Cambridgeshire County Council has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the children in its care and people with care experience, at any age, following a meeting of its Children and Young People committee on Tuesday (3 June).
The council, as part of its corporate parenting statutory duties, acts as a "parent" to looked-after children and care leavers, supporting their wellbeing and enabling them to thrive. This responsibility is equally shared by all county councillors and council staff and includes safeguarding, promoting health and development, working with partners agencies to help enable access the best possible support and services, and preparing them for their adult lives.
In May 2023, the elected members of the county council unanimously agreed to supporting people of all ages who are ‘care experienced’ to have their needs considered as part of any changes to Cambridgeshire County Council services or spending decisions. This was in recognition of the fact that care experienced people are more likely to face discrimination, and that the council has a duty to put the needs of all disadvantaged people at the heart of its decision-making through co-production and collaboration.
Councillor Edna Murphy, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council said: “Care experienced people often face significant barriers that impact them throughout their lives, and despite the resilience of many care experienced people, society too often does not take their needs into account. We must make sure that all children and young people are given opportunities to thrive.
“As part of our legal responsibilities, we have a responsibility to act as Corporate Parents for all the children who are in our care as a council. We take this role extremely seriously; these children are our children, and, like any parent, we want to ensure they get the best services and support, to enable them to thrive.”
“However, our commitment goes beyond our statutory duties. We will support all the children and young people in our care to be healthy and safe, feel cared about, valued and respected as individuals and will help them prepare well for adulthood, enabling them to achieve their goals.”
Martin Purbrick, Executive Director for Children, Education and Families at Cambridgeshire County Council, added: “Any child in care is a child that will have experienced early childhood trauma, this can really change the way that they are able to manage their own emotions. Often, they will put themselves at risk rather than other people. We need to make sure the children we are responsible for get good quality, consistent care which enables them to become adults who can contribute to society and achieve their ambitions.”
“We offer support to all those families who need it, with the aim of keeping as many children at home as possible. Our low rate of children in care compared to many other areas really demonstrates the success of our services in supporting families to make changes and reduce the number of children who need to come into care.”
