Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet approve the Leaving Care Strategy and approve the three-year plan as set out within the Strategy.

Consideration was given to the report which presented the Rotherham Leaving Care Strategy 2024-27. The Strategy outlined the three-year plan for Rotherham Care Leavers and set out priorities for care experienced young people. It also outlined improvements to services and practice for children who were Care Leavers or Care Experienced.

The Leaving Care Strategy as a standalone document was the first of its kind in Rotherham and was a recommendation of a Peer Review undertaken in March 2024. The consideration of Good and Outstanding Local Authorities offer to Care Leavers had confirmed that having a bespoke Care Leaver Strategy was best practice. This Strategy compared well to other examples across the Care Leaver landscape. Corporate Parenting responsibilities were taken seriously by Rotherham Council and its partners, and it was recognised that there should be greater development of the Leaving Care Service over the next few years. Leaving Care strategic and operational service plans had been devised to track the progress of development work and these aligned with the Leaving Care Strategy priorities.

The Strategy demonstrated how partners across Rotherham would work together to ensure the needs of Care Leavers were met. The six priorities had been selected as the key areas for development in Leaving Care services and in the offer to Care Leavers. These young people had often experienced adversity and as such, were more vulnerable than their peers who had not had care experience. As such, the Strategy had to outline priorities which met the complex needs of all Care Leavers and determine how these needs could be met over the next three years.

Initially, the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board, alongside performance clinics, would review the progress of the Leaving Care Strategy, 2024-2027 and of the service plans which sat alongside the document. Progress reports would be provided to the Corporate Parenting Partnership Board every six months. These would include metrics used to measure performance and quality, such as performance data around key areas and audit outcomes in respect of quality.

The Council was committed, as Corporate Parents, to ensuring that all Care Leavers needs were met and that they were supported to achieve their aspirations and transition successfully to adulthood. The proposed Strategy and governance arrangements would support to achieve this.

It was confirmed that the Strategy pulled together all current actions and was an overarching document of existing arrangements.

Resolved:

That Cabinet approve the Leaving Care Strategy and approve the three-year plan as set out within the Strategy.