In 2023 as part of A National Voice work to engage children and young people in Department for Education strategy to improve the care system, Coram Voice ran a workshop on ‘Extending Corporate Parenting. The proposed changes discussed was how the law could be changed to expect more government departments and public bodies to help improve the lives of children in care and care leavers in England.
We summarised the feedback that the 20 young people gave to the civil servants working on this in our Extending corporate parenting report.
The top 5 things the young people wanted more services to do were:
- Provide additional support in as young people do not always shave the family support networks to rely on
- Design and deliver services to take account of care experience circumstances
- Provide opportunities that support children in care and care leavers to reach their full potential
- Provide clear and transparent information on services they provide and specific rights and entitlements
- Seek out and act on the views and experiences, and use these to design policies and services in collaboration
After initially not including this in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are pleased to see that the Government has introduced an amendment to the Bill that creates extended corporate parenting duties.
Linda Briheim-Crookall, Head of Policy and Practice Development said:
“One of the things that care experienced children and young people often tell us is that the adults around them do not understand what it is like to be in care . They come across health workers or teachers that do not realise the impact their circumstances have on their lives and how best to support them. We hope that as a result of this provision, more public services recognise their roles in improving the wellbeing and future prospects of children and young people in and leaving care. This will include understanding their experiences, listening to what would make their lives better and taking action that supports their wellbeing by offering opportunities and removing barriers that stop them from doing well.”
“It was really positive that the Department for Education consulted with children and young people when developing their plans. We would like to see this work continue as they develop more detailed guidance and the Bill is implemented.”
In addition to the current duties in the Bill, we want to add a rule that gives children and young people the chance to share their wishes and feelings. This rule should make sure that their opinions are considered when different Government bodies carry out their corporate parenting responsibilities. This would be similar to existing rules that require local authorities to consider the views, wishes, and feelings of children and young people. We would also like to see more focus on making sure that there is clear information for children and young people about what support they can get.