The council’s executive has approved a new Children in Care and Care Leavers Strategy, outlining how we will continue to provide excellent support to vulnerable children and young people
When a child comes into our care, we become their corporate parent. That means it’s the responsibility of the council, its elected members, its staff and partner agencies to be ambitious and provide them with the best possible services. The new strategy sets out how we will achieve that.
The next three years will see many exciting developments as part of our ambitious Children in Care Transformation Programme, which focuses on:
- Fewer children entering care because families receive timely, effective support
- Children remaining safely within their family or kinship network
- Children in care living close to home, maintaining community and school links
- Increasing the capacity and quality of local foster and residential care
- Children experiencing fewer moves and more stable relationships
Cllr Natalie Oliver, executive member for children’s services, said: “Like every good parent, we want the children and young people in our care to be healthy, happy and safe, to do well at school, explore hobbies and interests, and learn to lead independent lives. As they become older, we want to see them make their way as adults in higher education, to have good careers and to be financially secure.
“We take our moral and legal responsibilities very seriously, and we will continue to think big when it comes to our vision of what care should be like. Importantly, we’ve listened to our care-experienced children and young people and involved them in shaping the support and services outlined in this new strategy.
“We must all be aspirational for our children and young people, celebrating their achievements and encouraging them to reach their full potential. We would like to thank all those who have helped shape this new strategy, which will build on our strong foundations and help ensure that, moving forward, every child and young person in our care continues to thrive.”
The key aims of the new strategy are to ensure that children in care and care leavers:
- Have safety and stability
- Have good health and well-being
- Access a good education that promotes achievement
- Have their voices heard and participate
- Be prepared for independence
- Have a positive identity and relationships
- Have good long-term outcomes