Securing Sufficient Accommodation for Looked After Children Incorporating Commissioning Action Plan Placements for Looked After Children

Related duties for vulnerable children

Health and Care education leavers Child at the centre

Voice of Placements the child

Publication Date: October 2015 Review Date: October 2016 Author: Wendy Collins Commissioning Manager

Index

Foreword 1 Introduction 4 - 6 1.1 CYPS Commissioning Aims and Objectives 7 1.2 Methodology 8 2 An overview of St. Helens 9 2.1 Geography and Demographics 9 - 10 3 The picture for Looked After Children in St. Helens 11 4 Needs Analysis – Factors Driving Demand 12 -25 5 Current Provision – Supply Side Factors 25 - 38 6 Gap Analysis 39 7 Review and evaluation of commissioned services 45 8 Key Findings and Recommendations 46-47

Appendix 1 St. Helens Commissioning Market Position Statement

Appendix 2 INTERNAL USE ONLY St. Helens Commissioning Action Plan

Appendix 3 INTERNAL USE ONLY St. Helens Provision

Foreword

As corporate parents we want our looked after children to be happy, healthy, resilient and safe. We want them to live in St. Helens unless this is not consistent with their safety and welfare and enjoy the same outcomes as other children who are not looked after. Our aspiration is that looked after children are also within a familial rather than residential setting unless the latter is best placed to meet their needs.

In recent years our population of looked after children has necessarily grown as we have taken a more robust approach towards compromised parenting, particularly in those homes in which neglect has been a feature. We need to ensure that our arrangements for looked after children continue to develop to meet these challenges and raise the aspirations of looked after children. The continued development of our care providers is a key component of our service improvement programme.

This plan focuses on what matters most; ensuring our children and young people have a happy, stable home with carers who are committed to nurturing and supporting them in their journey towards adulthood. It will be kept under regular review and the effectiveness of this strategy in improving outcomes for looked after children will be monitored by Elected Members, the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board and through our ongoing dialogue with looked after children themselves.

Cllr. Andy Bowden Andy Dempsey Executive Member Director Children and Young Children and Young People’s Services People’s Services

1. Introduction

Following the introduction of statutory guidance in April 2011, each Local Authority providing children's services must take steps that secures sufficient accommodation within its area to meet the needs of children that it is looking after and children whose circumstances are such that it would be consistent with their welfare for them to be provided with accommodation in the local authority area. This is referred to as 'the sufficiency duty'. The sufficiency duty, therefore, applies in respect of all children who are looked after. However, it also applies to children in need who are at risk of care or custody (sometimes referred to as children 'on the edge of care'). This acknowledges the importance - both for improving outcomes for children and in having sufficient accommodation to meet their needs and of taking earlier, preventive action to support children and families so that fewer children become Looked After. The sufficiency duty sets out a requirement for local authorities to work with their partners to:

• Systematically review the current situation in relation to ensuring sufficient accommodation to meet the needs of Looked After Children and Young People and Care Leavers.

• Assess existing commissioning practice and identify how to ensure any services that are commissioned away from the LA can be delivered locally.

The sufficiency duty requires local authorities to do more than simply ensure that accommodation is ‘sufficient’ in terms of the number of beds provided – the accommodation and care must meet the needs of the children and young people. Local authorities must also have a regard to the benefits of securing a number of providers and a range of services.

In St. Helens we believe that children thrive and are best able to achieve their potential if they live in a happy and stable home. It is not always in the best interests of the child for them to remain with their parents or other family members and they will become looked after by the local authority. As corporate parents for those children it is our responsibility to ensure that they live in a stable, nurturing placement where they develop and grow and are able to go on to live successful adult lives.

Our sufficiency strategy is co-dependent on our departmental strategies; Children and Young Peoples Plan, Children in Care and Care Leavers Strategy and our Early Help Strategy.

We have made a promise to the children in our care that all commissioning decisions should consider and reflect the St. Helens Promise for Children in Care. This pledge has been written in consultation with the Children in Care Council and signed by the Director of Children’s Services and the Executive member for Children and Young Peoples Services. The pledge represents a commitment by the Council to fulfil the obligations set out within it.

St. Helens Promise for Children in Care

• Involve you wherever possible in the decisions that affect your life

• Help to keep you healthy and encourage you to stay healthy

• Help to keep you safe wherever you live

• Help you to do the best you possibly can at school or college and get involved in clubs, activities and hobbies that interest you

• Give you the opportunity to have your say, be heard and get involved in participation groups

• Work hard with you to give you all the help you need to make a success of moving on from care to adult life

1.1 Our Children in Care Council tell us:

What a good placement should look like

• Own room / own space • Clean, tidy • Warm, friendly house • Nice pictures on the walls • Nice, Friendly Carers • People who want to look after you, more than just a job • Staff who are interested in helping you • Staff who can help you do your homework • A choice of meals at dinner time • Be able to help in the kitchen, Bake cakes, HAVE FUN. • Go out for trips out, on holiday • Be able to have friends or family in your bedrooms • Be able to decorate/personalize room. For example: own choice of bedding, Coloured walls • Different coming in times for certain ages • Chill out room that is calm • Each bedroom should have: Lamp. Bedding, Toiletries, TV or radio, alarm, clock, hook to hang your clothes on

• Carers who look smart • Be able to bring friends for tea • Help to move to own house when old enough • Teach me to cook and wash my clothes • Nice furniture, not dirty or ripped • Nice flowers or plants in the garden with a bench to sit on • Rules but no too strict • A big TV in the living room • Games for the garden • Board games for the house • Somewhere clean warm and tidy, nice happy staff

What is important when they move placement:

• We think it important to have time to pack, unpack and settle in but we know school is important • Same school after move in important years; we know when you are doing your GCSEs it’s important to keep things the same • We need information on what things the new Carers have – schools, bedrooms, types of food they eat • Meet Carers before you move • Know where you are going; it is really important • Keep in touch with past Carers and all the people important to you;if you can’t see people explain why • Know how much savings and pocket money we have • Get information about the area we are moving to and people and things to do • Be able to let family know you are safe and well • Bus route information; this will help us get around • Get clothes same day in appropriate bags or suitcases • See pictures of the people you are living with and house and pets they have • We should have a special place for your personal things, your teddy bear and photos

What is important when they are placed out of their home area:

• Be interested in me • Be honest, explain things to me or tell me why you can’t • Make sure I know who my social worker is and if it is going to change • Keep me updated with what’s happening in between meetings • Explain to me why I am living where I am, it helps me to be settled • Listen to me and put my views forward • Ask me how I want to keep in touch • My family and friends are really important. I need to know when I can see them and if not, know why not • Don’t make me feel different • I am helped to be healthy • Small things can make a big difference to me • Stop taking me out of school, my education is important • Ask me if I need more support in school, training or employment • I am helped to take part in activities

1.2 CYPS Commissioning Aims and Objectives

Our overarching aim is to ensure that accommodation for looked after children is successfully commissioned and that sufficiency is secured in such a way that the following outcomes can be achieved:

1. All children are placed in appropriate placements with access to the support services they require in St. Helens, except where this is not consistent with their welfare.

2. The full range of universal, targeted and specialist services work together to meet children’s needs in an integrated way in the local area, including children who are already looked after, as well as those at risk of care or custody.

3. Where it is not reasonably practicable for a child to be placed within St. Helens, there are mechanisms in place to widen the range of provision in neighbouring areas, the sub-region or region which is still within an accessible distance (i.e. based on transport links and community boundaries), while still being able to provide the full range of services required to meet identified needs.

4. All children with adoption recommendations are placed with an adoptive family within 12 months of that recommendation.

5. Partners, including housing, work together to secure a range of provision to meet the needs of those who become looked after at the age of 16 and 17, and support the continuity of accommodation beyond the age of 18.

6. Services are available in adequate quantity to respond to children, including predicted demand for a range of needs, and emergencies.

7. In addition to meeting relevant national minimum standards, services are of high enough quality to secure the specific outcomes identified in the care plans of looked after children.

8. Services are situated across St. Helens to reflect geographical distribution of need.

9. Placement providers (including private, voluntary and public sector providers) are linked into the wider network of services and work with these services to offer appropriate support to deliver identified outcomes for looked after children.

10. Universal services know when a child is looked after and have good links with the range of targeted and specialist services which support him/her, including placement providers.

11. Mechanisms are in place to ensure that professionals involved in placement decisions have sufficient knowledge and information about the supply and quality of placements and availability of all specialist, targeted and universal support services within St. Helens.

12. St. Helens Local Authority and its partners collaborate with neighbouring authorities and their partners to plan the market for services for looked after children and commission in regional or sub-regional arrangements.

