Bradford Children and Families Trust, along with Bradford Council, has a responsibility to act as your ‘Corporate Parent’ which means it is a shared responsibility to be good parents to you, working together to enable you to achieve.
The Corporate Parenting Panel is founded on 7 key principles as set out within the Children and Social Work Act 2017.
The 7 principles are:
- To act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being of those children and young people
- To encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings
- To take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people
- To help those children and young people gain access to and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners
- To promote high aspirations and to seek to secure the best outcomes for those children and young people
- For those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work
- To prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living
Our Corporate Parenting Panel is chaired by Councillor Duffy and is aligned to the National Corporate Parenting Principles and the Care Leavers Charter.
Dear Care Leavers,
The next few years will undoubtedly be a scary and confusing time, full of new challenges to face and problems to solve. However, the lessons you will learn, people you will meet and opportunities that will come your way will make it a worthy and useful time, shaping and preparing you to navigate the world as an independent and capable adult.
During your leaving care experience, you will have your own team of people guiding and supporting you in every way they can, from social workers to IRO’s to personal advisers.
Whatever path you take, support can always be put in place for you, so explore your options and make sure to find the best one for you.
My advice, as someone who has been through the system, is to be firm in what you want but be prepared and willing to cooperate – the people around you only want the best for you, even though it may not always seem like it.
On behalf of the Care Leavers Council, we wish you luck in your journey and wherever it may take you.