Agenda item

This is an opportunity for members of BCJ 2.0 to feed back on recent activity.

The Chair welcomed representatives from Brent Care Journeys 2.0 to the meeting and invited them to provide updates from the group.

J informed the Committee that he had been involved in some interviews for roles within the participation team, which included both young people and staff which he felt worked more effectively than having two separate panels. He had started in a Care Ambassador role in January 2025, visiting placements, and had so far visited 2 placements and was enjoying that role as it allowed him to be the voice for young people to ensure they got the service they deserved.

K was retaking her GCSEs to support her future aspirations to do dentistry and had been supported to do that through Brent Virtual School and Kelli Eboji (Head of LAC and Permanency, Brent Council). She had recently taken part in the ‘Create Arts’ Ceramics project which had been a project spanning 6 weeks for young people to learn ceramic skills and create their own pieces, with a trip to the Tate Modern completing the project. N had also taken part in the ceramics project which she had enjoyed.

The Chair thanked those present for their updates, and invited comments and questions from the Committee, with the following points raised:

The Committee asked for further information about what the Care Ambassador role responsibilities were. Brent Care Journeys colleagues explained that Care Ambassadors were entering children’s care homes and semi-independent placements where Brent children were placed to ensure the home was of good quality, met standards and that the children placed there were getting the service they needed, being provided for, were happy there, and were thriving in terms of education and health and being prepared for independence. In terms of how they became Care Ambassadors, Brent Care Journeys colleagues explained that there were several roles in the Council favoured towards care leavers, who sometimes needed extra support in getting a role. The Participation Team helped to find the roles, the young people then applied with support from the team and then interviewed for it. Kelli Eboji added that the chances of care leavers getting involved in these roles had greatly improved, but it was a challenge for the service to broaden that out to attract more interest.

Further information was given on the events that took place during Leaving Care Week in November 2024, where there was a coffee morning, a staff versus young people football match, Masterchef cooking event, and an end of week celebration.

In response to a query on what percentage of care leavers the service managed to maintain a relationship with, Kelli Eboji explained that the service would maintain a relationship with the majority of care leavers between the ages of 18-25. There was a small proportion who left the service before the age of 25 who chose to leave but who always had the option to re-engage. All care leavers had a personal advisor, and once a month there was a care leavers meal where everyone engaged with each other and informed each other of upcoming events. A hub, led by young people, also enabled that engagement and there was a care leaver WhatsApp channel with 150 young people signed up.

Brent Care Journeys then presented the next set of results from the Bright Spots: Your Life Beyond Care Survey, which analysed the views of care leavers aged 18-25. They highlighted the following key points:

• 140 young people had taken part in the survey, equating to 29% of the total eligible population.
• 87% of respondents had received a good explanation as to why they were in care, compared to 77% in other local authorities.
• 77% of respondents reported always feeling safe at home, compared to 64% in other local authorities.
• 69% of respondents reported always feeling safe in their neighbourhood, compared to 60% in other local authorities.
• Respondents were less likely to report low levels of life satisfaction than care leavers in other local authorities.
• Respondents were less likely to report low levels of happiness with their appearance than care leavers in other local authorities.
• 38% of respondents felt very positive about their future, compared to 27% in other local authorities.
• 28% of respondents reported very high levels of happiness the day before completion of the survey compared to 21% in other local authorities.
• An area to focus on was friendships, as just over one in ten respondents (11%) did not have a good friend, compared with one in fifty in the general population (2%).
• Another area of focus was anxiety, where 39% of care leavers reported high levels of anxiety compared to 22% in the general population.
• 16% of care leavers reported not having someone they trusted who stuck by them, compared to 4% of the general population.
• 18% of care leavers had a pet, which had increased from the previous survey, but was less than the general population.
• Brent Care Journeys 2.0 would now work through the findings in a workshop to consider potential solutions and future projects. Services would then develop an action plan in consultation with young people which included the principles of co-design and feedback so that young people were leading projects and receiving progress reports.

In considering the findings, the Committee asked the following questions:

Noting the lower-than-average response to having a good friend for Brent Care Leavers compared to the general population, the Committee asked whether there was anything in particular that might make it more difficult for young people to find meaningful friendships in Brent. From a Care Leaver point of view, K felt that a lot of their experiences did not relate to others and Care Leavers tended to keep things to themselves as a result. Being a part of Brent Care Journeys had allowed her to meet lots of friends who she was now close with and could talk about things she might not with others. The Committee felt this showed the importance of having events and activities led by and for care leavers specifically.

In relation to having pets, the Committee asked whether Care Leavers wanted pets and were not able to have them or did not have the desire for a pet. Brent Care Journeys colleagues responded that many care leavers did want pets, but a lot of places did not allow them and it was only possible in pet friendly places. Whilst recognising that a pet was a big responsibility, Brent Care Journeys colleagues felt it was important to be able to have a pet if they wanted, as a pet could act as a stress reliever and provide company as well as give young people something to care for and look after. From a service perspective, Kelli Eboji explained that there were young people who would be responsible enough to provide and care for a pet, but there were situations where there may be a need to step in because the young person could not care for their pet appropriately, although these were not common. The Committee understood that they should not encourage young people to get pets when they were not equipped to care for it, but where a young person was responsible enough and would benefit from a pet, they felt the service should look to facilitate that. K agreed, highlighting that having a pet had made her more responsible and gave her more of a routine.

The Committee asked what more the Council could do to alleviate anxiety, noting that 39% of respondents felt anxious compared to the general population. Nigel Chapman (Corporate Director of Children and Young People, Brent Council) highlighted there was a gap in mental health services being provided for 18+ year-olds compared to young people under 18. Care Leavers were over 18 so the Council was required to work with its adult mental health provider – CNWL – to provide support to Care Leavers. Brent Health Matters (BHM) for Children had also recently launched, with a Care Leaver working within that. The service was hoping to use BHM to look into what else could be done for Care Leavers who needed mental health support and could not access it, where it was not an acute issue but a general wellbeing issue. A public health funded programme was also launching specifically for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASCs) over 18 who had emotional and wellbeing issues.

The Committee advocated working with foster carers and social work teams to ensure foster carers were aware of the impact of transitioning from being in care to being a Care Leaver, and how involvement in activities and having friendships helped alleviate anxiety or isolation, to help further prepare the young person for leaving care. Kelli Eboji assured the Committee that social workers worked closely with foster families to ensure any required support was provided, such as through Brent WEST, direct intervention through the Inclusion Service, and LIA. Palvinder Kudhail (Director Early Help and Social Care, Brent Council) added that the service was moving to a focus on lifelong links, where, as soon as a child became looked after, the social work team and foster family built the child’s networks to keep them connected and ensure they did not lose their history when moving from one place to another.

In concluding the discussion, Nigel Chapman commended the large survey of young people done through Coram Voice, where the large sample size of respondents allowed the service to understand where young people were in their lives and benchmark against previous years and other local authorities. An action plan update would be brought to a future meeting.

The Committee thanked the representatives for the updates and RESOLVED:

That the updates by the representatives of Brent Care Journeys be noted.