1.3 Methodology

The sufficiency review process includes

• A full review of data available in order to continue to understand the needs of looked after children i.e. ‘demand’

• A full analysis of the current market – the ‘supply’ of accommodation

• External market forces will be considered to try and understand how other factors will affect supply and demand

• A Gap Analysis review will be undertaken in order to clearly identify any surplus or gaps in terms of:

. Places available . Specific types of care . Availability/flexibility of care . Age Ranges . Locations . Gender . Ethnicity - Religious/multicultural needs . Disability / SEN . Other specific needs (appropriateness of care available)

Exclusions

• Specific market management of accommodation outside of Greater Merseyside

• Market management of intervention services although it is recognised this area has an impact on the need for accommodation

Interfaces (Links to other Projects / Services)

• Children and Young People’s Plan • JSNA • Corporate Parenting • Early Intervention Strategy • Think Family • Clinical Commissioning Group Strategy • Children in Care and Care Leavers Strategy • Fostering Business Plan incorporating Recruitment Strategy

2. An Overview of St.Helens

2.1 Geography and Demographics

Location Located midway between the cosmopolitan cities of Liverpool and Manchester, St. Helens enjoys a strategic position at the centre of the regional road network. There are good linkages to the national rail network, and expansions of regional airports mean that St. Helens is well positioned for access nationally and internationally.

Demographics St.Helens was among eight local authorities in the North West that saw its population decrease between 2001 and 2011, according to census figures. St. Helens’ resident population is estimated at 176,221 (2013 estimate Source: Share), and is becoming increasingly diverse. The age structure of the Borough reflects the national trend of an ageing population, and the proportion of young people has decreased with a corresponding increase in the number of people of pensionable age. The forecasted population in St. Helens is expected to grow to 186,200 by 2020 & 194,300 by 2035 (Source: Share)

Labour Force

There are currently 73,800 residents in employment (2013 Source: Share), with 8,021 of these residents in self-employment. Unemployment is above the national average but below that for Merseyside. St. Helens has shown considerable improvements in economic activity over the last 20 years and, today, the largest industries in St. Helens are within the service sector, including distribution, health and education services and public administration.

Skills and Education Against a backdrop of ongoing changes nationally to educational qualifications and the curriculum, St Helens has at the end of the 2014/2015 academic year, broadly maintained its performance at GCSE relative to the previous year. At the end of the 2014/2015 academic year 54.3 per cent of students completing their Key Stage 4 studies at a school in St Helens achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including GCSE English & GCSE. Educational attainment remains a local priority to ensure that our young people receive the best start in life. Significant work is continuing to increase the proportion of the adult population with qualifications.

Housing In recent years there has been a considerable programme of new-build which has started to transform some of our neighbourhoods. The average house price in St. Helens is approx. £125,475 (Source: Land Registry Jun 13). Work continues to boost the current housing market to increase the supply of affordable homes, including the development of shared ownership and social rented properties. There is a lack of smaller 1-bed properties in both the Social Housing Sector and the Private Sector.

3. The Picture for Looked After Children in St.Helens

Headline data in this section has been drawn from reports produced by the Performance Management Team

Children looked after in St. Helens year ending 31 March 2015

• There were 412 children looked after by St. Helens as of 31 March 2015, a decrease of 7 per cent compared to 31 March 2014 and a decrease of 10 per cent when compared to the highest point in the year. • Of the 412 looked after children, there were 191 females and 221 males. • There were 23 children with a disability recorded (6%) • The Looked After Child rate per 10,000 children aged under 18 years in St. Helens at 31 March 2015 was 114 per 10,000. At 31 March 2014 it was 119 per 10,000; double the comparable national rate and the highest within the Statistical Neighbour group of Local Authorities. In terms of a direct comparison to other Local Authority areas, in March 2014 St. Helens had the fifth highest Looked After Child rate in the country. • Of children looked after at 31 March 2015, 338 were cared for in a foster placement. This represents 82 percent of all children looked after. • St. Helens continues to have a lower proportion (9.7 percent) of children voluntary accommodated than is the case reported nationally (28 percent at 31.03.14). The overwhelming majority of children in St. Helens are subject to care orders (76.4 percent) substantially higher than the comparable national average • There were 116 children who started to be looked after during the year ending 31 March 2015. This represents a decrease of 18 percent from the previous year’s figure of 142 and a 38 percent reduction when compared to 2013. • There were 135 children who ceased to be looked after during the year ending 31 March 2015. This is a substantial increase of 27 percent from the 2012/13 financial year’s figure of 83, but a slight decrease (10 percent) when compared to 31 March 2014. • In March 2015 10 percent of looked after children in St. Helens were placed more 20 miles from their home address, this is slightly higher than that reported last year but less than is the case nationally.

Other Outcomes

There were 13 looked after children aged between 10 and 17 years who have received a substantive outcome during the year ending 31 March 2015. This represents 6.9 % of all looked after children aged 10 to 17 years (187 children at March 2015), which is slightly higher than the 6.7 % reported for 2014 and higher than 4.1 % reported in 2013 and 5.8% in 2012.

There were 10 looked after children who accessed support through St. Helens Young Persons Drug & Alcohol Team for substance or alcohol misuse problems during the year ending 31 March 2015; this is the same as reported in both 2013 and 2014.

As at 31 March 2015 St. Helens had a total of 99.7 % of children and young people who were up to date with their immunisations. A total of 94.8% of children and young people had their teeth checked within the last 12 months (compared with 82% in 2014). Furthermore, 95.7 % of children looked after by St. Helens had their annual health assessment (compared with 89.1 % in 2014).

4. Needs Analysis – Factors Driving Demand

4.1 Gender

Between March 2010 and March 2014 there was an increase in both the number of Males and Females who were looked after in St. Helens. On average the ratio is 56% Male 44% Female.

Male Female Total March 2010 203 152 355

March 2011 199 145 344 March 2012 186 149 335 March 2013 244 196 440

March 2014 242 190 432 March 2015 221 191 412

4.2 Ethnicity

The vast majority of looked after children in St. Helens are White British. This is representative of the St. Helens population as a whole (96.6%: 2011 Census).

The table below indicates the breakdown of ethnicity other than White British within our LAC population

Asian / Asian Pakistani Any other Black background any other mixed background any other White background 14 Black African Other Traveller of Irish Heritage White and Asian White and Black African White and Black Caribbean White Irish 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

4.3 Age Breakdown

The largest number of looked after children has consistently been in the 10 – 15 age range however in 2013 and 2014 there was a significant increase in the younger age brackets

Under 1 Age 1 - 4 Age 5 - 9 Age 10 - 15 Age 16 + Total

March 2010 25 85 100 115 30 355

March 2011 17 80 97 121 29 344

March 2012 18 85 77 116 39 335

March 2013 32 118 98 149 43 440

March 2014 31 114 109 142 36 432

March 2015 24 91 110 143 44 412

4.4 Placements

St. Helens has a significant number of children placed in out of borough settings, both in foster placements and residential settings. Many of these are in our neighbouring authorities. There are also a high number of children placed with parents or with kinship carers.

Total oster oster with with Other F Foster Foster Carers Carers Agency Agency Kinship Kinship Parents In House Adoption Placed for for Placed Placement Placement Residential Placements

March 2012 119 54 73 13 38 9 29 335 March 2013 132 104 105 9 38 14 38 440 March 2014 137 94 108 12 43 10 29 432 March 2015 134 95 82 29 41 5 26 412

4.5 Distances from Home

In 2013/14 the percentage of children placed more than 20 miles from their home was 7%, this was lower than each of the previous three years and also lower than both the North West and the England average.

At 31 March 2015 this figure has increased slightly to 10%, the same as reported in 2011, 2012 and 2013, which is higher than the North West average but lower than that reported nationally. The average distance included placements with kinship carers some of whom live at a considerable distance from St. Helens.

Percentage of looked after Number of looked after children children placed outside LA Number of looked after children placed outside LA boundary 20+ boundary 20+ miles from where miles from where they used to live they used to live 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

ENGLAND 65,520 67,050 68,110 68,840 7,970 8,000 8,250 9,120 12 12 12 13

North West 11,350 11,360 11,840 12,260 840 800 890 1,100 7 7 8 9

St.Helens 345 335 440 432 412 35 30 45 30 41 10 10 10 7 10

At 31st March 13, 13 of our 34 residential placements were at a distance of over 20 miles. By 31st March 14 this reduced to 7 and further reduced to 6 out of 26 by March 2015.

These particular placements are commissioned based upon a specialist service the provider may offer or if the needs of the children were better served by being placed in these placements.

In house Independent foster Kinship Placed for Placements - 31 March 2015 Fostering Residential Other placements placements Adoption (excluding Placements kinship) Average distance from home 6.2 miles 6.5 miles 14.4 miles 18.9 miles 15.3 miles 22 miles address to placement address

4.6 Placement Stability

Placement stability can lead to permanence and improved emotional health and wellbeing for our children and young people.

The percentage of St. Helens looked after children with 3 or more placement moves in a year was 7% in 2015, slightly higher than the 6% reported in the previous year and comparable to 2011/12 and 2012/13.

