Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the current Care Leavers Offer and how it compares Locally and Nationally.

The Director: Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support presented the Care Leaver Offer to the Committee. The presentation summarised the definition of a Care Leaver as a young person that had experience being in care. The Care Leaver Offer was summarised as a tangible offer that ensured an impactful outcome to support young people that have left care.

The offer provided a range of support for young people such as teaching life skills, interview techniques and provided advice when needed. The offer was summarised as being a bespoke package for young people with the objective of providing skills and support to young people for a prosperous future.

Members were informed that under the Children and Social Work Act 2017 it was the duty of local authorities to provide a Care Leaver Offer. It was summarised that this was a statutory level of support that prepared care leavers for independent living and adulthood. The offer was available for those that were in care in some form for at least 13 weeks between the ages of 14 and 16 or were in care for 16 weeks after their 16^th birthday and this differed slightly for those young people with a disability.

Some of the highlights of Telford & Wrekin Council’s Care Leaver Offer were discussed. This included active participated to support care leavers to be an active members of society. It was also highlighted that along with physical support there was both emotional and mental support as part of the offer. There were also creative arts events that supported young people. At the end of the programme there were celebration events to celebrate the care leavers and the skills they had learnt. Members were informed that at the time of the meeting marked the 10 year anniversary of the Care Leaver Offer.

The most recent offer was published in April 2023 and the offer would be reviewed on an annual basis. Members were informed that system partners such as NHS colleagues supported the offer to provide additional support to Care Leavers. Members were informed that there was a bespoke Care Leaver lounge where young people could access 1-to-1 support as well as group support in a dedicated safe space. The local offer also provided council tax exemption for care leavers with additional support such as budgeting.

In terms of regulation, Members were informed that officers would work with OFSTED as part of regulating the offer. This helped to benchmark and inspect whether the offer was being fulfilled to its intended purpose.

Following the presentation, Members posed a few questions.

What support was available for young people once they reached the age of 25?

Recent legislation nationally had expanded the offer to support young people aged 21 to 25. However, once a young person was older than 25 it became increasingly difficult to support. The aim of the offer was to provide the best start possible and so once they were beyond the age of 25, they had the skills to be independent.

Was there support and/or grants from the government to support funding of the offer?

Grant funding was available from the government and it was used to explore the social value of funding to maximise the best level of support possible.

What would you say was the key aspect to ensure that the offer was successful?

Members were informed that consistency was the key element and it was a commitment of the offer. It was highlighted that there were financial issues that had to be considered and each local authority had different pressures.

What was the percentage of care leavers that accessed the offer?

The percentage of care leavers that accessed the offer was one that was hard to determine. The reason provided was that with the varied level of support offered and the bespoke nature of the offer, a young person can use as much and as little as they desired to suit their needs at that moment in time.

How did the offer compare to regional neighbours?

At the time of the meeting, Members were informed that there was current sharing amongst regional neighbours to explore how the offer compares. The Executive Director: Children & Family Services informed Members that they were the chair of the regional board and they fed issues and concerns back to support with the further development of the offer. Members were advised that they would be informed of further information when available.

Members discussed the possibility of visiting the leavers lounge in their role as corporate parents, upon putting to a vote it was unanimous that the option of a visit be explored.

RESOLVED – that a site visit to the Care Leavers Lounge to observe the local care leaver offer in practice for the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee be arranged.