Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from County Borough Councillor S Hickman, and Ms M Davies, Tros Gynnal Plant (TGP) Cymru.

To receive disclosures of personal interest from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

Note:

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest: and

2.   Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, the following personal declarations were provided in relation to item 6:

• County Borough Councillor G Caple – “I am a Member of the Virtual Schools Board”

• County Borough Councillor R Lewis – “I am a Member of the Virtual Schools Board”

To approve, as an accurate record, the minutes of the last meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board held on 19^th March 2024.

It was RESOLVED to approve as an accurate record, the minutes of meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board held on the 19^th March 2024.

To receive the report of the Chair which provides an update on the visits made to frontline teams by Members of the Corporate Parenting Board during the 2023-2024 Municipal Year.

The Chair provided the Corporate Parenting Board with an overview of the visits made to Frontline Teams, by Members of the Corporate Parenting Board during the 2023-24 Municipal Year.

The Chair advised that this was the second time that himself and the Vice-Chair had visited frontline teams, alongside other Board Members. The Chair advised that staff morale was extremely high with the major issues being that of recruitment and retention, with staff settling down to working in a hybrid way of working. The Chair acknowledged that there were some issues with officer accommodation which was being addressed.

The Chair concluded that Members were very pleased to meet staff in a post-Covid world, with the legacy of Covid still existing  acknowledging that cases were still increasing and becoming more complex. The Chair acknowledged that the visits were very useful, and it had been a pleasure to go around the teams and just thank them for the work being done to protect children, particularly with the financial pressures.

The Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED to note the report.

To receive details of Cabinet’s recent decision to approve the draft Corporate Parenting Pledge for Rhondda Cynon Taf and commitment to the Welsh Government’s Corporate Parenting Charter: “A Promise from Wales.”

The Operational Change and Transformation Officer, Children’s Services advised that she was presenting this report on behalf of the Graduate Officer for Participation, Children’s Services and advised that the purpose of the report was to provide information about the Corporate Parenting Pledge for Rhondda Cynon Taf, acknowledging that Cabinet had approved the draft Corporate Parenting Pledge for Rhondda Cynon Taf in April and had committed to the Welsh Government’s Corporate Parenting Charter: “A Promise from Wales.”

The Operational Change and Transformation Officer, Children’s Services then highlighted within Section 4, the background, at paragraph 4.3, that Welsh Government wanted all public sector bodies and senior leaders to sign up to the Charter as a good Corporate Parent, before taking Members through the remaining paragraphs in Section 4, and highlighting in particular at paragraph 4.9 and 4.10 that 7 priority areas that underpin the draft Corporate Parenting Board Pledge for Rhondda Cynon Taf and the at paragraph 4.11 the next steps for the pledge.

The Operational Change and Transformation Officer then reminded Members of the Consultation that had taken place at Section 7, before concluding by highlighting a number of key points in Section 12, the next steps.

The Chair thanked the Operational Change and Transformation Officer, Children’s Services for presenting the comprehensive report, and advised he had the pleasure of proposing the recommendations at Cabinet recently, which had been accepted unanimously acknowledging that it was right and proper to listen to care experienced children and young people, and pledge to help and support them as much as possible, which was a Wales wide promise.

The Vice-Chair echoed the Chair’s comments and very much welcomed the pledge, noting that the Council had a well established track record in terms of prioritising the care and wellbeing of young people in RCT, with the pledge adding to that, and was welcomed from a CPB perspective.

The Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED to acknowledge:

1. the information contained within the report;
2. that Cabinet had approved responsibility to the Council’s Corporate Parenting Board with leading and monitoring success and commitment to the Corporate Parenting Charter through its 7 priority areas noted in Appendix 2.

To receive the Tros Gynnal Plant (TGP) Cymru quarterly progress report.

Members RESOLVED to defer this item to the next meeting of the Corporate Parenting Board.

To receive an update on the progress made during year 2 of the Virtual School (for CLA) Pilot.

The Virtual School Headteacher provided an update to the Corporate Parenting Board on the progress made during year 2 of the Virtual School (for CLA) Pilot, specifically looking at the steps taken to address and complete actions that form the Virtual School Action Plan for 2023-24. The Virtual School Headteacher then took Members through the background at  Section 4 of the report, highlighting a few key paragraphs, before moving on to Section 5 of the report, the current context and update on progress, taking Member through paragraphs 5.1 to 5.3, before providing more detail on the Action Plan Activities for 2023-24 at paragraph 5.4. The Virtual School Headteacher then provided more detail in respect of some of the 23 priority areas including Priority 2b, 3, 5, 8 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 23.

The Chair thanked the Virtual School Headteacher for the very comprehensive report acknowledging that the Virtual School Model was well established in England, noting this was a pilot and Officers were working well with Ynys Mon and Cardiff and it was for the Welsh Government to take the pilot on and establish it in Wales, which he hoped they would recognise the benefits of such a scheme.

A Member acknowledged that the Virtual School Headteacher had linked a lot of what she had said back to the CPB Pledge and asked how governors were reached. e.g., through the Officer or through the LEA.

The Virtual School Headteacher explained that she would expect it to come through Officers, rather than the LEA. Governor training was provided and as part of that offer the CPB Charter would become integral to that training for governors. However, if schools signed up to the Charter, then every single person needed to know what that meant and what that looked like. The presentation to Primary School Headteachers was acknowledged, with that being presented to Secondary School Headteachers in June, with a rolling programme of training to individual schools including Governors.

