education & children services social work service presentation title programme 18.30housekeeping...

Education & Children ServicesSocial Work ServicePresentation Title

PROGRAMME

18.30 Housekeeping

Welcome - Peter Wilson

Introductory Remarks

Cllr Bryan Poole (Spokesperson for Education and Children’s Services)

Dougie Dunlop (Head of Service,Children Families and Criminal Justice)

Presentation David Wright (Service Manager, Children Families and Criminal Justice)

Open Discussion/Questions

20.15 Next Steps Cllr Susan Leslie (Chair of Scrutiny Committee)

20.20 Feedback Forms

20.30 Finish

Education & Children Services

A NEW HOME

Education & Children Services

Looked After Children can be:

•Looked After at Home

•Looked After with Relatives or Kinship Carers

•Looked After and Accommodated away from home,

e.g. in foster care or residential care

Looked After Children


Fife’s Looked After Children

There are currently around 960 Looked After Children in Fife:

•35% Looked After at Home or with Relatives

•54.5% Looked After in Foster Care

•10.5% Looked After in Residential Care


Why Do They Come Into Care?

• Each set of circumstances is unique

• The majority come for Care and Protection:

• 84% because of lack of parental care

• Less than 1% because they have committed an offence


LAC in Residential Care

• There are currently 102 young people looked after in residential care in Fife

• 68 live in small, community based houses – 44 of them in Fife

• There are 25 such small houses in Fife (for

2 to 6 children and young people)


Why small community-based houses?

• Meeting young people’s individual needs • ‘Family-Like’ Atmosphere• A more ‘normal’ experience – everyday

things, part of a community• They can learn about the expectations of

living in a community• They can move on more successfully


Fife’s Small Residential Houses

• Home to 4 or 5 children/young people

• With a team of 10-12 adults –usually 3 adults at any one time with 5 young people

• 2 adults sleep overnight

• House Manager – makes links with the community


The New House• Current house is not fit for purpose – limited

potential for renovation/extension

• Want to provide high quality newly-built accommodation, in a non-institutional setting

• Central Fife – small house and a 2 bed facility for care in emergency situations

• Capital budget – Committee approved

Education & Children ServicesEducation and Children Services

START

2014 2015 2016

FINISH

JUNE 2014 Committee Approval of Site Selection Methodology

JULY/AUGUST 2014 Scoring and Preferred Site Identified

SEP 2014 Community Engagement

NOV 2014 Committee Approval of Preferred Site

DEC 2014 Site Investigation

JAN-APR 2015 Detailed Design JUNE 2015

Planning Approval

OCT 2015 Construction Start

JULY 2016 Construction Complete and Occupation

MAY 2014 Community Engagement

Project Timeline


Concerns, Myths and Stereotypes

Our Children and Young People:

•Go to schools in their communities•Are not allowed to wander aimlessly round local areas •Are supervised 24/7 •Are given only the responsibility they can cope with•Need acceptance and positive messages•Want to be seen as ‘ordinary’ young people…

Education & Children ServicesEducation and Children Services

“ My least favourite subject is Maths...but this year I’ve picked everything I like. I’m staying on this year, then depends how much qualifications I’ll have. If I have enough to get an HNC then I’ll go to college. If not I’ll stay on at school, HNC, HND then 3rd year at Uni..

…Outside school I go competition dancing – we do competitions and fundraisers. I do majorettes too, and I help out – I help the wee ones…

…It’s all voluntary with Active Fife. I’ve done First Aid, sports with working with the disabled, how to change if you were teaching a class with mixed ability. We do stuff during the holidays with different age groups. And I went to T in the Park, it was really good…..”


Community EngagementFrom the engagement sessions:

•We are collecting your views, concerns and feelings

•Feedback Forms

•We undertake to feed the results back to the Council Committees – key points, themes and strength of feeling

•Online


Our Promise to You

We will:

•Strive to be very good neighbours

•Commit to being part of your community

•Hold high expectations for the children we look after

•Listen to you and respond at once to any concerns


And Finally……

These are Fife’s children and young people…

….we want for them what they deserve.. .

..what we would want for our own children


Online Information and Feedback

www.fifedirect.org.uk/childrenshouse

education & children services social work service presentation title programme 18.30housekeeping...

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