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The next phase of the partnership strategy for children looked after and those leaving care has been approved at the last Nottinghamshire County Council Children and Young People’s committee  (7 March).

The 2022-2025 strategy has been developed by the Nottinghamshire Looked After Children and Care Leavers Partnership Board, in collaboration with children, young people and young adults and our partners.

The strategy aims to build on the positive results achieved to date by working in partnership for Nottinghamshire looked after children and care leavers.  The county council and partners including district and borough councils, the police, health services, the probation service, schools and education providers aim to improve the support for young people and to hold each other to account.

Our children and young people have told us what matters most to them are things such as having a voice and being listened to, feeling and being safe, being understood by professionals, knowing what services and support are available, learning life skills and feeling like valued members of society. These are at the very heart of the strategy and will guide the ongoing efforts for the next few years.

Over the life of the last strategy, despite challenges including a global pandemic, our partnership working has made a significant impact on support available to our young people and to the outcomes they have achieved including:

  • Delivering a county-wide offer for care leavers in 2019, which provides information about the support and guidance they can receive, with tips to help young people make good decisions about their futures. And Nottinghamshire’s care leavers continue to benefit from Council Tax payments being waived until the age of 25.
  • Personal education plans co-produced with young people.
  • Improving young people’s access to alternative routes into employment and training by setting up an achievement service and improving the numbers of our young people in education, training or employment.
  • Supporting young people at risk of offending or criminal exploitation by working in a trauma-informed way which considers the personal lived experience of the child which might have involved neglect and abuse.

One young person, a care leaver, who is quoted in the strategy, praised its focus on young people, saying: “The ambitions and commitments are good and really pleased to see there is more emphasis on the young person as an individual and this is clear to see.”

Councillor Tracey Taylor, chairman of the Children and Young People’s Committee said: “As corporate parents, we want to make sure our young people feel safe, supported and know where to get advice and help. A partnership approach is making a difference. We have seen positive changes over the past few years, but we continue to strive for better, to aim higher and ensure every child has the ability to reach their full potential, no matter their circumstances.

“Developing this with partners and the young people themselves, means we can look at the range of services and support available. This new strategy builds on past successes and, with young people directly involved in its development, means young people continue to be at the very heart of what we are trying to achieve for them.“

To read the partnership strategy in full, visit our Looked after children and care leavers web page.