Blogs

Being a corporate family

2 mins read Guest Blog
“It’s like fixing a tap washer downstairs, whilst the bath is running over upstairs”. This is one of those wonderful metaphors that evokes as much imagery as it does make a point.
Jo Britton is executive director of children's services at Telford and Wrekin Council. Picture: ADCS
Jo Britton is executive director of children's services at Telford and Wrekin Council. Picture: ADCS

It was recently applied by one of my colleagues in a conversation we were having about our regional care offer aspirations.  However, I must stress it was not a description of the individual’s own behaviour, but very much indicative of how sometimes the corporate parenting “machine” can look to skimp on the daftest of things whilst losing sight of the bigger picture.

I am sure no one would disagree with the idea that at the heart of any corporate parenting offer needs to be participation from our children in care and care experienced young people.  In the West Midlands we are really proud of our participation network and how they facilitate a collective voice being heard across the region.  As an example of this, the young people themselves have devised a “Putting Participation on The Map” training session, which some of them delivered for the first time at our recent Principal Social Workers Conference.  They truly did a great job, and whilst of course this was a fairly friendly audience, they are now hungry to take their programme out to anyone who will listen, including our corporate and political systems.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included

  • Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month

  • Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here


More like this

Youth Work in Hertfordshire

Opportunities in districts across Hertfordshire

Trainee Social Worker

London (Central), London (Greater)