This week, the Bolton Council held the Corporate Parenting Panel meeting on Wednesday, 26 June 2024. The main focus of the meeting was to discuss the new draft of the Council's Corporate Parenting Strategy and evaluate how well the Council supports its care leavers.

Corporate Parenting Strategy

The Corporate Parenting Strategy is a crucial document that outlines how the Council will care for children looked after by the local authority. The strategy sets out four main priorities:

• Ensuring that Children in Care and Care Leavers are safe and supported to live in safe homes.
• Improving the lives of Children in Care and Care Leavers.
• Maintaining a relentless focus on providing the right support at the right time.
• Fostering a culture of continuous improvement in Children’s Social Care.

The strategy has not yet been approved by the Council's decision-making Cabinet. During the discussion, some panel members expressed concerns about the strategy's clarity regarding the specific actions the Council would take to support its care leavers. One Councillor remarked:

I think it's a good start but what's missing for me is the detail of what we are going to actually do.

Supporting Care Leavers

The Panel also reviewed a report examining the Council's performance in supporting care leavers. The report utilized data from various sources, including surveys of care leavers, and identified areas for improvement:

• The number of care leavers in education, employment, or training (EET) is below the national average.
• The satisfaction level of care leavers with the support they receive from the Council is also below the national average.

The report suggested several recommendations to enhance support for care leavers:

• Increasing collaboration with care leavers to involve them in the design and delivery of services.
• Providing more support to help care leavers access education, employment, and training.
• Improving the quality of accommodation available to care leavers.

Panel members voiced significant concerns about the low numbers of care leavers in education, employment, or training, with one member describing the situation as simply unacceptable. Additionally, there were worries about the incidence of homelessness among care leavers. The panel requested more information from officers on what the Council is doing to address these issues.

The discussions during this meeting highlight the ongoing challenges and the Council's commitment to improving the support system for care leavers. As the Corporate Parenting Strategy progresses towards approval, it will be essential to monitor how the Council implements these priorities and recommendations.