Consultation Response Developing a Universal Definition of “Care Experience”
North Ayrshire Council · 3 December 2024
Back to Cabinet — 3 December 2024 and its agenda
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 3 December 2024 Cabinet Title: Consultation response: Developing a universal definition of “care experience” Purpose: To seek approval for the proposed response to the Scottish Government consultation on developing a universal definition of “care experience”. Recommendation: That Cabinet approves the consultation response at Appendix 1 for submission to the Scottish Government. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The Promise was launched in 2020 following the National Independent Care Review as a 10-year programme to support care experienced children and young people. The Scottish Government has published a consultation paper to seek views on the need for a universal definition of ‘care experience’ and what the potential impacts of this could be. 1.2 North Ayrshire Council alongside the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) are committed to ensuring that children and young people with care experience are supported across Council services and that the inequality of outcomes which they experience are addressed. In December 2023, the Council adopted a definition of “care experience” which closely aligns to the national proposals in this consultation. 2. Background 2.1 The Promise was launched in 2020 following the National Independent Care Review. It aims to address the inequality of outcomes experienced by children and young people who have been – or are currently in – the care system, ensuring they are able to fulfil their potential, reducing the number of children and young people coming into the care system and increasing the number of preventative, early intervention and community- based supports for children, young people and families. 2.2 The Promise tells us that while it is not a legal term, ‘care experience’ is a term that has a special and different meaning for many of the people who identify with it. This includes infants, children and young people, and adults who may choose to identify as ‘care experienced.’ Reasons for this could include that they feel it describes the situation that they have grown up in, or that this describes an understanding of their personal identity. However, not everyone who could identify as ‘care experienced’ will choose to do so for a number of reasons, including that for some people it may feel like a stigmatising term.
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2.3 As well as providing a sense of identity, there are existing supports and entitlements available to people with care experience, particularly young people with care experience. This is relevant in areas such as education, including further and higher education. However, there is not currently one cross-sector definition which is commonly understood and used in practice; or that acknowledges the individual experience of care that different people can have. This means that eligibility for existing supports is not currently connected by a universal definition. This means that while eligibility for some existing supports may be linked to legal provisions, such as having been ‘looked after,’ the wording used to define who is eligible to access support can vary between different organisations. 2.4 The Promise also tells us that a universal definition of ‘care experience’ will help to normalise care as more people can understand and relate to it. The Promise sets out that there must be a more universal, commonly understood definition as it relates to rights and entitlements and an understanding that the purpose of those rights and entitlements is to support people with care experience. 2.5 The HSCP ensures that young people with care experience are supported across Council services. Some current examples of this work include: • 64 active members of the Promise Champions staff network as of August 2024. At the most recent meeting in September, the Champions were joined by Clare Morris, Promise Delivery Partner, as a Guest Speaker introducing the ‘Promise Plan 2024- 30’. During the meeting, attendees had the opportunity to begin thinking about their own service’s work towards the plan and how they might work collaboratively with the other Corporate Parents attending. • Six drop-in sessions for North Ayrshire Council staff have been held to learn more about the Corporate Parenting Team and how they can best support the Care Experienced community. 13 members of staff have accessed this so far. Further drop-ins are planned for September – December 2024. • 109 Corporate Parents have attended a training session delivered by the Corporate Parenting Team between May – August 2024. Some of the partners delivered to include Ayrshire College, Police Scotland, the School Counselling Team, Fire & Rescue, HSCP and Connected Communities. • All North Ayrshire Council Staff receive access to a copy of triannual Staff Briefings and monthly columns on the Staff News website to keep up to date with the Corporate Parenting Team’s work and how they can get involved. • All North Ayrshire Council Staff have been offered the opportunity to attend a face- to-face or online training session delivered by Each and Every Child focusing on reducing stigma around the care system and those with care experience. • To mark the 10-year anniversary of the Children and Young People (Scotland) 2014 Act, Who Cares? Scotland hosted their first ever Corporate Parenting Awards. They presented 14 awards to celebrate positive and progressive Corporate Parenting practice from the last decade while recognising the key role that Corporate Parents play in the lives of care experienced people.
