Corporate Parenting Update
Perth and Kinross Council · 11 March 2024
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 11 March 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Perth And Kinross Council Learning And Families Committee 11 March 2024 CORPORATE PARENTING UPDATE Report by Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice (Report No. 24/83) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report provides an update to the Learning and Families Committee regarding the progress of the actions contained within the Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 2021-2024 which went to full Council on 9 March 2022 (Report No. 22/48 refers). The Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 2021-2024; Our Promise to You (Appendix 1) and Our Action Plan 2021-2024 (Progress Update) (Appendix 2) are included with this report. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: • Notes the progress made in relation to the actions within the Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 2021-2024 (Appendix 2); and • Requests that a further update returns to Learning and Families Committee in one year’s time. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: Proposals • Section 6: Further Considerations • Appendices 4. BACKGROUND 4.1 The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced the statutory duties and responsibilities for the Council in their role as corporate parents. The Act defines corporate parenting as “the formal and local partnerships between all services responsible for working together to meet the needs of Looked After children, young people and care leavers". 4.2 Part of those responsibilities is that each corporate parenting body produces a plan which indicates their contribution to meeting the needs of their population of care experienced children and young people.
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4.3 The Independent Care Review was commissioned by the First Minister of Scotland in 2016 to carry out an in-depth look at the care system in Scotland and to make recommendations about how the system could be improved. The review was carried out between 2017 and 2020, with the voice of care experienced children and young people at its heart. 4.4 The resulting recommendations are contained within The Promise which was endorsed by Scottish Parliament on 5 February 2020. The Promise contains recommendations which are built on five foundations – Family, Voice, Care, People and Scaffolding. The Promise Plan 21-24 provides the first set of recommendations which need to be implemented in order that Scotland can “#KeepThePromise” by 2030. The Promise Plan 24-30 is currently being devised following consultation with stakeholders and is due to be published in Summer 2024. 4.5 Perth and Kinross Council is committed to supporting our care experienced children and young people. Our Corporate Parenting Plan is based on the priorities laid out in The Promise Plan 21-24 and the voice of our own care experienced young people. This Plan is monitored to ensure actions are achieved on a regular basis by the Corporate Parenting Sub-group and for all to work together to ensure that priorities become actions. The Plan makes an explicit pledge to continue to support all of our care experienced children and young people by showing support in tangible ways through all means to ensure that: • Our children will have the best start in life in a nurturing environment. • Our children and young people will be meaningfully engaged with high quality learning experiences to extend their potential. • Our children will grow up healthy, confident, and resilient with improved mental and physical health and strengthened emotional wellbeing. • Our children, young people, and families at risk, who face significant inequalities and disadvantage, will have improved life chances. • Our children and young people are safe from harm. 4.6 The Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 2021-2024 (Appendix 1) reflects the ambition and the priorities within The Promise and details the actions which will be taken locally to keep The Promise to our care experienced population. 4.7 The update to the Action Plan is reported to the Corporate Parenting Sub- group of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership on a bi-monthly basis. The latest update, as of November 2023 is detailed in Appendix 2. 4.8 The achievements of note during the past year include: • That at the end of the reporting period, no care experienced children and young people were excluded from school. • A new process has been implemented which ensures that all care experienced children and young people are considered for a co- ordinated support plan (CSP).
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• The development of a connections tool which allows children and young people to identify the relationships most important to them and to ensure that these are not lost when they become accommodated. This tool has received national attention. • Work continues to ensure that brothers and sisters who are accommodated, live together, when safe to do so. The performance on this measure has dipped slightly, but 73% of brothers and sisters who are accommodated, are living with at least one brother or sister. There is national work on reporting these indicators which will give an indication on our performance nationally. Increasing our foster care availability will contribute to an improvement. • All eleven Secondary schools across Perth and Kinross now have a group for care experienced young people to help offer support at a local level. • A successful bid to the Employability Partnership has led to 5 youth workers deployed on a locality basis to ensure that all care experienced young people in schools have support to thrive, upon leaving school. • Distribution of Perth and Kinross Council’s share of the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund is underway. This is aimed at supporting projects which have an early intervention focus and will contribute to a reduction in children and families requiring a service from social work. Funding has already seen an increase in the project for Families Empowering Communities and the COPE team at Strathmoor House, Perth, which provides support to families, known to social work, when they need it. • Trauma informed training for Perth and Kinross Council staff and partners has begun to be rolled out and a co-ordinated approach will ensure that this meets the needs of all staff. 4.9 Priorities for this year will be in the refreshed Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 2024-2027, but further embedding of all of the above will continue, and progress will continue to be reported through the Corporate Parenting Sub-group. 5. PROPOSALS 5.1 Progress made against all actions within the Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 2021-2024 are detailed in Appendix 2. 6. FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS 6.1 The Promise Plan 2024-2030 is due to be published in Summer 2024 and our current Plan will then require to be updated. This will involve further consultation with our care experienced population and stakeholders. A refreshed Plan will be devised before the end of 2024 and a committee report containing the new Plan will be presented to full Council in early 2025.
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Author Name Designation Contact Details Linda Richards Service Manager (Services for Children, Young People and Families) ECSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk 01738 475000 Approved Name Designation Date Arun Singh Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice 22 February 2024
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes/None Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement none Corporate Plan none Resource Implications Financial none Workforce none Asset Management (land, property, IST) none Assessments Equality Impact Assessment Yes Strategic Environmental Assessment none Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) none Legal and Governance none Risk none Consultation Internal none External none Communication Communications Plan none 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (i), (ii) and (iv). Corporate Plan 1.2 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the achievement of the Council’s Corporate Plan Objectives: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations.
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This report relates to Objective No. (i), (ii) and (iv). 1.3 The report also links to the Education & Children’s Services Vision, Values and Priorities in respect of the following key Priority area: • Care and Equity 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 N/A Workforce 2.2 N/A Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 N/A 3. Assessments 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. The Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) undertaken in relation to this report can be viewed by clicking here. Equality Impact Assessment 3.1.1 The proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: (i) Assessed as relevant and actions taken to reduce or remove the following negative impacts: • Support is being offered to our care experienced children and young people, as detailed in the Plan, which will reduce the inequality that they can face and help them to achieve, and support, their transition into adulthood. Perth and Kinross Council’s commitment to our care experienced population will ensure that we continue to #KeepThePromise.
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Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.2.1 The proposals have been considered under the Act; however, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. This is because the Committee are requested to note the contents of the report only and the Committee are not being requested to approve, adopt or agree to an action or to set the framework for future decisions. Sustainability 3.3 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act: • In the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets. • In the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaption programmes. • In a way that it considers most sustainable. 3.3.1 These proposals have been considered against the Council’s Principles for Sustainable Development; however, they are not applicable to this report. Legal and Governance 3.4 N/A 3.5 N/A Risk 3.6 N/A 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 N/A External 4.2 N/A 5. Communication 5.1 N/A
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2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 The following background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (and not containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the above report: • The Promise Plan 2021-2024 3. APPENDICES 3.1 Appendix 1 – Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 21-24 Appendix 2 – Our Action Plan 2021-2024 (Progress Update)