Praise for children in care councils' impact during lockdowns
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Children in care councils (CiCC) play a vital role in supporting young people’s mental health and tackling isolation, evaluation of their impact during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic has found.
Young people involved in CiCCs said the meetings, which were mainly held online amid the health crisis, ensured they felt their voices continued to be heard by policy makers, despite the social distancing restrictions in place.
In addition, the role of the councils on an operational level, such as improving review meetings and how children are communicated with, was maintained despite three national lockdowns.
The findings have emerged in evaluation of the role of 12 local authorities' CiCCs in the North East of England. This includes a detailed consultation with three councils and involving the views of 22 children with experience of care.
Some of the young people reported that attending the meetings and taking part in activities for CiCC "really helped with their mental well-being, even when it was mainly online,” the evaluation found.
“The routine of meetings, having a platform to share their voice and having regular contact with other care experienced young people also helped with staving off boredom and improving confidence.”
It said that the social element of the meetings was “the most important factor for the young people” as it meant they could “interact with other care experienced people, giving rise to empathy, mutual recognition and a desire to help others in similar circumstances”.
“Young people were not motivated solely by self-interest; they wanted to support each other,” adds the evaluation.
But while online meetings helped maintain CiCC’s role in influencing policy makers, young people surveyed complained of “Zoom fatigue” and missing “meeting fellow care experienced young people face-to-face”.
Recommendations for improving the role of CiCCs, to emerge from the evaluation, include ensuring there is direct contact with young people and senior children’s services managers.
A “lack of consistency” in support for CiCCs across local authorities was also found amid the pandemic. The evaluation calls for a level playing field in support.
The role of CiCCs in improving young people’s mental health also needs to be expanded on. Among recommendations made by young people was for regular “mental health check-ins” on each others’ wellbeing.
Another recommendation is for a “survival pack” to be put in place giving CiCC’s an action plan should there be another lockdown.
The evaluation has been published through the Department for Education-funded Compass research project, run by care organisation Blue Cabin in collaboration with South Tyneside Council.
“Children and young people are changing their choices and experience by making their voices and ideas heard,” said Shona Gallagher, director of children’s services at South Tyneside Council.
She added: “Children in Care Councils are full of expertise and imagination, and this research project has shown their value to our borough and region. We hope that the insight from this report helps shape the impact of Children in Care Councils everywhere.”