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• A Care Experienced young person nominated the Council for the ‘Creating Financial Equality’ category, which we won. This award was in relation to North Ayrshire Council being the first local authority in Scotland to introduce a Council Tax exemption for Care Experienced people, up to the age of 26. This was introduced as a local initiative in recognition of the barriers that can prevent care experienced people experiencing financial freedom. After discussions with the Scottish Government, this was then introduced nationally across Scotland. The judging panel was comprised of a diverse group of care experienced people and representatives from Who Cares? Scotland who dedicated their free time to helping shortlist the nominations. • We held a range of events during Care Experienced Week this year (21st – 27th October 2024). We have worked closely with the internal Media and Communications Team to provide a series of videos and information across social media and the NAC website. We also hosted a Family Cinema Night and a celebration at the Harbour Arts Centre for young people & staff. • Two Annual Promise Conferences are planned (one for primary school aged children and one for secondary/college aged learners). • We continue to work closely with care experienced young people. We held a summer programme this year with four trips offered to care experienced young people and their families. Our school Champions Boards (Youth Forums) run monthly in Secondary schools across North Ayrshire and from January 2025 onwards schools will have the option to introduce this group as part of their timetable. There will also still be the opportunity for a lunch time group within school as well. • Implementation of the Signs of Safety model by the HSCP. This approach is designed to place parents, children and those naturally connected to the child at the centre of the assessment, decision-making, and planning process. The goal is to ensure that children and young people can grow up within their families whenever possible. The Signs of Safety model emphasises a strengths-based, safety- organized approach to child protection casework 2.6 A motion was approved by the Council on 29 March 2023 in support of adding “care experienced” as a protected characteristic in North Ayrshire’s Equality Impact Assessments. In December 2023, the Council agreed to adopt the following definition of “care experienced” for the purpose of EIAs: “Anyone who is currently in care or has been for any length of time regardless of their age. This care may have been provided in many different settings, such as: (i) “Kinship Care” (living with a relative who is not your mum or dad (ii) “Looked After at Home” (with the help of Social Work) (iii) “Residential Care” (Living in a residential home or school) (iv) “Foster Care” (living with foster carers) (v) “Secure Care” (living in a secure accommodation), (vi) “Adoption” (living with adoptive parents.” The proposed definition within the consultation includes all of these settings as well as Supported Accommodation.
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2.7 The consultation response at Appendix 1 sets out proposed support for the need for a clear and universal definition of care experience. The challenges facing people with care experience have been the subject of regular discussion through our Promise Champions Board, with the need for an improved understanding what it means to be care experienced, types of care experience, and the rights and entitlements that care experienced people can access. An agreed definition would help avoid confusion, reduce stigma, and improve consistency of supports and entitlements provided to those with care experience. 3. Proposals 3.1 Cabinet is asked to approve the consultation response from North Ayrshire Council included at Appendix 1 and for this to be submitted to the Scottish Government by 8 January 2025. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 None. Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 None. There may be future legal implications from a sector wide agreed definition of care experience. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 North Ayrshire Council and the HSCP are already committed to “The Promise” and to supporting those with care experience as outlined in the proposed response. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 None. Key Priorities 4.6 The proposals will deliver on the Council’s key priorities of Wellbeing: To transition to a wellbeing economy, delivering prosperity, wellbeing and resilience for local people and Communities and Local Democracy: We will have active, inclusive and resilient communities by helping to define work which ensures young people with care experience are supported to achieve their potential and to be an active part of their community.
