2 Planning, preparation and having
a voice
Planning
and preparation
11. The 1989 Act requires local authorities
to prepare a pathway plan for all eligible children[23]
and to continue it for all relevant[24]
and former relevant[25]
young people. The Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010 stipulate
the contents of this plan[26]
and the 1989 Act specifies that it be kept under "regular
review".[27] The
DfE noted that young people have a new right to request a review
of their pathway plan.[28]
The plan should set out the necessary actions to be taken by:
[…] the responsible authority,
the young person, their parents, their carers and the full range
of agencies, so that each young person is provided with the services
they need to enable them to achieve their aspirations and make
a successful transition to adulthood.[29]
12. One issue, specified to be dealt
with in the pathway plan and review, is "A programme to develop
the practical and other skills necessary for the child or young
person to live independently".[30]
Statutory guidance, Care Planning Placement and Case Review
(hereafter 'Care Planning guidance'), asserts that before a young
person moves to an unregulated placement or leaves care:
[…] the young person, his/her
parents where appropriate, and the professionals responsible for
supporting the young person to prepare [...] should be able to
confirm that the young person has developed the skills necessary
to manage any transition to more independent living arrangements
where, as a result, less support will be provided.[31]
13. Despite local authorities' duties
being made explicit in legislation and guidance, evidence suggested
that planning and preparation for moving to greater independence
or leaving care are often insufficient. A report by a coalition
of voluntary and community sector organisations, Still Our
Children: Case for reforming the leaving care system in England
(2013), stated:
[…] preparation is often poor,
and planning inadequate. Many young people lack the life skills
and support they need. Young people's transitions from care to
adulthood are often 'accelerated and compressed' and for many
leaving care can be 'instant adulthood'.[32]
This is supported by the finding published
in the Children's Rights Director's Report, After Care (2012),
that "Nearly half (49%) [of care leavers] thought they
had been prepared badly or very badly [for independent life]".[33]
14. Evidence to our inquiry highlighted
several areas of particular concern, which centred on the sufficiency
of local authorities' undertaking of planning and preparation
and the engagement with young people throughout this process.
On the former point, witnesses questioned the quality, effectiveness
and implementation of pathway planning and the age at which the
process begins.[34] The
first concern is supported by Ofsted's finding, following inspections
conducted under the new framework, that "the quality of support
plans remains a significant deficit in too many local authorities".[35]
Other witnesses doubted whether young people have their plan regularly
reviewed, even when requested,[36]
and further concerns focused on the lack of readiness for independent
living, including practical skills, such as cooking and financial
management, as well as emotional readiness and social capital.[37]
Professor Mike Stein argued that young people lack awareness of,
and engagement with, pathway planning.[38]
15. Ofsted's single inspection framework,
introduced in November 2013,[39]
now includes a specific grade judgement on local authorities'
services to care leavers. According to Ofsted, the Inspections
of services for children in need of help and protection, children
looked after and care leavers framework "look[s] closely
at early planning and preparation for independence for looked
after young people".[40]
It focuses on the experiences of individual children and young
people, "as explored through a representative sample of tracked
and sampled cases".[41]
Findings gathered in this way "form the core of the inspection
evidence", though other sources of evidence are used to "triangulate
evidence and to reach judgements",
[42]
including:
[...]case file analysis, direct
testimony from young people and others involved in their care
and support, relevant performance data and evaluation of the quality
of corporate parenting.[43]
Natasha Finlayson, CEO of The Who Cares?
Trust, told us that the framework's inclusion of a specific judgement
on the experiences and progress of care leavers:
[...] should make a positive difference
[...] because local authorities should be held to account for
the preparation they are giving care leavers.[44]
16. When asked what the DfE is doing
to improve the planning and preparation for young people moving
to greater independence, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State for Children and Families, Edward Timpson MP, told us that
the Transition guidance on pathway planning was strengthened in
2011 to make:
[…] clear what local authorities
have to do to ensure that such planning is done in a way that
meets the needs of the individual young person.[45]
The Minister also pointed to the recent
change in the law, which requires the decision for any 16 or 17
year old to leave care to be signed off by the Director of Children's
Services.[46]
17. Despite strengthened
guidance from the DfE and more rigorous scrutiny of young people's
readiness to leave care by local authorities, evidence to us suggests
that the quality and effectiveness of planning and preparation
for a young person's transition to greater independence is too
often inadequate. We therefore welcome Ofsted's single inspection
framework and believe that it has the potential to bring about
improvements, by including an assessment of early planning and
preparation. It is essential that the testimony of young people
and other sources are used to complement evidence from tracked
and sampled cases of looked after young people and care leavers,
to ensure that Ofsted has a comprehensive picture of the quality
of pathway planning and preparation for all young people.
