Participation Works

The Government has published its response to the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee report on looked after children. The Children and Young Persons Act was passed in November 2008 and set out reforms to the care system which included the setting up of Children in Care Councils to provide a mechanism for children and young people in care to express their views and influence services. Other measures in the Act included that every local authority will also have to set out its ‘pledge’ to children in care regarding the level of services and support they will receive.

In its report the Select Committee welcomed the introduction of children in care councils and pledges as a means to enable children to hold local authorities to account for the service they provide to looked after children. However the report argues that the Government needs to make it clear how local authorities will be held to account for their development of children in care councils and what action can be taken by a child if they fail to deliver the pledges they have made. The report also argues that children in care councils and pledges should not be the sole means by which local authorities involve children in decision making on policy and services and that looked after children should be involved in mainstream participation and children’s rights work.

The Government in its response said that all children in care councils should have direct access to the Director of Children’s Services and the Lead Member and that local authorities should ensure that the views of children in their care are put directly to those who have the statutory responsibility for their care. The Government also said that local authorities and their partners in the children’s trust must consult children and young people in developing their Children and Young People’s Plan. 

The committee also recommended that the duty on local authorities to find out and consider the views of children in care when making decisions about their care is strengthened by Independent Reviewing Officers having to record children’s views when care plans are being reviewed.

The Government, in its response, said that in the future Independent Reviewing Officers would be expected to meet the child before each review meeting to record their views and ensure that the child is able to participate meaningfully in planning their care.

The Select Committee also argued that children's satisfaction with the quality of care they receive should be a key feature in performance indicators and local and national assessments of the care system. The Government has responded that the office of the Children’s Rights Director at Ofsted will survey children who are in the authority's care and who have recently left care for each inspection that is carried out.

Fri, 03/07/2009 - 16:20