Agenda item

The Voice and Influence Manager and a Care Ambassador provided a Care Experienced Youth Voice update to the Board.

As a preliminary, the Board was advised that two of the Care Ambassadors had recently stepped down from the role after an 18-month period.  The Chair wished to express his gratitude to them both and requested that a note of thanks be recorded in the minutes.

The following matters were raised as part of the update:

·        The Care Ambassadors had met with Pathways and were developing an engagement and events plan for 2025.  They would all meet once a month to review progress.

·        The Care Ambassadors had met with the Head of Corporate Parenting and Fostering to discuss progress and would continue to meet every six weeks - to include other key decision makers.

·        The Care Ambassadors would be asked to support several events during Social Work Week.

·        The ‘We Matter’ group - Middlesbrough’s Children in Care Council (CiCC) - had received a visit from the Fostering Service Manager, who had sought views around the fostering feedback forms that cared for young people were given. This work currently continued.

·        Two members of the ‘We Matter’ group who would be attending the Regional CiCC residential in April, had attended a regional meeting hosted by Sunderland.  All the cared for and care experienced young people present were asked their views on what should be discussed at this year’s regional CiCC conference.  Views were sought on digital inclusion and they were provided with information pertaining to the residential.  The Care Ambassador would also be attending the residential.

·        The ‘We Matter’ group worked with the fostering service to host an event at Jump 360.  Two members attended and supported 16 young people to have a voice.  The fostering team asked those who fostered about their experiences, and the fostered young people were asked questions about who they approached for support, how they shared their views in their cared for meeting, and what they thought about using an app to share their views.

·        The Voice, Influence and Change Group met on the first Wednesday of every month.  Numbers were still low and Pathways were working hard to encourage attendance from their young adults.  Pathways would identify two champions in the team to promote participation and events; one member of Pathways would attend the group meetings.

·        The Voice, Influence and Change Group would be holding a social event on 26 March 2025 for the young adults to come together for food and fun.

·        Over the next few months, the Care Ambassadors hoped that a decision would be made regarding the opportunities and incentives that should be made available to care experienced young adults, including Apprenticeships and Volunteering.

·        The Change the Language initiative would go live mid-March 2025.

During discussion, the following points were raised:

·        The Mayor referred to proposals regarding the Middlesbrough Priorities Fund and corporate parenting.  It was hoped that the matter would be resolved within the next two months.

·        The Director of Children’s Care advised that a work programme for the You Matter to Us - Corporate Parenting Board would be devised in due course.  It was requested that increased consultation with the Care Ambassadors be undertaken during the development of the programme.

The Chair thanked the Voice and Influence Manager and the Care Ambassador for their attendance and contributions to the meeting.

NOTED