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This also aligns with the key priorities of the HSCP around providing Early and Effective Support, Tackling Inequalities and Enabling Communities. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None. 5. Consultation 5.1 This is a national Scottish Government consultation launched on 9 October 2024 and is due to close on 8 January 2025. The consultation is open to all citizens and organisations. David W. Hammond Executive Director, Communities and Housing For further information please contact Rhonda Leith, Head of Service (Connected Communities), on 01294 324415 or Elizabeth Stewart, Head of Service (Children, Families and Justice Services) on 01294 317727 Background Papers Appendix 1 – Proposed Consultation Response
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Appendix 1 – Proposed Response 1. Do you agree or disagree that there is a need for a universal definition to describe ‘care experience’? Agree strongly. 2. What are your views on the potential advantages of developing a universal definition of ‘care experience’? A universal definition would mean that everyone could have a better understanding of the persons included in the term “care experienced”, which would in turn result in a better understanding of the rights and entitlements those persons could access. This could improve consistency in the entitlements that care experienced people access as this currently looks very different between local authorities. It could support the reduction of stigma around the term ‘care experience’ by making it universally known and understood. This could enhance a sense of community between care experienced people and broaden the opportunity to connect. Care experienced people who are currently unaware that they are care experienced could find it easier to self-identify with the term and access rights and entitlements if it is better understood. It could sharpen the understanding of non-care experienced people to the types of care experience and the work of The Promise. It could increase care experienced people’s faith in their Corporate Parents taking them & their experiences seriously. Additionally, having many different terms e.g. ‘Looked After,’ ‘Care Leaver,’ ‘Continuing Care,’ ‘Throughcare,’ ‘Aftercare,’ ‘Care Experienced’ etc, can be confusing for all. 3. What are your views on the potential disadvantages of developing a universal definition of ‘care experience’? We believe that the potential advantages outweigh the potential disadvantages. A universal definition might not capture the unique and diverse experience of all individuals who are care experienced. This could lead to a one size fits all approach that overlooks specific needs and circumstances, that said, it is also recognised that the definition may become too lengthy as it will need to include the many types of care that people experience. A definition would need to be as succinct as possible but should not erase any important information. A broader definition could increase the number of individuals eligible for certain supports and services, potentially stretching resources even further and impacting the quality of support provided. Definitions can become outdated, and this would need to be considered when thinking about its applicability long-term. Each person’s experience will be unique. Rights and entitlements will vary greatly for different age groups. Therefore, it might prove difficult to create a concise definition that encapsulates the vast range of experiences, ages, types, and needs.
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People’s opinions may vary greatly when discussing such a sensitive matter, therefore, there is the risk that some may feel unhappy with the result. This looks to already be considered by offering the opportunity to engage in a wide consultation. There is the possibility that if we continue to label children and young people, it could well be that the term “care experienced” becomes a stigmatising label itself and is something that we should remain mindful of. In addition, for some children, especially those on compulsory supervision orders at home, they may not have knowledge or recollection of this legal order and by attaching the term care experienced, it may trigger or take an individual back to a challenging time in their life and it could be detrimental to both the individual and their relationship with their family. Whilst we remain supportive of any commitment to positive action to improve the lives of care experienced children and to create communities where all children grow up loved, safe and respected, careful consideration must be given to delineate between positive action and positive discrimination to ensure full compliance with the Equality Act 2010. 4. Do you have any views on the definition of ‘Care Leaver’ as set out in the consultation paper? As mentioned in the consultation paper, care needs to be taken when creating a universal definition to consider how this interacts with existing legislation that makes it clear who has legal rights and duties to support care experienced people. These people should continue to be held accountable. A definition should ensure that the entitlements that can be legally accessed as a care experienced person remain clear to both practitioners and care experienced people. 5. Do you have any views on the statutory definition of ‘Looked After’ as set out in the consultation paper? While this definition may make it clear for some practitioners supporting care experienced people to allocate resources, the definition does not describe care in a way that is easy to understand for all. Nor does it refer to the guidance that a person is termed care experienced even once they are no longer ‘Looked After’ by the local authority and after experiencing care at any age, stage or duration of their life. 6. What experience of care would you expect to be covered by any definition of 'care experience'? Please choose all that apply. A motion was approved by North Ayrshire Council on 29 March 2023 in support of adding “care experienced” as a protected characteristic in North Ayrshire’s Equality Impact Assessments. In December 2023, the North Ayrshire Council agreed to adopt the following definition of “care experienced” for the purpose of EIAs: “Anyone who is currently in care or has been for any length of time regardless of their age. This care may have been provided in many different settings, such as: (i) “Kinship Care” (living with a relative who is not your mum or dad (ii) “Looked After at Home” (with the help of Social Work) (iii) “Residential Care” (Living in a residential home or school)
