Agenda item

This is an opportunity for members of Care In Action (CIA) and Care Leavers in Action (CLIA) to feedback on recent activity.

At the start of the item the Committee held a short workshop with young people to consider ways to improve the participation of children and young people in Corporate Parenting Committee. The Committee noted that the outcomes of the discussions and noted that any agreed actions would feed through to future Corporate Parenting Committee meetings. The Committee then heard updates from the young people attending the meeting.

J (Care Leavers in Action) informed the Committee that he had been involved in an interview panel for the participation team. He advised members it was interesting to see who the right fit was to help Care Leavers in Action (CLIA) and Care in Action (CIA) thrive and it had been a positive experience to see different members of staff within Brent and have them hear his views and the views of other care leavers about the care leaver offer.

K (Care Leavers in Action) informed the Committee about the recent residential trip the group had taken to the Gordon Brown Centre. The aim of the residential trip was for young people to learn skills for independence such as cooking, healthy eating, health and safety and DIY skills which included a reference booklet to take home. The package included pots and pans and other kitchen essentials which was an improvement from the package in previous years following feedback from CLIA.

C (Care Leavers in Action) advised the Committee that this would be his final attendance at Corporate Parenting Committee. The Committee offered thanks to C for the work he had done over the years for Looked After Children and care leavers, highlighting that future generations of children would benefit from the work he had done. Members wished C well for the future.

The Chair thanked those present for their contributions and invited members of the Committee to ask questions to the CIA / CLIA representatives. The following questions were raised:

The Committee asked for further information about the residential trip. Kelli Eboji (Head of LAC and Permanency – Brent Council) explained that the residential offer had recently been enhanced to enable several camps per year for young people to benefit from the activities which were aimed at supporting young people to become independent. There would also be extra events during the summer when the weather was warmer such as glamping. The residential was offered through the ASDAN programme and young people could either receive a booklet and work through that or attend the residential. As those practical trips helped young people to experience independence in a more real life setting everyone was encouraged to do at least one camp trip.

The Committee asked whether there were any other skills CLIA would want to learn. K felt that, together with the Brent Virtual School Finance and Money Management offer the independent life skills were covered.

In relation to the Ikea kit that was offered, the Committee advised CLIA that the Public Health Team were meeting with Ikea soon and asked whether there was anything else the Council could ask them to provide for care leavers. CLIA members suggested offering discounts on furniture items and fed back that they needed items such as plates, cutlery, glasses and bedding. It was agreed this would be passed on to the Public Health Team.

The Committee thanked the representatives for the updates and RESOLVED:

That the updates by the representatives of Care in Action/Care Leavers in Action be noted.