3 The importance of stable relationships
The
appointment of Personal Advisers
25. In addition to, and distinct from,
providing independent advocacy, local authorities have a statutory
duty to appoint a Personal Adviser (PA) for all eligible, relevant
and former relevant young people.[58]
Statutory guidance and regulations outline the core functions
of a PA to advise, assist and support a looked after young person
in their preparation for, and transition to, independence.[59]
It is possible for a young person's PA to be a carer, or other
professional, with whom they have an established relationship.
Transition guidance states:
Where a young person has developed
a trusting relationship with a carer then it should be possible
for the local authority to delegate aspects of the PA function
to them, as it will clearly be in young people's interests to
build on the positive relationships they have already established.
However, in these circumstances the responsible authority must
be clear as to the support that the carer will be providing and
how any potential conflicts of interests might be managed.[60]
The guidance also highlights the value
of continuity in the appointment of a PA:
It will be good practice, where
possible, for the young person to maintain the same PA from the
age of 18 that was allocated to their support when they were an
eligible or a relevant child.[61]
26. Marie Tucker, an independent social
care consultant, told us that local authorities often interpret
the legislation to mean that they have to provide the PA, with
the result that they "will then introduce a new person into
that young person's life".[62]
She argued that this led to the social services sector "wasting
significant resources" and created further disruption for
young people.[63] She
explained:
Many children are supported by excellent
foster carers and residential workers who have skills, experience
and knowledge in how to effectively support young people into
adulthood. Under legislation these individuals can carry out the
personal advisor role. However, the majority of local authorities
do not recognise this and will still appoint a local authority
personal advisor (who often does not know the young person and
who has to spend considerable time building up a relationship).
This can sometimes be surplus to requirement, especially where
the child's key carer is competent and willing to carry out the
personal advisor functions. LA's should not automatically appoint
a Local Authority personal advisor, but should first explore whether
or not the child's key carer can carry out the role. This would
benefit many young people and create efficiencies.[64]
Both Jonathan Stanley, CEO of the Independent
Children's Homes Association (ICHA), and Sally Morris, Director
of Young People and Families at Catch22, agreed with Marie Tucker
on this issue. Jonathan Stanley argued that:
[...] having another parenting function
coming into [the young person's] life is not necessarily helpful.[65]
Sally Morris said:
If a young person makes a connection,
they should be able to nominate that person as the person that
they want to support them [...] the PA role, it is a function
rather than a role.[66]
27. Despite this, Sally Morris recognised
that there would be some "practical difficulties" in
implementing this sort of model, "particularly in very large
local authorities, where you have to have some organisation principles".
Nevertheless, she did not see these difficulties as insurmountable,
but rather as presenting the need for "innovation and for
different ways of providing [...] those less high-risk parts of
children's services".[67]
28. The Minister agreed that:
It is right to make it clear that
'personal adviser' is a function rather than a specific person
who is appointed [...] There is nothing in the regulations or
the statutory guidance to stop [local authorities] from using
valuable resources, like foster carers [or someone who works in
a children's home], as a de facto personal adviser [...].[68]
When questioned on the clarity of guidance,
given local authorities' apparent recurring misinterpretation,
the Minister undertook to:
[…] go back and look to see
whether I am satisfied that it is clear enough. If it is not,
I will want to encourage a wider pool of people to be able to
fulfil that responsibility […].[69]
Supplementary written evidence from
the DfE following the evidence session argued that:
We […] are of the view that
the section on the role of the personal adviser (PA) is sufficiently
clear. The guidance says that where a young person has developed
a trusting relationship with a foster or other carer then the
local authority can delegate all or some aspects of the PA function
to them.[70]
The DfE reiterated the need to consider
how "any potential conflicts of interests might be managed"
and stressed the importance of any appointed PA having the "required
skills and the necessary time to undertake the role".[71]
29. Evidence from St Basils and Homeless
Link stressed the importance of stable relationships:
What young people say makes [sic]
the difference is a trusting relationship with one or two key
adults who are a consistent source of support for them, for example,
their carers, their Personal Adviser, the key worker in supported
accommodation. This support should start before they leave care
and transition with them […].[72]
This message was echoed by young people
we met, one of whom told us that what would have helped when making
decisions was "A network of strong relationships that run
with you throughout your whole journey". Yet others felt
that there was no continuity of relationships when transitioning
out of care. One young person said, "When you leave care
you lose your social worker. You get a PA but there's no continuity
[…]".
30. The automatic
appointment of a Personal Adviser as a separate and new role can
in some cases be a source of disruption for young people and an
inefficient use of stretched resources.
31. We recommend that the DfE clarify
and strengthen guidance to the effect that local authorities must
consider, as a first option, appointing an existing carer or other
professional with whom a young person has an established relationship
as a Personal Adviser, and involve the young person in this decision.
