Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

(a)  To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 16 November, 2016

(b)   Matters Arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 November, 2017 were signed as a true record. There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Childrens Services

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Children Services which detailed work undertaken by the Fostering Service between April 2015 and March 2016.

The report summarised the activity of the service over the 12 months and highlighted the challenge of adequately recruiting the number and type of carers who can meet children’s needs and the critical requirement for on-going support and supervision of these carers. The report also considered the role of the senior management Fostering Steering Group and the members Task and Finish group in providing additional scrutiny and input. The updated Statement of Purpose of the Fostering Service was appended to the report.

The Cabinet Member and Shadow Cabinet Member questioned officers on aspects of the report, including:-

  •Comparisons with other Local Authorities

  •Comparisons with independent fostering agencies

  •Information (including frequency asked questions) provided by the City

  Council to potential fosters carers

  •Targeting potential foster carers, for example at places of worship

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People:-

1.  Approves the Fostering Service Annual Report 2015/16

2.  Approves the updated Statement of Purpose for the Fostering Service

Report of the Executive Director of People

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Executive Director of People which detailed the activity and key performance for Coventry Adoption Service in line with the adoption agency statutory duty to provide a report about the children who are in the care of the local authority and who were waiting to be placed with new families in 2015-16. The Adoption Service Statement of Purpose for 2015/16 was appended to the report.

Coventry’s policy is to always seek to achieve permanence for all looked after children. Achieving permanence for looked after children is a key driver and permanence depends on securing the right placement for the right child at the right time. One of the key functions is to ensure that each looked after child has a plan for permanence by the time of their second statutory review, as set out in the statutory guidance. This is progressed through our care planning through to Adoption if required.

In the past twelve months, there have been continued developments of significant policy changes. Policy and service improvement are to be welcomed and supported as a driver to deliver good permanent outcomes for looked after and adopted children. Coventry Adoption Service aims to provide a comprehensive adoption service including post order support which is consistent with best practice and national minimum standards.

In 2015/16, 54 children were adopted and 20 adopters approved.

The Cabinet Member and Shadow Cabinet Member questioned officers on aspects of the report, including:-

  • The timeliness of adoption

  •Exploring recruiting adopters by targeting the largest employers in the

  City

  •Aspects of the Adoption Panel

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People:-

1)  Accepts the Adoption Service Annual report for 2015/16

2)   Approves the updated Statement of Purpose as appended to this report.

There are no outstanding issues

There were no outstanding issues.

There were no other items of business.