The Children, Families and Education Select Committee were scheduled to meet to discuss the budget, performance, the care strategy, and fostering. The committee was also expected to review the forward plan and work programme.

Care Strategy for Children and Care Experienced Young People

The committee was scheduled to discuss the strategic framework for improving outcomes for children in care and care experienced young people in Hillingdon. The document that was prepared for discussion set out the council's statutory responsibilities, local priorities, and proposed actions to strengthen support, stability, and transition pathways. The report stated that the strategy demonstrated the council's commitment to providing the highest level of care, support, and opportunities for young individuals who have experienced the care system, and that the council recognised the unique challenges faced by cared for children and care experienced young people. The strategy was developed with input from young people, practitioners, and partners, and followed national guidelines. The key themes of the strategy were listed as:

• embedding participation of young people
• improving placement stability and permanence
• strengthening pathways to achievement and independence
• promoting health and wellbeing
• supporting transition to adulthood

The report stated that feedback from young people on the strategy and the council's offer to cared for children had been positive, with one young person quoted as saying,

I couldn't remember anything else to be written because every time I thought of something to write or something you offer I found it in the pages after.

The report also included information on how the council would measure the effectiveness of the strategy, including monitoring placement stability and transitions, education, employment and training, participation and feedback, placement instability, partner engagement, and reporting and accountability.

The Care Strategy 03.11.25 document that was scheduled for discussion included sections on:

• supportive relationships
• holistic support
• advocacy and participation
• continuity and stability
• aspirations and achievements
• the council's commitment to improvement
• what it means to be a corporate parent
• corporate parenting principles
• what it means to be in care (cared for children) - the law
• what it means to be a care experienced young person – the law
• what it means to be an unaccompanied child seeking asylum
• the national transfer scheme
• vulnerabilities of children and young people in care
• caring for children who need help
• keeping children safe
• support after leaving care
• the local context
• the council's pledge

Fostering Review

The committee was scheduled to hold a witness session as part of its review into fostering. The review was intended to assess the effectiveness of the new fostering offer and explore opportunities for further improvement through a focus on recruitment and retention, support for foster carers, and outcomes for children in care. The Scoping Report - Fostering v2 that was prepared for discussion stated that the review would also assist in recruiting more foster carers, raising awareness of the benefits of fostering, and highlighting the positive outcomes it can have for young people. The review also aimed to ensure that the service is responsive, inclusive and aligned with corporate parenting responsibilities so that all children in care can live in stable, loving homes. The terms of reference for the review were:

• To understand the needs and experiences of children in foster care through examining demographics, underrepresented groups, placement types, placement stability, educational attainment, wellbeing and emerging trends.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of current recruitment and retention strategies, and support available to foster carers, including the impact of the new fostering offer.
• To identify barriers to fostering for potential carers and children in care, and to identify opportunities for improvement.
• To formulate recommendations to Cabinet aimed at strengthening Hillingdon's fostering provision, thereby improving outcomes for children in care.

The Scoping Report - Fostering v2 also identified a number of known issues, including a national shortage of foster carers, recruitment and retention challenges, limited awareness/ promotion of fostering opportunities, placement instability/ breakdowns, and support and training for foster carers.

Budget and Spending Report

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Budget and Spending Report for Month 5 of 2025/26. The report provided an update on the 2025/26 Month 5 budget position relevant to the select committee. As of Month 5, services within the Children, Families & Education directorate were reporting a pressure of £4.1m, representing an adverse movement of £0.2m from Month 4. The pressure in this area was said to be driven by additional demand for care, with this position being in part impacted by temporary accommodation pressure leading to a lack of general needs properties within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) that is available for move-on. The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) was forecasting a deficit of £12.5m with no change from Month 4, representing an improvement from the £15m outturn for 2024/25. The report stated that the in-year shortfall was entirely driven by continued demand and cost pressures in High Needs placements, which remain significantly underfunded in the DSG allocation from the Department for Education (DfE). The savings requirement for 2025/26 for the services within the remit of this committee was £4.282m. As of Month 5, £4.009m (93.6%) of the savings and interventions were being recorded as banked or on track for delivery, with a further £0.273m (6.4%) being at initial stages of delivery.

Annual Performance Report 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Annual Performance Report for 2024/25. The report presented the council's annual performance for 2024/25 and outlined the performance cycle and showed corporate performance for 2024/25 across Children, Families & Education. The council's performance framework is aligned with the Hillingdon Council Strategy and incorporates a suite of reports accessible to services, senior management, the Corporate Management Team, and Cabinet. The report integrates indicators from the newly proposed introduced Local Government Outcomes Framework (LGOF), which defines 15 priority outcomes and 115 measures – most of which are statutory and allow for regional and national comparison. The report stated that Hillingdon would contribute to the development of the LGOF ahead of its formal launch in April 2026 and would assimilate its measures into the council's performance management framework.

The report included sections on:

• Children Services
• Social Care Demand - Referrals
• Social Care Demand - Assessments
• Looked After Children (Our Cared for Children)
• Placements – Where Our Children Live
• Child Protection Plans
• Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children
• Care Leavers
• Social Worker Recruitment and Retention
• Youth Justice: First Time Entrants
• Youth Justice: Reoffending Rates
• Children with SEND – Need Assessment
• Children with SEND – EHCP Demand
• Final EHCP 20 Week Timeliness
• Funded Early Education for 3 and 4-Year Olds
• NEET Outcomes for 16–17 Year Olds

Forward Plan

The committee was scheduled to review the Cabinet Forward Plan. The Nov 2025 Forward Plan Public set out the key decisions and other decisions to be taken by the Cabinet collectively and Cabinet Members individually over the coming year.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to consider its work programme.