There is another placement stability indicator that looks at those who have been in care for at least 2 and a half years to measure how many and what percentage have been in the same placement for 2 years or more. In 2014 the outturn performance figure was 65% which is comparable to our annual target, 67% in March 2013 and in March 2015 the end of year performance had risen to 71%.

Number of looked after children Percentage of looked after children Number of looked after children with three or more placements with three or more placements during the year during the year

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

England 65,500 67,080 68,110 67,080 7,220 7,560 7,540 7,560 11 11 11 11

St. Helens 345 335 440 432 412 25 25 30 25 29 7 7 7 6 7

4.7 Legal Status

The legal status of a child in the care of the Local Authority can vary depending on a range of factors. The table below summarises the legal status of our children in care over the past 5 years. Interim Full Care Freed for Placement Remand/ Care S20 + Total Order * Adoption Order Detained Order March 2011 80 194 43 2 25 0 344

March 2012 63 190 37 2 43 0 335

March 2013 98 220 58 2 60 2 440

March 2014 70 248 38 2 73 1 432

March 2015 55 262 29 0 65 1 412

+ An Accommodated Child is looked after under Section 20 of the Children Act. This is a voluntary arrangement between the local authority and the parents (or the young person if they are aged over 16). The parents retain full parental responsibility * A Care Order gives the local authority parental responsibility, this is shared with the parent but the local authority decides to what extent the parents are able to exercise that responsibility. Children can live at home when they are subject to a care order but they must be placed under the Placement with Parents regulations.

4.8 Category of Need

The majority of cases are recorded in the category of need: abuse or neglect. Unfortunately these figures are not broken down showing more detail about risk factors i.e. emotional, physical and sexual.

Analysis of the 115 cases of children who came into care in the 2014/15 financial year shows that:

• There were 110 children accommodated (as there were 5 cases that had 2 periods of care during the year) • The 110 children were in relation to 71 families – some families had large sibling groups (6 with 4 or more children) • Abuse or neglect was the category of need identified in 93% of cases: • Alcohol misuse, Drug misuse, Mental Health issues feature in over 60% of these cases and are usually compounded, with a high number having domestic violence incidences recorded • All of the children were already known to the department through e.g. children in need or open referrals • A third of the children had no CP status before becoming looked after • 53% of the children were age under 5 at the time of becoming looked after; over half of these were under the age of 1 • The majority of children becoming looked after came from Thatto Heath (22%), Parr (15%) and Sutton (14%) • Many families have had a long involvement with the Local Authority and other Agencies • Intervention appears to focus on secondary risk factors (affect) rather than primary factors (cause) • 27% of the children were discharged during the year.

The findings of this study indicate a need for continued systematic targeted support and pre- emptive intervention to be made available to families. This should allow a significant number of children to remain with their families and therefore the overall number of children coming into care will continue to incrementally reduce over the next two years.

Family Family Absent Absent neglect Socially Socially Parental Parental Abuse or or Abuse disability in Family illness or Disability parenting behaviour dysfunction acute stress acute unacceptable unacceptable

March 2011 265 9 10 14 39 4 3

March 2012 266 12 8 13 28 5 3

March 2013 366 13 11 12 31 4 3

March 2014 370 14 10 10 22 2 4

March 2015 353 13 9 11 20 2 4

4.9 Education

St Helens Council is committed to ensuring that Looked After Children (children looked after by the Local Authority) get the best possible support with their education. The Council has introduced a Virtual School with the appointment of a headteacher for looked after children and young people to raise educational attainment, improve attendance and improve educational stability. St Helens Council’s aims are to:

. Raise the educational achievement of children in care . Ensure every child in care has an effective and up-to-date, quality Personal Education Plan (PEP) . Support access to full time educational placements . Develop the role of designated teachers in schools through regular training opportunities . Support the transition process for vulnerable children in care . Liaise with all agencies and teams involved with children in care . Reduce fixed term and permanent exclusions for children in care . Improve the attendance of children in care; and . Improve the accuracy of educational data for Children Looked After and use such data to inform intervention

St Helens Council works with a wide range of partners to maximise the educational outcomes for Children and Young People in Care and Care Leavers. The virtual school seeks to significantly raise the profile of and champion the educational needs of these children and young people both within and outside the home authority

These partners include:

. Children and Young People . Primary, Secondary and Special Schools Headteachers and College Principals . Designated teachers and other school staff . School Governors . Foster carers and residential carers . Social workers . Senior managers within Children & Young People’s Services and across the council . The Additional Needs Team including Educational Psychology . School Improvement Advisers . Connexions

The school is ‘virtual’ in the sense that students do not actually attend as most are educated at schools or alternative educational establishments either within the home local authority (St Helens) or in other Local Authorities..

The information in the tables below provides a summary overview on the numbers of children in care and their educational provision. This information was extracted from Capita One (the councils central pupil database) in May 2015

Table 1 – Count of students by National Curriculum Year Group

Rec 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total

Number of 29 18 21 21 19 16 23 23 24 27 30 29 Students 280

Percentage 10.4% 6.4% 7.5% 7.5% 6.8% 5.7% 8.2% 8.2% 8.6% 9.6% 10.7% 10.4% of Students

Table 2 – Count of students by National Curriculum Year Group and school location

Rec 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total

St.Helens 16 13 13 13 14 7 16 17 16 16 13 21 175 Local Authority 9.1% 7.4% 7.4% 7.4% 8.0% 4.0% 9.1% 9.7% 9.1% 9.1% 7.4% 12.0% 62.5%

Educated 13 5 8 8 5 9 7 6 8 11 17 8 105 outside of St.Helens 12.4% 4.8% 7.6% 7.6% 4.8% 8.6% 6.7% 5.7% 7.6% 10.5% 16.2% 7.6% 37.5%

Table 3 – Number of Looked after Children with Special Educational Needs supported with a statement

Rec 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total

0 0 2 1 6 1 5 3 8 9 7 5 47 SEN Statement 0% 0% 4.3% 2.1% 12.8% 2.1% 10.6% 6.4% 17% 19.1% 14.9% 10.6% 16.2%

23 26 19 22 13 21 22 16 19 20 23 20 244 No Statement

9.4% 10.7% 7.8% 9% 5.3% 8.6% 9% 6.6% 7.8% 8.2% 9.4% 8.2% 83.8%

Table 4 – Breakdown of type of education placement for Looked After Children

Rec 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total

Mainstream 17 20 13 18 8 15 16 10 15 8 18 4 162 in St. Helens Mainstream 6 6 7 4 8 6 7 6 5 9 5 9 78 OOB Special in 1 2 1 4 1 1 5 3 3 21 St. Helens Special 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 10 Schools OOB Pupil Referral 1 1 7 9 Unit St. Helens Pupil Referral 1 1 Unit OOB Ind. Schools 1 1 St. Helens Independent 1 3 3 2 1 9 Schools OOB

Table 5 – Attainment of Looked After Children at Key Stage 4

Percentage of pupils in care continuously for 12 months as at 31st March achieving 5 or more GCSEs (or equivalent) at grades A* to C including GCSE English and GCSE Mathematics. 2012 2013 2014 2015 342 St Helens 6.2 17.6 5.0 16.7 981 North West 15.9 16.1 11.8 970 England 14.9 15.5 12.0

Percentage of pupils in care continuously for 12 months as at 31st March achieving 5 or more GCSEs (or equivalent) at grades A* to C 2012 2013 2014 2015 342 St Helens 35.3 35.3 15.0 16.7 981 North West 40.7 37.9 17.2 970 England 37.2 37.2 31.1

• New methodology applied from results 2013/14 onwards

4.10 Children with Complex Needs/Disability

As at the 31st March 2015 we had 23 children in our care (just under 6%) who are recorded with complex needs; 7 female and 16 males. The majority of these children are placed within the borough or neighbouring boroughs with just 3 children placed at a greater distance with carers who are able to meet their specific needs.

Age breakdown of children with complex needs in our care

Current Age Number

3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 8 2 9 2 11 2 12 2 13 1 14 2 15 3 16 2 17 3

Total 23

Legal Status of Children with Complex Needs in our care

Legal Status Number

C1 Interim Care Order 1

C2 Full Care Order 15

E1 Placement Order 3

V2 Accomm under S20 (single period of accomm) 4

Total 23

Placement Type for Children with Complex Needs in our care

Legal Status Number

K2 - Homes and Hostels 2

P1 Placed with own parents/person parental responsibility. 1

U1 Foster placement with relative or friend - long term fostering 4

U4 Foster placement with other foster carer - long term fostering 8

U6 Placement with other foster carer - not long term or FFA 8

Total 23

Our CiN Census (2013-14) shows that we had 274 children recorded as having a disability out of a total CiN population of 1,505 at the end of March 2014 and this represented 18% of all our open social care cases.

Nationally the percentage was 13% and regionally 10%.

Amongst this, there is a breakdown by type of disability and our percentage of children diagnosed with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome is much higher than the national average and the North West region.