Having a voice and a choice
18. Young people told The Children's
Society that:
[…] the quality of [pathway]
planning depended on how much young people were involved in the
process and whether there was a choice in what support and accommodation
were available locally.[47]
Further evidence to us suggested that
young people are often given neither a choice of placement, nor
the opportunity to voice a preference or grievance. We were told
by several of the young people with whom we met, "I had no
choice". One young person said, "Decisions are made
about us, without us". The Who Cares? Trust reported that
young people aged 16 or 17:
[…] often do not have a choice
about where they live and can find it hard to refuse the accommodation
[…] despite having good reasons for not wanting to live there
[…].[48]
This lack of empowerment was also noted
by The Howard League for Penal Reform:
[…] many young people do not
think that they can challenge the adequacy of their accommodation
and support.[49]
19. The Coram Group found that:
The young person's views are frequently
not adequately considered and advocacy support is vital to ensure
this happens [...].[50]
It recommended that:
Independent advocacy must be offered
to all looked after young people, unless they opt out, at their
LAC review prior to a decision being made to place them in 'other
arrangements' so that their wishes and feelings are heard and
their rights are met.[51]
20. Other witnesses agreed that independent
advocacy could be a valuable service for looked after young people,
enabling them to have their views heard during important decision-making
processes. The Children's Society said:
We believe that it is of crucial
importance that all vulnerable children aged 16+ have access to
an independent advocate to help them navigate the system, ensure
they are heard in decisions made about them and help them challenge
service providers not fulfilling their obligations.[52]
21. Section 26A of the 1989 Act imposes
duties on local authorities in respect of the provision of advocacy
services. Transition guidance states that:
All looked after children must be
made aware of their entitlement to independent advocacy support
and how they can access it. This entitlement is not just for when
a looked after child or care leaver wishes to complain, it includes
situations where young people need to make representations about
the quality of the care and support provided by their responsible
authority.[53]
Access to advocacy will be particularly
important where the local authority's decision-making processes
concern the child's readiness to move from their care placement.[54]
Despite this statutory duty and widespread
recognition of the important role that advocacy services play,
The Children's Society found that:
[...] advocacy support is not always
offered to young people [...] Many children are not told about
their right to advocacy support and not all local authorities
commission such services.[55]
This message was reinforced during our
discussions with care leavers and looked after young people, many
of whom, although agreeing on the value of having an independent
advocate, were neither aware of their right to access this service,
nor knew of the relevant organisations to approach. We asked young
people what would help them when making decisions and one young
person responded, "Knowing about advocates and people who
can fight for your rights". Another young person told us,
"Google becomes your best friend". This further highlighted
a lack of awareness on where to go and who to speak to in order
to find out about rights and entitlements.
22. The Minister acknowledged young
people's lack of awareness of their right to request a review
of their pathway plan. He also noted the important relationship
between young people being aware of their rights and having access
to appropriate support services:
[…] too many children and young
people either are not aware of the change [giving them a right
to request a review of their pathway plan] or, when they do seek
a request, find it very difficult to get the support that they
need to see it through to a proper review and conclusion.[56]
He cited the DfE's collaboration with
the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) and Voice, to "ensure
[…] better independent advocacy, which is still nowhere near
where it needs to be [...]".[57]
23. The improved
availability of independent advocacy services is central to ensuring
that young people have a voice in the process of pathway planning
and a real choice in where they live. We welcome the DfE's work
with the National Youth Advocacy Service and Voice to ensure better
advocacy services. Greater availability of independent advocacy
must be accompanied by efforts to increase awareness among young
people of their right to access such services and to improve their
knowledge of how and where to do so. There are also issues around
young people's general lack of awareness of all their rights and
entitlements.
24. The DfE must ensure that looked
after young people approaching independence are fully and effectively
informed of their rights and entitlements and given a genuine
choice of accommodation; and the DfE must do more to ensure and
monitor the take-up of best practice amongst local authorities.
23 The Children Act 1989, Schedule 2 Part II Section 19B Back
24
The Children Act 1989, Section 23B Back
25
The Children Act 1989, Section 23C Back
26
The Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2571), Schedule
1; see also The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England)
Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/959), Schedule 8 Back
27
The Children Act 1989, Section 23B(7) Back
28
Department for Education (16P 29) para 14 Back
29
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, para 3.5 Back
30
The Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2571), Schedule
1; see also The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England)
Regulations 2010(SI 2010/959), Schedule 8 Back
31
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review,
March 2010, para 5.25 Back
32
Barnardo's, Still our children: the case for reforming the leaving care system in England: briefing for the House of Commons report stage of the Children and Families Bill,
May 2013, para 12 Back
33
Ofsted, After Care: Young people's views on leaving care Reported by the Children's Rights Director for England,
March 2012, p 24 Back
34
Q6; see also Q41 and Catch22 (16P 26) para 4.3 Back
35
Ofsted (16P 35) para 10 Back
36
Q6 Back
37
The Who Cares? Trust (16P 12) para 5.2; see also Barnardo's (16P 16)
para 3.8, St Basils and Homeless Link (16P 19) para 20, and The
Care Leavers Association (16 P27) para 5 Back
38
Q6 Back
39
Ofsted, Ofsted's single inspection takes effect, 7 November 2013 Back
40
Ofsted (16P 35) para 8 Back
41
Ofsted (16P 37) para 3 Back
42
Ofsted (16P 37) para 3 Back
43
Ofsted (16P 37) para 4 Back
44
Q14 Back
45
Q159 Back
46
Q159 Back
47
The Children's Society (16P 30) para 4.1 Back
48
The Who Cares? Trust (16P 12) para 2.1; see also Just for Kids
Law (16P 13) para 1.4, and The Howard League for Penal Reform
(16P 25) para 36 Back
49
The Howard League for Penal Reform (16P 25) para 36 Back
50
The Coram Group (16P 24) para 14 Back
51
The Coram Group (16P 24) para 28 Back
52
The Children's Society (16P 30) para 2.6 Back
53
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, para 2.14 Back
54
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, para 2.15 Back
55
The Children's Society (16P 30) para 4.6 - 4.7 Back
56
Q162 Back
57
Q162 Back
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