Why?
Wandsworth wanted to make sure care leavers jointly review progress of their New Belongings action plan and improvement to support for care leavers.
What?
- Four Future First Champions were elected by other care leavers (Future First is the name of the Wandsworth Leaving Care service).
- The champions had diverse backgrounds – this helped them reflect the different experiences of Wandsworth’s care leavers.
- The Champions attended the monthly Care Leavers Action group – a meeting chaired by the Assistant Director along with managers from across the council and partner agencies.
- The Champions received the agenda, reports and updates before the meeting and were supported by a participation worker to prepare their responses and agreed how they wanted to present their views.
- They were paid expenses at the London Living Wage and their travel costs etc. were reimbursed.
Impact
The Future First champions were able to make informed and valued contributions to the Care Leavers Action group which oversaw the delivery of Wandsworth’s action plan.
