Appendix 1 – Placement Sufficiency Strategy - 2016-17 Action Plan April 2017 update

Service Area / Action / Lead / Timescale / November 2016 update (if applicable) / April 2017 update
Early Help / Review Early Years Service to develop more targeted offer. / SD, PM, CoC / Initial scoping -February 2017 / Initial scoping work through End to End Review / Interim Assistant Director Early Help now in post. Fact Finding and desk-top research to support review under-way.
Early Help / Review Youth Service to develop more targeted offer, in particular for children on edge of care. / SD, VW, CoC / Initial scoping -February 2017 / Initial scoping work through End to End Review / Interim Assistant Director, Early Help now in post.
Interim Head of Youth Service in place. Fact Finding and desk-top research to support review and shift to a more targeted approach, within a universal setting, under-way.
A Task and Finish Group on Edge of Care meets regularly to develop proposals for the team. The service will support families to stay together, reducing the need for children to come into care by focusing on early intervention and intense preventative action, underpinned by use of restorative practice, and working closely with the Family Group Conferencing service.
Fostering / Develop and implement Fostering Recruitment Strategy.* / MH, TM, SD, JW / Strategy developed Nov 2016; implementation ongoing / Strategy on agenda for November meetings of Corporate Parenting Panel and ECSOSC; implementation already underway. The actions asterisked (*) are taken directly from the draft Fostering Recruitment Strategy. / Strategy implemented with 30 families currently in the assessment process.
Fostering / Ensure placements with foster carers are planned and fully supported throughout.* / MH, TM / Immediately / The vast majority of placements begin with placement planning meetings; IIT engaged through Care panel in placement support
Fostering / Ensure the fostering recruitment strategy attracts carers specifically able to meet the needs of sibling groups.* / MH, TM, SD, JW / June 2017 / Older young people and sibling groups are targeted in the advertising campaign. The fees structure now favours fostering a second child,
Fostering / Ensure the fostering recruitment strategy attracts carers specifically able to meet the needs of all children requiring both short and longer term placements.* / MH, TM, SD, JW / June 2017 / Potential carers are selected from this who express initial interest with a view to the needs of the service as a whole.
Fostering / Ensure the fostering recruitment strategy attracts carers specifically able to meet the needs of UASC.* / MH, TM, SD, JW / June 2017 / UASC interest groups contacted directly as well as including UASC in recruitment agenda.
Fostering / Implement increase in weekly fee to £200 for foster carers looking after children aged 11-17 years old. / MH, TM, SD, JW / April 2017 / Approved at September ECSOSC 2016, on track / In place from 1st April 2017
Fostering / Review payments to foster carers to ensure they are equitable with comparators.* / MH, TM / June 2017 / Done prior to Committee report.
Fostering / Review relevant local authority schemes for adolescent foster and develop a business case for raising fostering fees for a specialist group of carers.* / MH, TM / June 2017 / Done prior to Committee report.
Fostering / Encourage carers to be approved for as wide an age range as possible by addressing the anxieties people feel about caring for adolescents in recruitment and training.* / MH, TM / Immediately / Done, included in current campaigns.
Fostering / Design all recruitment and publicity material to emphasise the positive experiences of fostering young people. * / MH, TM / Immediately / Done, included in current campaigns.
Fostering / Ensure the departmental training programme, which all carers can access, offers courses on the physical, social, emotional and educational needs of children over 14 years old.* / MH, TM / April 2017 / Carers have access to the whole departmental training programme.
Fostering / Recruit skills workers/mentors in the Intensive Intervention Team to support adolescents in placement and their carers.* / MH, TM / February 2017 / IIT is recruiting more skills workers to support placements.
Fostering / Raise the proportion of in house carers from 45% to 60% of the total mainstream foster placements.* / SD, MH, JW, TM / Immediately; 3 year target achieved by Nov 2019 / Action underway / At April2017, 37% of looked after children in foster placements were with in-house foster carers. Progress towards the target is challenging in line with the rising CLA population but recruitment for high quality internal foster carers continues with 4 new in-house carers approved since October 2016. Work is also taking placeto encourage IFA carers to transfer and become Wandsworth carers.
Fostering / Raise the occupancy rates for in house carers from 50% to 70%.* / MH, TM / June 2017 / Action underway / The occupancy rate was 56% at April 2017 from a capacity of 100 in-house placements. There are currently11 vacancies ready for a placement and 19 vacancies for other reasons (resting, renovating the house etc.). Work continues to maximise the use of our in-house placement capacity.
Fostering / Increase the rate of placement of second children in existing foster homes.* / MH, TM / Immediately / The service has contacted all carers directly to explore reasons for not taking a second child and what services would enable them to take one. / Fees changed to make second and third foster placements more attractive.
Fostering / Further research and explore development of the Treatment Foster Model. / MH, TM / February 2017 / Treatment Fostering is part of our current recruitment strategy. There is a focus on recruiting adolescent orientated foster carers and in the longer-termfrom that cohort, the service will train select foster carers further, developing their skills so that they can provide a supportive placement to our young people with higher or more complex needs.
Adoption / Review of strategy for the provision of Adopters / MH, TM / April 2017 / All children requiring adoptive carers are placed, matched or have adopters being considered. / Adoption strategy reviewed and under scrutiny from Coram analytics.
Adoption / Performance meetings using trackers with managers to ensure adoptions are made within timescales, connected persons assessments filed on time and long term fostering decisions are completed. / TM, DO, MC / Immediately / Adoptions and connected persons are timely; long term fostering decisions are in progress. / Adoptions completed in a more timely way; much closer to performance targets. Connected persons assessments completed on time for court hearings.
