Agenda item

The review of Missing Children report is attached.

The Corporate Parenting Panel considered the Review of Missing Children report. The Panel received an overview from the Head of Service for Systemic Clinical Practice at the Adolescence Service and Workforce Development, Nana Bonsu.

Officers informed that there had been a 15% reduction in the number of young people reported missing from 2019 and 2020, this was due to the impact of the pandemic and lockdown; and 48% of the young people who were identified as missing in 2020 was discussed at the Complex Adolescence Panel.

Officers addressed the correlation of missing and exploitation where there was a clear connection. Of those that were missing in 2020, two thirds of young people were 16 plus year olds with the highest number being 17 year old, and further demographics highlighted 85% of those young people were from Black and Asian and other ethnic minority group backgrounds, and 75% of the young people had been subject to the Complex Adolescence Panel or MACE protocol even for child’s sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation. [The MACE protocol was a multi-agency panel that reviewed matters of concern around exploitation whether it was sexual, criminal or missing to young children.] The completion rate of return to home interviews were 71%. 60% were of young children out of borough, 64% were return home interviews, 64% were young children in semi-independent, 60% were young children in out of borough placement and 65% were local children. There was a high percentage of black Caribbean children represented in the figures related to the MACE protocol around sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation, with some hypothesis around the risk in comparison to the demographic of other ethnicities; though socio-economic factors and inequalities may be contributing factors to the higher over representation.

Officers informed the Panel of the Missing Strategy meetings and through the Performance Team, data produced repeated missing children and social workers were to ensure that they followed through with the practice guidance with regards to the Missing Strategy meetings. The importance of these meetings was to include how staff engaged the views of young people’s concern that was raised and enabling best practice.

Officers noted the way missing episodes were recorded for young children in placements who may have returned home late past their curfew time without authorisation, and that this needed to be revised to reflect the missing episode as appropriate to what has been coded on record.

The Panel welcomed the report presented by officers addressing a lot of data.

The Lead Representative for Care Leavers had commented on the report in relation to ethnic disproportionality, highlighting that there was a programme on race inequalities within placements, and moving commissioned placements for children and young people, exploring work reviewing language used to describe young people and how unconscious bias training could be improved.

The Lead Foster Carer Representative commented on the report for clearer guidelines for foster carers in regards to the procedure for missing children from placements following a recent training session. For example, at what time should the foster carer allow before contact was made to the police to report a missing child. The clarity would help foster carers due diligence in their role especially if it should be a standard time or a unique time to individuals. Officers informed that there was now a grab pack to be at every placement and residential semi-independent placement which provided essential detail and agreed position of each young person with an updated photo, contact details and very clear expectation of curfew time to the individual. This was to help with due diligence and manage calls to the out of hours emergency-duty team. Further comments from the Panel was shared around the importance of developing the relationship with the young person to avoid potential risk, understanding unusual patterns of a young person, over reporting than under reporting, and having open conversations with the young person. Additionally, the Interim Director of Education highlighted the importance with the schools working together with services to help develop children’s independence skills.

Further comments of communication was addressed between services for better due diligence and better conversations around the current lockdown restrictions of the pandemic to help work within the context and for clear protocol to be shared for services to improve safeguarding young people and to exercise better due diligence.

Members of the Panel commented further in relation to the out-of-hours emergency duty team and the support provided to foster carers, and officers informed that there was a duty foster care offer which provided support to foster carers for situations where they required further support in high levels of anxiety and other elements to missing children.

ACTION – Clarification on whether there was a duty foster carer for out-of-hours support to foster carers.

Members of the Panel commented on the report and addressed concern of some missing strategy meetings not taking place and asked whether meetings were missed due to the pandemic and what action had been put in place to rectify this. Officers reassured Members and the Panel that the issue of children going missing and exploitation of children, sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation has not been off the agenda, though volumes of incidents had reduced during the pandemic, there had been good work with the Metropolitan British Transport Police and local authorities to persecute offenders of organised abuse to children. Further, officers informed that there was robust tracking of missing children and there was a series of workshops and training sessions to ensure staff managers were aware of protocol and practice guidance.

The Chair shared that she received weekly missing reports that outlined any young person missing with measures and steps made to contact the individual. In these reports it was noticed that there was a reduction in numbers which was possibly due to the impact of the pandemic, and this was discussed at the Children’s Improvement Board. There was the suggestion of the themed friendly document such as a storyboard of the high repeated missing young person that helped contextualise what support would be provided to the young person.

The Chair thanks officers for their report.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the report and the recommendations contained within the report.