· Update on young people's activity to influence service delivery and policy development since last Corporate Parenting Board – LINX (Lancashire's Children in Care Council)/Care Leavers Forum (10 mins)
· Corporate Parenting Board support for summer activities (follow up from last Board meeting) – LINX (Lancashire's Children in Care Council)/Care Leavers Forum (15 mins)
· Corporate Parenting Reports and Presentations - LINX (Lancashire's Children in Care Council)/Care Leavers Forum and Andreas Feldhaar, Permanence Service, Lancashire County Council (5 mins)
Minutes:
Young people from LINX (Lancashire's Children in Care Council) and the Care Leavers Forum (CLF) provided an update on their activity to influence service delivery and policy development since the last Corporate Parenting Board meeting in March 2023. They continue to be involved in youth panels for interviews and are continually looking at the process and reviewing these. Their thoughts and experiences for some new top tips for My Home My Place placement requests have been given. They have also reviewed and provided feedback on the homeless flyer as well as providing feedback on participation and why it is important to involve young people and what they would like to be involved with.
Due to high demand, the young people and staff have created a new E-Form in order for people to complete when requesting young people involvement. The form will provide more detail for the young people so they know what is being asked of them and will support preparation and help to keep a record of involvement which will support them when writing reports and liaising with Ofsted. It is hoped that the E-form will be available from 22 May 2023 and the link will be circulated to Board members.
A review of forum venues, times and age ranges has also been carried out and following feedback it has been agreed that:
LINX (Lancashire's Children in Care Council)
Venues: Fleetwood, Bamber Bridge and Burnley
Age range: 8-13 and 14-17
Care Leavers Forum (CLF)
Venues: Lancaster, Burnley and Preston
The aim of the review was to reduce complicated sessions and to allow for weekly sessions. Work is still ongoing with regards to all venues being weekly sessions. It is hoped that the new programme will be in place from 1 June 2023.
The Board were asked for support with regards to the Care Leavers Forum who were looking for a venue for the central group that is more accessible and happens every Wednesday night. They felt that the most appropriate location would be County Hall and the Board noted that a written proposal had been sent to Facilities Management, Lancashire County Council requesting that an identified space be allocated to the Care Leavers Forum to use on a weekly basis. The request is in line with Lancashire County Council's Corporate Parenting principles in particular "to help children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners". The Board agreed with the request being made and requested that the Chair also support this by writing a letter on behalf of the Board.
Resolved: That the Chair of Corporate Parenting Board write a letter to Facilities Management, Lancashire County Council on behalf of the Board, supporting the request for the Care Leavers Forum to have an identified space on Wednesday evenings at County Hall.
The Board noted the summer activities that were planned for young people and requested support from members of the Board and whether they had any other ideas for activities. The following activities were already planned, and Board members were encouraged to support and attend the sessions where possible:
· Money and budgeting – 2 August 2023 at Walton-le-Dale Youth Centre with County Councillor Jeff Couperthwaite.
· Open session 8 August 2023 at Burnley Youth Zone and Walton-le-Dale on 19 August 2023 with arts, crafts, games, food, information stands etc.
· Outdoor activities at Hothersall Lodge – 10 August 2023.
· Participation 'conference' to gather ideas and youth voice from care experienced young people from across Lancashire at UCLAN Preston and Burnley College – date to be confirmed.
· Outdoor wellness walks – 8-16 and 17-25 years of age – venues to be confirmed.
It was noted that at a previous meeting the Corporate Parenting Board Golden Rules for reports and presentations had been reviewed and the Board were reminded that they were as follows:
· Always explain why the information is relevant to children in care and care leavers including information about the context, what has changed, the impact on young people and what needs to happen next.
· Use young person friendly language and do not use jargon, abbreviations, or acronyms.
· Explain any tables and charts used so they understand what it means and why it is important for children in our care or care leavers.
· Present information in an interactive way eg use slido, menti, jamboard, worksheets, group discussions or tabletop activities.
· Provide a young person summary if the report is more than 1 page (A4).
· Keep presentations to 10 slides maximum.
· Make sure the presenter allows time for questions within the allocated time slot.
· Always share reports and presentations with LINX/Care Leaver Forum as early as possible, and no later than two weeks before the Corporate Parenting Board meeting.
The Board were informed that this would take affect from the next round of meetings (ie September 2023 Board meeting).
Resolved: That the young people were thanked for their presentation and that the Board noted the Summer Activity dates and joined the sessions if possible.