Harrow's Corporate Parenting Panel is undergoing a significant review aimed at enhancing its focus on the needs and voices of young people in care and care leavers, with a commitment to a more youth-centred approach.
The panel met on Monday, June 29, 2026, to discuss updates on the local offer for care leavers, participation activities, the ongoing review of the panel itself, the improvement plan, and performance reports. The meeting's agenda and reports can be found in the Public reports pack.
A refreshed Care Leaver Local Offer has been developed in collaboration with care-experienced young people. The updated offer aims to be clearer, more accessible, and meaningful, incorporating feedback from Ofsted inspections. This feedback highlighted the importance of ensuring care leavers clearly understand their entitlements, making information accessible and relevant, demonstrating how corporate parenting responsibilities translate into real-world support, and strengthening the consistency of support across services. Future plans include developing short videos for each section, easy-read versions, and translations to improve understanding and engagement.
Updates on participation activities highlighted consultations with children in care and care leavers regarding the future format of the Corporate Parenting Panel. Young people expressed a desire to be more involved in decisions pertinent to their care, with a preference for older, care-experienced individuals to act as ambassadors. Newsletters were also suggested as a preferred method for receiving information about the panel's decision-making.
The review of the Corporate Parenting Panel itself seeks to create a more participatory model. This includes exploring constitutional changes to establish a dedicated Children and Young People Service scrutiny subcommittee. This subcommittee will be constituted in the usual way and will be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at their next meeting. Following this, a Corporate Parenting Board, which will not be a public meeting, can be considered to encourage more confident participation from young people. The review is looking at models in other local authorities, specifically observing Islington's and Hillingdon's Corporate Parenting Boards, and has involved meetings with their Lead Members and AD CPs. The review is actively engaging with young people and partners to co-produce the new structure.
Progress on Harrow's Care Leavers and Corporate Parenting Improvement Plan was also presented, showing that much of the work is on track. Key areas of progress include the content update to the Care Leaver Local Offer, the recruitment of Ambassadors, and proposed changes to the Corporate Parenting Panel. The proposed changes to the panel structure are part of a gradual process, with initial work expected before the end of the financial year and broader engagement over the following six months. Full implementation is unlikely before the May elections, with September identified as a realistic target, subject to governance and constitutional approval.
Performance reports indicated a reduction in the overall number of children looked after, with Harrow's rate remaining below national averages. While performance in areas such as health reviews and dental checks was strong, challenges remain in education, employment, and training (EET) figures for care leavers, particularly older ones. The specific challenges include the current tough economic environment, the longer it takes to re-engage young people in EET the longer they are out of it, and the need to build confidence. The market is also challenging for young people graduating, with some of these issues being national challenges. Concrete initiatives are underway to address these challenges through the 'Family Business Model', which aims to create at least 10 employment and training opportunities within the council and partner agencies each year, and the Pathway to Education, Employment & Training Panel. This multi-agency panel includes representatives from The Shaw Trust, Department for Work and Pensions, Learn & Work Harrow, and the Virtual School, working with young people to explore opportunities after functional skills qualifications through a 'push and poke' approach to ensure engagement.
During the meeting, Councillor Hitesh Karia chaired the panel, with contributions from various officers including Róisín Madden, Strategic Director of Children's Services, and Samantha Jeffery, Head of Service for Corporate Parenting. The discussions underscored a collective commitment to enhancing support and engagement for young people in care and care leavers. The success of the new, more participatory Corporate Parenting Panel model will be measured through ongoing feedback from young people, ensuring the Local Offer remains relevant through regular reviews, and by observing improved understanding of rights and entitlements, increased engagement with services, and smoother transitions to independence among young people. The review process itself involves co-production with children and young people, and recommendations will be presented to the Children's Improvement Board and the Corporate Parenting Panel for ratification, indicating a collective decision-making process.