The Lead Officer, John Martin introduced Reni Ravi to present the item.
There has been a slight dip in the figures which after analysis shows that there has been a 10% increase in young people from Albania, with most of them getting a negative decision from the Home Office.
Some of the strategies in place to increase this include:
- Working with young people to get them working with consultancies
- Working with the Princes Trust
- Working with Croydon's HR department and Apprenticeship team.
The Head of Virtual School informed the panel that there is a project based in the Leaving Care Service which provides CV writing sessions and drop in workshops in conjunction with the Princes Trust, Blue Torch Bell and the Children In Care Council.
A poll of young people suggests 42% were undecided as to their chosen career path although the top choices included fashion, retail and construction. She added that there is an 8 week workshop which is run in the Turnaround Centre.
Having heard the presentation from Officers the Chair then asked the young people to make their contributions and thanked each in turn at the end of their contributions.
ES spoke first:
He feels that his education wasn't supported and his life always seemed hectic. He had multiple things to deal with and also feels that a pathway was set for him not necessarily to that which he wanted.to do. He felt as a young person, it was a lot to think about and much too hectic for a young person to deal with alone such as his housing needs, finding food, dealing with everyday bills etc. In order to receive adequate housing he had to make the decision to leave his family and move to North London by himself. He proceeded to get a job as a graphic designer without having any help as he felt belittled by the job centre and didn't feel that he was spoken to very well. On becoming a father he found that this was an added pressure but again didn't feel supported. He felt that the system really set him up to fail.
He felt that the help he received was quite interesting. He was sent to different bed and breakfast accommodation as has had to live in approximately 8 different locations. He had to pay more than half his salary on rent which with the responsibility of having a child proved very difficult. He ended up having to go back to his mums. He felt that he had no one to turn to and also realised that the older he got the less help there was available. He didn't feel as though he had any stability.
NS then spoke as follows:
He feels that he had good support from the Turnaround Centre and has obtained some good skills from college. He feels that his Social Worker has helped a lot but is currently in a situation where he is having problems with his landlord. Due to this he is not currently attending college. He highlighted the need for support for young people not used to dealing with landlords.
B then spoke as follows:
She expressed concern that between the ages of 16-22 years it was not made clear to her what Leaving care plan or structure has been put into place for her. Young people are not usually advised until 2 weeks before of what their Leaving Care plan will be. This does not give young people enough time to prepare themselves. At 16 the age of 16 no council property was available for her until she reached the age of 22 years old.
The panel raised the following concerns:
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The level of support being received
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That some young people may be isolated in their individual housing eg bedsits
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The option for young people to meet up with more young people in the same position for mutual support
RESOLVED to note these concerns and build this into the CPP work programme.