Children in care

If you a child is in care or Looked After, as it is now called, means that the council as a whole is the corporate parent.  This means that the entire council – councillors and officers:

 

As a corporate parent, councillors have a right and duty to question the local authority as to whether children and young people are safe, well looked after and supported.

Sheffield has established a corporate parenting panel, which is made up of elected members overseeing the role of corporate parent to make sure that the interests of children come first.  Elected members review strategies for all provision on behalf of Children in Public Care, including Education, Residential Care and Health.

 

The Local Government Information Unit suggests that councillors use the following checklist to help them in this:

• Do you know about children in your area?
• Are they safe?
• How well does your council look after these children?
• Are they well supported by council and other services?
• What support is there when they leave care?
• Is your council putting in enough resources?

 

The Corporate Parenting Panel receives regular reports from Officers and will challenge the quality of provision as any other parent would.  The panel receives reports on fostering and residential services for children and young people in Sheffield and on issues that impact on their lives.