The Croydon Children and Young People Scrutiny Subcommittee met on 21 October 2025 to discuss the transformation of children's services, focusing on early intervention, sufficiency of care placements, and SEND transport. Key decisions included progress on developing new children's homes, Precious House and the South Norwood Home, and strategies to manage the increasing demand for SEND transport.

CYPE Directorate Transformation Update

The committee received an update on the Children, Young People and Education (CYPE) Directorate's transformation efforts, now consolidated under the Helping Families Thrive Plan. This plan aims to improve practice, manage demand, increase effectiveness, and enhance efficiency within children's services. The transformation is structured around five workstreams: Early Intervention & Prevention, Sufficiency, Workforce Culture & Leadership, Data & Digital, and the Families First Partnership.

A significant focus of the transformation is on Sufficiency, addressing the rising costs and demand for children's placements. The council is developing two new in-house children's homes: Precious House, which is awaiting Ofsted registration and is intended for short to medium-term support to facilitate re-integration with families, and the South Norwood Home. The latter, funded by a £780,000 Department for Education (DfE) grant, will be a multi-site home designed for children with complex needs, trauma, and neurodivergence, aiming to provide a blend of homeliness and safety. The council is also working to increase its number of in-house foster carers and improve relationships with local residential providers to ensure children are placed closer to home. The report highlighted that Precious House is experiencing delays with Ofsted registration, leading to increased costs, estimated at £500,000 per quarter.

The Early Intervention & Prevention workstream is strengthening universal early help and embedding Family Hubs. Two Family Hubs are now operational, with a third planned. These hubs aim to provide accessible support and signposting for families, with a focus on early intervention to prevent needs from escalating. The Data & Digital workstream is exploring AI tools for transcription and summarisation, with over 280 active users of AI transcription services. The Families First Partnership programme, a national reform initiative, is in its early design stages in Croydon, aiming to create a more responsive, joined-up system with a focus on early intervention and family-led decision-making.

The Workforce, Culture, and Leadership workstream aims to improve staff engagement and challenge leaders to innovate. Progress has been made in transitioning agency staff to permanent roles, with the proportion of agency social workers decreasing from 19% to 12%.

The IMPOWER contract, previously the strategic delivery partner, was ended in July 2025 after a review found diminishing added value. The £2 million saved from this contract has been reinvested into other transformation initiatives, including digital tools and support for care-experienced young people.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Transport

The committee received an update on the increasing demand for SEND Transport, which has seen a 28% rise in applications over the past two years, mirroring a 30% increase in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The transformation programme for SEND transport, chaired by Alistair Banning, has completed six of its original thirteen projects, including the procurement of a software system and the development of in-borough SEND placements.

A key strategy for managing demand and costs is the in-borough placement of children with SEND. This approach, supported by the creation of 137 new special school places and six new Enhanced Learning Provisions (ELPs) in mainstream schools, has led to a reduction in out-of-borough placements. An example was provided of a school in Croydon that, by establishing an in-borough provision, saved approximately £325,000 on transport costs for the academic year. Further optimisation work with three schools resulted in additional savings of over £300,000. The council is also exploring the possibility of opening annexes to special schools in the north of the borough to reduce travel distances for children.

Discussions also touched upon the complexities of placing children from outside the borough and the impact on universal services. The council is working to increase SEND provision within Croydon, but acknowledges that some children will still require specialist placements outside the borough. The timeline for opening new ELPs and annexes is dependent on identifying suitable buildings and capital works, with potential legislative changes from the forthcoming white paper being closely monitored.

Early Help, Children's Social Care and Education Dashboard and Health Visiting KPIs

The committee reviewed the Early Help, Children's Social Care and Education Dashboard for August 2025. While overall performance in areas like care leavers in employment, education, or training (EET) remained above target, concerns were raised about the percentage of children subject to Child Protection Plans (CPPs) lasting two years or more, which had slightly increased to 6.3%. Plans are in place to address this, with a projected reduction in the cohort by October. The rate of local children in care per 10,000 population also saw a slight increase to 48, though this remains stronger than statistical neighbours and England averages. The number of first-time juvenile entrants to the criminal justice system remained static at 314 per 100,000, with explanations provided relating to police policy changes and delayed prosecutions.

The Health Visiting KPIs for Q1 2025/26 showed that mandated visits were meeting targets, but targeted and specialist visits, particularly the percentage of new births receiving a visit within 14 days (67% against a target of 90%), were a cause for concern. Officers committed to including a detailed update on this in a future report.

Cabinet Response to Scrutiny Recommendations

The committee noted the Cabinet's responses to recommendations made by the Sub-Committee. A key recommendation regarding a more equitable funding model for the Croydon Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP) was noted as Already In Progress, with the council continuing to advocate for fairer funding from statutory and non-statutory partners, despite ongoing financial pressures.

Work Programme 2025-26

The draft work programme for 2025-26 was presented, with the committee agreeing to include an update on the expansion of SEND provision under the CYPE Transformation item. The committee also agreed to request a follow-up on the Health Visiting KPIs in March. Discussions also highlighted the potential for a future deep dive into the impact of domestic abuse on children's services.

The committee concluded by thanking the officers for their participation and the valuable insights provided during the meeting.