The Corporate Parenting Forum

The Corporate Parenting Forum (CPF) has a key role in monitoring how the Council discharges its corporate parenting responsibilities. Children and young people are invited to attend these meetings, and an appropriate feedback loop has been developed to ensure that actions are carried out and recommendations of the CPF are shared with the Sutton Children in Care Council. The overall purpose of the group is to ensure that the Council with its partners effectively discharges its corporate parenting role to have a positive impact on the outcomes for children in public care.

What does Corporate Parenting mean and Our Pledge

Corporate parenting is a term used to refer to the collective responsibility of the Council and statutory partners as defined by Working Together 2015(i) to provide the best care and protection for children and young people who are in public care. This concern should encompass the child's education, health and welfare, what they do in their leisure time and holidays, how they celebrate their culture or religion and how they receive praise and encouragement for their achievements.

This is the pledge that we make for young people in our care.

• We will make sure you get the help you need when you need it and give you the information you need to make the right decisions.

• We will create clear plans for care, education, health and wellbeing to meet your needs.

• We will make sure you will have the opportunity to talk to your social worker alone every time he/she visits you.

• We will ensure that you are involved in decisions that affect you and your life, listen to your views and respect your choice. We want you to tell us when you meet us whether we are keeping our promises.

• We will make sure every Sutton school has a person who works with children who are looked after to help and support them achieve educationally. For young people out of borough, to ensure they have a contact from Sutton who can support them in their education.

• We will give you the support you need to have contact with family and friends, including covering travel costs where necessary if they live far away.

• We will support you to gain training opportunities, further and higher education and employment.

• We aim to be the best as parents, provide you with a safe and comfortable place to live and to make your experience of being looked after a positive one.

• We will have expectations of you as well and we will make these clear to you.

• We will only promise you things that we know we can do.

• We will celebrate and promote your achievements with you as well as any contributions that you make to the community, including marking your birthday, religious festivals and educational attainments.

• We will respect you as an individual, make sure you are treated fairly, make sure that you know your rights and they are adhered to as set out in relevant legislation, regulations and guidance and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• We will give you support and guidance with developing life skills so that you can manage your life effectively.

• We will also ensure you receive your London Borough of Sutton Pledge entitlements, wherever you live.

• Any failure on the part of the Council to deliver this will be promptly resolved.

Legal and Policy context

Effective corporate parenting will need the commitment from all Council employees and elected Members and an authority wide approach. These responsibilities for Local Authorities were first laid out in the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004 and reinforced in the Children and Young Peoples Act 2008. Section 22G of the 1989 Act outlines the 'sufficiency principle', that local authorities are required to take reasonable steps to secure sufficient accommodation within the authority to meet the needs of the authority's children. This requires partnership with other services such as education and health to ensure the child's needs are met and the placement supported. The legislative framework is supported by statutory guidance that describes roles and responsibilities of the Council and partners in more detail, a comprehensive list is provided by the Department for Education (ii). The Local Government Association has published resources to ensure effective scrutiny of service for looked after children (iii).

• Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015), see link below (ii) DfE Statutory Guidance [External]

• Link currently being updated

Accountability

Corporate Parenting Forum is accountable to the Children, Families and Education Committee and is supporting the Local Safeguarding Children's Board to ensure the effectiveness of services to children in public care to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Responsibilities

• To examine how the Council as a whole and partner agencies discharge their corporate parenting responsibilities to improve the life chances of all looked after children and care leavers.

• To ensure there are good joint working arrangements between council departments and partner agencies by scrutinising arrangements for looked after children and care leavers, and holding operational services to account.

• To take account of direct experiences of children and young people, parents of children in care, care leavers and foster carers and e and have a measurable impact on policies and services for children in care and care leavers.

• To ensure that children in care and care leavers have access to information about their welfare and participation rights and what they can expect from the Council, including when they are placed out-of borough.

• To ensure that children in care and care leavers have access to, and benefit from appropriate adult support/guidance through advocacy and mentoring; and that this is targeted to ensure a greater engagement with diverse cohorts of LAC and care leavers.

• To maintain a strategic overview of new developments, initiatives, plans, policies and strategies that impact on children in care and care leavers.

• To review commissioning activities in relation to placements for children in care to ensure maximum efficiencies and quality.

• To review commissioning activity in relation to supported and semi-independent accommodation for young people in care and care leavers, including out-of borough placements.

• To influence practice by the promotion of clear expectations of good professional practice and service delivery.

• To refer matters which warrant further investigation or action to other Council Committees and the Local Safeguarding Children Board as appropriate.

Activity of the Corporate Parenting Forum

• To develop, monitor and review a multi-agency strategy for looked after children and care leavers.

• To regularly assess and make recommendations about relevant performance indicators, including key indicators for education, health, placement stability, child review participation, children going missing and offending in each meeting.

• To regularly assess and make recommendations about qualitative evidence of the effectiveness of services to children in care and care leavers, including professionals' attendance at statutory reviews, pathway planning and return home interviews for LAC who go missing.

• To regularly assess and make recommendations about the needs of care leavers, including employment, further education, training and housing.

• To assess regular audits of the effectiveness of LAC and leaving care services.

Membership

Lead Member for Children, Families and Education (Chair); 3 (minimum) other Members, Assistant Director Children's Social Care (LBS); Head of Service, Corporate Parenting (LBS); Head of Service, Quality Assurance(LBS); Designated Nurse for Safeguarding (CCG); Head of Virtual School Sutton; Sutton Foster Care Association Representatives, Sutton Children in Care Council Representative(s)

Meetings are held six times a year for 2 hours per meeting.