Harrow Council is overhauling its support for care leavers following an Ofsted inspection that identified significant shortcomings, leading to an overall 'inadequate' judgment for this specific area of children's services.
Key issues highlighted by Ofsted included cases of care leavers aged 18-21 being closed prematurely, contrary to statutory requirements. The inspection also found that the council was not adequately tracking a small cohort of care leavers and failing to follow up to ensure their needs were met or if they wished for their cases to be reopened. Furthermore, there were identified problems with the communication and awareness of the available care leaver offer.
In response, the council has established a new care leaving service and appointed a new Head of Corporate Parenting. Councillor Paul Osborn, Leader of the Council, stated that the authority is committed to enhancing its children's services and is learning from best practices across London. The council is expanding its team and implementing a robust care offer for care leavers, which will include mentoring and rent guarantees for those pursuing higher education.
To embed the 'corporate parent' responsibility across all departments, the council plans to involve its corporate leadership forum, comprising top-tier management, in offering mentoring to care leavers. This initiative aims to ensure the entire organisation takes its duty of care more seriously. The discussion also underscored the need for increased job opportunities, work placements, and apprenticeships for care leavers, which will require collaboration across various departments.
While a large portion of Harrow's children's services received a 'good' rating from Ofsted, the specific failings concerning care leavers resulted in the overall 'inadequate' judgment. The council is actively working to rectify these issues, with a commitment to providing support for young people up to the age of 25.
Plans are also in place to offer comprehensive support packages, potentially including assistance with council tax payments. Councillor Osborn emphasised that the council, as an organisation, must embrace its role as a corporate parent, fostering an environment that encourages ambition and independence among care leavers. Further details on the council's improvement plans can be found in the Public reports pack for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
