Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director, Community & Children’s Services.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Executive Director, Community & Children’s Services concerning how the City of London has complied with its duties regarding private fostering and details the activities undertaken to promote awareness of the notification requirements.

Members were provided with an introduction to the private fostering annual report. It was noted that there were no private fostering notifications in the last year. The report highlighted the issue of underreporting in private fostering and the ongoing efforts to raise awareness.

Key highlights from the discussion included:

• The comparison with Hackney, which tends to have between 11 and 50 young people in private fostering.
• The continuous efforts to raise awareness through standard safeguarding training, the private fostering app, and updated leaflets and posters.

A Member asked how the City of London Corporation can reach out to informal fostering arrangements within families. It was suggested to use different parts of the services within the corporation, such as newsletters, to get information directly to families. The voluntary sector was also mentioned as a good vehicle for capturing data and reaching out to families. In response to a question raised by a Member, officers noted that there are systems in place to respond to any private fostering notifications and provide the appropriate support to the child and private foster carers.