Agenda item

To explore the support given by CFLL to children with existing care and/or disabilities/SEND as they approach adulthood, and how they help prepare them for the transition to being supported by Adults, Wellbeing & Health Partnerships.

Witnesses

·         Clare Curran, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning

·         Rachael Wardell, Executive Director for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning

·         Suzanne Smith, Director for CFL Commissioning for Transformation

·         Matt Ansell, Director for Safeguarding and Family Resilience

·         Julia Katherine, Director for Education and Lifelong Learning

·         Jenny Brickell, Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities

·         Tracey Sanders, Assistant Director for Inclusion and Additional Needs – SEN Recovery and Educational Psychology

·         Siobhan Walsh, Assistant Director for Looked After Children and Care Leavers

·         Jodi Emery, Service Manager for Commissioning - SEND Schools & Preparing for Adulthood

Key points made in the discussion

1.    A Member asked what specific actions the service would take to address the concerns raised in an internal audit report on transitions to AWHP. The Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities said the audit highlighted strengths in early engagement pilot programmes but identified issues with late referrals to adult social care, typically starting at age 17.5 due to limited team capacity. The main goal was to enable earlier transitions by building a workforce skilled in both children's and adults’ legislation for consistent and effective support.

2.    A Member asked whether the issue with service provision had been within children’s services, adult services, or both, and where the primary responsibility for addressing these challenges had lain. The Assistant Director said that children's services were responsible for social care planning for ages 0 to 18. Efforts had been underway to create a pathway that facilitated smoother transitions to adult services. Leadership in both children’s and adult services had been aligned with the need for this improvement.

3.    A Member asked what was preventing the service from beginning transition planning at age 14, as recommended by national good practice. They also inquired about the current percentage of referrals to the transition team initiated by age 14 and what steps were being taken to increase early referrals. The Assistant Director said children's services started preparing young people for adulthood at age 16, focusing on needs like mental capacity and independence. Referrals to adult services usually begin at 16, as children’s services work on fostering independence. Formal transitions to adult services occur later, due to limited engagement at age 14, but planning and needs review continued to ensure readiness for adulthood.

4.    The Chair asked why the positive outcomes from the Working Younger project had not materialised as expected. The Assistant Director responded that the pilot had faced significant workforce issues at the time, which had since improved. Although lessons from the project had been embedded, adult services had lacked the capacity to fully engage with younger children with disabilities.

5.    A Member asked what had been done to integrate the case management systems of children’s and adult services for effective data sharing and access to relevant information, as it is known that workers in both services had read-only access to each other’s databases. The Assistant Director said that the next step is integrating referrals into adult social care and exploring potential joint databases, though this is complex and costly.

6.    The Chair asked why there was a steep drop in the NEET and activity not known figures for 16-18-year-olds between September 2023 and March 2024. The drop occurred as the data at the start of the academic year was based on initial estimates, which were later confirmed. As young people confirmed their education or employment status, the figures decreased.

7.    Asked what had been done to fill the gaps in services for 16 to 25-year-olds, and how these gaps had been identified, the Service Manager for Commissioning - SEND Schools & Preparing for Adulthood said a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for alternative provisions had been introduced to add more providers, and 16 services had been awarded in the first round. Market engagement events had been planned to find gaps, especially in post-16 services. The Director for CFL Commissioning for Transformation said that work had also been done to develop the market for care packages for young people with dual registration needs, though this had taken time and had required cooperation between adults' and children's commissioning.

8.    A Member asked what the barriers were to transition to a 16 to 25 model, how they could be overcome, and what the timeline for this transition was.  The Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities replied that the main barriers were finalising the costings, the structure, and the service location, as these aspects were still being worked out. While there had been agreement between children’s and adult services on the need for a 16 to 25 model, the detailed proposal, including management implications and resources, was expected to be presented in January and February 2025 for final decisions.

9.    A Member asked what was being done to involve parents and carers in the transition process and remove barriers to securing a safe, long-term environment for their children. The Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities said children’s social care worked closely with parents of children with complex disabilities during the transition process. For those outside this group, efforts were made to improve communication, work together across services, and create clearer pathways to support all families in securing a safe, long-term environment for their children.

10.  In reply to an enquiry about the concerns raised by Family Voice Surrey, the Assistant Director said that the shift to adult services, where there had been more focus on the young person’s independence, is difficult for parent carers. The transition and differences in legislation, along with less oversight in adult services, contributes to concerns.

11.  A Member expressed concern about inconsistent experiences of annual reviews, especially in mainstream schools, and asked for the reason. The Assistant Director of Inclusion and Additional Needs said the inconsistency had been primarily due to the attendance of case officers at the reviews. Although case officers had not always attended, actions based on the reviews had still been taken consistently. She also explained that the post-14 team had handled cases from year 9 onwards. She further clarified that while there had been a switch in case officers from pre-14 to post-14, the post-14 team specialised in understanding children’s pathways and ensuring continuity in support.

12.  A Member said there was a need to address gaps in the support and provision for young people with SEND, particularly around education, transport, and housing, recognising that these issues were complex and deserved separate and focused attention. The Chair suggested the Committee analyse the provision of education and training for post-16 individuals with SEND in detail at a future date.

Resolved:

The Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee recommends:

1.    The Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) booklet co-produced with Family Voice Surrey (FVS) is actively communicated to families of children in Year 9, with immediate effect.

2.    The regular Preparing for Adulthood events held in previous years, allowing families to speak to relevant members of the team and learn more about options and next steps, are reintroduced as soon as possible to benefit families and ensure a real focus on PfA.

3.    Within one month, the Cabinet Member responds to Family Voice Surrey and the Select Committee on each of the six key issues with adulthood preparation identified by FVS*.

*excluding sufficiency of post-16 education provision which will be subject to separate scrutiny

Actions

·         Assistant Director for Children with Disabilities:To share with Committee the CFL Service’s response to the June 2024 Orbis internal audit report on Transition of Children into AWHP.