Report of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services)

This report outlines the changes and developments made to the Corporate Parenting Strategy.

The Committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Children and Education Services) which outlined the changes and developments made to the Corporate Parenting Strategy.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·       The development of the Strategy in coproduction and consultation with cared for children and care leavers;

·       The four thematic outcomes (Happy, Healthy, Safe, Successful);

·       The 12 expectations set by cared for children and care leavers;

·       The governance structure;

·       Impact; and

·       Next steps.

The Committee welcomed the Participation Support Worker, who was a Facilitator for the Care Consultants, and two Care Consultants, Rebecca and Aliya.  The Participation Support Worker carried out a short exercise with Members to emphasise that they were all Corporate Parents for approximately 1500 children.

Some of the key points and themes that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·       To welcome the progress being made and the innovative work taking place;

·       Speaking positively about their experience of attending Corporate Family Cooperative meetings and stating that these meetings were a positive step to improve decision-making and empower children and young people;

·       That more Members should attend the Corporate Family Cooperative meetings and questioning the timing of the meetings;

·       Member training and strengthening the lines between Manchester’s Corporate Family Cooperative (MCFC) and Members;

·       Support for care leavers, including support with accommodation, recognising that many young people who were not care-experienced continued to receive support from their parents beyond childhood; and

·       Involving Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) in this work.

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children's Services informed Members that work was currently taking place on Member training and that each political group within the Council would be asked to nominate a named representative as a link with the Corporate Family.  He reported that the time of the meeting had previously been changed and that it was challenging to find a time that worked well for everyone, including Members, professionals and children and young people of different ages.

The Assistant Director (Safeguarding and Practice Development) reported that new Member training on corporate parenting had been co-designed with Care Consultants and that suitable dates for training sessions were currently being identified.  She reported that the intention was to hold face-to-face training sessions which might then be filmed and available online as a refresher course.  She highlighted Members’ role, including meeting the 12 expectations within the Strategy and holding others to account on these, creating opportunities to listen to cared for children and care leavers, not just to officers, and in using Members’ connections, experiences and influence to their benefit.  She informed Members that the Council had a statutory responsibility towards its care leavers up to the age of 25 and explained that it provided a professional safety net while supporting the young people to grow into independent adults, be part of their community and develop safe, connected relationships with their family.  She reported that there were UASC who wanted to become Care Consultants and that others were encouraged to express their views through staff that they had developed positive relationships with.  The Deputy Director of Children’s Services highlighted the importance of positive relationships with peers and outlined how this was being fostered for UASC. 

In response to a Member’s question, the Assistant Director (Safeguarding and Practice Development) provided information on some of the training and skills development taking place for Care Consultants and confirmed that there would be mentoring opportunities, including experienced Care Consultants supporting new Care Consultants.  In response to a question about developing young inspectors, she informed Members about a Greater Manchester scheme to develop young inspectors and reported that Manchester would take the learning from this to develop its own scheme which would utilise the expertise of young people who had experienced care themselves.

The Participation Support Worker outlined some of the wide-ranging areas that the Corporate Family focussed on, including accommodation, well-maintained public spaces, medical facilities and enabling cared for children and care leavers to live healthy lives, not just up to the age of 25 but beyond this.  In response to a Member’s question, he reported that there were currently between 20 and 30 Care Consultants with a range of different personalities and personal circumstances.

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children's Services reported that the Council had passed a motion to make being care experienced a protected characteristic so care leavers would receive the support they needed from the Council throughout their life, not just up to the age of 25, citing work that had taken place with the Homelessness Service as well as access to employment opportunities as examples.  He spoke positively about the changes to the Corporate Family Cooperative meetings and how the young people had influenced Council decisions through these meetings, for example, one meeting resulting in their allowances being increased.

In response to a Member’s question about funding for hobbies, the Deputy Director of Children’s Services reported that foster carers received an allowance which could be used for this purpose.  He highlighted that the new Education Strategy, which the Committee had considered at its March meeting, had included commitments on the opportunities that children should have access to and that an offer of experiences that children should have before the age of 10 was also being developed.  He acknowledged the challenge of balancing limited resources, while highlighting that there were some no-cost and low-cost activities, as well as those which required funding.  The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children's Services reported that cared for children’s Personal Education Plans (PEPs) could include broader enrichment activities, and that the additional funding that schools received for these pupils could be used to fund these broader activities.  He highlighted the importance of Members who were Governors ensuring that this money was being spent in the best way and that young people were involved in the decisions about how the funds intended for their benefit were spent. 

The Chair stated that she welcomed any comments, feedback or questions from the Care Consultants and that, if there was anything that they thought of after the meeting, this could be passed on to the Committee via the Assistant Director (Safeguarding and Practice Development).  She commented on the positive change from the previous Corporate Parenting Panel meetings to the current child and young person-led Corporate Family Cooperative meetings and on the use of different venues, suggesting that venues in different parts of the city could be considered.  She emphasised the importance of listening to children and young people, not just staff.  She thanked the young people for attending today’s meeting.

Decision

To note the report.