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

ISIT

Provides our 'front door' for referrals in to Children's Services.

Strengthening and Supporting Families

There are 4 child protection and proceedings teams that work directly with children and young people who are at risk of significant harm, ensuring that their wishes and feeling are heard and considered. Their remit includes: families in the pre-proceedings process, public and private law proceedings, looked after children, and children who are subject to supervision orders or a child protection plan.

Edge of Care (Families First)

The service will provide various outreach and in-reach interventions; and offer short break weekend accommodation for young people where this is an assessed need and part of their Support Plan. We will work in partnership with families in the community, foster care families, adoptive families and our residential children's homes to help and support them to stay together, or to separate positively, based on best interest decision-making.

Integrated Looked After (ILAC) Team

Our ILAC teams work with looked after children and care leavers. ILAC are co-located with The PLACE (our Virtual School), and offer a child-centred service with outcome focused planning. We have re-shaped the role of Family Workers in the ILAC team to become Personal Advisers who engage with a young person when they are 16 years old. This skilled team offer ongoing support and expertise around practical interventions and solutions to ensure young people can sustain independence.

Residential care

The in-house residential service has one home in South Tyneside. Admissions to residential placements tend to be young people aged 14 - 16 as the challenges and complexities of adolescence and independence lead to increased chances of family breakdown. Demand for residential services exceeds supply and this is expected to continue.

Fostering

Our in-house Fostering Service recruits and supports Foster Carers across South Tyneside and the Region.

Independent Fostering Agencies (IFA)

On occasion the Council is requited to find placement opportunities on a regional basis, and would therefore use Independent Fostering Agencies (IFAs) to provide specialist placement.

Staying Put with a former foster carer

From 18 - 21 years old, a young person may choose "to Stay Put" with their Foster Carer.

Adoption Service

The Adoption Service works to secure adoption for children who are unable to live with their birth parents or a connected person. It recruits and assesses prospective adopters, matches children with prospective families, provides and commissions a range of support services pending and following placement as well as post order.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

The Lifecycle Service provides a whole person tier 2 therapeutic and non-therapeutic services to young people of any age and their families. Tier two supports young people who have difficulties with attachment, behaviour, eating disorders, development, emerging OCD, anxiety and depression. A key role for the Lifecycle Service is providing the children and young people's IAPT programme (Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies). The lifecycle service collapses the age boundaries associated with young people service to ensure there are no issues with transition.

Children and Young People's Service (CYPS) - Northumberland Tyne and Wear Foundation Trust

The service consists of a multidisciplinary team of mental health practitioners including psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, psychological therapists and psychologists, occupational therapists and administrative staff. The integrated team operates to meet tier 3 specialist mental health needs of all children and young people regardless of their circumstances or other needs. The service can also provide consultation, advice and support directly to families but also to other agencies working with children and young people presenting with mental health.

Health Team for Children Looked After

The team with the support of a dedicated LAC nurse work to ensure that Looked After Children have their health needs identified and appropriate services are offered to meet those needs.

Substance Misuse

Matrixworks with young people aged under 18 in South Tyneside, their families and carers. The service provides help, support and advice to those whose lives have been affected by drug and alcohol misuse or those who are at risk of developing drug and alcohol problems.

South Tyneside Homes Young people who are 16 - 17 and homeless present at the Homefinder service based within South Tyneside Homes, where we have a commissioned service run by the De Paul Trust dedicated to ensuring that young people receive accommodation and support, with referral to Children's Social Care if needed.

Sanctuary South is a multi-agency project which builds on learning from the successful police led "Operation Sanctuary" investigating sexual crimes against vulnerable people. The service offers interventions for young people who are the victims of sexual exploitation, including confidential and comfortable space and specialist support provided in partnership with Barnardo's.

Virtual School

The PLACE - our virtual school -ensures that looked after children experience a stable and positive education, make good progress and achieve excellent results. Through positive relationships with education providers and a robust approach to monitoring and challenge, The Place has effectively developed school capacity to develop PEPs, and offers a creative response to the education challenges of every child to the age of 16.

Youth Justice The Youth Justice Service (YJS) is a multi-disciplinary agency working in partnership to reduce entrance to the youth justice system and prevent re-offending.

Targeted services

Family Group Conference

A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a meeting place where a family has the opportunity to come together, discuss and arrange a plan for their children. It is also an opportunity to deal with the issues that have been raised and make families aware of the standard of care that is required for their child.

The Family Group Conference service works with social care teams to ensure that all young people who are on the cusp of being accommodated are offered a family group conference.

Out of Hours Service

Within our Out of Hours services we work with Children and Adults providing care management and protection to the most vulnerable in South Tyneside.

Arts and cultural service

Accessing arts and cultural activities can provide important opportunities for looked after children to express themselves. However looked after children can often be excluded from arts and cultural activities due to the fact they can move often and tend to have more unsettled lifestyles. To help address this The Place undertake targeted work with looked after children and encourage achievement.