4.11 Entries to care

Our looked after children population grew in 2013/14 due to a combination of factors including the need to tackle drift in a number of historical child protection cases, the impact of the revisions to the public law outline and a generally more assertive practice approach which seeks to intervene in timescales that are meaningful for the child.

In 2014 an analysis of entries into care for the past 5 years was undertaken and was moderated to take account of the contextual changes set out above. The outcome of this work was to take a population based approach towards estimating entries to care which suggested that the anticipated rate for resource planning purposes is 6-8 entries per month. During 14/15 the numbers of children coming into our care steadied but was still slightly above our estimate at 9-10 per month. However the overall number of children and young people in our care reduced as permanence options were identified.

Given the complexity of the operating landscape and the significant differences between families and their ability to provide effective care for children, it is difficult to predict with certainty the precise level of entries into care over any given period. A target setting approach can also be unhelpful as it has the potential for practitioners to take decisions that are more aligned with performance considerations than the circumstances to hand and the best interests of the child.

The table below indicates where children were initially placed on their entry to care.

Provision 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

In House Fostering 106 102 71 (St. Helens LA Fostering provision U1, U3, U4, U6 / PR1) Independent Foster Agency Placement (Private Fostering provision U1, U3, U4, U6 / PR2, PR4 & 29 9 25 PR5) In House Residential 4 7 3 (St. Helens LA residential provision K2 / PR1) Independent Residential Placement (Private residential provision 8 4 3 K2 / PR2, PR4 & PR5) Secure 6 3 0 (K1 – Secure Unit)

Placed with parents 20 13 7

Placed for Adoption 8 1 2

Other (i.e: R2 – NHS / PR3) 4 2 4

Total 185 141 115

We continue to predict the majority of our children and young people will be placed in a foster care placement on entry to care so the recruitment of in borough foster carers, both in house and independent, who are able to look after the full spectrum of young people who come into our care, is the cornerstone to our sufficiency strategy. As there continues to be a significant number of very young children coming into care then the recruitment of adopters including carers who will foster to adopt is also key.

4.12 Age Breakdown of children at the time they became accommodated

In 2013 the largest number of children becoming looked after were those in the 1 – 4 age range, while in 2014 and 2015 the majority of children brought into care were under 1.

Under 1 Age 1 - 4 Age 5 - 9 Age 10 - 15 Age 16 + Total

March 2013 48 57 35 42 6 188

March 2014 41 31 38 29 2 141

March 2015 33 28 20 31 3 115

60 Age ranges of Children becoming looked after Under 1 Age 1 - 4 Age 5 - 9 Age 10 - 15 Age 16 +

0 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

4.13 Exits from Care

Work has continued to ensure that exits from care are undertaken on a planned and timely basis in the best interests of the children. Revitalising this aspect of the department’s work has led to a significant increase in the number of exits achieved in 2014/15 and this is planned to continue during 15/16 with the aim of bringing the LAC population more in line with North West Regional norms.

The table below summarises the exits from care by type for the past three years.

2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

Moved to Independent Living 11 14 15

Adopted – consent dispensed with 18 18 30

Returned home to live with parents, relatives or other 24 41 52 person with parental responsibility

Residence Order / Child Arrangement Order 3 9 6

Supervision Order 6 3 0

Special Guardianship Order to former foster carer 8 35 23

Special Guardianship Order NOT to former foster carer 0 9 7

Transferred to adult services 3 5 1

Care taken over by another LA in UK 3 3 0

Sentenced to custody 2 3 0

Care ceased for any other reason 5 10 2

TOTAL 83 150 136

4.14 Age Breakdown of children at the time they exited care

During each of the last three years the largest numbers of children being discharged from care were those in the 1 – 4 age range.

Under 1 Age 1 - 4 Age 5 - 9 Age 10 - 15 Age 16 + Total March 2013 6 34 11 9 23 83 March 2014 10 46 35 28 31 150 March 2015 12 51 28 21 24 136

Age ranges of Children leaving care 60 Under 1 Age 1 - 4 Age 5 -9 Age 10 - 15 Age 16+ 50

0 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

During the last three financial years the highest numbers of discharges from care year on year have been due to children being rehabilitated back into the care of their families.

The number of children who were adopted between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015 has increased by 40% when compared to the same period in the previous 2 years. Discharges under SGO's increased by over 73% when compared to the same period in 2012/13 but reduced by 47% when compared to the 2013/14 financial year.

100% Adopted 90% Care taken over by another LA 80% Child Arrangement Order 70% 60% Independent Living 50% Returned home 40% Sentenced to custody

30% Special Guardianship Order 20% Supervision Order 10% Transferred to adult services 0% 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

5. Needs Analysis – Supply Side Factors

5.1 Market Management

The Council works closely with all providers (including private, voluntary and public sector providers) to improve our commissioning processes and outcomes for children and families.

The Council aims to build constructive relationships with a range of different providers and will ensure there is a wide choice of services and providers based on individual children’s needs.

Shaping and managing the accommodation market is critical in order to secure sustainable, good quality placements in the right place at the right time and at the right price.

Alongside local and regional meetings with current and potential providers to shape the market, a number of business as usual approaches are used in order to manage and shape the market:

• Referral processes including use of e-referral form • Individual placement sourcing and negotiation • Quality assurance and compliance visits • Individual Placement Agreements (IPA) that contain clear and bespoke outcomes for individual children

Collaboration directly with other local authorities and through Placements NW is an important part of market management and intelligence gathering around option appraisal and the cost/ quality of provision.

Directing limited resources to St. Helens most vulnerable children in the most cost effective manner is critical. This requires the whole system and the sufficiency duty in its widest sense to be effective. It is vital that the budget in respect of external agency placements is maximised in order to allocate resources to priority children and young people who will most benefit from specialist support.

5.2 St. Helens Local Authority Foster Carers

St. Helens has a team of Foster Carers who are managed by Children and Young People’s Services Fostering Team. When a request is made to the team for a placement, the Fostering Team will seek the best possible match in terms of the carer’s ability to meet the needs of the child.

A number of variable factors will be taken into account: the child’s personal and specialist needs, their age, gender, temperament, home address, school and other personal attributes. These are then matched against a Foster Carers previous experience, accommodation, location, and any other children either in placement or birth children. Where possible we would like children to be accommodated within St Helens if this is the most appropriate placement.

Breakdown of in house placements filled

Family & Long Term Short Term Emergency Total Friends 31st Mar 2014 51 86 3 84 236

31st Mar 2015 42 91 1 70 204

At any one time there are a small number of in-house Foster Carers with vacant capacity. This is primarily due to either the vacancy being short term or respite care only or not being a suitable match for any of our children.

Vacant capacity as at 31st March 15 with reason for capacity

Type Vacancies Reason SHORT TERM FC1 1 Carer on hold – deciding about their fostering future FC2 1 Carer on hold – deciding about their fostering future FC3 1 Carer on hold – deciding about their fostering future FC4 1 Carer on hold – deciding about their fostering future FC5 2 Newly approved and awaiting placement FC6 1 Limited availability of foster carer FC7 1 Limited availability of foster carer FC8 1 Limited availability of foster carer FC9 1 Limited availability of foster carer FC10 1 0-12 months only FC11 1 0-12 months only FC12 1 Awaiting placement match FC13 1 Awaiting placement match FC14 2 Awaiting placement match FC15 1 Foster carer being withdrawn FC17 2 Foster carer being withdrawn FC18 1 Foster carer being withdrawn FC19 1 Foster carer approved for 2 if sibs and has 1 child placed FC20 1 Foster carer approved for 2 if sibs and has 1 child placed FC21 1 Foster carer approved for 2 if sibs and has 1 child placed FC22 3 Foster carer on hold - being reassessed FC23 2 Foster carer on hold - being reassessed FC24 1 Foster carer only doing respite at moment FC25 1 Foster carer approved for 2 if sibs and has 1 child placed FC26 1 Foster carer approved for 2 if sibs and has 1 child placed FC27 2 Awaiting placement – careful matching LONG TERM FC1 1 Awaiting match of placement TOTAL 34

Our Mainstream Households were approved* as below:

Approved for 1* Approved for 2 Approved for 3 2014 37 51 18 Mainstream Householders 2015 53 43 19 Mainstream Householders

*Some carers approved for 1 can also take siblings

The ethnicity of our in house Foster Carers is not entirely representative of either the borough or the ethnicity of our looked after children with only 2 of our carers being of mixed race, 2 of Lithuanian descent and all the others being White British. Close monitoring of the demographic of our current carers and the needs of our looked after children population will inform on-going recruitment.

There is an active recruitment campaign for Foster Carers. The fostering service has its own micro site, the website address is http://fostering.sthelens.gov.uk/ There is also an active regional facebook group ‘at home with fostering’ https://www.facebook.com/athomewithfostering?fref=ts

Recruitment 2014/15

• 13 Mainstream Foster Carers who no longer feel able to offer their services • 7 Mainstream Foster Carers deregistered • 9 who offered permanence to the young person in their care • 15 Mainstream Foster Carers households approved • 14 Family & Friends Foster Carers Households approved • 5 prospective carer households in assessment at the end of March 15 • Recruitment in 2014/5 shows a decrease of 43% over 2013/14.

