Latest news with #careleavers
BBC News
19 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Service for care leavers in Bradford has improved, says Ofsted
Ofsted has highlighted improvements in the way vulnerable young adults leaving the care system in Bradford are supervised. The watchdog said improved leadership and a smaller turnover of staff had resulted in better help for 18 to 25-year-olds who had been in care as children. Support for care leavers falls within the scope of children's services, which was taken out of the control of Bradford Council in 2022 after the murder of toddler Star Hobson. The Bradford Children and Families Trust, which was set up to run the department subsequently, welcomed Ofsted's findings. The service is designed to help care leavers with the transition into adulthood, with many typically finding it difficult to access a settled home and a letter summarising the findings, Ofsted said: "Care leavers spoken with during the visit reflected that they previously had numerous changes of workers, which meant that some care leavers lost faith in the service. "Positively, care leavers told inspectors that more recent practice has improved, and they are now benefiting from increasingly stable relationships with their workers." 'Happy and settled' The letter also said that personal advisers, who work with care leavers "spoke very positively about working in Bradford". It added: "They reflected on the historical challenges and articulated how they now feel happy, settled and better supported with their work."Responding to the report, trust chair Eileen Milner said: "On behalf of Bradford Children and Families Trust I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated staff who are working tirelessly and at pace to improve the lives of children and young people in Bradford."Together, we will continue to work collaboratively and with wider partners to improve care leavers' experiences and opportunities."Last year Ofsted said the wider children's services department, which was first rated inadequate in 2018 when it under council stewardship, was improving. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Wolverhampton children in care get ready for adult life on course
A summer programme to help 14 and 15-year-olds in care develop essential independent living skills has been launched. The course set up by the City of Wolverhampton Council will cover a range of topics that include healthy eating, food hygiene, cooking, budgeting, savvy shopping and taking part will also have access to young persons's advisers and supported accommodation providers to learn more about what support is available to them as they get programme will be delivered by the Wolverhampton House Project, a council-backed initiative that helps to provide homes for care leavers. Councillor Jacqui Coogan, cabinet member for children, young people and education, said: "As young people in care approach adulthood, it's important they feel prepared, informed, and empowered to take on greater independence."This programme will help bridge the gap between care and adult life by providing hands-on experiences in key life skills and at a pace that works for each individual."She added: "This programme is all about giving young people the tools and confidence to thrive as they move towards greater independence. "It will be a positive, empowering experience that will set a strong foundation for the future." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Work placements offered to care leavers in Midlands
Severn Trent Water is to create hundreds of work placements for young people who have been in care across the have been calls in recent years for better support for young people leaving care, rather than what has been described as a "care cliff" as they reach 18. Part of that is around work Trent said it planned to offer placements directly for 100 care leavers over he next four years, with another 300 available through a partnership with other employers across the region. "Our ultimate goal is to ensure that every young person leaving care in the Midlands has access to a meaningful work experience opportunity," said HR Director Neil Harrison. "We must continue to work together for those living in our region and give people the opportunity to reach their true potential," he added.A spokesperson for Severn Trent said it had the "ultimate aim" to see more young people in work, and out of risk of said the announcement came at a time where the number of young people not in education, employment or training was nearing one million, the highest in a released last year also showed a huge rise in the number of care leavers in England facing Jones, chief secretary to the Treasury, said the firm's commitment to helping people into work, including care leavers and ex-offenders, was an example of how business can "drive real change in our communities". Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Devon care leaver homes in charity-council partnership
Proposals to create eight new homes, specifically designed to house care leavers with complex needs, have been supported in a charity and council a meeting on Wednesday, recommendations to lease land at Aldens Farm in Alphington, Exeter, and Silverhills, in Barnstaple, to enable the constructions was backed by Devon County Council's home would be designed for young people with higher levels of need, the meeting will invest £950,000 per site while Devon County Council will lease the land for 125 years as match funding. The partnership follows an £18m donation to Barnardo's from the Katherine Martin Charitable sites will have a cluster of four self-contained homes and separate accommodation for a support worker, who will be on hand to provide support and guidance. Councillor Richard Jefferies, Devon County Council's Cabinet Member for Children's Social Care, said: "Children leaving care and transitioning into independent living often have difficult histories and residential care or shared living arrangements might not always be suitable or in their best interests."Without stable housing and the right support, they can struggle to stay in education, find work, or access training and this can increase the risk of homelessness and serious health issues."Gap homes provide a suitable alternative; they are safe and will provide stable accommodation for some of our most vulnerable young people."
