DfE appoints partner to deliver delayed Care Leaver Covenant
Tristan Donovan
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
The Department for Education has appointed a delivery partner to encourage private and voluntary organisations to sign up to a commitment to help care leavers access education, employment and training, but is yet to give a date for when the delayed initiative will launch.
Plans to create a Care Leaver Covenant were first announced in May 2016 as a way to encourage organisations to offer more support to care leavers in England.
It was due to launch in October 2016 but was beset with delays, with former children's minister Edward Timpson conceding that the Department for Education was struggling get other central government departments, colleges and universities to sign up to it.
The government has previously said the covenant will be "a promise, set out in law, to everyone who has been through the care system", designed to ensure that local authorities set out clearly what care leavers are entitled to locally — including housing, jobs and healthcare.
As part of a range of measures to improve support for care leavers, children's minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government has appointed Wolverhampton-based company called Spectra First as its delivery partner for the covenant. However, no details on when the covenant will launch, or who has signed up to it so far have been provided.
Spectra First will be charged with helping the department encourage businesses and non-governmental organisations to sign up to the covenant by making a commitment to supporting care leavers.
"Leaving care can be difficult and we want to improve the support available to these young people so they are not navigating life's milestones alone," said Zahawi in a speech at an event in London showcasing projects funded by the £200m Children's Social Care Innovation Programme.
"Through the Care Leaver Covenant, we are boosting the practical support available to care leavers, such as apprenticeships or work experience, linking them up with private and voluntary organisations as well as government departments."
Government figures show that in the year to 31 March 2017, 40 per cent of care leavers aged 19 to 21 were not in education, employment or training (Neet) and the status of a further 10 per cent was unknown.
This compares with a Neet rate of 12.7 per cent of all 19- to 24-year-olds were Neet during January to March 2017.
Linda Briheim-Crookall, head of policy and practice development, Coram Voice, said: "Any commitment to greater support for care leavers is welcome."
"The success of the Care Leaver Covenant will be dependent on whether it will offer opportunities that meet the aspirations of care leavers themselves and are effectively communicated to them so they can take them up. I hope the new delivery partner puts the wishes and views of care leavers at the heart of the programme to achieve this aim."
Zahawi also used his speech to reveal that the DfE would be providing up to £5m to create social impact bond projects in Bristol, Lewisham and Sheffield that will help care leavers transition to adulthood and independence.
"These social impact bonds are a first for care leavers - testing new commissioning and funding models to support care leavers into education, training and employment," he said.
The announcements coincided with the government announcing an extra £7m a year to allow local authorities to extend the virtual school heads scheme and additional funding to support the extension of the role of personal advisers.