Despite a focus on recruitment there are areas where engaging suitable Foster Carers remains a challenge, these being placements for Children and Young People with Complex Needs including children and young people with offending behaviours, teenagers, children who are at risk of CSE, children with disabilities and large sibling groups. There will be a continued focus on recruitment of Foster Carers with these specialisms both internally and by highlighting this ongoing need to the Fostering Agencies during our discussions.

Retention of carers is also a challenge with some carers citing family commitments or health issues as reasons for not continuing to foster.

There were 5 groups of siblings placed together and 4 sibling groups split in 2014/15. Careful consideration is given when splitting sibling groups and of the groups only 1 group of 5 was assessed to remain together but had to be split.

The same stringent measures for matching in house Foster Carers with children are also used when choosing a carer through an IFA. Where possible Social Workers will offer children and young people a choice of placements.

5.3 Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs)

St. Helens has been part of a Regional Framework Tender led by Trafford Council 2010 - 2014 and was re-tendered in April 2014 led by Manchester (excluding Lancashire and Cumbria). There are 43 providers on the contract, split into 3 Tiers, graded on a cost and quality basis. There are also a number of providers who are not part of the tender and are ‘off contract’. These providers would only be considered when all other contracted options have been considered.

By sending all referrals via the Tier 1 Providers first, these providers have the opportunity and incentive to develop high quality and good value services to meet individual Local Authority needs. The Agencies are utilising the referral information to identify gaps in their services e.g. age ranges, cultural matches or experience of their Carers.

In St. Helens there are approx. 46 foster care households from IFAs offering approx. 85 placements. These are placements not vacancies and most of these will already have young people in situ often on a long-term basis from both St Helens and other LAs. There has been a slow increase in the numbers of agency carers in St Helens.

The current demand for St. Helens is approx. 97 fostering placements from IFAs. At the moment the fostering contract does not provide enough placements within St. Helens to meet the demand. This appears to be case within the Merseyside region as a whole. IFAs are responding to demand seen through the contract by targeted recruitment although we are advised by some of the providers that recruitment is proving difficult in this area.

The Local Authority is continuing to recruit in house carers in St. Helens with the intention to of ensuring there are St Helens based options. Work will continue with agencies to ensure they develop their services to meet our requirements for placements for children with more complex needs.

St.Helens 22 Local IFA 72 Placements 97 Children = 21 Providers = = Authority Households as at Areas 31.3.15

As a separate element of the framework contract IFAs are increasingly developing their Carers with specific training to provide a ‘step down’ type of service and are also developing other specialist services such as remand fostering, child sexual exploitation, harmful sexual behaviour or parent and child assessment. There does however still appear to be an unmet demand for carers for more complex young people.

9 of the children placed in Independent Fostering Agencies have previously been in residential care and have stepped down into very supported foster placements over the last few years. In 2014/15, 2 young people did have the opportunity to step down but unfortunately these did not continue (one placement was unable to continue and one did not progress beyond at the request of the child) both young people expressed a preference to return to residential care.

Data provided regionally by North West Fostering Leads indicates that in 2014/15 there has been a reduction in initial foster care enquiries across the North West over 2013/14 Regionally - 6581 enquiries – 13% reduction St Helens – 246 enquiries – 29% increase Regionally - Applications have fallen by 46% - 770 applications St Helens – Applications have fallen by 37% - 47 applications

Regionally - Approvals have fallen by 46% - 365 approvals St Helens – Approvals have fallen by 34% - 15 approvals

However there has been reduced attrition of carers leaving so the number of households has remained broadly stable. There has been a reduction in the number of short breaks carers available

The number of places filled in IFA and In Houses services have both increased modestly. There does still appear to be underused capacity across the region however these could be vacant due to the needs of children in placement and ability to match, the personal circumstances of carers or the geographical location.

5.4 Adoption

Having an ongoing supply of adoptive carers is essential to ensure a strong internal offer to children and young people coming into care. A clear and timely pathway for permanence is critical and improves ability to meet the sufficiency duty. During 2014/15 115 children were brought into care 61 (53%) of which were under 5 and more than half of these (33) less than a year old.

St. Helens is part of WWISH; a collaboration of 3 local authorities (St. Helens, Warrington and Wigan), which was formed in a bid to make the local adoption process more efficient and to help overcome the nationally recognised shortage of people wishing to adopt. The WWISH Partnership Board sets the scorecard performance figures and associated targets. The timeframe for adopters being approved from the point of initial enquiry is 6 months.

The Local Authority is also part of Adoption North West, which is a regional initiative to pool marketing budgets to ensure the adoption message is as widely promoted as possible.

10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15

Children adopted 16 10 18 18 30

Children adopted by WWISH 18 23 Adopters Children adopted via purchased 0 7 Adoption Placements Children adopted by their Foster 0 2 Carers

All children with SHBPA granted in 2015/2016 have been placed within 12 months of that recommendation. Several of the children who will be placed within 2015/2016 will have been waiting over a year (these are children whose foster carers are in the process of being assessed)

We are seeking foster to adopt placements for young people with an early plan for permanence.

5.5 Residential Care

Analysis of the local market as indicated throughout this report is telling us that the overall market for residential placements in St. Helens and our adjoining boroughs is largely sufficient. Out of borough placements are predominantly used for children with high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties where there is a need for a particular specialism or a rural location or where there is a risk to the child by them remaining in the local area.

As at 31st March 2015 there were 12 St. Helens young people placed in residential settings in St. Helens, 11 placed in neighbouring North West LAs with 3 placed further afield. The young people placed out of borough are placed in either rural or specialist settings

As at 31st March 2015 19 of the 23 Homes in St. Helens had an Ofsted rating of Good. We had no Outstanding Homes. 4 Homes out of 23 were rated adequate. The number of placements available in St. Helens rated good or outstanding has significantly fallen in 14/15.

Despite the relatively small size of the borough St. Helens has the second highest external residential bed capacity in Merseyside.

Sefton 134 St. Helens 106 Liverpool 78 Knowsley 48 Wirral 44

CICOLA Sep 15 A snapshot was taken at the beginning of September 15 Brighton and Hove 1 showing the Local Authorities placing in St Helens in Bury 1 either residential or secure children’s homes in the CWAC 3 borough. Doncaster 2 Flintshire 1 St. Helens currently has a specialist secure facilities and Gloucestershire 1 a large Residential School included in our numbers, Greenwich 1 which differentiates us from our Merseyside partners. Halton 1 Hampshire 1 Herts 1 There are 15 solo units in the St. Helens area. Most Kirklees 1 neighbouring local authorities have no provision at all for Knowsley 5 solo placements and those who do only have a small Lancs 1 number. This means St. Helens is an attractive option Lincolnshire 2 for placements from out of borough children and young Liverpool 9 people with complex needs requiring this type of setting. Oxfordshire 1 Rotherham 1 The majority of residential settings across Greater Salford 1 Sandwell 1 Merseyside cater primarily to the 8 to 17 age range with Sefton 7 just a small number catering for younger children. Stockport 1 Tameside 1 Tower Hamlets 1 Trafford 1 Warrington 6 Wigan 7 Wirral 5 Worcestershire 1

Commissioners will seek the best possible placement to meet the needs of the child based on experience, accommodation, location, children and families’ wishes and match with other children in placement. Quality and value for money are also important considerations. To achieve this we recognise the need for a competitive market with high aspirations for our children and young people.

The Contracts and Commissioning Team check financial stability, current Ofsted rating and insurance certificates via Placements North West as well as taking references from host/placing LAs prior to making a placement. Announced and unannounced visits are made on a risk assessment basis to Residential Providers to check compliance with contractual agreements and outcomes for young people and to speak to providers where concerns have been raised.

There is continual dialogue between Commissioners and Providers locally and regionally to ensure services are developed to meet the needs of the children and young people of this borough. It has been identified that there is an oversupply of basic residential accommodation in the Greater Merseyside area and this is often taken up by LAs from outside the region with some gaps appearing regionally in specialist areas such as accommodation for children with disabilities, complex mental health issues, criminality, criminal and child sexual exploitation and/or absconding behaviours. This is fed back to providers during consultation on tender opportunities and through providers’ forums.

St. Helens currently has two Local Authority run children’s homes:

• The Grove - up to 6 children age 11–17 (emotional and behavioural difficulties) • Abbeyford - up to 4 children (respite facility for children with disabilities)

Following the decision of the Youth Justice Board not to award Red Bank in Feb 14 a secure contract service provision ceased on site on 31 May 2014. This presents a challenge for our sufficiency strategy particularly in relation to secure welfare beds and providing an accommodation solution to avoid children being detained in police cells when denied bail and where the gravity of the office requires a secure option. This will be further exacerbated when the right to be transferred to local authority accommodation upon being detained in police custody overnight is extended to 17 year olds, and will be enacted by extending the definition of 'arrested juvenile' within the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1986 to those aged 17, where previously it applied only to young people aged between 12 and 16.