Wherever possible, the same Personal Adviser should offer consistent
support throughout a young person's preparation for and transition
to independence.
Maintaining positive relationships
32. It is a statutory requirement that
a pathway plan considers "The support to be provided to enable
the child or young person to develop and sustain appropriate family
and social relationships".[73]
Transition guidance specifies that this dimension of the pathway
plan must address:
[An] Assessment of the young person's
relationship with their parents and wider family.
Contact with family-carried across
from care plan.
[The] Young person's relationship
with peers, friendship network and significant adults [as well
as a] Strategy to improve any negative features of these relationships.
How all these relationships will
contribute to the young person making a successful transition
to adulthood and how they will assist with integration into the
community that they identify with.[74]
33. Despite the stipulation that a social
network be identified as part of pathway planning, our evidence
suggested that this is not always achieved. During our informal
discussions with young people and care leavers, we heard that
many find the move to semi-independent, or independent, living
to be a daunting prospect and challenging experience, not least
because they often feel isolated, lonely and unsupported. In one
case, a young person told us, "I had a phone but I didn't
know who to call when I needed help". The Children's Society
cited consultations it had held with care leavers, who "often
report feeling [...] isolated and not having a social network
to support them when they leave care".[75]
Marie Tucker told us:
For some young people, what becomes
most important to them is their friends and their siblings […].[76]
34. The Children's Society believed
that issues around social networks for young people who move to
greater independence or leave care can be addressed by emphasising
the role of pathway planning in identifying and developing important
relationships:
It is very important that pathway
planning focuses on relationships and how to support young people
to develop networks to the same extent as on issues around accommodation,
education etc. For example, relations with siblings, family or
friends should be explored and addressed in review meetings and
pathway planning.[77]
Professor Mike Stein suggested an alternative
way to improve the identification and promotion of sustainable
relationships, recommending that:
[…] local authorities use family
group conferences for older young people and teenagers, as they
do in the child protection process, to identify positive family
and friendship networks, which can be valuable for young people
on their journey to adulthood.[78]
35. Relationships with siblings were
raised with us as a particular issue. Unlike regulations for a
care plan, there is no explicit requirement for a pathway plan
to consider the importance of maintaining and promoting positive
relationships with siblings.[79]
We were struck, during our informal discussions, by the accounts
we heard of young people not being encouraged or supported to
maintain relationships with siblings, despite their strong desire
to do so.
36. We asked the Minister what guidance
there was to encourage young people's relationships with siblings
when they moved to greater independence. He noted that guidance
existed, but undertook to "look at the detail of what we
have within the guidance that is to do with that particular area
and see whether it fulfils its purpose".[80]
His follow-up response pointed to the guidance on pathway planning,
outlined above. He also noted:
There is a specific requirement
for the care plan to set out arrangements for the child or young
person to maintain contact with brothers and sisters […].
We have recently strengthened the
sections on siblings in the care planning guidance which recognises
that maintaining contact with siblings is reported by children
to be one of their highest priorities.[81]
37. We
acknowledge that existing regulations on pathway planning require
the identification of, and support for, young people to develop
and sustain "appropriate family and social relationships".
In meeting this duty local authorities must look beyond relationships
with carers and professionals and recognise that looked after
young people may have established positive relationships with
a range of people, including siblings and friends. We believe
that in order to fulfil their purpose of promoting, developing
and sustaining such important relationships, the pathway planning
regulations should specifically refer to siblings.
38. The pathway planning guidance
must be altered so as specifically to include relationships with
siblings. We recommend that the DfE review how well pathway planning
guidance fulfils its purpose to encourage, develop and sustain
positive and stable family and social relationships.
58 The Children Act 1989, Section 23D Back
59
The Care Leavers (England) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2571), Regulation
8; see also Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, para 3.27 - 3.43 Back
60
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, para 3.25 Back
61
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, para 3.19 Back
62
Q7 Back
63
Marie Tucker (16P 6) para 3 Back
64
Marie Tucker (16P 6) para 3 Back
65
Q137 Back
66
Q141 Back
67
Q141 Back
68
Q163 Back
69
Q164 Back
70
Department for Education (16P 38) p 1 Back
71
Department for Education (16P 38) p 1 Back
72
St Basils and Homeless Link (16P 19) para 12 Back
73
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
74
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, Figure 1 p 24-26 Back
75
The Children's Society (16P 30) para 4.2 Back
76
Q71 Back
77
The Children's Society (16P 30) para 4.2 Back
78
Q56 Back
79
The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations
2010 (SI 2010/959) Regulation 5; see also Schedule 1(3) Back
80
Q167 Back
81
Department for Education (16P 38) p 2 Back
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