Children and Young People In Care

A looked after child is a child/young person for who the Local Authority has taken responsibility for placing in some form of accommodation. The Local Authority subsequently has a statutory duty to monitor the young person and support them in this accommodation. 

Approximately 60,000 children and young people are looked after by local authorities at any one time, with up to 90,000 young people passing through the care system in any year. Each year around 8,000 young people aged 16 or over leave care.

Children and young people in local authority care are greatly affected by the policies and decisions of the authority as their ‘corporate parent’. Being able to influence those decisions is a fundamental right. Enabling young people in care to work together to create change for themselves and their peers is a crucial role for both local authorities, and third sector organisations working with young people in care. The particular challenges faced by children young people in care can be significant. In 2006, only 12% of young people in care achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE level (or equivalent) compared to 59% of all children and children and young people in care are far more likely to miss school or be excluded from school. Over 50% of children in care responding to the Care Matters consultation said that they had difficulties accessing positive activities.

Participation for children and young people in care can range from having a say over their individual circumstances and being able to express one-off views about the quality of provision (for example, through complaints and comments procedures), through to young people collectively campaigning for changes in local authority policy.

The resources below provide pointers to help organisations working with young people in care to explore ways of building in more opportunities for young people to participate and create real, meaningful and positive change.

Tools

SCIE: Involving children and young people in developing social care
This online and downloadable guide, designed primarily for managers and practitioners provides a detailed theoretical and practice overview of how a 'whole systems' approach, covering culture, structures, practice and review mechanisms can support the participation of children and young people in social care settings.

CAFCASS: My Needs, Wishes and Feelings
Resource pack developed by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service to support young people's individual participation in family court settings. With version for young children and older young people. 

Further Backround

This page has some further background on participation for children and young people in care.

What does it mean for a child to be 'in care'?

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Related events & training

How to involve 'hard to reach' children and young people, London 28/09/10

September 28th, 2010 10:00am

This new, innovative one-day course is based on the popular How To Guide on the same topic. At the end of the training day participants will have deve…

Involving Disabled Children in Planning and Reviews, Lonodon

October 5th, 2010 09:30am

This event is not organised by Participation Works. Details of how to register are below.

Safeguarding in Youth Participation, London 30/11/10

November 30th, 2010 10:00am

This one day course developed by the National Council for Voluntray Youth Services (NCVYS) supports organisations in developing and applying safe poli…

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Related News

Children have their say on rights and responsibilities in new report

The Children’s Rights Director for England has published a report on children and young people’s views on rights and responsibilities.

Children have their say on state of social care in England

The Children’s care monitor report for 2009 has been published by the Children’s Rights Director for England.

Children in care give views on their experience in new report

The Children’s Rights Director for England has published a report on the experiences of looked after children and young people in England.

Consortium publish first report on progress in establishing children in care councils

The Children in Care Councils Consortium has published their first report on progress in establishing Children in Care Councils (CICCs) in England.

Government responds to select committee report on children in care

The Government has published its response to the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee report on looked after children.

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Related Resources

How to involve 'hard to reach' children and young people

This how to guide aims to provide an understanding of why some children and young people might not make use of the education, services, organisations…

How to safeguard children and young people

This How To guide offers a practical introduction to safeguarding children and young people.

Your rights to be heard when you are in contact with the police and the courts

This guide helps children and young people know their rights to be heard and taken seriously if they have been stopped by the police.

Your rights to be heard when you are in contact with children’s services

This guide helps children and young and people know their rights and be taken seriously if a family court is making decisions about them.

Voice 4 Change Conference (case study)

Voice 4 Change Conference - for looked after children and young people plus care leavers to meet with senior statutory staff to discuss issues and agr…

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Participation Works is a consortium of…
British Youth CouncilChildren's Rights Alliance for EnglandNational Council for Voluntary Youth ServicesNational Youth AgencyNCB

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