It is necessary to ensure effective use of our internal services ensuring vacancies are kept to a minimum but it is vital placements are matched effectively so that there is minimal disruption and children and young people are not unsettled. We do carry vacancies in our in house services where placement matching is not appropriate.

There is a contract for the provision of standard and specialist residential services for the Greater Merseyside Authorities. The successful providers were those assessed to provide the highest quality at the greatest value within the boundaries identified by the authorities taking part. St. Helens also has access to the Greater Manchester Framework Contract as there is a collaboration clause inserted into both Tenders. This extends access to high quality, value for money placements across a broader footprint. Both contracts were let in 2014-2016 with an option to extend to 2018.

The need to accommodate young people in specialist provision outside the borough has a number of implications. Alongside the high costs of these placements there is also the impact on social work effectiveness, safeguarding, transport costs and the ability to promote future independence when placements are a distance away from a child’s home community.

5.6 Leaving Care

St. Helens is a party to the North West regional framework contract let by Manchester, which is due to end Oct 15. A replacement North West Regional Tender for a Dynamic Purchasing System for Leaving Care 16+ is out for tender at this time.

The current North West 16+ Care Leaver and Young Homeless Regional Contract provides a broad range of accommodation across 3 locality zones (Greater Manchester, Greater Merseyside & Lancashire/Cumbria) to meet the needs of our young people whether we require semi-independent accommodation, floating support with accommodation or floating support only.

Zone 2 – Greater Merseyside

• 27 providers of semi-independent accommodation • 40 providers of floating support with accommodation • 40 providers of floating support

Placements North West on behalf of the Northwest Local Authorities employ a part time post (hosted by St. Helens) to carry out staffing and contractual minimum standards checks with the Leaving Care Providers. New Leaving Care Providers are registered on the PNW website PIMS and are subject to financial and Insurance checks by Placements North West.

Placements North West in consultation with member Local Authorities and providers, established regional Minimum Standards to ensure that Leaving Care providers operating in the region offer, as a minimum, a safe and acceptable standard of placement. The region is now developing a set of enhanced standards linked to the Dynamic Purchasing System which will look at outcomes for young people using the service.

There is a wide variety of accommodation options which are currently used to support our young people aged 16+ which include: foster care, supported lodgings, residential children’s homes, residential schools, specialist residential homes i.e. SLD/Autism, semi-independent living (varying from own tenancy with low support to increased levels of additional support) and CQC registered settings.

We prefer our young people to live in a family environment wherever possible. The recent changes in the Children and Families Bill 2014 offers young people the opportunity to ‘stay put’ in their foster family until the age of 21. However this does not apply to young people in residential care. For these young people and other young people who may find themselves homeless Supported Lodgings can offer a supported family environment.

As at July 2015 we have 7 supported lodgings householders (plus one in application). 2 of these householders can accommodate 2 young people – 8 of these placements are supporting people funded. We have 5 young people currently placed. The service offers value for money and young people report that they appreciate the benefits of a family environment. This service is managed via the CYPS Young Peoples Team.

We continue to plot out the requirements for our Care Leavers to identify the pathways for accommodation and support including young people affected by the Southwark ruling. For this group of young people effective support towards independence is critical.

(The Southwark ruling issued by the House of Lords (May 2009) was a landmark judgment which reaffirmed and clarified that, the duty under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 takes precedence over the duties within Housing Act 1996 in providing for children in need who require accommodation).

5.7 Young Parents - Placements and Support

St. Helens CYPS, NHS Merseyside and St. Helens Supporting People jointly commission a residential service for young parents. Service is available for up to 7 single parents (available during pregnancy also) or couples with young children, age 16 up to the age of 25 with up to two children and who require a high level of support to prepare them to become effective parents and to develop the skills to live independently with their child. Support is also given to young fathers. Staff are available 24 hours per day.

In addition the service can offer a floating support for up to 7 teenage parents or young couples who require intensive support to enable them to retain their independence and help in developing their parenting skills.

This project is awaiting Ofsted Registration as a Family Assessment Centre and will then offer assessments with one reserved unit and one emergency bed provision exclusively for St Helens.

Our solo residential providers and some of the Independent Fostering Agencies are able to offer mother and baby placements without assessment for young parents.

5.8 Specialist Family Assessment Placements

St. Helens and the immediate surrounding areas currently have no specialist provision for Mother and Baby Assessment Placements currently although as indicated above, our current commissioned residential service is under review and is being reconfigured to offer this option for younger parents. The nearest units of this type are in Southport, Manchester, Burnley and Sheffield. There are other providers available beyond the North West. There is also a teenage unit in Formby.

Independent Fostering Agencies can deliver mother/family and baby placements for families 18+ (with and without assessment) in the Greater Merseyside area. We are looking to recruit a Foster Carer with these skills into our in house service.

5.9 Specialist Placements – Complex Needs

There is, on occasion, a need for young people to be placed in a specialist setting or to receive a specialist service to support their emotional health and well-being and/or their physical health needs. There is a protocol in place for assessment and subsequent funding of complex placements. Cases are presented to the Complex Needs Panel, which has multi agency representation, for consideration of how best to utilise resources across the partnership to support the child, young person and/or their family.

5.10 Transition to Adult Social Care Transition applies to young people age 14-25 who have special educational needs (SEN) AND those who are also identified as being disabled or with complex health needs. This will include young people with: • Severe learning disabilities • Complex physical, sensory and/or social communication impairments • Complex health needs • Severe and enduring mental health problems

Adult Social Care, Children and Young People’s Services and Health colleagues will work together to ensure the young person is supported effectively into adulthood.

5.11 Specialist Placements – PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) Transfers and alternative to Remand

There are occasions where young people are arrested and are refused bail. The duty on the police to transfer a child or young person to Local Authority care is reciprocal in that, under Section 21 of the Children's Act 1989, the Local Authority must accept that child or young person when they receive a request from police. Whether the accommodation provided by the Local Authority is secure or non-secure is a matter for the Local Authority to decide and it is not something the custody officer is allowed to consider when deciding if the transfer is 'impracticable'

The law regarding treatment of young people in police custody is to be changed in October 2015 to ensure that 17 year olds are given the same legal safeguards as those under 17, when being held in police detention. This change will extend the right to be transferred to local authority accommodation upon being detained in police custody overnight to 17 year olds, and will be enacted by extending the definition of 'arrested juvenile' within the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1986 to those aged 17, where previously it applied only to young people aged between 12 and 16.

At present we are using our existing residential, fostering and secure welfare services to deliver accommodation on a spot purchase basis and there is no dedicated resource commissioned for this purpose.

We are working closely with Police and also the YJB/DfE to try and understand the levels of demand for this serviced across a wider footprint and to ensure there is suitable accommodation available for this cohort of young people.

5.12 Education

St. Helens has 10 Secondary Schools, 54 Primary Schools and 3 Special Schools

Special Schools • Lansbury Bridge – Children with Additional Needs including Autism • Mill Green – Children with Additional Needs including Autism • Penkford – Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

Specialist Provision within mainstream • De La Salle - ASD • Rectory – ASD • Haydock - MLD

Pupil Referral unit • PACE KS1 & KS2 • Launchpad KS3 & KS4

Specialist Private Schools

• Nugent House School - EBD Boys • Wargrave House – Mixed ASD

5.13 Support for Families including Children on the Edge of Care

Short Breaks

As at March 31st 2015 the In House Fostering Service had 8 Short Breaks Carers

The Local Authority has a residential provision at Abbeyford offering Short Breaks for up to 4 children at any one time. This service is well-utilised and occupancy levels are very high.

Community Short Breaks are available through commissioned or spot purchased services and families are able to access direct payments to arrange their own short breaks where agreed via Short Breaks Panel.

Early Help Service

The growth in the LAC population and the prevalence of neglect as a key driver for social work intervention in families has required the Local Authority and its partners to undertake a significant restructure of its Early Help Services. The revised service structure which was implemented in May 2014 comprises two key elements.

Three area based teams led by social workers and comprising of Family Intervention workers will focus on providing practical support to families on the cusp of statutory social care intervention. The aim will be to stabilise those families and\or intervene earlier where this is shown to be necessary.

Alongside the Area Teams the Children’s Centres have been reorganised on a hub and spoke basis with two prime delivery sites each supporting three outreach bases. The

service comes under the management responsibility of the Head of the Early Years Quality and Improvement Team with a particular focus on school readiness and Early Years health services. Both service elements will in turn come under the responsibility of the Assistant Director Early Years and Child Protection.

Commissioned Family Support

Bespoke Family Support can be commissioned to provide targeted, time limited support and intervention.

There are also a number of commissioned services in borough that provide support to families on the edge of care; a volunteering/befriending service, a Young Carers Service, a Missing From Home and Care and CSE service, Emotional Health and Wellbeing Services, Domestic Abuse Services and services for families with children with complex needs and challenging behaviour.

