Looked after young people visit the House of Lords
A group of young people from Warwickshire have been to Westminster to speak to a national politician about what it’s like to be in care.
The four young people, who all have experience of being in care, met with Baroness Morris, Shadow Minister for Education, Children, Families and Women, at the House of Lords.
The young people were supported by Richard Rowe and Rob Dunster of Warwickshire County Council’s leaving care team.
The visit was arranged by Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families at Warwickshire County Council, to highlight the pioneering work that Warwickshire County Council is doing to support looked after children and young people.
Baroness Morris of Bolton has been guiding the Children and Young Person’s Bill through Parliament and was interested to hear about Warwickshire’s pledge partnership with ‘What Makes the Difference’, a London based charity seeking to improve the life chances of care leavers.
Baroness Morris has already brought the pledge partnership to the attention of the House of Lords as an example of good practice, and wanted to meet the young people involved. The group discussed a wide range of issues including choice and quality of foster carers, ensuring young people in care reach their full academic potential and support for those leaving care and accommodation needs.
The young people, who valued the chance to share their views, were given lunch and a tour of the Houses of Parliament during their trip. They also met with Tim Laughton, Shadow Minister for Children, and Baroness Seccombe, Deputy Whip for the House of Lords. The young people commented on how welcoming ‘Trish’ (Baroness Morris) had been and what an honour it was to be invited to Westminster.
Cllr Seccombe said: “Young people play a significant role in the shaping of our services and Baroness Morris was interested to hear how Warwickshire has been leading the way in its work with looked after children.”
There are currently 450 children or young people in care in Warwickshire and the county has won national recognition for its services for looked after children. The authority has a highly rated care leavers programme and is taking part in a number of groundbreaking national pilots.
One example is the ‘Virtual Head’ initiative which involves an education champion to ensure that young people get the support they need to achieve their maximum potential at school, and another is the ‘Right2bCared4’ project which aims to give young people more support to stay in care until they are 18 and the opportunity for further education and employment.