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(iv) “Foster Care” (living with foster carers) (v) “Secure Care” (living in a secure accommodation), (vi) “Adoption” (living with adoptive parents.” The proposed definition within the consultation includes all of these settings as well as Supported Accommodation. There are risks with including Supported Accommodation in the definition as this is not a clearly defined setting with different understanding of what Supported Accommodation is and its use from a housing perspective across a number of client groups and social care settings. Any agreed definition including defining specific care settings would need to take cognisance the legislative framework including the requirement for a decision by the Children’s Hearing System or a Court. 7. Do you have any other comments about a proposed universal definition of ‘care experience’? We regularly consult with young people during our Champions Board meetings. They have expressed that they would like both Corporate Parents and peers to have an improved understanding of what it means to be care experienced, the types of care experience, and the rights and entitlements that can be accessed. They believe that others often confuse them with Young Carers or people with disabilities who require personal care. They think that an improved, shared understanding for all could reduce the stigma and discrimination they can face. As practitioners, it would help to have a universal definition when we discuss care experience across services and collaborate as a Promise Champions staff network. This could potentially help all staff with Corporate Parenting responsibilities to understand and refine their duties to our care experienced people. Even with all the above said, it is also important to note that agreeing a universal definition does not ensure that individuals will automatically have access to entitlements. Anecdotal information tells us that there are some individuals who don’t consider themselves to be care experienced despite their circumstances growing up. From a service perspective, many are reliant on individuals sharing that they are care experienced to allow them to access additional supports. Within Health Visiting services for example, parents are required to tell their allocated Health Visitor of their care experience, so they can access their entitlement to funded early learning and childcare for their children aged younger than 3 years old. With multiple systems in place across services, the sharing of information which would remove barriers to access supports is a very long way off and therefore places more of a reliance on professionals to ask the question, and for the individual to 1) know they are care experienced and 2) feel able to share that without fear of discrimination/ judgement. 8. Do you have any comments on the existing language of care? The language of care towards care experienced people still needs to improve. There have been several encouraging steps made so far, and many practitioners are keen to review & improve their use of written and spoken language. Each & Every Child offer free,
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attentive support. As a Council, we have pledged to using our Care Experienced Language Charter and Anti-Discrimination & Stigma Policy written by our care experienced young people who attend our Champions Board. We have a variety of additional supports on offer for those who require assistance. Language of care continues to be a priority for us and will develop in 2025, and beyond. That said, for some services and functions, there will remain a need to understand current legal status for children as opposed to their overarching lifelong experience. For example, looked after children are entitled to a health assessment. This assessment is only an entitlement for the duration of the child or young person’s legal order and not for children and young people who have previously been looked after, and therefore are considered to be care experienced. 9. Do you have any suggestions on potential ways to change and improve the language of care? There needs to be more steps taken for the public, and non-care experienced young people, to better understand the ‘Care System’ and hear structured real-life stories of experience and progress. It could be beneficial for practitioners to hear about what other local authorities are doing that has worked well. 10. Are you aware of good practice to change and improve the language of care? We are aware of some good practice happening in local authorities across the country to change and improve the language of care. We have worked closely with Each & Every Child over the past couple of years to provide opportunities for both staff and Care Experienced people. The HSCP have implemented the Signs of Safety model of practice. This is a strength and relationship-based framework that aims to work in partnership with children and their families. The model focuses heavily on how we communicate and work with children and their families. A shift in language is central to the changes in practice. Professionals from different disciplines use the same language, which helps in creating a unified approach to addressing concerns and working towards shared goals. All written and verbal communications with families are in clear, everyday language. This helps families understand the concerns and the steps being taken to ensure safety. There is a greater focus on positives, strengths and framing in a bid for the process of intervention to be viewed as supportive rather than punitive. The model has been well received by both families and the workforce with families noted to feel more empowered. More widely, the redesign of the Children's Hearings System in Scotland places a strong emphasis on the use of language to ensure it is supportive, non-judgmental, and easily understood by children and families. As mentioned, this area continues to be a priority for us as a Council and we would welcome the opportunity to hear about other areas of good practice, as well as sharing our own experience. As referred to in question 8, the North Ayrshire Corporate Parenting Team developed a Language Charter in 2023. Copy is attached for reference.
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NA CE Language Charter.pdf 11. Further information about your organisation's response: As mentioned, this topic has and continues to be regularly discussed with our care experienced community during Champions Board meetings and other youth work events, and with North Ayrshire-wide Corporate Parents during our Promise Champions staff network meetings and training events. 12. How satisfied were you with this consultation? Very satisfied. 13. Please enter comments here: The consultation was clear. The steps were easy to follow, and the questions were applicable to the subject matter. 14. How would you rate your satisfaction with using this platform (Citizen Space) to respond to this consultation? Very satisfied. 15. Please enter comments here: The format was accessible.