The Children and Families Cabinet Panel met on Wednesday 10 June 2026 to review the Quarter 4 performance report for 2025/26 and discuss the Hertfordshire Youth Justice Plan for 2026-28. The panel noted a strong overall performance in children's services despite increasing pressures, with several areas achieving their best-ever year-end results. The Youth Justice Plan was endorsed, with a commitment to a child-first approach, addressing disproportionality, and enhancing early intervention and victim support.

Quarter 4 Performance Report 2025/26

Joanna Hunt, Performance Manager for Children's Services, presented the Quarter 4 performance report, highlighting key achievements and areas for attention.

Early Help and Targeted Services: The report indicated a reduction in Family First assessments completed in Q4 compared to the previous year, with 170 assessments completed, supporting 373 children. This was a decrease from 202 assessments supporting 455 children in the equivalent quarter of the previous year. However, there was a quarter-on-quarter increase from Q3, and the number of children supported per assessment had risen. The Supporting Families Programme, which concluded in March 2025, met 100% of its target for 2025/26, with 1,487 outcomes achieved.

Referrals and Assessments: Referrals to Children's Social Care saw a significant jump in March, leading to a 4.1% year-on-year increase for the full year. Despite this, Hertfordshire's referral rate remained below the national average and that of its statistical neighbours, reflecting a strong early help offer. Performance in completing child and family assessments within the 45-day timescale dropped slightly in January and February but recovered in March to 92.7%, resulting in a quarterly average of 90.2%. This performance kept Hertfordshire comfortably in the top quartile nationally.

Child Protection: The percentage of initial child protection conferences completed within 15 days of a Section 47 investigation dropped in January but recovered in February and March to 84.6%. The year-end figure was 80.4%, placing Hertfordshire in the third quartile. However, April's performance exceeded 90%, indicating positive progress. The number of children supported by a child protection plan increased to 653 at the end of March, a 6.5% rise compared to the previous year. The percentage of children supported on a plan for a second or subsequent time increased to 23.2%, and the percentage returning to child protection plans within two years rose to 9.1%.

Children Looked After (CLA): Overall CLA numbers increased by seven to 1,045, driven by an increase in non-separated migrant children. Separated migrant children accounted for 11.3% of the CLA population. Hertfordshire achieved its best-ever year-end performance for children looked after experiencing three or more placements, with 8.5% experiencing this, significantly lower than national and regional averages. Long-term stability for children looked after for at least two and a half years without placement changes dipped slightly to 68.7%, remaining in the second quartile nationally. Adoptions increased by 1.9% to 8.4%, while special guardianship orders saw a slight decrease to 7.2%. Notably, 17% of children in care were in kinship placements, considerably higher than the national average.

Care Leavers in Education, Employment, or Training (EET): Performance in this area was strong, with 60.3% of care leavers aged 17-21 in EET. This marked the best end-of-year performance to date and placed Hertfordshire in the top quartile nationally for the first time.

Overall Performance: The majority of key performance indicators were in the top two quartiles, with improvements noted in referrals, child protection, CLA numbers, and placement stability. While three metrics remained in the third and fourth quartiles, further work was underway to address these.

Staff Vacancies: Janet Jones, Director of Children and Families, addressed concerns about hard-to-fill roles, stating that while it remains a national and local challenge, particularly for social workers, Hertfordshire has a rolling advertising programme and works closely with HR to be an attractive employer. A recruitment and retention strategy is in place, focusing on work-life balance, manageable caseloads, strong supervision, career development, and a supportive culture. Over 30 new social workers trained in-house were due to start in September.

NEET Figures: Miranda Gittos, Director of Specialist Services and Commissioning, discussed the increase in Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) figures for care leavers. A cross-departmental working group is addressing this, with a comprehensive action plan overseen by the Corporate Parenting Board. The service has a strong participation team focused on engaging children, and services are co-produced with young people.

Foster Carer Retention: An update on foster carer retention indicated that 7.3% of mainstream carers resigned in 2025/26, which benchmarks well nationally against the approximate 12% national resignation rate.

Hertfordshire Youth Justice Plan 2026-28

Lydia Phillips, Youth Justice Service Manager, presented the Hertfordshire Youth Justice Plan for 2026-28. The plan, developed collaboratively with partners and the workforce, aims to prevent re-offending and support children within the justice system.

Key Priorities and Golden Threads: The plan is guided by two golden threads : Voice of Children, Families and Victims and Disproportionality and Anti-Racist Practice. Four key priorities have been identified:

1. Enhancing the Youth Justice Partnership Board's visibility and collaboration.
2. Strengthening early intervention and diversion pathways to prevent entry into the justice system.
3. Improving support for victims of youth crime and enhancing restorative justice.
4. Enhancing the use of data and insight to understand needs and improve services.

Performance Highlights: Significant achievements in 2025-26 included a 28.8% reduction in children entering the Youth Justice Service and a 57% decrease in formal out-of-court resolutions, meaning more children received informal diversionary outcomes, preventing criminal records. The first-time entrant rate decreased by 31%. Custodial sentences remained low, with only three children receiving them, and reoffending rates were within the expected range. A notable 24% decrease in blade-related offences was also reported.

Serious Violence and Exploitation: The plan addresses serious violence, with a 24.2% reduction in knife crime offences. A multi-agency Serious Violence Action Group meets regularly, and the Youth Justice Service contributes to this. The service also works closely with the police on child criminal exploitation, participating in daily exploitation meetings.

Support for Children with SEND: The report highlighted that 42.6% of young people open to the Youth Justice Service had diagnosed or undiagnosed needs related to ADHD and autism. A dedicated Speech and Language Therapist has been appointed to support screening and communication needs.

Partnership Working and Funding: The plan emphasizes multi-agency collaboration, with contributions from social care, education, police, probation, and health. The Youth Justice Service has secured funding for a dedicated Speech and Language Therapist and continues to seek grants for diversionary activities.

Addressing Concerns: Councillors raised concerns about the high percentage of looked-after children within the youth justice system and the need for robust safeguarding. Officers assured the panel that social workers act as corporate parents, providing equivalent care and support. The plan also addresses the need for more accessible meeting spaces and the importance of linking children to community activities and clubs.

Budget and Staffing: An underspend in 2025-26 was attributed to staff vacancies, which have since been addressed, with the service now fully staffed. The average weekly cost of in-house residential homes increased significantly in March 2026.

Decisions Made: The Cabinet Panel voted to:

1. Note and comment on the Quarter 4 Performance Report.
2. Recommend the content of the Hertfordshire Youth Justice Plan 2026-28 to Cabinet.
3. Recommend to Cabinet that Cabinet recommends to Full Council the approval of the Hertfordshire Youth Justice Plan 2026-28.

The meeting concluded with an announcement about the Virtual School Children Looked After Awards event on 19 June.