The Vice-Chair acknowledged that It was pleasing to see the report come forward today which highlighted some of the strengths and the positive impact it had on many young people in the County Borough, and it was pleasing to see it would be kept as a permanent fixture moving forward. It was also important to engage with as many schools including Headteachers and Governors as possible, to further the work and make more people aware of the benefits that derived from the Virtual School. The Vice-Chair thanked the Virtual School Headteacher and her team for their work over the last 2 years.

A Member, acknowledging the high number of priorities, asked what assurances could be given to the Corporate Parenting Board that these priorities would be achieved.

The Virtual School Headteacher agreed that 23 was a large number but acknowledged that the majority of priority areas had already been completed. The ones that had not been completed, were RAG rated, so there were a number of Amber still on there, which would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

To receive an update in respect of the delivery of the RCT Residential Care Transformation Strategy 2022-2027.

The Head of Family Support and Accommodation provided an update to the Corporate Parenting Board, on the progress of the Residential Transformations Strategy noting that Year 1 focused on bringing young people closer to home, responding to the eliminate profit agenda from Welsh Government and looking at and improving the outcomes for young people with the residential service. The Head of Family Support and Accommodation then highlighted a number of key points in the background at Section 4 in terms of what had worked well and the obstacles, in terms of Phase 1. The Head of Family Support and Accommodation then continued through paragraph 4.3, in terms of the Workforce acknowledging that they had significant challenges with recruiting senior residential workers, in terms of the managing and running the homes with this being looked at, before taking Members through paragraph 4.4, Phase 1 what have we learned, paragraph 4.5, performance results and then detailing the Phase 2 action plan 2024-25, at paragraph 4.6, which would focus on the 5 workstream priorities of achieving registration, workforce, young peoples’ well-being, accelerating development and governance.

The Head of Family Support and Accommodation concluded that they were building on the progress made in phase 1, building on the learning and developing through phase 2, although it was acknowledged it would take a lot longer than the timescale that was initially looked at with WG, to transition to not for profit, with further updates provided to Corporate Parenting Board.

The Chair acknowledged that the Residential Care Transformation Strategy was the right strategy but was extremely challenging with many obstacles to overcome noting that whilst the not-for-profit agenda was a very laudable one, there were unintended consequences but were pushing to try and achieve the targets.

A Member asked if Officers were getting all the support they needed in terms of HR, to support recruitment and development of staff.

The Head of Family Support and Accommodation explained that there was a lot of support from HR, recognising the graduate Officer working alongside HR, who was supporting residential recruitment, although it was recognised from applications that there were those that couldn’t meet the role currently, although it was recognized they would find some with the capacity to develop staff along the way. It was recognised that the Senior issue, was very much a live issue that was trying to be addressed at this point.

The Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1.     to acknowledge the content of the report.

To receive an update on the work undertaken with young carers in RCT during the 2023-2024 Municipal Year.

The Head of Access, Enablement & Early Intervention provided an update to the Corporate Parenting Board on the work with young carers in RCT during 2023/2024, on behalf of the Interim Service Manager – Carers, Direct Payments, and Service User Engagement. The report provided a summary of the support provided to Young Carers, (aged 0-17) and Young Adult Carers (aged 18-25) across RCT. The Head of Access, Enablement & Early Intervention then highlighted some of the key developments achieved the year. In terms of Young Carers, there had been a consistent increase in referrals for assessment, over the last 2 years. Most of those came from the Local Authority (LA), referring in for a specific assessment, but this year had seen an increase in referrals from schools, which, the Head of Access, Enablement & Early Intervention, acknowledged was pleasing to see. The young carers ID card, which was a WG initiative, continued to be delivered, with 90 new card requests. There were also ongoing discussions at WG level, about any future development of that particular card.

The Head of Access, Enablement & Early Intervention continued that in terms of Young Carers, Action for Children were the support provider contracted to deliver Young Carers support, and they had held 99 group sessions and 45 events during the year. In addition, they also delivered a specific service for Sibling Carers, who are young people living in a household with a sibling with additional needs and they are often adversely impacted by that particular dynamic. Action for Children had also delivered 43 groups for Sibling Carers and held 20 events. The Head of Access, Enablement & Early Intervention concluded that there was also a service for Young Adult Carers, those in the 18-25 bracket, with a specific support worker for that group of people. This year had seen 21 referrals for an assessment for a Young Adult Carer with 20 events held.

The Chair thanked the Head of Access, Enablement & Early Intervention for the comprehensive report.

The Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1.     to acknowledge the content of the report.

“That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972 (as amended) for the next item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 13 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Act.”

It was RESOLVEDthat the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act.

To receive an update on the monitoring carried out under Regulation 80 of the Regulation and Inspection (Wales) Act 2016.

The Service Manager Residential provided the Board with an update on monitoring carried out under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016. The report outlines regulatory visits by the responsible individual as required under Regulation 80 during 31st July 2023 to 31st March 2024.

The Chair advised, following discussions with the Vice-Chair, that he would raise the issue of recruitment to senior positions, with HR.

The Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1.     to note the content of the report.

To receive an update in relation to the Children Looked After: Residential Care Strategy 2022 – 2027

The Director of Children’s Services provided the Corporate Parenting Board with information about children in settings known as Operating without Registration (OWR), and Children’s Services plans for supporting those children, and ending those arrangements.

Following consideration of the exempt report, the Corporate Parenting Board RESOLVED:

1. to acknowledge the information contained within the report; and
2. to receive subsequent reports until such time as there are no OWR situations for Rhondda Cynon Taf looked after young people.

To consider any items which the Chair by reason of special circumstances is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

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