Bradford Children and Families Trust and Bradford Council have signed a promise to support children in care and care leavers across Bradford.
Developed in collaboration with care-experienced young people from our Children in Care Council, Our Promise sets out 16 principles for how care experienced children and young people will be treated, listened to, and involved in decisions that affect them.
The promise forms part of our new Corporate Parenting Strategy. This sets out the continued commitment of everyone working in the public sector to ensure the best services and opportunities for our children and young people who have experienced care.
Members of our Children in Care Council joined Charlotte Ramsden, Chief Executive of Bradford Children and Families Trust, and Marium Haque, Strategic Director of Children’s Services at Bradford Council, to launch Our Promise.
Councillor Sue Duffy, Lead Member Children and Families, also pledged support by signing the promise.
Cllr Sue Duffy, Lead Member Children and Families, said:
“We recognise that children in care and care leavers in Bradford often face significant barriers. It is our duty to address these challenges head-on and to ensure that our children, young people and care leavers receive the support and opportunities they need to thrive. We are committed to doing so with empathy, determination and an unrelenting focus on improving their outcomes.
”It’s important that as Corporate Parents we keep our Promise and that we have a shared understanding among our workforce alongside elected members of us having high aspirations and being held to account in order that our children, young people and care experienced adults thrive and fulfil their potential.”
Charlotte Ramsden, Chief Executive Officer, Bradford Children and Families Trust, said:
“Our Promise has been co-produced with our children and young people. We have listened to their experiences of care, learning what is important to them. This ensures children and young people are at the heart of everything we do.
“We are totally committed to this promise. In the spirit of ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, we need the help and support of others. Our whole-system approach involves children’s social care, health, education, police and other partners collaborating to understand and meet the unique needs of our children.”
Marium Haque, Strategic Director of Children’s Services, Bradford Council, said:
“In Bradford, being a corporate parent means collectively striving to create a positive impact on the lives of our children and young people, just as any caring parent would. We want all children for whom we hold a corporate parenting responsibility to be seen as ‘children of Bradford’. We also want everyone in the Bradford District to feel they have something to offer to help improve the lives of our children and young people.
“Signing Our Promise underpins our shared commitment to working alongside our children and families to help them develop and sustain safe, happy and successful lives.”
Our Promise to our children in care and care leavers is:
We promise that in everything we do, we will:
- Make sure you feel valued, loved and respected.
- Find the right home for you and help you to feel safe and settled there until you are ready to move on.
- Support you to stay safe, be happy and lead a healthy lifestyle.
- Make sure you have a social worker or personal advisor who will spend time getting to know you and explain how they can help you.
- Listen to you about what is important to you and involve you in decisions that affect your life, your care and your future.
- Write down what you tell us carefully so that you don’t have to keep telling your story.
- Use the language that you are comfortable with when we are writing or talking about you, your life, your care and plans for your future.
- Help you stay in touch with people who are important to you, especially your family, so long as it is safe for you to do so.
- Help you to understand your life story when you are ready to and in a way that works for you.
- Explain when we have to make decisions you may not like or agree with.
- Find the right school for you, and help you to learn and do your best.
- Help you to have new experiences, do activities you enjoy and have fun.
- Make sure you have access to a range of work and learning opportunities.
- Encourage you to dream big and celebrate your achievements.
- Work with you to plan your future and make sure you have the right support in place when you leave care.
- Listen to and act on what you tell us about your experiences in care amd leaving care, and what we can do to make it better.
You can read our Corporate Parenting Strategy on our website.
A care experienced children or young person is someone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked-after background at any stage in their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked-after.
The term ‘corporate parenting’ can be defined as promoting the collective responsibility of the whole public sector to safeguard and promote the rights and life chances of care-experienced children and young people. This is a responsibility of everyone working in the public sector.