Barnet Council is enhancing its transition planning for care-experienced young people, incorporating feedback from a recent Ofsted focused visit. The Children and Education Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee received an update on these improvements, which aim to provide more robust support as young people move towards adulthood. The transition planning has been accelerated through the Transition Program Board, with formal transition planning now commencing at 16 and a half years old.
Ofsted's visit highlighted strong pathway planning and leadership oversight within the council's services for care leavers. However, the inspectors also identified areas for further development, including minimising anxiety for young people in new accommodation, better capturing their voices, and addressing gaps in supervision records.
In response, Barnet Council has established a joint Transition Tracking Panel, which merges mental health and adult social care expertise, to provide a multidisciplinary approach to planning for young people transitioning into adulthood. This panel ensures that a wide range of options are considered for each young person's accommodation needs, moving beyond a single route and focusing on individual requirements. The panel assesses accommodation options by considering the 'needs of the individual young person,' looking at 'whole variety of options' such as staying in supported accommodation, moving to accommodation with floating support, or being ready for their own tenancy.
To address concerns about anxiety in accommodation, the council is working to ensure young people are better prepared for independent living. Potential anxieties are associated with the transition to living independently, such as managing everything for themselves in a studio flat. To mitigate this, Barnet Council is working on earlier engagement with young people from age 16 and a half to discuss their future living arrangements and expectations. The council is also strengthening its partnership with Barnet Homes to explore co-living arrangements, allowing young people to support each other rather than facing independent living alone. Furthermore, young people have the option to put council flat nominations on hold for up to two years while they prepare for independent living. A mental health lead worker is also supporting young people and staff in managing anxiety and mental wellbeing.
Capturing young people's voices is being addressed through various engagement methods, including group work, text-based communication, and summary sheets detailing their rights and expectations. The council is also exploring a bid for a staying close
program, in partnership with the Department for Education (DfE). This program aims to create opportunities and posts for practitioners who will specifically work with young people in residential settings to help them prepare for adulthood, bringing in extra capacity for this crucial transition work. Barnet Council is also conducting surveys, with a plan to revisit a survey from two years ago to allow for proper comparison. While Ofsted's recent visit indicated that young people felt well-informed about the local offer, the council acknowledges the need to improve engagement with young people who live outside the borough or are in residential placements further afield.
Regarding supervision records, Ofsted identified gaps, noting that while general audits of care leavers' case files appear strong, there can be a lull in the frequency of supervision during management changes. The council is reviewing its audit systems and practices to ensure consistency and that feedback from audits is effectively shared and implemented in ongoing supervisions. This includes ensuring that audit findings are shared with personal advisors and social workers, and revisited in future supervisions. The council is committed to changing its systems and practice based on this feedback.
Advocacy services for care-experienced young people are commissioned through Action for Children. The council is currently reviewing this service, meeting with Action for Children to discuss capacity issues and challenges, with the aim of increasing the capacity within this service to allow more young people to access advocacy support.
While specific timelines for the full impact of these enhancements are not detailed, the transition planning has been accelerated, the joint Transition Tracking Panel is in place, and a pathways document is being developed. The review of advocacy services is underway, indicating that these improvements are actively being implemented and reviewed.
