Barnsley Council's Pledge to Children and Young People in Care

BARNSLEY COUNCIL’S PLEDGE TO OUR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN CARE
BARNSLEY
Metropolitan Borough Council

Barnsley Council’s pledge to our children
and young people in care
Policy Statement
• We want to support all children in care
to be happy and healthy and to achieve
to your full potential. Because of this,
we aim to look after you with the same
care and commitment that any good
parent would have for their own child.
We have high aspirations for you, and we
want to support you to have high
aspirations for yourselves.
• We want the services supporting you
whilst you grow up to work together to
ensure that you have as much
opportunity as all other children.
• We know that being in care and leaving
care means that some things are
different for you and that this may
sometimes be difficult. We will try our
best to make sure that during your time
in care you are able to have as normal a
life as your friends who are not in care.
1. We will look after you in a safe and
caring home
2. We will promote, support, and
respect your identity
3. We will ensure that you receive a
good education
4. We will support you to be healthy
5. We will prepare you for adulthood
6. We will involve you in making it
happen
• We also know that sometimes we will
get things wrong, and we are always
looking to do things better. We will
listen to you and help you to be involved
in how we care for you, because what
you think is important to us.
• We believe you are entitled to high
quality care whilst we are looking after
you and quality support as a care leaver.
Because of this we have made the
following promises about what you can
expect from us.
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1. We will look after you in a safe
and caring home
This means we will:
1.1 Do our best to provide you with a high
quality foster placement or residential
home which is in or very close to
Barnsley, unless there is a good welfare
reason for not doing so.
1.2 Do all that we can to place you with
any brothers or sisters you have who
are also coming into care at the same
time, unless there is a good welfare
reason not to.
1.3 Make sure that, wherever you are
living, your carers are supported to
understand and meet your needs, and
to help you feel safe.
2. We will promote, support and
respect your identity
This means we will:
2.1 Support you to keep in contact with your
family and friends, or if this is not
possible, to explain the reasons why.
1.4 Ask for and listen to your views about
the type of placement you will have.
1.5 Provide you with information about
your placement and an introduction to
your carers before you move in, unless
you have to move in an emergency.
1.6 Do all that we can to place you as
quickly as possible after coming into
care, in a placement that can and will
last until you leave care.
1.7 Make sure that you have a named
social worker, who ensures you are
visited regularly, seen alone during all
visits, and provides details of how you
can contact him or her, a colleague, or
a manager during normal working
hours.
2.2 Provide you with a life story book, and
where you are old enough, work with you
to develop the book.
2.3 Make sure that we understand about any
needs you have that are to do with a
disability, being from a different ethnic
background or religion, or are about
your gender or your sexuality and provide
extra services where this will help you.
2.4 Support and encourage you to take up
and develop your own interests, hobbies,
activities, sports and talents both inside
and outside of school.
2.5 Support and encourage you to get
involved in your community through
volunteering opportunities and helping
others.
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3. We will ensure that you receive
a good education
This means we will:
3.1 Make sure that you have a place at a
good school that is local to where you
live, unless it is agreed that there is a
more suitable school to meet your
needs.
3.2 Make sure that you know who the
Designated Teacher for children in care
is in your school and that they take an
active role in supporting you.
3.3 Make sure that you have an up to date
Personal Education Plan, which is
reviewed at least annually, to which
you will be able to contribute.
3.4 Have high aspirations about your ability
to succeed and if you need help to
catch up with school work, we will
make sure this is available, including
supporting you with a Personal
Education Allowance of up to £500 a
year.
3.5 Make sure that 3 and 4 year olds
receive early year’s learning
opportunities.
3.7 Make sure that if you are a school age
child you have access to a computer
where you live.
3.8 Try our best to make sure you do not
have to change school unless it is part
of your Care Plan, and never change
your school during years 10 and 11
unless there is a very good welfare
reason for doing so.
3.6 Expect and support your carers to
actively support your education through
attending relevant meetings and
providing a suitable place to do
homework.
3.9 Try to make sure that you do not have
to miss school to attend appointments
with professionals supporting you.
3.10 Work with you and your carer to make
sure you attend school regularly.
3.11 Celebrate and promote your
achievements.
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4. We will support you to be
healthy
This means we will:
4.4 Make sure that if you move home,
health services in your new area have
information about appointments and
health services you may need.
4.1 Make sure that you are able to attend
for all your necessary immunisations
and medical appointments, including an
annual health and dental assessment,
and that you are registered with a GP
and dentist.
4.2 Provide a specialist children in care
health advisor to advise and support
you, your carers, and other health
professionals so that you get the best
possible healthcare.
4.5 Support you to manage your own health
needs as you get older, including
providing information, advice, and
support about sexual health, and sex
and relationships.
4.6 Make sure that you are able to take
part in a range of sporting, leisure,
play and other physical activities that
will improve your physical health.
4.3 Make sure you have specialist support if
you feel so angry, upset, scared,
confused, or lonely that this is stopping
you from feeling safe and happy.
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5. We will prepare you for adulthood
5.5 Care for you in a care placement until
your 18th birthday.
This means we will:
5.1 Make sure that you have a pathway
plan which you have contributed to,
setting out your path to adulthood,
from age 16 years and three months.
5.2 Make sure that you have a named
personal advisor from Barnsley’s
Leaving Care Services.
5.3 Make sure you have a bank account,
birth certificate, passport and national
insurance number soon after your 16th
birthday.
5.4 Make sure that when you leave school
you receive an offer of education,
employment or training, and the
opportunity to discuss this with a
careers advisor.
5.6 Do all that we can to make sure that
when you leave care, you will be
provided with suitable quality
accommodation in Barnsley, unless this
is against your wishes, and where you
need it, this will be supported
accommodation.
5.7 Provide you with accommodation in
Barnsley when you are home from
college or university.
5.8 For ‘separated children’ provide you
with access to English language classes
within two weeks of becoming a child
in care and support you to take up
additional educational opportunities.
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6. We will involve you in making it
happen
This means we will:
6.1 Listen to your views and opinions and
involve you in decisions about your
care.
6.2 Provide you with a named Independent
Reviewing Officer who will chair your
childcare review and make sure your
views are heard and understood.
6.5 Establish a group of children and young
people in care who meet together and
with Senior Managers and Barnsley
Councillors regularly to talk about
being in care and making things better.
This will be the Children in Care
Council.
6.6 Support the Children in Care Council,
by providing advice, assistance, and
information, to help the Council to
assess whether we are meeting our
promises made in this Pledge.
6.3 Talk to you and other children and
young people in care to help us decide
how to change and improve our
services.
6.7 Involve the Children in Care Council in
developing, monitoring, and reviewing
this Pledge.
6.4 Provide you with a copy of this Pledge,
so that you will know what we are
promising you and you can tell us if you
think we are not meeting our promises.
You can do this by telling your social
worker or telling the reviewing officer
at your childcare review, or anyone
else who you know will tell us,
including the Children’s Rights Service.
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Photo DCSF
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BARNSLEY
Metropolitan Borough Council