Agenda item

The Children in Care (CiC) and Care Experienced Young People (CEYP) Sufficiency Strategy 2024 – 2028 sets out how Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council) will meet its sufficiency duty as laid out in section 22G of the Children Act 1989.

The Strategy sets out how BCP will provide sufficient, safe, secure, and sustainable homes for Children in Care (CiC) and Care Experienced Young People between 2024 - 2028. The required standard as a corporate parent is to ensure that the accommodation provision is at the level that professionals would want for their own children or family. Demand pressure and the reality that resources are finite means that sufficiency is a policy imperative.

This briefing and attached appendices purpose is to inform the Committee of the agreed sufficiency strategy priorities between 2024 – 2028 and the progress achieved to date, alongside the immediate areas of focus during 2025 in order to mitigate any sufficiency risks.

Progress against the six priority areas will be reported into the Children’s Service’s Quality, Performance and Improvement Board as per the Governance process.

The Head of Children’s Commissioning presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Children in Care (CiC) and Care Experienced Young People (CEYP) Sufficiency Strategy 2024 – 2028 set out how Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council) would meet its sufficiency duty as laid out in section 22G of the Children Act 1989.

The Strategy set out how BCP would provide sufficient, safe, secure, and sustainable homes for Children in Care (CiC) and Care Experienced Young People between 2024 - 2028. The required standard as a corporate parent was to ensure that the accommodation provision is at the level that professionals would want for their own children or family. Demand pressure and the reality that resources are finite meant that sufficiency was a policy imperative.

The briefing and attached appendices purpose was to inform the Committee of the agreed sufficiency strategy priorities between 2024 – 2028 and the progress achieved to date, alongside the immediate areas of focus during 2025 in order to mitigate any sufficiency risks.

Progress against the six priority areas would be reported into the Children’s Service’s Quality, Performance and Improvement Board as per the Governance process.

The Committee discussed the report, including:

• It was agreed that the final Governance and Quality Assurance Framework would be shared with the Committee once it had been agreed and signed off as final. ACTION
• In response to a query raised regarding the ability to hear the experiences of young people, the Committee was advised that the service had several methods for discussing these lived experiences and had collaborated with various organisations to facilitate this. Additionally, the Committee was advised about the avenues available for young people to provide feedback, such as the Children’s Rights and Engagement team, which focused on targeted initiatives in the area. Practice weeks, during which the service engaged directly with young people locally. All the collected feedback was then incorporated into the governance process to identify key themes and trends.
• The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People advised the Committee that, as part of his role on the Corporate Parenting Board, care-experienced young people attend each meeting to share their experiences. He noted that all councillors were welcome to attend the Board meetings if they wished to hear these firsthand accounts.
• In response to a query regarding resource constraints and potential barriers, the Committee was advised that while there were some challenges, these reflect positive growth within the market. However, it was emphasised that attention must be given to how certain organisations were profiting. Over the coming month, efforts would be made to evaluate and address any organisations that may be capitalising on the young people in the area.
• In response to a query raised regarding the challenges faced by foster carer rates and the need for competitiveness, the Committee was advised that the service was engaged with several regional frameworks involving independent fostering agencies. It was noted that work needed to be conducted to build partnerships in order to effectively utilise these frameworks.
• It was confirmed to the Committee that short break provisions encompass a variety of services, including respite accommodation with a registered caregiver and activities for children with additional needs. It was emphasised that there were no plans to cut these services, but there would be a review of the demand to ensure sufficient provision in the area. Discussions with partners were planned to explore how to deliver these services in the future.
• In response to a query raised regarding the OFSTED outcome for providers, the Committee was advised that only one provider had received a ‘requires improvement’ rating. In such cases, the provider was required to submit an action plan, and monthly meetings were held to monitor progress and offer assistance. The focus had been on partnership working and identifying needs. If the provider did not make timely progress, efforts would be made to understand the reasons and work together towards improvement.

RESOLVED that the Committee acknowledges and understands the Children’s Services statutory responsibility to produce a Sufficiency Strategy in relation of the accommodation needs of Children in Care and Care Experienced Young People.

Voting: Unanimous

The Committee agreed to continue discussions outside the meeting regarding the best ways to address the barriers identified in the report and to reach an agreement on how the Committee will receive that information. ACTION.