Why?
Hertfordshire’s Your Life, Your Care survey findings acted as a launch pad to develop relationship building with the young people in their care. Other aims included wanting to be better trauma informed, improving co-production and encouraging best practice amongst workers.
What?
With an emphasis on co-production, Hertfordshire asked their Children in Care Council (CHICC) how they should work on this topic. One of the findings was that the relationship between care leaver and worker has a great impact on the quality of the service and the overall experience of the young person.
With this in mind, CHICC were involved in creating a ‘Top Ten Tips For Workers’ document. This promotional good practice guide gives professionals a better idea of what young people need and why they say the things they do.
It encouraged workers to be less risk averse – understanding and meeting the young person where they currently find themselves – not judging them on past history or what their file says about them. This helps to bring the relationship back to a personal level, where young people feel treated and respected as individuals.
The exercise is a move towards a less prescriptive approach and helps to build bridges between the young person and their worker.
Impact
The document has fed into supervisions and now also acts as a key factor in the planning of work for new staff and in interventions. It is generally seen as an accessible tool which encourages Hertfordshire’s young people to be heard and to achieve success.
