Corporate Parenting

ITEM 6

(Summarised: Please note: when referring to children it refers to children living in care and young people up to the age of 24) Every Child Matters 5 Outcomes Stay Safe Healthy Enjoy and Achieve Economic Wellbeing Positive Contribution The definition of Corporate Parenting Council, as a whole, need to actively promote our childrens life chances Providing loyal support similar to what good parents would Ensuring our children get a good start in life Cared about, not just cared for All aspects of childrens development (5 Outcomes) should be nurtured, hence, a corporate approach from a range of council departments and agencies. How does it benefit the Council Good local services and placements are likely to improve our childrens life chances, be better value for money and contribute to good performance ratings: 1. suitable services developed and matching the needs of children result in less need to look outside the authority in order to purchase emergency or specialist provision (these are costly and unlikely to provide long term stability) 2. positive care at an early age is essential, otherwise a risk of entering a downwards spiral of disrupted placements, higher cost, increasing complexity of needs 3. Councils performance rating Care Matters sets out the intention to strengthen monitoring and inspect arrangements for services to children and to introduce an annual, national stocktake of performance. 10 of the 198 new national performance indicators relate directly to Children in Care The standards against which the councils performance is assessed S
Proportion of children within overall population Proportion of children reporting being bullied Length of time care cases take

H
Regularity of dental and health checks Registration with GP Mental well being CAMHS. Childrens satisfaction with Health advice

E
School attendance Exclusion Educational achievement Participation in leisure

E
Involve and achievement of children in education, employment & training post 16 Suitable Housing Remain in contact with Local authority

P
Stability of placements Permanence External placements Offending behaviour Awareness and use of complaints

Examples in practice Staying safe Recruitment of staff Peer mentoring/advocacy/independent visitor schemes (7)

Family Support to help children return home safely

Health Multidisciplinary health team nurse in childrens social care Personal heath record CAMHS and MH practitioner in children in care team Enjoying and achieving Leisure passes Senior Officers became education champions Homework support teacher to complete homework policies in each home CiC Education Service Economic Wellbeing Council departments providing work placements Incentives to Care Leavers in higher education Positive contribution Protocols between police and childrens homes to prevent children being criminalised unnecessarily Care Matters suggest this to all councils Believing that children have the right to be heard and should contribute to the design and development of services affecting them

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From Care Matters: Time for Change White Paper 2007 Corporate parenting: getting it right Improving the role of the corporate parent, as part of childrens trusts, is key to improving the outcomes for children in care. It is with the corporate parent that responsibility and accountability for the wellbeing and future prospects of children in care ultimately rest. A good corporate parent must offer everything that a good parent would, including stability. It must address both the difficulties which children in care experience and the challenges of parenting within a complex system of different services. Equally, it is important that children have a chance to shape and influence the parenting they receive. To improve the role of the corporate parent we are: Expecting every local authority to put in place arrangements for a Children in Care Council, with direct links to the Director of Childrens Services and Lead Member This will give children in care a forum to express their views and influence the services and support they receive; Expecting every local authority to set out its Pledge to children in care The pledge will cover the services and support children in care should expect to receive; Making clear that the Director of Childrens Services and Lead Member for Childrens Services should be responsible for leading improvements in corporate parenting; Disseminating Government funded corporate parenting training materials, developed by the National Childrens Bureau, to help authorities to ensure that effective arrangements are in place locally; Introducing a three year programme of proportionate inspection led by Ofsted, of how local authorities are improving outcomes for children in care. Responsibility for providing excellent corporate parenting must be shared across all services for children, and at all levels. But is it also important to have clear accountability for improving service delivery and outcomes for children and young people in care. The Director of Childrens Services and the Lead Member for Childrens Services are, therefore, pivotal to ensuring that all services are operating in a way that supports the best possible outcomes for each child in their care. In addition to local authority services, other agencies share in these responsibilities as public sector services providing support to children in the care of the State. Section 10 of the Children Act 2004 names those agencies (including health, the police and all tiers of local government) which have a duty to co-operate to secure the welfare of children and this duty underpins the arrangements for effective corporate parenting. 1 (9)

Improving corporate parenting Below summarises the systems and processes that need to be in place to help a local authority meet its responsibilities as a corporate parent. Corporate parenting may be delivered through different systems and structures in different authorities. However, in all cases children and young people in care should be given a strong voice, including those most at risk of marginalisation, such as disabled children and those with communication difficulties. Directors of Childrens Services and Lead Members should take the lead in ensuring that they are listened to both individually and collectively and that their needs are met. In each area the components outlined below should be in place, irrespective of the local corporate parenting structure. Strong corporate parenting arrangements are central to improving all services for children and young people in care.

Components of effective corporate parenting Whatever structures exist in a childrens services authority, there are certain key elements of corporate parenting that need to be in place. The Director of Childrens Services and Lead Member have overall responsibility for leading corporate parenting arrangements both across the authority and with its partners in the childrens trust. Authorities may also appoint a group of senior officials with responsibility for the corporate parenting of children in care. The accountability and governance arrangements of these groups must be clear. Whatever structures exist in a childrens services authority, childrens participation is an essential part of the process. We expect every local authority to establish a Children in Care Council to ensure that every child has the opportunity to air their views. In making these arrangements, the local authority should consider in particular the needs of disabled children and very young children, and of those children who are not members of the council themselves. Through the Children in Care Council, children and young people should be able to put their experiences of the care system directly to those responsible for corporate parenting including the DCS and Lead Member, who should demonstrate how they will maintain contact with children and young people in care. In exercising their functions, those responsible for coordinating corporate parenting need effective management information. This information should cover l quantitative data, such as education and health outcomes for looked after children, and l qualitative data, such as the views of consumers of

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services concerning the quality and suitability of the services to meet their needs and achieve good outcomes Strategic planning, policies, protocols and partnerships should assist and inform the work of the group. Childrens trust arrangements, underpinned by the duty to cooperate (Children Act 2004) and the schools duty to promote wellbeing, provide the context for developing better corporate parenting. Children and Young Peoples Plans should set out how the childrens trust will address the needs of looked after children and care-leavers. Transition to adult services, as well as the provision of adult services for parents and carers, should be incorporated within this strategic plan to ensure coordinated services that meet the assessed needs of the child.

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