Agenda item

For the Sub-Committee to receive a report which will provide an opportunity to look at the experiences of Care Experienced Young People.

The Sub-Committee considered a paper set out in the supplementary agenda, which outlined the position of Care Experienced young people in Croydon as assessed by Officers in the Annual Self-Assessment and Improvement plans and a recent review and recommendations by Mark Riddell, the National Implementation Adviser for Care Leavers, at the Department for Education (DfE). The Head of Looked After Children and Care Leavers introduced the item and summarised the report. The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People explained that this report was a very early response to the recent review and recommendations by Mark Riddell, and that a full report would be coming forward through Cabinet and the Corporate Parenting Panel.

Members asked about the housing offers available to Care Leavers, and whether there was effective support from the Council Housing department. The Corporate Director for Children, Young People & Education explained that significant work with Housing colleagues was already underway, but the scale of the challenge in this area was not being underestimated. A full Cabinet paper would be forthcoming on the housing responsibilities to Care Experienced Young People that would be a collaboration between the Housing department. Deputy Mayor, Children, Young People and Education department and Cabinet Member for Children & Young People. The Corporate Director for Children, Young People & Education agreed with the Sub-Committee that a ‘whole Council’ approach was needed in addition to good partnership working.

The Sub-Committee asked if all departments were aware of their Corporate Parenting responsibilities. The Head of Looked After Children and Care Leavers explained that he felt departments were as a whole, but often individuals were not and there needed to be additional training and available information to further embed this approach and knowledge to make sure every officer was aware of their responsibilities.

The Chair asked what housing support and options were offered to Care Leavers. The Head of Looked After Children and Care Leavers responded that a large number of Care Leavers had ‘stay put’ arrangements where they were able to stay with their foster carers. Some young people did not want to do this and wished to live independently, but housing waiting lists for those who wished to move on could be long, and often other alternatives had to be sought in the private rental market, rent guarantee schemes or supported living where appropriate. The Head of Looked After Children and Care Leavers stated there was an aspiration for more supported housing to be available. Members heard that there were a number of wraparound services that were available and work had begun on developing these further to provide some additional support. The Head of Looked After Children and Care Leavers explained that Housing colleagues were on-board with further developing housing pathways for Care Leavers.

The Sub-Committee asked what the main obstacles were to providing a good service for Care Leavers. The Head of Looked After Children and Care Leavers explained that this question had been considered in a recent restructure of the service; the housing expectations of young people could often be challenging, as well as finances, a lack of expertise for welfare benefit advice and support for young parents. Members heard that improving interdepartmental working with Housing and Public Health would be important in meeting these challenges.

Members asked about ‘Supported Lodgings’ and heard that this scheme was being investigated with commissioning colleagues, alongside looking at individuals who had previously applied to be foster carers. The Cabinet Member for Children & Young People explained that there was a large transformation project on fostering planned that would look at this in part.

The Sub-Committee asked about KPIs and monitoring of the service. The Head of Looked After Children and Care Leavers explained that a number of KPIs were received by and monitored by the Corporate Parenting Panel who would also be receiving the full action plan once completed; in addition to this, the department also had a number of internal KPIs. The Cabinet Member for Children & Young People highlighted the work happening on the Corporate Parenting Strategy that it was hoped would be launched in September 2023. The Corporate Director for Children, Young People & Education explained that this report was an introduction and overview to the next phase of a significant improvement plan; it was recognised that this work would involve the whole of the Council and its partners.

Conclusions

The Sub-Committee recognised that this was an early report on what would be a wider and larger piece of work to transform services for Care Leavers and concluded that the Sub-Committee would continue to monitor it closely.

The Sub-Committee welcomed the ongoing work to expand the reach of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

The Sub-Committee concluded that the voice of Care Leavers should be prominent in the transformation work happening and welcomed the plans for the inclusion of a Care Experienced Young Person in the role of Co-Chair on the Corporate Parenting Panel.