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Long road ahead to improve children's social care, MPs warn
MPs have warned of a 'long road ahead' to improve the children's social care sector amid rising need and a 'severe' shortage of appropriate placements for young people. The Education Committee noted a steep increase in the number of looked-after children in England in the past decade, up by a fifth since 2014 to 83,630 in 2024. Shortages of care placements led to 45% of looked-after children being placed outside of their local authority last year, and 22% moved more than 20 miles from home, MPs said, with 'distressing impacts' felt as a result. The committee's report also noted almost four in 10 (39%) care leavers aged 19–21 are not in education, training or employment, compared to 13% of all young people in that age group, while a third of care leavers become homeless within two years of leaving care. Committee chairwoman Helen Hayes branded the situation a 'moral failure'. She said: 'It is unacceptable that thousands of young people leaving care are being left to face homelessness, unemployment or barriers to education – it is a moral failure. 'The system that should be supporting our most vulnerable children is far too often abandoning them at a critical moment in their lives. Urgent action is needed to fix this broken system and give all of our young people the futures they deserve. 'Throughout this inquiry we heard that a false economy of cuts over the past decade has led to postcode lotteries in provision across different areas of the country, and has instead caused some parts of the system to become more expensive.' The report called for Government funding to be directed back into early intervention services, which Ms Hayes said 'reduce both children's suffering and costs in the long run', and to provide a so-called National Care Offer covering a guaranteed level of support for those leaving care as opposed to a 'cliff edge as they approach adulthood'. She added: 'There is a long road ahead to improve the children's social care sector, but doing so will reduce children's suffering and produce a system that helps give young people the best chance to live happily and independently.' The report's publication on Thursday coincided with changes coming into effect which the Government said will give care leavers greater access to social housing. The requirement for vulnerable groups including care leavers to have a connection to the local area has been lifted, meaning they will 'no longer be unfairly penalised', the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said. Also on Thursday, the Department for Education (DfE) announced more than £53 million would be invested in creating 200 new placements in high-quality council-run homes for the most vulnerable children including those who need to be prevented from running away or from harming themselves and others. The Government said this was the first time it had specifically targeted funding at children with complex needs who are at risk of being deprived of their liberty. The DfE said the investment is part of its reform plan for the sector, moving away from a crisis intervention approach to earlier prevention help, with more than £2 billion investment over the course of this parliament. The committee cited a number of reasons for the rise in the number of looked-after children, including less support for early intervention, greater poverty and cost-of-living pressures and an increase in the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The MPs said: 'The Government must address the factors outside the care system which are contributing to the rise in need and take action in its forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy to significantly reduce the number of children growing up in financial hardship.' The strategy is expected to be published in autumn, having been initially expected in spring. Among the committee's other recommendations were development of a new strategy to recruit foster carers and offer more support to kinship carers, and improved availability and quality of residential placements. The MPs also called for the DfE to issue a 'comprehensive response' to the 2022 Independent Review of Children's Social Care, which called for a 'radical reset' to improve the lives of children in care and their families by breaking the 'cycle of escalating need and crisis intervention'. The committee said national eligibility criteria for disabled children's social care should be introduced, noting there is currently a 'confusing 'postcode lottery' of support between local authorities'. Stephen Kingdom, campaign manager for the Disabled Children's Partnership, said the report shows disabled children, young people and their families 'are being failed by children's social care'. He added: 'Too often, families find that a system that should be supporting them is instead treating parents with suspicion. As a result, their needs are de-prioritised; they find themselves blamed and stigmatised; and what little help they do get only comes when they hit crisis point.' Care charity Become welcomed the committee's 'commitment to driving meaningful change' and putting young people's voices 'at the heart of these recommendations'. Harriet Edwards, from national disability charity Sense, backed the report's recommendations 'so all disabled children are treated fairly, no matter where they live', stating that 'for too long disabled children have been failed by a confusing social care system that is not fit for purpose'. Children and families minister Janet Daby said the children's social care system had 'faced years of drift and neglect, leading to a vicious cycle of late intervention and children falling through the cracks'. The Government had previously announced a pledge from Government for a 'backstop' law, which would limit the profit children's social care providers can make, to be brought in if providers do not voluntarily put an end to profiteering. Ms Daby: 'Through our Plan for Change and our Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, this Government is enabling every child to achieve and thrive by investing in the places children need, cracking down on profiteering with new laws, and rebuilding family support services so parents and carers get the help they need to keep their children happy and safe in loving homes.'
