Report of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services)

This report provides the progress of the implementation of the 2020 – 22 Our Children Sufficiency Strategy and shares the new 2022 – 27 Our Children Sufficiency Strategy. The aim of the 2022 – 27 Strategy will be to continue to embed the developed practice, sustaining and progressing the partnership approach to deliver innovate models of accommodation.

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services which provided the progress of the implementation of the 2020 – 22 Our Children Sufficiency Strategy and shared the new 2022 – 27 Our Children Sufficiency Strategy. It stated that the aim of the 2022 – 27 Strategy would be to continue to embed the developed practice, sustaining and progressing the partnership approach to deliver innovate models of accommodation.

The main points and themes within the report included:

• Background information;
• Main issues; and
• Looking to the future.

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• To welcome the innovative work taking place;
• The not-for-profit sector;
• The Mockingbird model; and
• That the Council had closed a number of its in-house children’s homes and would it need to establish any more.

The Strategic Commissioning Lead reported that in-house foster carers delivered a significant proportion of the provision but that the Council also worked with other providers, including profit and not-for-profit organisations and charitable organisations.  She informed Members about work taking place to develop different models, in particular for the post-16 offer, including Staying Close and the House Project, which were enabling young people to move into housing before they were 18, which was taking pressure of the commissioned resource.  She advised that decisions on placements were based on the assessed needs of the young person but making the right decisions first time also led to efficiencies.  The Strategic Director of Children and Education Services described how the service developed relationships with providers to ensure that they had confidence in each other which meant that they were more likely to provide the range and choice to meet the different needs of individual children and young people and prevent them from moving from placement to placement.

The Strategic Commissioning Lead explained that the Mockingbird model involved a cluster group of foster carers supporting each other with an experienced foster carer, who might not have a child placed with them at the time, as a hub home carer, at the centre.  In response to a question from the Chair about the Take a Breath model, she advised that this was for young people who should not be in secure accommodation but who could not currently be found suitable placements in the community because of the level of their needs so models needed to be developed with health partners.  The Strategic Director of Children and Education Services advised that this related to young people who did not need to be in hospital but needed a bespoke specialist provision for a presenting need and that, if the correct provision was not put in place, it could lead to a cycle of re-admissions.  He advised that a Key Decision would need to be taken in relation to this at a future date and the Committee might receive a further report at that stage.

In relation to the previous decision to close a number of the city’s in-house children’s homes, the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services advised that this represented a shift towards focusing on children’s needs rather than seeing children’s homes as the default option.  He advised that family-based care was usually best for children.  He reported that the number of Looked After Children in Manchester was not increasing but the complexity of need was and that it was more bespoke and specialist provision that was needed, rather than more children’s homes. 

In response to a question from the Chair, the Strategic Commissioning Lead reported that Ghyll Head was used for short breaks and that the Council was also looking for other locations which could be used.

Decision

To note the report.