The Brent Council Corporate Parenting Committee met to discuss the progress of several initiatives aimed at improving the lives of children in care and care leavers. The committee reviewed reports on reducing criminalisation, adoption services, and fostering services, as well as hearing updates from Brent Care Journeys 2.0 (BCJ 2.0). The committee agreed to note the reports.

Update from Brent Care Journeys 2.0 (BCJ 2.0) Representatives

Representatives from Brent Care Journeys 2.0 (BCJ 2.0), the council's Children in Care Council, provided updates on their activities. According to the minutes of the previous meeting, a representative named J had been involved in interview panels for roles at the new residential children's care home in Brent, while N advised that a 'link-up' session was held during May half term where new people and new staff had attended. S provided feedback on the Create Arts music project she had been involved in, where young people were supported to create their own music and lyrics.

The BCJ 2.0 group were also working on implementing actions following the findings of the Bright Spots Survey, which had shown that care experienced young people wanted friendship and trust. From that, a project called Trusted Buddies had been created, where young people aged 18-25 years old buddied with children aged 11-19 years old and supported them with the aim of maintaining a lifelong friendship.

The committee requested to see the music video that had been created, and it was agreed this would be circulated.

BCJ 2.0 asked whether there was anything the council could do to offer discounts on driving lessons to help care leavers learn to drive, as they were now very expensive, and it was agreed officers would look into this.

Progress Report: The London Protocol on Reducing Criminalisation of Looked After Children and Care Leavers

The committee reviewed a progress report on the London Protocol on Reducing Criminalisation of Looked After Children and Care Leavers¹, which was published in March 2021. The report provided an update on the council's efforts to reduce the criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers, in line with the protocol. The report highlighted several key achievements, including:

• Accommodation Provider forums to explore how to reduce criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers by ensuring staff/carer responses to behavioural difficulties which may be viewed as criminal, are proportionate and appropriate and the need for Police involvement and /or court action is minimised.
• Training provided to foster carers that focus on de-escalation when working with young people presenting behavioural difficulties.
• A joint programme being developed with the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) for Personal Advisors on providing advocacy when supporting young people in prison.
• A joint LACP and Youth Justice Service (YJS) staff forum.

The report also noted a decrease in the number of looked-after children supervised by Brent YJS in 2024, compared to previous years.

The committee was asked to review and comment on the contents of the report.

Six-Monthly Adoption Report - Adopt London West

The committee received the Six-Monthly Adoption Report from Adopt London West (ALW), a regional adoption agency² that provides adoption services for Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, and Hammersmith and Fulham. The report provided information on adoption performance, progress, and activity within the region. The report included data on the average time taken for a child to be placed for adoption, the number of adoption orders granted, and the number of prospective adopters approved. It also provided an update on the activities of the Black Adoption Project, which aims to address disparities for Black and mixed Black heritage children in the adoption system.

According to the ALW Annual Report 2024-25, 31 children were placed by ALW in their new families in 2024/25, an increase of 6 children from 25 placed last year. 18 new adoptive families were approved in 2024/25, a reduction on 20 approvals in 2023/24.

The committee was asked to note, review, comment on, and question the contents of the report and the 2024/25 annual report.

Fostering Service 6-Monthly Report

The committee considered the Fostering Service 6-Monthly Report, which provided information on the general management of the in-house fostering service and how it is achieving good outcomes for children.

The report outlined the service's priorities for 2025/2026, including:

• A strong and renewed focus on recruitment, assessment and approval of new foster carers with the view to achieve a net gain of 10 new carers by the end of the financial year.
• To enhance the support offer to Brent's foster carers and kinship carers, by rolling out the new fostering offer and deliver existing and new therapeutic support to increase placement stability and develop carers' ability and resilience in managing more complex and challenging placements.
• To implement the first Mockingbird constellation in Brent.
• To improve the outcomes for the looked after children by providing local and in-house placement options, minimising change of social workers and placements and keeping children connected to their networks.

As of 30 September 2025, there were 291 looked after children in Brent, a decrease of 7 children from 298 on 31 March 2025. The percentage of looked after children placed with in-house (Brent) foster carers was 20%, an increase of 12 children to 57 children.

The committee was asked to review and comment on the contents of the report.