Preparations begin for Calderdale's social care teams to respond to children returning to schools

Members of Calderdale Council’s Children and Young People’s Services Scrutiny Board heard that as lockdown eased, demand for the services was already back at pre-lockdown levels.

Rob Murray, the council’s Assistant Director for Early Intervention and Safeguarding, said when lockdown began risk assessments were made for every child in social care and pupil cohorts the council were concerned about identified and plans put in place to meet their needs.

Home visits had been undertaken either “on the doorstep” or virtually and now visits were being made to families as before lockdown, but socially distanced.

In terms of numbers the demand was still there with, for example, the number of domestic abuse reports back to pre-lockdown levels, and the number of the council’s looked after children had oncreased, said Mr Murray.

To carry out work during lockown social care teams had formed their own “bubbles” and residential homes had managed to keep open and keep people safe.

“Foster carers have been exceptional in terms of keeping chldren safe and in their foster families,” said Mr Murray.

The council continued to work with foster parents and schools over vulnerable children who should be in school, he said.

Board Chair Coun Colin Raistrick (Ind, Hipperholme and Lightcliffe) was suprised numbers of children needing care were already back to normal levels and concerned if cases were expected to rise.

Mr Murray said it would not be out of the ordinary to see a bulge in cases when schools returned in September and children were anxious at the start of a new school year.

“We have got systems in place to deal with that bulge if it happens,” he said.

Coun Raistrick asked if “remote” visits were as effective as normal visits to identify if there were problems.

“I would imagine it’s easier to be fooled remotely,” he said.

Systems in place and a good relationship with families developed over time meant issues could be identified and these visits were on top of, not instead of, statutory visits, said Mr Murray.

Coun Raistrick was not totally convinced: “I hear what you’re saying and I want to believe that but I am not convinced remote visits are as accurate,” he said.

Director of Children and Young People’s Services, Julie Jenkins, agreed it was not the same as being in the same room and harder to pick up nuance but teams were being provided with clear visors, which could be disinfected every night, to undertake in-person visits.