Why?
Personal Advisers (PAs), young people and managers in East Sussex felt that their arrangements for Pathway Planning were not working as well as they could. The original Pathway Plan format was clunky and repetitive. It didn’t always focus on what was important to care-experienced young people’s lives.
East Sussex are part of the Bright Spots Programme, and have used their survey findings to inform their strategic planning. However, whilst the information gathered is still very useful, it is focused on the whole population of care leavers and not on individuals.
What?
East Sussex were keen to build on their learning from the Bright Spots Programme. They decided to integrate a selection of the Bright Spots Your Life Beyond Care questions directly into their Pathway Planning processes. They consulted with young people and PAs about which questions to include and adapted their Pathway Plan proforma to include them. The question areas from Bright Spots they have included are:
- Whether feel safe where live
- Whether feel have a disability / long-term health condition
- Whether feel happy with appearance
- Whether feel coping financially
- Whether have questions about time in care
- Whether have someone they trust, who sticks by them
- Whether have a pet
See a blank example of the updated Pathway Plan proforma here
What difference did it make?
The new questions have been a part of the new pathway planning process since January 2025. Feedback from young people and PAs has been positive. Everyone is using the new format and completion rates for Pathway Plans remain high. The use of the new questions is leading to different and more open conversations, and joint action planning (e.g. in response to asking more about whether a young person feels all their questions have been answered in relation to their time in care, there is now an option to discuss Life Long Links project support).
Insights such as how young migrants are feeling in the local area, have been shared with Police Community Safety colleagues. Insights about how young people feel about housing have been shared with colleagues in the Housing Department.
Questions and conversations with individual young people are not completed all at once. Rather, they are integrated into ongoing discussions, visits and catch-ups.
Managers at East Sussex feel the inclusion of the Bright Spots questions has led to changes for young people at both individual and strategic levels. Managers who check and authorise the completed Pathway Plans reflect that the quality of what is recorded has improved, and helps them understand more deeply the lived experience of their young people. Although some of this can be difficult to hear (i.e. loneliness, not feeling safe), East Sussex believe it is important to record and respond to how young people are feeling. Young people have told East Sussex that the new format helps them to hold the local authority to account.
At present, the data is included in Pathway Plans only. The information is not linked to the Case Management System, so it is not currently possible to aggregate and explore it further (e.g. what types of accommodation or areas do those who feel unsafe live in etc.).
East Sussex are exploring with IT colleagues the feasibility of integrating the data from Pathway Plans into their wider Case Management System. The council plan to do an audit of Pathway Plans soon, to further understand, and capitalise on, what young people are sharing, and to look systematically at any themes that arise.