Agenda item

Summary:

·  The report contained a summary of work completed by Southwark’s IRO (Independent Reviewing Officer) service for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 

·  It identified the work of the service in fulfilling its statutory remit and highlighted areas for development in relation to the IRO function

·  It was reported that a permanent assistant director was now in place and the proposal was also to appoint a 1.5 IRO officer

·  A number of young people were consulted in terms of their care plan

·  The social care team did a lot of work in ensuring issues were not escalated

·  The work of the IROs was to improve the outcome for children and young people in care – it also meant providing a lot of training in regards to a young person’s care plan

·  The council’s children and families directorate involves working closely with all relevant stakeholders and partners across the sector

·  IRO officers: An IRO officer recently recruited would be working around advocacy to meet the needs of young people. This includes ‘hard to reach’ groups, those with disabilities and young people that were in custody.

RESOLVED:

That the Independent Review Officers (IRO) Annual report 2021-22 be noted.