual Report will be submitted to the January meeting of the Panel on an annual basis and will include data for the preceding 20 month period up to the end of November.

(2)       That the Service’s Work Plan for 2016/17, as set out in the Annual Report, be endorsed.

ACTION:       Deputy Director – Children’s Social Care