Agenda item

To receive a report that seeks approval to the Authority being part of a Department for Education pilot project in the North East of England known as the North East Pathfinder (Foster with North East) Collaboration.

Cabinet received a report seeking approval to the Authority being part of a Department for Education pilot project in the North East of England known as the North East Pathfinder (Foster with North East) Collaboration. The project was designed at improving the recruitment and retention of foster carers.

In response to the Independent Care Review published February 2021 and the launch of the Children’s Social Care Implementation Strategy; ‘Stable Homes, Built on love’ in February 23, the Department for Education (DfE) had committed to recruiting 9,000 foster carers by 2026.? The Department was seeking to deliver a holistic package of intervention on a regional basis to support the greatest sufficiency pressures and put in place end-to-end improvements that support boosting foster carer numbers.? Subsequently the DfE had selected the North East as the UK’s national pilot / pathfinder region for a fully-funded, 1 year project to improve foster carer recruitment and retention and had selected Together for Children Sunderland as the regional implementation lead.

The pathfinder project and regional collaboration was separated into three strands, support hub for a regional recruitment process, communications / marketing campaign and a further roll out of the Mockingbird model of foster care. This model of care had a hub home foster carer who supports a group of carers known as a ‘constellation’ by building strong relationships with each of them. Carers were supported to feel empowered and support one another with any problems that may arise. The Authority had one Mockingbird constellation and within this regional pilot, plans were underway to develop the second one in the Autumn.

The regional support hub strand of this project would have a number of functions, including receiving initial enquiries in a timely way and obtaining further information from prospective foster carers, but also supporting them through their assessment journey including providing a ‘buddy scheme’ with local, existing foster carers and providing a regional training offer.? There would be telephone conversations or ‘check ins’ with prospective carers within the hub to ensure that the prospective foster carers were still on track and to maintain positive relationships on their journey to becoming foster carers and to identify any challenges that might derail them from successful approval.

These elements required support hub staff to be able to record their work in a case management system from which detailed reporting can be provided to support analysis of the overall success of the hub in terms of the project’s foster carer recruitment goals, as well as day to day operational analysis e.g. an operational dashboard.? There was a need to receive external data from other Local Authority areas to update the hub as to the progress of prospective foster carer journeys to aid this analysis.? Further work in respect of this element was being developed within a data and performance subgroup.  To offer further detail, the support hub would aim to:

·        Increase completed fostering applications from target groups which will broaden the demographic of carers and help those children/young people who may be most difficult to place such as teenagers, those with the greatest needs and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). Information from the support hub will look to address misconceptions about who can foster and different fostering options.?

·        Increase the?number of quality enquiries ensuring those who progress through to application have the skills and appropriate intentions to enter into foster caring.

·        Increase the conversion rate from initial enquiry to application, given the increased volume of enquiries, measured by data gathering and evaluation.

·        Regional collaboration to set a consistent and coherent narrative and to lay the groundwork for regional care cooperatives in the longer term, should this be taken forward.

·        Collaboration in respect of further roll out of the Mockingbird project was also proposed. This funding was to meet additional costs that would arise as a result of expanding the number of constellations in each Local Authority by 1-2. Further information in respect of the roll out of Mockingbird regionally would be shared in due course.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: either to agree the recommendations as set out in section 1.2 of the report,or alternatively, to not accept the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) the Authority become a member of the North East Pathfinder (Foster with North East) and the regional collaboration for the duration of the 1-year pilot scheme, be agreed; and

(2) the Director of Children’s Services, be authorised to take all necessary steps to  implement the preceding resolution.  

(Reasons for decision: Foster cares in North Tyneside provide high quality care for some of our most vulnerable children and as such we value, highly, the part they play in making a difference to children’s lives. Ideally we would want to be able to offer more children and young people the family based care provided by our foster cares.

The Directors of Children’s Services within 12 North East local authorities in scope for this pilot have agreed to work with Sunderland City Council as the lead to develop the project.  On a national and regional level, recruiting sufficient numbers of foster carers for the number of children requiring care remains a challenge. Testing out this way of working, alongside North Tyneside now being a Fostering Friendly Employer, may reduce some of these challenges.

Recruiting more foster carers to support children and young people being cared for in fostering families within the Borough, is a priority.  This pilot will enable us to consider if this has been of benefit in recruiting more carers to achieve this. The costs associated with using external providers can be high and so it is hoped this will see a reduction.

Extending the Mockingbird model of care within this pilot, ensures we continue to offer robust support to current foster carers in the valuable roles they have in caring for vulnerable children.)