Council launches plan to improve support for care leavers following Ofsted criticism

Ofsted found that young people were not getting all the support they needed

Hackney Council has laid out plans to improve support for care leavers – after Ofsted concluded more progress was needed.

The Children and Young People’s scrutiny commission on Monday discussed problems highlighted by the education watchdog’s July inspection, including a lack of housing options for young adults moving out of care.

Ofsted’s report stated that despite the need for these young people to receive “strong practical and emotional support” from their care workers through regular visits, not all were getting this.

It also found instances where vulnerable care leavers were not benefitting from a “well-coordinated, multi-agency response”.

Inspectors said there were times when support workers had not had adequate help from managers, and did not fully understand the rent deposit scheme offered to care leavers seeking private accommodation.

Other benefits like council tax exemption for care-experienced people were not being applied fully.

The report said the council only made the benefit available to those living outside the local area once inspectors had raised the issue.

Ofsted’s inspection gave children’s services in Hackney a ‘Good’ rating overall, noting that support for vulnerable children and their families had “greatly improved”.

In light of the outcomes, the commission quizzed council leaders, who said work was “underway” on a supported accommodation strategy.

The committee then pored over the action plan ahead of its submission to Ofsted.

Proposals to fix flaws in care leaver support services include learning visits to other authorities, improving translation for communications, and priority training areas for care staff.

Diane Benjamin, director of children’s social care, stressed that the council was making good progress on the whole.

“We’re getting there,” she said. “Obviously Ofsted saw the tenacity of our workers, and the change we made. We showed them we knew ourselves, and understood what our children need.

“There’s work to do and of course we know that, but I think this action plan speaks to that – the work that we’ve got to do and we want to do.”

In 2019, the council was told its children’s services required improvement.

On allocating housing for care leavers, Benjamin said there had been “stumbling blocks” but she thought the council “was doing some really good work in that space”.

However, the council’s written responses to Ofsted cast doubt over the long-term prospects of financial support for housing without further help.

“In the absence of a local government funding settlement, we cannot advise on the future possibility of funding at this time,” the report stated.

Town Hall officers also plan to publish an annual report on the council website with outcomes for care leavers who have applied to the housing register.