ARTICLE 20 – CORPORATE PARENTING BOARD SUPPORTING YORK’S COMMITMENT TO CORPORATE PARENTING

1          Introduction

1.1       City of York Council looks after a number of children and young people who are unable to remain in the care of their parents. When a child comes into our care the tasks of their parents become the corporate responsibility of the Council. This is known as 'corporate parenting' and it is the collective responsibility of the Council to prioritise the needs of children in care and care leavers and seek for them the same outcomes any good parent would want for their own children.

2   Purpose of the Board

2.1      To actively listen to the views of our children and young people so that the Council is able to adapt its corporate parenting in line with their wishes, feeling and needs.

2.2 To act as a forum where our young people are able to hold Members and Officers to account as their parents.

2.3 To raise the awareness of the Council’s Corporate Parenting responsibilities and knowledge among elected Members and officers.

2.4 To support and make recommendations to relevant Council bodies on matters related to corporate parenting.

3          York Vision for Children and Young People in Care and Care Leavers

3.1       We are committed to York being an effective, caring, and ambitious corporate parent and we will do everything we can to make sure that children in our care and care leavers receive the best possible care and support.

3.2       The overarching vision of City of York Council is “A better start for children and young people” and we look to achieve this through our mission statement; “every conversation starts with the child.”

3.3      Through our practice, we have agreed to adhere to our values that ensure we can deliver positive outcomes:

a) Everyone feels safe

b) Risk is understood and managed well

c) Practice is consistently good

3.4      We want our children and young people to be happy and healthy, both physically and emotionally, to be safe and protected from harm and exploitation, to achieve their potential and to be supported each step of the way to adult life.

3.5      The council has strong engagement with children and young people in care and care leavers who tell us what more we should be doing to further improve their lives and future outcomes. The Council highly values their experiences and we are committed to acting on what they tell us and involving them in decisions that affect their lives.

3.6      Our Corporate Parenting and Children in Care Strategy sets out our ambition for our children and young people and care leavers and how we intend to fulfil our corporate parenting responsibilities and strategic priorities in a way which puts children and young people and care leavers at the centre of improvements in the planning, delivery and evaluation of our services. 

4        Aims and objectives of the Board

4.1     To meet this purpose the Corporate Parenting Board will:

a) Provide leadership across the city to create a more effective and efficient health and wellbeing for children and young people in care and care leavers

b) Make sure that the whole council and relevant partner agencies commit to excellent standards of corporate parenting. 

c) Set high expectations and stable relationships for all children and young people in care

d) Seek improved long term outcomes for children and young people in care and their families – for their happiness; well-being; educational success; and future prospects

e) Make sure that the voice of the child and young person in care influences both policy and the services that they receive, and that young people are engaged with any action intended to develop and improve services or to recruit key staff members

f) Oversee and monitor key performance indicators for the health, well-being and education of looked after children

g) Champion the provision of Council based work placements and apprenticeships for children and young people in care and care leavers.

h) Review and monitor progress on the actions identified in the Corporate Parenting and Children in Care Strategy

i) Monitor the delivery of York’s Guarantee to children and young people in care and the Care Leavers Offer.

j) Consider the outcomes of regulatory visits and inspection reports on provision for children in care

k) Celebrate the achievements of children and young people in care and their carers

l) Determine ways in which the role of corporate parenting can be improved, using examples from other local authorities/organisations.

5         Membership of the Board

5.1      The Board will be chaired by The Executive Lead for Education Children’s and Young People Services and a deputy chair will be sort through a representative of Show Me I Matter and I Still Matter (if they wish to take up this role)The deputy chair will chair the meeting in the absence of the chair

5.2      The deputy chair will be nominated at the first meeting of each year.

5.3      The Membership of the Board will consist of:

a) Up to 4representatives from Show Me I Matter and Still Matter

b) A maximum of 4 Elected Members drawn from:

o The Executive Member for Education, Children and Young People’s Services (is also a member of Show Me that I Matter Panel).

o The Executive Member for Adults Social Care and Public Health in the capacity of being a member of Show Me that I Matter Panel

o Main Opposition Group Shadow Lead Member for Education, Children and Young People’s Services

o Main Opposition Group Shadow lead member for Adults, Social Care, and Public Health

c) Corporate Director of Children’s Services

d) Corporate Director of Adults and Integration

e) Director of Children’s Safeguarding

f) Head of Service – Corporate Parenting

Corporate Parenting Advisors (Council Officers) will also attend and support the Corporate Parenting Board as and when required.

5.4      The Board will also have the power to co-opt non-voting Members to advise which will include the following:

a) Assistant Director - Education/Virtual School Head

b) Chief Nurse ICS place

c) Care experienced young people as recommended by Show Me That I Matter and I Still Matter

d) Up to two Foster Carers

e) Other significant agencies/services involved in corporate parenting as and when required i.e. Police

f) Representative of DWP

g) Housing Representative

h) CAMHS/Mental Health Representative

5.5      The Board can review its overall membership and can make changes to the co-opted representation at any time.

6         Meetings of the Board

6.1      This Board does not have decision making powers and is not a formal Board (Committee) of the Council, but will be able to provide recommendations for the Executive and the Corporate Management Team to consider.

6.2       The meetings of the Board will take place on a quarterly basis in private and therefore will not be live streamed.

7          Annual Report

7.1      The Board will prepare an Annual Report which will be presented to a meeting of Full Council to be presented by the young person appointed as co-chair (with contribution from the Elected Member chair if and when appropriate).  The Annual Report will provide all Elected Members with the opportunity to be appraised of their corporate parenting responsibilities, the effectiveness of the Board and the work of the Council in using its services to best promote the support provided to children in care and care leavers.

7.2      The Annual Report will also be shared with the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the council’s scrutiny committees.

7.3      The Annual Report and work of the Corporate Parenting Board must be meaningfully shared with children and young people.