Minutes:
Ellie Seed provided the following update from Investing in Children:
a) work has been done with the Children and Young People’s Service to provide a drop-in advice service directly before the CICC meetings;
b) the recent recruitment drive has resulted in an increasing membership of the Children in Care Council and the group has now been split into two, more manageable sized groups, with one group consisting of young people aged 13 and under and the other group aged 14 plus with separate meetings now being held;
c) young people have raised concerns regarding terminology used in literature designed specifically for children and young people which is negative and difficult for them to understand. They have suggested new terms to be used for common phrases, for example, replacing ‘contact’ and ‘risk assessment’ with ‘family time’ and ‘safety plan’. The Head of Early Help, Inclusion and Vulnerable Children informed the Panel that young people’s concerns have been shared, however, it will take time for the new terminology to be adopted by all teams. The Panel suggested that this should be shared with schools and multi-agency groups. The Legal Manager emphasised that this terminology should only be used where appropriate adding that legal terminology must be used in court documentation;
d) young people have been involved in producing videos with Independent Reviewing Officers and with the Children in Care Council on the subject of entering into care;
e) a ‘Celebrate Me’ awards ceremony is to be held with the Looked After Teams
f) Profile templates have been produced for foster carers and work is being done to design a profile template for Independent Reviewing Officers. Panel members were reminded to update their profile information which should be sent to Jayne Watson, Senior Partnership Officer, as soon as possible. Members were asked to supply answers to the following four questions for their profile information:
· What is your name and who are you? Members are requested to provide a natural picture that captures who you are – not your Council profile picture
· What area do you work in / which electoral division do you cover?
· Why did you become a corporate parent / why do you want to support looked after young people?
· What are your interests and hobbies?
g) Work is ongoing to refurbish contact centres. Panel members requested that officers investigate whether it would be possible for members to make a greater contribution to the project, collectively, through the Neighbourhood Budget.