There are also plans to set up a Mentoring Service for Young Offenders in 2016.

Priority Families

St Helens Council and its key partners signed up to the national ‘Troubled Families’ programme in March 2012, having been given a target to identify and work with 520 families over the initial 3-year period (2012-2015). The Government has since announced an expansion to the programme, reaching out to more families over the next 5-year period (2015-2020); the aim being to turnaround the lives of some of the Borough’s most challenging and complex families. To be more positive and inclusive, the programme was re-branded as 'Priority Families' locally.

Priority Families are households that meet at least 2 of the 6 following Government criteria :

1. Child truanting or excluded from school (or at a PRU) 2. Involved in crime or anti-social behaviour 3. Out of work or at risk of financial exclusion 4. Have vulnerable children who need help 5. Affected by domestic violence & abuse 6. Have mental health or substance misuse problems

Most eligible families will already be known to a number of professionals. Families can be at any point on the Continuum of Need, and at any level of statutory or non-statutory intervention, including Child Protection, Family Action, or working with agencies addressing school, anti-social or offending behaviour. St Helens is particularly keen to use the expanded programme to identify and help families earlier on, before problems escalate further and end up with statutory services involved.

What's on offer to help Priority Families?

The programme seeks to adopt a new approach to working with families as a whole, using a family intervention model, providing practical support to families to make positive changes. Families need to know that something new and additional is on offer to support them in making improvements. This will be done by ensuring that each and every Priority Family has a ‘Lead Professional’ (in line with the LSCB Think Family Procedure) who can access enhanced support for families. Lead Professionals will be able to tap into targeted resources and interventions on behalf of their Priority Family (such as Family Intervention Workers, Home-Start Volunteers, and Employment Advisors).

What are the goals?

The key outcomes to achieve for families involved, the wider local community, and the programme as a whole, are:

• reduced crime / anti-social behaviour • improved school attendance • adults/young people moving into work, training or education • vulnerable children being safer • reduced domestic violence • better mental health / less drug or alcohol-related harm

Over the course of the initial 3-year programme (2012-2015), St Helens identified and worked with 520 'Troubled Families', and 497 (96%) of these achieved outcomes in terms of reduced youth crime/ASB, better school attendance, or sustained employment.

St Helens is part of the expanded national programme (2015-2020), with a target to identify and work with a further 1,640 families over this 5-year period.

Support for Children and Young People

Children’s Rights, Independent Visitor’s and Advocacy

St. Helens commission a service from NYAS to provide independent support for children and young people in our care and on the edge of care. All children and young people who come into the care of the Local Authority are provided with details of how they can contact an advocate for support and advice. NYAS also provide an Independent Visitors Service comprising of volunteers who can support children and young people in the care of the Local Authority and take them out on fun activities and provide a listening ear.

Missing from Home or Care

St Helens commission a service from Catch 22 - This service takes referrals directly from the police or social care if the missing young person is within 30 miles of St Helens and undertakes return interviews and works directly with young people and their families or carers to diminish the risk and to reduce the amount of children and young people reported missing each year. Referrals for children over 30 miles from St Helens are made directly by Social Workers.

CSE support Service

St Helens commission a service from Catch 22 - This service takes referrals directly from the MACSE (Multi Agency meeting) and works directly with children and young people and families to reduce risk and delivers training and awareness raining across the borough.

Emotional Health and Wellbeing

This panel operates a single point of access for referrals and offers a variety of therapeutic interventions at level 2 on the continuum of need including online support. The service also offers training and online resources at a universal level to partner agencies.

6. Gap Analysis

Strengths

The WWiSH partnership continues to enable access to a wide range of local adopters.

Within the partnership we are now able to match and place many of our children quickly, within the A2 performance timescales.

Adoption We placed our first baby on a foster for adoption basis with WWiSH adopters in August 2014 and she has since been successfully adopted.

In House Fostering Service has a good core offer particularly for babies and young children

Experienced Team with skills in recruitment and support – continued steady level of enquiries

In House Fostering Experienced Carers some of whom are keen to develop more specialist skills

Clear framework with a well-developed cost/quality model which is able to deliver general capacity across the region

Positive working relationships with the North West Agencies and on-going dialogue regarding

Fostering development of services Independent Step down from residential placements have been utilised successfully for some children

In House Services are well utilised, young people are positive about their homes and both homes are rated Ofsted Good

Good range of residential and secure services within St. Helens from solo, dual and multi occupancy through to specialist and secure Residential Good relationship with providers and on-going dialogue regarding development of services Supported Lodgings • Family style accommodation

• Provides social life skills to prepare for independent living • Low costs to authority compared to other providers within the sector • Flexibility for housing for up to two years

Continued engagement with local providers of Accommodation and/or Support as well as colleagues Leaving Care Leaving from Housing, Adult Services, Social Landlords and the Voluntary Sector

Good range of universal options available to young people locally Therapeutic private residential provision has been developed locally which will cater for children with complex needs

Services have been introduced to support children who are at risk of CSE, who go missing from care and require advocacy support. Good feedback received from the children and young people. Services

Specialist Specialist Secure welfare unit is situated in St. Helens which enables local placements (if available)

Experienced Short Breaks Carers within the In House Fostering Service

In house Short Breaks Services are well utilised Short Short

Breaks Breaks

Weaknesses

There continues to be difficulties in placing ‘harder to place’ children within the WWiSH partnership in particular sibling groups, older children and those with complex needs arising from illness or disability Adoption

Lack of staffing capacity due to continued high levels of assessment of family and friends carers has

led to reduction in recruitment activity for mainstream carers

Lack of specialist carers for teenagers, young people at risk of custody, large sibling groups, children with additional needs, children from different ethnic backgrounds and mother and baby In House Fostering

Lack of specialist carers for teenagers, young people at risk of custody, large sibling groups, children

with disabilities and mother and baby in the St. Helens and Greater Merseyside area

Many St. Helens households have long term placements from other LAs

Fostering

Independent

Complexity of young people requiring residential settings appears to be increasing. Diversion from custodial sentences is leading to young people with criminalised behaviours requiring accommodation and care. There also appears to be an increase in young people with complex behavioural issues including self-harm which are not deemed mental health but are requiring specialist care. Often these young people are becoming known to social care only in their middle teens due to families not being able to cope as they get older. This appears to be a regional issue and there does not appear to be a sufficiency of specialist provision across the region.

The North West has the largest number of residential care homes in the country however capacity is

Residential often being utilised by other LAs. Some of this capacity is adequate or inadequate.

Ofsted ratings have fallen in some settings in St Helens in the last 12 months leading to a rise in adequate placements available in the borough.

There is only 1 home for children with disability/autism in the borough which is often full Some young people are unable to access universal accommodation including supported lodgings due to their high level of need including mental health issues and risky behaviours which could lead to homelessness post 18

Lack of 1 bed accommodation due to the change in universal benefits which has created a general demand for this type of property

No real economies or efficiencies in market despite regional tender

Young people can apply before 18th birthday for housing in St Helens but not in other areas, which can cause difficulties if they don’t have a connection in the area where they wish to live. Delays in bidding on properties due to ‘under one roof’ process can be problematic.

Leaving Care Leaving Delays in benefits being processed could cause the young person financial hardship and becoming homeless.

Bonds and guarantors are often required for private accommodation, should young people not be able to or want to access social housing and hostels.

Staying Put is underfunded by central government and does not always offer the opportunity for carers to continue to care for young people with no financial detriment

Assessment of the impact of risk factors on families are not always fully analysed to identify links to children coming into care and how families could be supported to prevent this through targeted commissioning and provision of early intervention services

Reduction in Secure Welfare capacity - lack of ability to place very vulnerable children close to home. Services Specialst Specialst No specifically commissioned resource for alternatives to custody placements. Lack of complex move on placements leading to bottlenecks in welfare secure

Further development of in House short break fostering service including targeted recruitment is required particularly to cater for young people on the autistic spectrum

Short Breaks Short

Opportunities

For children identified as 'harder to place' the interagency fee no longer applies. As a result there

are now good working relationships between WWiSH and voluntary adoption agencies who attend linking meetings. For children with more complex needs these agencies are able to offer a 'Bespoke Family Finding Service'.

Adoption The fostering to adopt service can offer a better outcome for children. Development of a regional approach to marketing around recruitment and sub-regional hubs relating

to recruitment of carers for participating Local Authorities

Potential to develop specialisms including Mother and Baby placements

In House Fostering Wrap round support for carers from in house services and partner services e.g. Psychology/Public Health/CCG Relationship management to focus IFA recruitment and also consider co production of services where there is a gap in our local offer

Fostering Independent Continued development of specialist services sub regionally to work with the most challenging and complex children and young people including young people on the edge of secure (criminal or welfare) and as a diversion from custody

Continued development work with St Helens providers in order to plan for future local need

Residential Review of in house service Benchmark our Leaving Care Services

Potential to recruit additional supported lodgings householders from social housing rental tenants with a spare room

Continued analysis of demographics of young people currently in care to develop pathways into sustainable accommodation and effective transition into adulthood.

