Terms of
Reference -You Matter to Us- Corporate
Parenting Board
Membership to
include
5 LAB: 1 CON: 2 MICA: 1 IND
Membership/Restrictions: Nil
Chair: Mayor
– C Cooke
Vice-Chair: Councillor
J Walker
Members: Councillors
Jackson,
Kabuye, Livingstone, Nugent, Uddin, and Wilson
1
vacancy
Ex-Officio Members: Deputy
Mayor and Executive Member for Education and Culture
Chair
of Overview and Scrutiny Board
Ex-Officio Officers: Head of Paid Service
Director
of Children’s Services
Director
of Children’s Care
Director
of Education and Partnerships
Co-Opted Members: 1
Foster carer
3
Care Experienced young people.
Quorum
The Quorum shall be
3 members.
Chair and Vice Chair
The Chair and Vice-Chair
of the Board shall be elected from the membership of the Board at the first
meeting and thereafter will be agreed by full Council annually.
In the absence of
the Chair the Vice-Chair shall chair the meeting.
Frequency of meetings
The Board will meet
4 times a year and will focus on themes. These will be chosen by our young
people.
Access to Meetings
The public shall
have the same right of access to meetings, agendas, reports and background
papers as apply to any other advisory body supported by the Council.
Conduct
The Board and its
members will operate in accordance with the standards of behaviour and
principles required by the Council’s Code of Conduct, which applies to both
councillors and any person appointed as a co-opted member to a board or
committee of the Council.
Have your say-
You matter to Us
Prior to the formal
meeting of the board, our care experienced young people will be invited to have
their say on the key themes. They will meet with members of the board and key
officers (as well as support officers) in an informal and safe setting.
Feedback from these
sessions will be collated and fed back into the ‘You said, we will, we did’ and
reported to the formal meetings of the board.
To be responsible
for the Council’s role as a Corporate Parent to those children and young people
who are looked after and accommodated by the local authority, that
responsibility to also include:
ensuring that the
education, health, and social needs of children Looked After by the Authority
are met
developing
effective corporate responses to fulfil the Authority’s responsibilities as a
corporate parent
to implement
changes to policy and practice, and inform service development in the context
of corporate parenting
the dissemination
of information, concerned with its responsibilities associated with corporate
parenting, to all elected Members and relevant staff; and
the
implementation, maintenance, and review of this Council’s ‘Corporate Parenting
and Strategy’ document.
Name of Board- You Matter to Us – Corporate Parenting
Board
(Name change
formally agreed on 13 September 2023)
Purpose of the Board
·
To raise
awareness of the Council’s corporate parenting responsibilities and develop
expertise and knowledge among elected Members and officers.
·
To provide a
forum for elected members to oversee the progress of all looked after children,
and care leavers (Care experienced children and young people) through the
implementation of the Corporate parenting strategy 2020-2023.
·
To encourage all
partners, whether they work for health or social care services or the voluntary
sector, to work in an integrated manner in the best interests of children
looked after and care leavers.
·
To lead cultural
and behavioural change to promote better outcomes for our care experienced
children and young people and Care leavers.
·
To hold all
partners to account for their role in the delivery of services to our care
experienced children and young people and Care leavers.
The Board wants to ensure that the Council acts as a good
corporate parent to children and young people in care and care leavers,
including:
· Young
people in residential care
· Children
and young people in foster care
· Children
placed for adoption
· Children
placed at home under Placement with Parents Regulations
· Young
people who are living in supported lodgings
· Young
people in secure services
· Young
people in custody
The Board also want to ensure that we engage and listen to
the views of children, young people, and their carers for whom the
Council is the parent and, support the Virtual School for looked after children
and young people.
Remit of the You Matter to Us- Corporate
Parenting Board
You Matter to Us-
Corporate Parenting Board will:
· Provide
leadership across Middlesbrough to create a more effective and efficient health
and wellbeing for care experienced children and young people and Care leavers.
· Take
responsibility for the quality of services for looked after children.
· Work effectively with and through
partnership bodies, with clear lines of accountability and communication.
· Agree the
strategic priorities for services for children looked after, as a Board
· Make a positive difference, improving the
outcomes for all children looked after and those who use our services.
You Matter to Us-
Corporate Parenting Board will not:
· Manage work programmes or oversee specific
pieces of work – acknowledging that operational management needs to be given
the freedom to manage.
· Be focused on
the delivery of specific services – the Board will concentrate on the “big
picture”.
· Take responsibility for the outputs and outcomes
of specific services – these are best monitored at the level of the specific
organisations responsible for them.
· Be the main
vehicle for the voice of looked after children – this will be the
responsibility of young people (the children in care council and care leavers
forum).
The Board will
however regularly listen to and respect the views of individuals and the wider
looked after children’s community.