Report and presentation of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services)

The report and presentation provide an update on Manchester’s approach to supporting its Care Leavers.

The Committee considered a report and presentation of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services) which provided an update on Manchester’s approach to supporting its Care Leavers.

Key points and themes in the report and presentation included:

·       Demographic;

·       Performance;

·       Accommodation;

·       Education, training and employment;

·       Emotional, mental, physical and sexual health;

·       Strengths and developments; and

·       Next steps.

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

·       To welcome the work being done, including the proactive approach, listening to the voices of young people and the level of contact with Care Leavers;

·       Supporting young people with neuro-behavioural conditions, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and trauma; and

·       Adapting to the needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people including friendships and community connections and noting that this group was predominantly male.

In response to a question from the Chair, the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services) explained how bringing the service in-house enabled the Council to shape the culture and behaviour of how the service was delivered, creating a culture which encouraged innovation, rather than just compliance.  In response to a further question from the Chair about whether this could be run as a service which other local authorities could buy into, he reported that consideration was given to what could be exported.  He informed Members that good practice and learning was shared through the Greater Manchester Care Leavers Trust Board.

The Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People reported that a lot of work had taken place in relation to FASD, after this had been raised at previous Committee meetings, including the Director of Public Health setting up a roundtable on this issue, involving a wide range of partners.

The Deputy Strategic Director of Children’s Services informed the Committee about the ‘Beyond Psychology’ trauma-informed practice training which all the service’s Personal Advisors had undertaken.  He reported that the service had been designed in a way which recognised the diverse impact of trauma and FASD on young people’s lives and how the service could effectively engage with those young people.   

The Assistant Director (Children in Care and Care Leavers) reported that it could be a long process for a neurodiverse young adult who had not been diagnosed in childhood to receive a diagnosis so her service was focusing on dealing with the presenting behaviours and not delaying pathway planning while awaiting a diagnosis, being aspirational for each young person and understanding them as an individual.  She outlined work with Youth Justice on the SHIFT programme and work which was taking place on transitional safeguarding to support young people who did not meet the criteria of the Care Act assessment.  She reported that, following feedback from a young person, her service was looking into making the ‘Beyond Psychology’ training available to some older young people to help them understand their cognitive processes and self-help approaches.

In response to a Member’s question on the Southwark Ruling, the Deputy Strategic Director of Children’s Services reported that, while he did not have the exact figures to hand and would provide these after the meeting, the trend in Manchester had changed significantly in recent years from 80% of 16- and 17-year-olds who presented as homeless coming into care and 20% returning to their families to 20% coming into care and 80% returning to their families, due to a new approach to supporting and engaging with families. 

In response to a question about Kinship Carers, the Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People suggested that the Committee might want to receive a report on this at a future meeting, to which the Chair agreed.

The Chair commented on the 13 young people who were in custody.  She informed Members about a visit to Wetherby Young Offenders Institute which had taken place in conjunction with the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee.  She expressed concern that Barton Moss Secure Children’s Centre had not agreed for Members to visit.

The Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People highlighted the positive work that the Youth Justice Service and SHIFT team were doing and suggested that the Committee might want to visit them in future.

The Assistant Director (Children in Care and Care Leavers) reported that the service had recruited a number of male Personal Advisers, who were able to provide male role models.  She advised that the housing band one model had been expanded to include shared accommodation, which could be particularly useful for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people who had travelled together and lived together.  She clarified that young people who had been the subject of Special Guardianship Order (SGO) or had been privately fostered were still classed as Care Leavers and that young people in this position were starting to be aware of the Leaving Care Service and approaching them for support.  In response to a Member’s question, she confirmed that the service wanted to diversify its Care Consultants and was doing targeted work to recruit Care Consultants who had been through the Youth Justice system and young people who were unaccompanied asylum-seekers.  In response to a question from the Chair about ‘suitable accommodation’, she advised that unsuitable accommodation was defined by the Department for Education (DfE) as bed-and-breakfast accommodation or custody, stating that none of their young Care Leavers were in bed-and-breakfast accommodation.  She informed Members about targeted work her service had been doing with HMP Hindley and Barton Moss Secure Children’s Centre to support Manchester’s young Care Leavers who were in custody.

In response to a Member’s question about the cultural background of Care Leavers, the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services) drew Members’ attention to the pie chart on ethnicity on the second page of the presentation and stated that additional information, such as religion, was also available.  He assured Members that one of Children’s Services’ priorities was to be sensitive and responsive to children and young people’s identity. 

Decision

To receive a report on Kinship Carers at a future meeting.