Agenda item
Update from Care In Action Representatives
This is an opportunity for members of Care In Action (CIA) to feedback on recent activity.
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed CM, HM and PE (speakers) and other representatives from Care in Action (CIA) who were observing the meeting from the public gallery. CM, HM and PE were then invited to provide their respective updates.
CM began and said that CIA representatives had recently attended a very interesting event at London’s City Hall called ‘Take Care’ which comprised a variety of different sessions and topics about children in care. CM spoke about how informative they had found the personal development sessions which had included a life coaching discussion and also explored the different ways that Personal Advisers (PAs) could assist Care Leavers on the different issues that they might be going through. CM said that they had very much appreciated an illustrative drama piece on this issue (which had demonstrated a personal adviser working to ensure their young person had a laptop available to them at college) giving them a new perspective on the hard work that social workers and PAs undertook within their roles. CM also explained another discussion session which considered what ‘having a voice’ meant and the different ways that Care Leavers could express themselves in planning their future. CM stated that they were happy at the respect being shown to Care Leavers, as they were ultimately the experts in planning their own lives. CM also noted that they had received a presentation about the London-wide Care Council, the meetings of which two representatives from CIA were due to attend.
CM continued and explained the artistic elements to the event which had included an innovative project by the City of Westminster which had encouraged young people in care to express their feelings through art. CM outlined what a unique and positive idea that they felt this was and how it was very exciting that young people would have their work shown in the Tate gallery and other art museums. Members also heard about another drama piece, coordinated by the London Borough of Wandsworth, which had highlighted instability and what can go wrong with young people’s lives if they are moved from different social workers frequently. CM said that they had identified strongly with this play as they too felt that they had been adversely affected by frequent social worker changes. CM concluded by emphasising how much they had enjoyed being able to communicate with young people from other boroughs and Councils, particularly during the break times. They explained how they had spoken to young people from Essex Council about gardening and looking after allotments, which they found very intriguing and something that they would like to try in future.
HM spoke positively about their recent CIA meeting which had focused on the Council’s London Borough of Culture bid. Members heard that CIA representatives appreciated being involved in the bid process and that they felt that they were being listened to in terms of both their positive and negative experiences of Brent as a place to live. HM also described the summer fun day at Poplar Grove Centre, which had involved an array of entertaining activities such as: t-shirt designing; personalising bangles; nail art; football competitions; a sack race; a mini zoo; DJ’ing workshop; and a raffle. HM also explained that there were a number of different stalls which had offered advice on health issues, drugs and alcohol amongst others which they had found useful. They said that they had really enjoyed the day and that they could not wait until the next fun day event.
PE spoke about a care leaver’s consultation event which they had attended in August which had focused on the Council’s local offer to Care Leavers and the ‘Care Leaver’s Charter’ which was planned to be launched. They explained how they were pleased to have made significant contributions at the event, such as having suggested to make the offer ‘friendlier’ to young people and through more elements being in e-form such as an app. They also spoke about how they had enjoyed a budgeting exercise which split those in attendance into different Council departments and asked them to consider the most important of the Council’s service areas to spend money on. PE noted that it was extremely interesting that each young person had come up with different ideas and had different opinions as part of the process.
(Councillor Kansagra joined the meeting at 5.20pm)
Members thanked CM, HM and PE for their contributions and referred to the discussion that the CIA representatives had had about their experiences of Brent as part of the consultation meeting on the London Borough of Culture bid. Questions arose which asked the CIA representatives what they viewed positively and negatively about Brent. HM stated that they loved the diversity of the borough, with an array of different cultures living harmoniously in the area. They also said that they liked being so close to Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena as they were able to enjoy some of the exciting major events which took place there. CM spoke about the negative aspects of the borough and felt that unfortunately young people could find themselves in troublesome situations quite frequently, and that this stemmed from an apparent tension between young people, particularly from certain ethnic backgrounds, and the local police in the area. Gail Tolley stated that the Children and Young People’s Department at the Council liaised with Senior Police Officers in the area and suggested some officers be invited to a future CIA meeting in order to resolve some of the concerns raised.
Members also asked CM’s opinion on artistic elements, such as spoken word and drama pieces, of the ‘Take Care’ event. CM said that they felt that these pieces had made the issues easier to understand and definitely more enjoyable. CM said that they would assess if any other CIA representatives would be interested in creating a film or drama piece about their own perspectives and some point in the future.
Members asked PE to outline what Brent’s offer to young people was and what their opinion would be if Brent took a decision to exempt young people from paying council tax in the future. PE described Brent’s proposed local offer, and mentioned that it centred on things that the Council could provide to support Care Leavers such as clothes, equipment or holiday money. PE said that they felt a council tax exemption for Care Leavers would be a fantastic idea, and hoped that this policy would be adopted.
It was RESOLVED that the updates from the CIA representatives be noted.