Commissioning / Target IFAs who cater specifically for BME children and young people to join proposed framework. / SD, JW, Procurement / June 2017 / Following further evaluation of options, the London Care Services’ Framework for IFA providers is being used due to its reach and coverage across the region, therefore allowing more choice in potential carers.
Commissioning / Placements team to track OFSTED ratings of placements and take immediate action to find new placement if provider is deemed as inadequate / SD, JW, Placements Manager / Immediately / Full list completed and updated regularly. On notification of any rating below good placement considered with social work team.
Commissioning / Review of Residential Children’s Home (Bridge House) / SD, JW / Completed / Approved at September ECSOSC / Completed
Commissioning / Remodelling of Bridge House building to make it suitable for residential care. / SD, JW / September 2017 / Building plans are currently being finalised for tender with the successful contract planned for award in June and building works commencing in mid July and full refurbishment completed by mid December.
Commissioning / Commission service provider to run Bridge House Children’s Home, as an in-borough residential unit for 11- 17 year olds, with capacity to offer emergency out of hours placements as well as planned placements. / SD, MH, JW / September 2017 / Underway; pending remodelling/ refurbishment (above action) / A service specification for the new home has been drafted and once finalised will be go out to tender in late April, with successful contract to be awarded by August allowing for implementation with provider from this time to the opening of the home in late February 2018.
Commissioning / Review Framework for Commissioning of CLA Placements including IFAs / SD, MH, JW, TS / April 2017 / Intermediate steps in progress / The Commissioning team alongside Corporate Procurement have completed an updated options appraisal for Frameworks for CLA placements, recommending ongoing use of the London Care Services Framework, managed by London Councils, which includes all IFAs in the region, and a significant number of children’s home providers. Placement sourcing processes have been reviewed and are being strengthened to make best use of the London-wide Framework.
Commissioning / Sign off business case produced by Croydon for South London Commissioning Programme. / SD, JW / April 2017 / No longer being progressed – Decision made that upfront cost and potential unit prices were too high and therefore not in the best financial interest of the Council.
Commissioning / Convene Project Board with representatives from each participating borough for the above. / SD, JW / Immediately / First meeting on 1st November 2016 / See above
Commissioning / Convene Internal working group for the above. / SD, JW / Immediately / First meeting in mid-November 2016 / See above
Commissioning / Ensure viable framework options can be realised if Croydon led agreement is not. / SD, JW / April 2017 / See above under action: Review Framework for Commissioning of CLA Placements including IFAs
Commissioning / Ensure that planned framework for residential frameworks, IFAs and semi independent units include gender specific provision. / SD, JW, Procurement / April 2017 / Framework includes generic specification as well as specialist provision including gender specific provision eg CSE.
Commissioning / Explore entering partnerships with local providers to meet need in the interim before frameworks are in place. / SD, JW / February 2017 / Action underway / The market has been approached to enter into interim arrangements but no interest has been shown.
Commissioning / Contact providers in Wandsworth and surrounding boroughs to investigate if block purchases of beds can be made / JW, SD / Immediately / Several good or outstanding providers have been approached but have all declined such an arrangement. The reason cited is issues relating to ‘matching’ and issues of disruption. The Placements team continue enquire with providers.
Children Looked After / Children in need / Youth Support Teams / Ensure there is 100 percent compliance across the Service with holding placement planning and disruption meetings to aid placement stability, including ensuring supervising social workers attend children’s CLA reviews.* / MH, TM, Placements Manager / Immediately / The January audit of recorded placement plans confirmed that in teams CLA 1 & 2, 78% placement planning meetings were recorded on FWi; a further 15 have requested a meeting and only 4% had no record of a placement plan. Placement planning is being actively promoted by the CARE panel and in supervision by managers. Reports are being developed which will enable us to ensure compliance with placement and permanency planning.
Special Educational Needs & Disabilities / Ensure joint funding with Health for SEN Placements. / MH, CP, SD, JW / Immediately / Funding for Health/SEN placements is under review. Several cases remain outstanding for health contribution for in excess of 12 months. Issue has been escalated to Director for resolution. In parallel a protocol is being developed with CCG and CAMHS colleagues to ensure a adequate process going forward. Protocol due for sign off in May.
Care Leavers / Review Wandsworth Independent Living Service – Catch 22 (Leaving Care Service) / MH, SD, JW, MC / April 2017 / Management to be moved to the Head of CLA to ensure improved and earlier planning for leaving care. Service to be reviewed as part of phase 3 of the end to end review.
Care Leavers / Increase the number of older looked after children and their foster carers taking up Staying Put arrangements / MH, TM / Immediately, review in October 2017 / 11 young people living with their former foster carers at March 2016. This has increased to 16 young people at May 2017.
The service is working on a Staying Put policy and exploring ways of developing the programme.

Key

Sean Dunkling (SD) – Assistant Director for Children’s Services (Commissioning, Prevention and Early Intervention)

Michele Harris (MH) – Assistant Director for Children’s Services (Children and Families)

James Wheeler (JW) – Head of Children’s Commissioning

Trevor Moores (TM) – Head of Service (Children Looked After)

Matthew Comins (MC) – Head of Service (Youth Support Services)

Debbie Owen (DO) – Head of Service (Family & Community Service)

Virginia Wall (VW) – Head of Service (Youth Work)

Paul Martland (PM) – Early Years & Intervention Support Manager

Tracy Shaw (TS) – Head of Finance (Education & Social Services)

Carol Payne (CP) – Head of Service (Special Needs, Disability and Psychology)

Clare O’Connor (CoC) – Policy & Review Manager

ECSOSC – Education and Children’s Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee

*Action included in the Fostering Recruitment Strategy 2016-17.