Leaving Care Leaving Develop support networks for young people leaving care through the voluntary sector and partner agencies

Complete development of Family Assessment services locally

Deeper analysis of risk factors for children coming into care to inform commissioning and/or development of preventative services and early family support and intervention particularly around alcohol, drug use, mental health and domestic violence

Review impact of changes to child mental health services on placement stability and emotional health and well-being of children who are accommodated to ensure it is supporting improved outcomes

Specialst Services Specialst Consider further development of alternative educational provision to meet the specific needs of looked after children and ensure they receive optimum opportunities to achieve academically

Consideration of alternative options for delivery of short breaks

Short Short Breaks

Threats

There continues to be a large volume of children with a plan for adoption. For a period of time WWiSH stopped assessing new adopters (other than those for ‘harder to place children’). As a result there is now a potential for there to be some immediate difficulty in placing babies and younger children with WWiSH adopters, although there are more adopters in the process of approval.

Several children were placed with VAA adopters in 2014/2015 these children had been waiting for over a year for a match. These children now have unborn siblings and the likely plan will be to place the babies once born with their older siblings. This will therefore mean additional spend on Adoption interagency fees.

The fostering to adopt service carries the risk of the children returning home which can deter potential adopters.

Age profile of current carers highlights a need for continued focus on recruitment to replace experienced carers who are ready to retire

Financial allowances require review to reflect market rates and also complexity of need

Changes to staying put means carers may be less likely to become available and could lead to a reduction in overall capacity

Judicial review regarding ‘most appropriate placement’ which will consider LA sequential placement searching to take place late 2015 In House Fostering Complexity of children and young people coming into care appears to be increasing and this means we need a highly skilled and well trained foster care workforce

Children coming into care nationally (Aug 15) are at record levels and there is a risk to available capacity within the fostering sector

Staying Put could lead to a reduction in overall capacity

Financial considerations may mean some carers feel they are unable to offer staying put Fostering

Independent Complexity of children and young people coming into care appears to be increasing and this means we need a highly skilled foster care workforce The volume of children coming into care could impact on capacity within residential as foster care capacity is taken up

Diversion from custody and lack of secure welfare provision appears to be leading to increase in complexity of young people requiring residential accommodation often requested to be in a rural location

Anecdotally, high levels of scrutiny from Ofsted is leading to reduction in placement offers for Residential complex children and young people

DfE have commissioned a report from the Institute of Public Care which reports clear signs of financial stress in the market

Funding provided on an annual basis to universal services such as supported lodgings is leading to short term planning

Care providers are finding some accommodation is above the local housing association rate which

could cause debts to young people who want to consider this option

Care providers allowing young people to take over tenancy and then not risk assessing when placing co-tenants there; this could cause them to be at risk of homelessness due to poor matching

Delays in young people being to access benefits/leaving care grants can put accommodation in Leaving Care Leaving jeopardy

Young people who would benefit from Staying Put may not be offered the opportunity due to carers financial or personal circumstances if a change to the policy goes ahead

The law regarding detention of 17 year olds could lead to a demand in requests for secure

accommodation or other types of accommodation at very short notice. Numbers are likely to be low but the reduction of secure accommodation in the North West could be problematic.

In addition the lack of availability of small specialist therapeutic residential homes could also cause Services Specialst Specialst problems in young people exiting secure welfare or secure Tier 4 mental health settings

Insufficient capacity in our in house service to meet demand at peak times e.g. weekends, summer holidays

Increasing numbers of young people on the ASD spectrum are accessing short breaks and may require different types of provision than available currently Short Breaks Breaks Short

7. Review and evaluation of Commissioned Services

7.1 Contract Compliance and Performance Monitoring

How do we know that commissioned services are delivering good quality and meeting the needs of children? The following information is drawn from the Children’s Act 1989 guidance updated 2011

Volume 5: Children’s Homes states in commissioning places in children’s homes, the local authority must be fully satisfied that the service they are commissioning is able to meet the child’s needs and promote the child’s welfare. This requires the local authority to be clear about the care, which is required by the child and able to identify clearly what they expect in terms of the standards of care to be provided.

Contracts and Commissioning are in regular contact with Social Work Teams, Independent Reviewing Officers and Complaints Officer and will look into any contractual or compliance issues raised. Sometimes there are opportunities to speak to children and young people during visits to gain their views on the care they receive and this is an area that the commissioning team would like to develop further.

Placements North West hold information relating to placement providers in respect of financial information, any changes to financial status, Ofsted information, any changes to Ofsted grading, Insurance Policies and other relevant information such as Statement of Purpose and this is used to inform compliance visits.

Residential

Compliance visits which focus on organisational processes and support for children and young people are carried out by the Local Authority. Visits can be announced or may be unannounced where issues have been raised and are prioritised based on risk assessment. In addition Social Work statutory visits and the looked after children’s review process focus on outcomes for children and young people. There are also focussed themed visits with providers to look at work being carried out on areas such as CSE. There is also a commitment to work with local providers to help develop provision to meet our local needs with regard to the sufficiency duty.

Independent Fostering Agencies

North West Framework Contract providers are required to submit annual quality assurance and outcomes information to the lead authority. Representatives from the North West Authorities moderate responses. Social Work statutory visits and the looked after children’s review process focus on outcomes for children and young people. Relationship meetings are held with agencies although these are currently on an ad hoc basis; there is a commitment to work with local providers to help recruit carers to enable most appropriate placement.

Leaving Care

Placements North West assess leaving care providers against regionally agreed minimum standards. This is an unregulated market and as such the region is now developing enhanced standards to further enhance work with this market. Social Work statutory visits focus on outcomes for children and young people.

Service Providers

Providers are required to submit quarterly monitoring documents. CYPS Service Managers review the information and quarterly and annual review meetings are held with providers.

In House services

In addition our fostering service provide quarterly reports and our adoption service six monthly reports, which inform our commissioning strategy.

Key findings and Recommendations

8.1 Key Findings

As indicated the numbers of children in the care of St Helens appear have plateaued in 2013/14 and are now beginning to reduce. We continue to project a reduction in numbers to bring the population closer to North West Regional norms over the next two years.

The swift increase in LAC numbers placed considerable pressure on our accommodation arrangements and resulted in an increase in the use of residential and independent fostering agency placements which are mainly located in neighbouring authorities. Rebalancing our offer to ensure that children can be accommodated within borough and in a familial situation continues to remain a key priority.

Due to changing legislation, children are coming into our care at a younger age and increasing numbers of children are being placed for adoption.

Internal residential, short breaks, fostering and adoption services are operating at or close to capacity the majority of the time.

There are insufficient in-house and IFA Foster placements within our borough for older children, teenagers, sibling groups, children with disabilities and young people on remand or with criminal records.

There is sufficient general residential accommodation in the borough although this is not always available or able to make a suitable match when required

There are gaps in move on provision for older young people with additional needs particularly autism/ behavioural/mental health and significant self-harm, young people on the edge of custody or leaving custody and care leavers who demonstrate very risky behaviours.

Engagement of internal services, third sector and other partners to support children and young people in their community is essential.

Identifying appropriate alternative education provision for children outside mainstream settings can be a contributory factor to requests for residential placements out of borough

Financial constraints will continue to be present throughout the next couple of years and there will be a continued, robust focus on value for money. Use of a mixture of direct provision of services, framework contracts and dynamic purchasing will enable the greatest flexibility and cost minimisation.

8.2 Recommendation

In order to continue to deliver on our promise to the children and young people in our care we need to:

• Continue to work with internal and external partners to ensure resources are targeted to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people • Fully utilise the early help strategy to ensure children become looked after only when this is the best outcome for them • Support alternate orders • Ensure our placement strategy is diverse and meets the needs of the children in our care • Continue to work with our children and young people to seek their views • Continue to invest in WWISH and the recruitment, assessment and support of adopters • Ensure the fostering service is resourced (utilising any sub regional arrangements) to be able to recruit, assess, train and retain quality foster carers with a focus on specific cohorts • Redesign our Residential Services • Benchmark our services for Care Leavers • Ensure the educational offer for young people in our care meets their individual needs • Prepare our young people for adulthood and independence

8.3 Conclusion

The actions arising from this Sufficiency Strategy are to be translated into a Commissioning Market Position Statement, which will help Providers develop their local offer to meet our needs.

There will be ongoing work needed throughout the year with Placements North West as Sufficiency is a regional issue and often cannot be resolved in isolation.

47 Contact Centre Wesley House Corporation Street St.Helens WA10 1HF Tel: 01744 676789 Minicom: 01744 671671 Fax: 01744 676895 Email: [email protected] ➜ www.sthelens.gov.uk Please contact us to request translation of Council information into Braille, audio tape or a foreign language. [email protected] 1500868R