UPDATE NO 381 06 December 2019

Judicial Appeal in Relation to the use of Secure Accommodation

In B (Secure Accommodation Order), Re (Rev 1)[2019] EWCA Civ 2025 Lord Justice Baker allowed an appeal by an unnamed local authority against HHJ Hayes’s refusal of its application for a secure accommodation order under s.25 of the Children Act 1989 for ‘B’.

“The context in which this appeal is being considered is what can fairly be described as the crisis in the provision of secure accommodation in England and Wales,” Baker LJ said.

More information is available here

The Court of Appeal judge said the case raised four important and overlapping questions on the interpretation of s.25:

• What is the meaning of “secure accommodation” in s.25?
• What are the relevant criteria for making a secure accommodation order under s.25?
• What part does the evaluation of welfare play in the court’s decision?
• When considering an application for an order under s.25, is the court obliged, under Articles 5 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to carry out an evaluation of proportionality?

ASGLB Making Better Use of Data Workshops

The ASGLB is undertaking a review of whether we are making good use of all the data that is already collected in relation to children in care, and in particular with respect to special guardianship and adoption.

To provide a framework for the review, they have drafted a Data Model to provide a structure for their thinking. This is intended to address both adoption and special guardianship with respect to children who are taken into care. This Model is split into three themes:

1. Permanency Planning – are appropriate permanence plans for children in place in a timely manner?
2. Securing Permanency – is permanency achieved for a child without unnecessary delay?
3. Maintaining Permanency – once permanency is achieved, are we maintaining it so that children are able to thrive?

As part of this review ASGLB are running three workshops which will be held at Coram Campus, London WC1N 1AZ on:

• 18 December 2019 (Permanency Planning) – book here
• 31 January 2020 (Securing Permanency) – book here
• 14 February 2020 (Maintaining Permanency) – book here

The ASGLB want these workshops to be attended by people who can help them define the Data model as well as those who are familiar with the data currently. For more information follow the links provided above.

Frontline Blueprint for Children’s Social Care

Social work charity Frontline and the Centre for Public Impact, a not-for-profit foundation focused on government innovation, have launched a blueprint outlining a new model for children’s social care.

The model puts relationships over bureaucracy and provides a potential path for how a local authorities could do children’s social care differently. In the longer term, this model hopes to promote a more sustainable system, with social workers spending more time with families and standards improving through increased supervision and transparency. With the aim of increasing the quality of care, help families stay together safely and reduce the number of children going into care.

The aims of the blueprint are:

• For social workers to spend c.60% more time with children and families and a 20% reduction in average caseloads
• Social workers who are empowered to make decisions for children and families, while maintaining access to support, expert advice and supervision via their peers and a dedicated team of advanced practitioners

More details are here, the full report is here

The impact of county lines on youth crime

Dr Paul Andell, senior criminology lecturer, and John Pitts, visiting professor of criminology at the University of Suffolk explore, through local research, young people’s gang involvement and subsequent engagement with the national and international drugs trade.

This article describes a Rapid Assessment Exercise commissioned by a local authority to inform an evidence-based multi-agency response to the involvement of vulnerable children and younger adolescents in illicit drug trafficking. The research was commissioned by a local authority in an English County Town. 

The article is published by Youth and Policy a critical space for the discussion of youth policy and youth work theory and practice. 

The researchers analysed relevant quantitative data held by social welfare, health, educational and criminal justice agencies. Interviews were conducted with professionals from these agencies and three key informants previously involved in the illicit drugs trade. Two focus groups were conducted with professionals and three with gang-involved and gang-affected children and young people. The quotations in this article were all derived from these individual interviews and focus groups.  The article considers whether the emergence of this problem is simply a result of local contingencies or whether it represents an instance, and a moment, in the evolution and transformation of, the English street gang and the ‘County Lines’ model of drug distribution. In an attempt to answer this question the article considers three models of gang and drug market evolution and assesses their relevance to developments in the Town.

The article is here

AD Education Network – next meeting Friday 24 January 2020. Please note the change of date.

The next meeting of the AD Education Networ will be on Friday 24th January 2020 – 10.30-12.30.

For more details of this meeting and the AD Education Network activity please click here or contact Chris Owen (details below).

The following dates have also been fixed: 

• 6 March 2020 – Joint meeting with SEND Network with a focus on the inclusion and achievement of vulnerable learners at SEN support
• 5 June 2020                
• 25 September 2020

Complex LAC Project – Hold the date Friday 17 January 2020

The Complex LAC Project is reaching an important stage and we will be holding an event in Central London on Friday 17 January 2020. There will be two parts to the day: 

Part 1 9.30-13.30 – DCS and Chief Financial Officers session – We would like to invite a representative group of Directors and Senior Finance Officers to join with the Complex LAC steering group (which includes chief executives from provider umbrella organisations ICHA and NAFP) to a meeting to explore the business case and potential options for more collaborative commissioning across the region. The meeting will explore opportunities for how we could gain better value for the £200+million spent annually purchasing and providing the most expensive looked after children placements.

If you would like to attend this session please contact Mark Evans (details below).

Part 2 14.00-17.00 – Premiere of the South East Looked After Children Film – As part of the Complex LAC Project we have worked in partnership with The Care Leaders to co-produce a film in which 19 young people from 5 SE authorities have been working together to highlight the perspectives of children who have experienced care. Collectively they have planned, interviewed and directed films to provide those who provide care with motivational media that highlight their experience with a view to identifying how we can improve placements and support for young people. This part of the day is open to Lead Members for Children’s Services, Directors of Children’s Services, Senior Leaders for Looked After Children’s Services, Foster Carers, Residential Workers, Commissioners and others who are committed to improving services for young people.  Ticketing will be via the Eventbrite platform.

If you would like more information ahead of the Eventbrite notification please contact Mark Evans (details below).