Appendix 1
Children's Services LAC Summary
between 01/10/2020 and 30/09/2021
Committee: Corporate Parenting Panel
Date: 29 October 2021
Title of Report: Looked After Children (LAC) Statistics
By: Director of Children’s Services
Purpose of Report: To update the Panel on changes in the last quarter
Recommendations: The Corporate Parenting Panel is recommended to comment on and note the report.
1. Background and supporting information
1.1 Services for Looked After Children (LAC) are predominantly funded from the Children’s Services base budget with some additional smaller funding streams supporting specific activity, for example Virtual School activity from the Pupil Premium Grant.
1.2 Data is drawn as a snapshot on the last day of the month and inevitably there will be some changes subsequently as data is cleansed. However, the past quarter has seen a slight decrease in numbers of children and on the last day of September there were 622 children in care, down from 625 in June. It remains extremely busy with ongoing pressure on the Fostering Duty system to find placements as new children come in and placements for existing children disrupt and they need to be moved, often at short notice. Both internal and external placement options for children continue to be limited and in particular external fostering agency placements remain in very short supply, which has again meant that some children who would previously have been placed with agency foster carers because in-house fostering capacity is full have had to be placed within a residential setting. Internal East Sussex County Council (ESCC) foster carers continue to work incredibly hard to welcome children wherever possible and to keep existing children living with them.
1.3 A total of 343 children were in foster care at the end of September, with 269 living with ESCC carers and a further 74 children living with agency carers, down 10 over the quarter. In addition, we have 77 young people in supported housing options, homes or hostels, a rise of 2 over the quarter. 17 children were placed for adoption, 2 further children being placed with foster carers who are also approved adopters under the Fostering for Adoption pathway.
1.4 At the end of the quarter the number of children with kinship foster carers stood at 80.
1.5 The number of children living at home with their parents whilst remaining subject to a legal order to ESCC stood at 31. Planning for placements of this sort is always monitored rigorously to mitigate any risk factors. Agreement to begin or end a placement with parents is given at a senior level, unless it is court mandated when realistically ESCC has no choice in the matter.
1.6 At the end of September, 63 children were living in residential children’s homes, up 1 over the quarter. Staff continue to make every effort to place children in our in-house homes before they seek agreement from a senior manager for an agency placement and robust negotiations on both quality and price are a feature of every external placement search. As set out above, the use of residential placements is linked to the availability of in-house or agency fostering options.
1.7 At the end of September 2 ESCC children remain secured, both at Lansdowne. Exit planning is ongoing for both, but for one child timescales are linked to their new placement becoming registered with Ofsted. it will be very challenging to find a suitable placement for the other child because of repeated assaults on staff at Lansdowne.
1.8 At the end of the quarter there was 1 child remanded to custody who is therefore accorded Looked After Child status by virtue of the remand.
1.9 The numbers of young people seeking asylum rose to 59 at the end of September, up 6 over the quarter. Some young people seeking asylum and already in our care turned 18 during this time and so moved out of these numbers but remained eligible for ongoing support as care leavers.
1.10 The numbers of children subject to Child Arrangement/Residence Orders have stayed steady at 342 and the number of children placed with a Special Guardianship Order has increased by 3 to 459.
1.11 There were no complaints from a Looked After Children in the last quarter.
2. Conclusion and recommendations
2.1 Pressure on the system continues, driven by complexity and costs for children and by the context of Covid-19 which is making placements very scarce.
2.2 The Corporate Parenting Panel are recommended to comment on and note the report.
ALISON JEFFERY
Director of Children’s Services
Contact
Liz Rugg, Assistant Director, Early Help and Social Care
Tel: 01273
481274
Email: liz.rugg@eastsussex.gov.uk
Appendices
Appendix 1 - Children's Services LAC Summary between 01/10/2020 and 30/09/2021