Looked After Children

Background

Barnsley''s looked after children, like many others across the country, have to overcome significant barriers to achieve, develop and have healthy lifestyles, when compared to their peers. Their ''life chances'' are significantly disadvantaged as they enter care and unless reversed, negative long term affects can often be seen in the child/young person''s health, employment and housing opportunities, their social experiences and general well being. The challenge corporately is in mobilising a response across a range of agencies, both internal and external, which meets the individual needs of children and young people, while consistently promoting equal access and opportunity. Barnsley is a developing Children and Young People''s Trust, with the aim of securing better outcomes for all children across our community. However, the Quality Protects initiative and concerted focus as a Health Action Zone provided the opportunity to refocus some of our joint resources and enhance the support provided to some of our communities'' most vulnerable children and young people, the children and young people in Care.

The Life Chances Team

An integrated team has been established with the primary aim of working through and with the key figures in a child/young person''s life, to secure opportunities and improved outcomes in relation to their health and education. The Life Chances Team provides a service for all children and young people looked after by Barnsley Met Council. Positive life experiences in health, education, leisure and culture are essential, if a child/young person is to reach their full potential. The Life Chances team promote through individual planning, health assessments, advocacy and direct support, access to opportunities for children and young people which should be theirs by right, but are often not.

What the Life Chances Team Provide

The team:

• provides advice and support to children and young people looked after, carers, and colleagues across a range of health, social care and education settings;


• assists the development of systems across health, education and social care which effectively identify and communicate the needs of vulnerable children and young people;


• contributes to individual and strategic planning and review process;


• contributes to the development of policies and good practice guidance across social care, health and education;


• advocates on behalf of individuals or groups of looked after children and young people;


• provides support through direct contact with looked after children and young people;


• provides training to carers, parents, teachers and children, in respect of PHSE, managing challenging behaviour, parenting or health related issues;


• contributes to the development of individual health plans and personal education plans;


• co-ordinates and delivers health needs assessments;


• commissions services for looked after children and young people and provides materials and resources;


• signposts and promotes the access of looked after children and young people to other services;


• promotes access to normal experiences, including health care, education, learning, play, leisure and sport;


• promotes inclusion in mainstream activity and the community;


• provides an additional focus on meeting the health, education and social needs of Looked After Children and young people, placed outside the Borough;
• promotes corporate parenting;


• adopts a holistic approach to service provision designed to improve the life chances of looked after children recognising the inter-dependence between their health needs, educational achievement and social experiences

Who''s Who

The team consists of a Team Manager (qualified Health professional), a Health Advisor (Named Nurse), an Education Advocate/Adviser (qualified social work professional), a teacher and two Education Support Workers. A primary mental health worker post will be established within the team in 2005.

Other Resources

Apart from themselves, the team have access to a resources budget, which can be used to purchase equipment or leisure/play opportunities, fund transport to school, or purchase additional teaching/non-teaching support. It is also available to fund individual or group programmes based on assessed need of individual young people reflected in Personal Education Plans or Individual Health Plans.
There are of course pressures on our resources. Expectations of staff are high, direct contacts with some of our most challenging young people are emotionally challenging. Attainment is only one element of achievement, and progress measures which fail to take account of this can de-motivate young people, and fail to give recognition to the commitment and input of those caring for and supporting the children and young people. The pressures on the transport budget and additional education needs are significant, given the devolvement of standards funding to schools with little or no vulnerable children in their setting, and the numbers of children placed some distance from home. We promote as a priority, children and young people remaining within their original school.

Working With and Through Others

The Life Chances Team work alongside the full range of figures in a child/young person''s life including social workers, school nurses, carers, doctors, teaching and non teaching support staff, personal advisors, leaving care team, leisure services, library staff, family learning, behaviour support staff, CAMHS staff and local authority staff who have a corporate parenting role.

Professional Support

All the staff within the team is line managed within Children''s Services and receive supervision and personal development support in accordance with our policy and guidelines. In addition, the teacher receives professional support from the local Springwell Centre, from where they are also able to access teaching materials and resources, and the Health Advisor accesses professional support through the School Health Team, maintaining her registration as a Nurse.

Funding

The team is funded via pooled PCT/Social Services/Education budget, which includes elements of safeguarding children grant and standards fund. Previous funding has included Quality Protects Grant, HAZ and PSA pump priming.

Monitoring Progress

The ''Life Chances'' Team have a detailed action plan and have compiled a Service Improvement Workbook, which comprises of a range of outputs which are being delivered by this team and partners across the health, social care/education and voluntary sector, in order to effectively support Looked After children and young people. Progress is reviewed at team meetings and reported into strategic management forums including the joint Education of LAC Forum and Children''s Services Management Team.

Key Successes

Team members have either led on or made significant contributions to initiatives/activity which has promoted the health and education of Looked After Children and Young People. These include the establishment of designated teachers/social workers, introduction of personal education plans, nurse led assessments, revision and homework clubs, ICT in placements, implementation of individual health plans, securing mainstream placements in education settings, auditing/reviewing and tracking processes in place, and access to leisure/play/raising self-esteem activities for children and young people. Although current measures don''t tell the whole story, many children and young people have benefited directly and indirectly through the team and the additional focus and emphasis we are placing locallyon working together to promote better health and education outcomes. We have made real progress in reducing absences from school, improved on the numbers of young people achieving at least 1 GCSE as well as 5 A-C''s, our progress against health targets is good, and more of our young people are better placed to meet the challenges of leaving care. There remains much to do!!

Contact

For futher information or assistance please contact:

Carol Clayton Team Manager (Life Chances)
Barnsley Social Services
Wellington House
Wellington Street
Barnsley, S70 1WA.
TEL: 01226 772392
EMAIL: carolclayton@barnsley.gov.uk