123 Corporate Parenting Strategy PDF 316 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The
Deputy Mayor and Lead Member for Children’s Social Care and the Executive
Director for Children’s Social Care submitted a report for the Executive’s
consideration. The purpose of the report was to request ratification and support
for the Corporate Parenting Strategy.
The
Corporate Parenting Strategy set out the vision and action plan for how the
Council and its partners planned to support children and young people who were
in care and care leavers to achieve the best possible outcomes. Transforming
the approach to corporate parenting was a key priority for the Council, as part
of its wider improvement programme across its whole system of support for
children and young people in Middlesbrough. The Council’s progress in delivering
positive change for children in care and care leavers was a particular focus
for the Strategic Multi-Agency Improvement Board, with support and challenge
from the DfE and Ofsted.
The
strategy had been directly informed and shaped by the active involvement of
local children and young people who had contributed their views and ideas based
on their personal experiences, their aspirations and ambitions.
Attached
at Appendix 1 of the submitted report was a copy of the Corporate Parenting
Strategy 2020-2023.
A
discussion ensued and Members commented on:
·
the
importance of elected members demonstrating that they care about what happens
to their looked-after children and care leavers by taking their corporate
parenting role seriously; and
·
the need for regular Member briefings to provide
information, advice and support to elected members, enabling them to carry out
their responsibilities to be good corporate parents.
OPTIONS
If the strategy was not
ratified by Executive then there would not be a strategic overview of the work
with children who were looked after and care leavers. That may have left them
vulnerable and impacted on their life chances.
ORDERED
That the Corporate
Parenting Strategy be ratified and supported.
REASONS
Devising and
implementing the Corporate Parenting Strategy, and subsequently evidencing its
impact, was a fundamental part of delivering Middlesbrough’s Children’s
Services improvement plan and therefore improving outcomes for Middlesbrough’s
Children who were looked after (CLA). There was a clear expectation that
whenever a decision was made the question was asked ‘is it good enough for my
child?’