Children's Services LAC Summary between 01/04/2021 and 31/03/2022
Committee: Corporate Parenting Panel
Date: 29 April 2022
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 note the
report.
1. Background and supporting information
1.1 Services for LAC are predominantly funded from the Children’s Services base budget with some additional smaller funding streams supporting specific activity e.g., 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 increase in numbers of children and on the last day of March 2022 there were 627 children in care, up from 620 in December 2021. The service remains extremely busy as children come in and placements for existing children disrupt and they need to be moved, with continued and increasing difficulty in the supply of external agency placements when in-house capacity is full.
1.3 A total of 358 children were in foster care at the end of March, a rise of 14 over the quarter, with 268 living with East Sussex County Council (ESCC) carers and a further 90 children living with agency carers. In addition, we have 63 young people in supported housing options, homes or hostels, a decrease of 10 over the quarter. 16 children were placed for adoption, 7 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 90.
1.5 The number of children living at home with their parents whilst remaining subject to a legal order to ESCC stood at 23. 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 March, the number of children living in residential children’s homes has remained stable at 63. Our 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. The building works at the new children’s home in Hastings are finished and a formal opening event was held in February 2022. Ofsted registration is being completed in April 2022 and, subject to successful registration, it is intended that children will be able to be placed at the home by the end of the month.
1.7 At the end of March one ESCC child was placed in the secure unit at Lansdowne. Exit planning is underway for this child and it is hoped that they will be able to move to residential provision shortly. One ESCC child left secure this quarter following significant work by Children’s Services staff and the agency provider and with Ofsted to complete the registration of the home in time for their move.
1.8 Two young people were remanded into youth detention accommodation in this quarter.
1.9 ESCC is fully participating in the national transfer scheme in relation to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The numbers of young people seeking asylum rose to 62 at the end of March, up two over the quarter. Some young people seeking asylum and already in our care turned 18 during this quarter and so moved out of these numbers but remained eligible for ongoing support as care leavers. The total number of asylum-seeking young people being supported as care leavers was 95 at the end of March.
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 decreased by four to 470.
1.11 Once again there were no complaints from a LAC in the last quarter.
2. Conclusion
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 locally and nationally very scarce.
2.2 There have been no complaints from a child in the care of ESCC in the last quarter.
ALISON JEFFERY
Director of Children’s Services
Contact:
Kathy Marriott, Assistant Director, Early Help and Social Care
Tel: 01273 481274
Email: Kathy.marriott@eastsussex.gov.uk