Looked after children (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)

For some children looked after and young people, the neglect and abuse they have experienced has had an extensive impact on their emotional, mental and physical well-being. As a result, some aspects of their behaviour can be challenging: they may take disproportionate risks with their safety or may express challenging feelings. Responding to these needs is a challenge

Home

Research has shown that better outcomes for children looked after are achieved when a placement offers stability, acceptance and inclusion. A long term of permanent placement offers children looked after emotional permanence (attachment); physical permanence (stability) and legal permanence (the carer has parental responsibility for the child). A broader range of placements is required to combine accommodation with support in bespoke packages, tailored to the unique needs of each child and young person.

Educational Outcomes

Children who are looked after by the local authority are more likely to have poor experiences of education and very low educational achievement at school. The Social Exclusion Unit's report "A Better Education for Children in Care" identified five key reasons why children looked after underachieve in education:

• their lives are characterised by instability;
• they spend too much time out of school;
• they do not have sufficient help with their education if they fall behind;
• primary carers are not expected or equipped to provide sufficient support and encouragement for learning and development;
• they have unmet emotional, mental and physical needs that impact on their education

Closing the gap between the attainment of children looked after and their peers remains a high priority South Tyneside.

• Embed Staying Put Policy to avoid disruption for care leavers moving into further and higher education.
• Ensure looked after children and care leavers are aware of their entitlements to financial support to promote their education, training and employment aspirations.
• Supporting the development of appropriate work experience and apprenticeships and enabling young people to access them.

Health Outcomes

Statutory Guidance on 'Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children' (2015) details the extent and nature of health problems among children in the care system. Children and young people who are looked after have the same core health needs as other young people, but their backgrounds and experiences are likely to make them particularly vulnerable to poorer health outcomes. South Tyneside will tackle this by:

• Closer working practices between Health and Social Care professionals to respond to the outcomes of health assessments
• Responsive access to a range of counselling and therapies, if necessary, according to needs to ensure proactive support as opposed to 'reactive treatment'
• Health information is available with the child/young person to ensure knowledge and understanding of needs, particularly in times when there is a change of placement or circumstance.

Care Leavers

The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 states that a care leaver is someone who has been in the care of the Local Authority for a period of 13 weeks or more spanning their 16th birthday. Over 10,000 young people aged 16 or over leave local authority care each year. Care leavers will often be living independently at age 18, whereas national data shows that 50% of all 22 year olds remain living in their family home. Those leaving care may struggle to cope with the transition to adulthood and may experience social exclusion, unemployment, early pregnancy, health problems, end up in custody or homeless.

From 2008, the government has required local authorities to support care leavers up to the age of 25 if they remained in, or planned to return to, education and training. Subsequently, the Children and Families Act 2014 introduced 'staying put' arrangements which allow children in care to stay with their foster families until the age of 21 years, providing both parties agree to the arrangement.

Needs to Improve On:

• Preparation for independence at an earlier stage for this to be built upon well before plans for moving are finalised,
• Accessibility and take up of health care and ensure young people are aware of the importance of dental appointments, staying healthy, etc.
• Improve range and quality of placement provision for young people leaving care aged 18 and over including options of supported and semi-supported accommodation.