Corporate Parenting
Corporate Parenting Panel
1
This report provides a brief update about the work undertaken by the Panel
since the last report to County Council in July 2015.
What is Corporate Parenting?
2
Corporate Parenting is the term used to describe the responsibility which is
shared by the whole Council for the quality of care provided by the authority
for children and young people in their care. The National Children’s Bureau
explains the responsibility:
‘This is about more than providing food and shelter: a good corporate
parent offers at least the same standard of care as would a reasonable
parent.
This means that children who are looked after should be cared about, not
just cared for, and that all aspects of their development should be
nurtured, requiring a ‘corporate’ approach from a range of council
departments and agencies.’
All members and officers of the Council share this responsibility.
What is the Corporate Parenting Panel (CPP)?
3
The role of the Panel is to ensure that the services provided to children
young people looked after by the County Council are of good quality
meet their needs.
It does this by working with young people,
commissioners and providers of services for children and young people.
Panel has an advisory role to the County Council. It provides advice
constructive challenge to the Cabinet Member for Children – Start of
about the strategic approach and the services provided.
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What is the Panel Doing?
4
In addition to the formal meetings of the Panel in September and October,
members of the Panel met representatives from the Children in Care Council
on Saturday, 17 October. These joint meetings take place several times a
year and provide the opportunity for the two groups to meet and discuss
issues of common interest. Hearing directly from children and young people
who are looked after by the Council about their experiences enables the
Panel members to check out what those in receipt of our services think about
them.
Revision of the Corporate Parenting Charter
5
The Cabinet Member for Children - Start of Life and the Panel agreed that the
Charter, which has been in place since February 2012, needed revision. The
Charter had provided a clear statement setting out the responsibilities of
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Corporate Parenting
elected members as corporate parents and all members of the Council were
asked to sign up to the Charter when it was introduced.
6
Panel members took the opportunity of the joint meeting with the Children in
Care Council in October to ask the children present to assist in developing
the wording for the new version of the Charter. Radical changes were agreed
to the style and language of the document to ensure that it has impact.
Instead of the term ‘charter’, all involved thought that naming it a ‘promise’
would be more appropriate. The language used makes it clear that the
responsibility of elected members is a personal one – making it clear that
they are ‘our children’. Set out at Appendix 1 is the wording of the new
Corporate Parenting Promise.
7
Posters and individual credit card sized versions will be printed and a copy of
the small version will be provided to all elected members, who will be asked
to sign the card in recognition of their responsibilities.
Quick Guide to Corporate Parenting
8
In addition to developing the Corporate Parenting Promise, the Panel also
contributed to the development of the Quick Guide – set out at Appendix 2.
This is available on the website and is intended to act as a quick reminder to
all members of their responsibilities, and to explain this to members of the
public.
Ofsted Inspection of Children’s Services
9
The Panel Chairman and Mrs Millson attended an interview with one of the
Ofsted Inspectors together with the Cabinet Member for Children – Start of
Life. The interview was part of the work undertaken by inspectors to assess
the quality and impact of leadership and governance of the service, and
Panel members were required to explain the role of the Panel and how the
wider membership of the Council are involved in corporate parenting. The
Inspection report will be published on 20 January 2016 and the Panel will
consider any issues identified which are relevant to the support provided to
children who are looked after.
Educational attainment and the role of the Virtual School
10 As outlined in the annual report of the Panel, which was presented to County
Council in July, this is one of the top priorities for the Panel. In October the
Panel considered the latest attainment data and also received a report from
the Director of Education reporting on his review of the resourcing of the
Virtual School.
11 In terms of attainment, the Panel was pleased to note improved achievement
of some children looked after, but recognise that there remains much scope
for further improvement.
12 In terms of the resourcing of the Virtual School, the Panel heard about the
variety of different models of operation in place in other local authorities, and
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Corporate Parenting
noted that there is no evidence of a direct correlation between the resources
allocated directly to the Virtual School and the attainment level of children
looked after. Ofsted has however identified a number of factors which are
likely to support the effective operation of the Virtual School in any area, and
the Panel asked the Director of Education to work with the Education and
Skills Forum to ensure that these factors are in place in West Sussex.
13 The Panel agreed that this area of focus remains one of its top priorities, and
will monitor both attainment by children looked after and the role of the
Virtual School.
14 Jill Dyson, the Head Teacher of the Virtual School is leaving the County
Council in January. The Panel thanks her for her work and wished her well in
the future.
Regional Seminar
15 On 11 November West Sussex hosted the third meeting of the Regional
Corporate Parenting Network. The Network was established in 2012 when
the then County Council’s Corporate Parenting Panel Chairman convened a
meeting with peers from neighbouring local authorities to discuss best
practice and the challenges of corporate parenting.
The meeting in
November was hosted by the West Sussex Panel Chairman and the Cabinet
Member for Children – Start of Life, and they were assisted by a service
colleague from East Sussex County Council, who stepped in to assist due to
the Ofsted Inspection underway in West Sussex at the time.
16 The agenda was developed in consultation with participating authorities and
the meeting was attended by nine local authorities.
included –
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•
•
•
Key issues discussed
The challenge of engaging all elected members in corporate parenting
Raising ambitions for CLA – input from East Sussex County Council Virtual
School Head Teacher focusing on educational attainment
Key messages and issues to consider from the research report
Benchmarking data – how it can be used to measure outcomes and
support the work of corporate parents.
17 Initial analysis of feedback and comments on the day indicate this was a
helpful meeting and that there is enthusiasm to both develop the network
through the use of on line communication and to hold further annual
meetings.
Future work programme
18 The Panel will continue to focus on its key priorities, including any
performance improvement activity necessary in response to the Ofsted
Inspection. The Panel is also planning the next Corporate Parenting member
Day which will be on 24 February 2016.
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Recommended
That the report be noted.
Amanda Jupp
Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel
Contact: Mandy Shipley, 03302 222549
Background Papers
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Corporate Parenting – Appendix 1
(see paragraph 6, page 389)
West Sussex County Council
Corporate Parenting Promise
I am a Corporate Parent for all children who are looked after by West Sussex
County Council – they are ‘our children’ and are the responsibility of all elected
members and staff across the Council.
I promise to ask our children what they need
I promise to listen to our children
I promise that our children will get the best support possible
I promise to make sure things get done when our children tell me things are not
working
I will ask myself ‘would this be good enough for my child or grandchild’?
How I will know that we are doing our best for our children?
I will use performance information to help me support and challenge colleagues.
Our aspiration is that all children, young people and families will thrive and
prosper. As corporate parents we want our children and young people to have
everything that any good parent would want for their children.
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Corporate Parenting – Appendix 2
(see paragraph 8, page 389)
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Corporate Parenting – Appendix 2
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