Dear S Smith
Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The NCB guidance for elected members titled "Putting Corporate Parenting into Practice - understanding the councillor's role" was published by the NCB in 2008. The guide was commissioned by the DCSF as part of the work supporting Care Matters (white paper) in helping elected members understand their responsibilities as corporate parents.
1) The guide has been provide to all elected members of Kent County Council and other chief officers within the local authority who are deemed to be the corporate parent's within the authority for those children and young people looked after by Kent County Council. The guide has not been provided to district councillors by KCC. It is not considered within Kent that district councillors are corporate parents. While this may be different in a unitary authority, the way in which KCC is structured means that the corporate parent role is specific to county councillors. District councils would be expected to support the corporate parents and local authority as a whole by working in partnership with the local authority to deliver effective corporate parenting. For example, this would include ensuring the district housing authorities are supportive of enabling Care Leavers within the authority to obtain suitable accommodation and also (as is beginning to happen in some district councils, supporting the delivery of Kent's Pledge to children and young people in and leaving care, through making available free of charge access to district sport and leisure facilities). it might also include bringing to the attention of the county councillor any specific cases that a district councillor might become aware of that they feel the child's corporate parent should be made aware of an issue.
A copy of the guide can be obtained from the NCB (8 Wakely Street, London. EC1V 7QE).
2) The report dealt with the structure of Kent's corporate Parenting framework, rather than the implementation of specific government guidance - such as education protects. it would not have been appropriate for the report to have gone into details re this.
With reference to Education Protects there are south east area network meetings which are held every three months, which KCC officers attend if the agenda is relevant. The others who attend are leads within their Local Authority for the education of Looked After Children, many now holding the role of virtual Head Teacher since the DCSF pilot for this role was launched. The two DCSF south east Education Protects co-ordinators keep in regular contact via e-mail network, cascading and canvassing views and information between members. The link below to a document 'A councillor's guide to being a good parent' was from October 2003. http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/educationprotects/upload/ACFC03E.pdf
I hope this satisfies your request. If you have a query with the information provided, please contact me on 01622 696692. However, if you are unhappy with this response, please follow our complaints process; details can be found at this link http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/about-the-council/contact-us/complaints-procedure.htm#foi on our website. Please quote reference FOI/09/116.
Best regards
Michelle Hunt
Access to Information Co-ordinator
Communication & Information Governance
Children, Families & Education Directorate
Kent County Council
Room 2.35, Sessions House
Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1XQ
External: 01622 696692
Internal: 7000 6692
Email: xxxxxxxx.xxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
-----Original Message-----
From: S Smith [mailto:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx]
Sent: 05 February 2009 12:13
To: Hunt, Michelle - CFE
Subject: FOI/09/116 - Corporate Parents
Dear Sir or Madam,
The December 2008 report states:
'A copy of the NCB guidance has already been provided to all
elected Members in conjunction with a Corporate Parenting workshop,
held in June 2008, for elected Members in relation to helping them
understand their Universal (level 1) Corporate Parenting
responsibilities.'
1) Can you please confirm if all Borough Councillors received a
copy of the NCB guidance and were invited to attend the 'Corporate
Parenting workshop'in June 2008?
2) Please also clarify how the following legislation is
incorporated for all elected members including Borough Councillors
- (excluding Parish Councillors). Unfortunately this does not
appear clear in the report?
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/educationprotects//upload/ACFC03E.pdf
Yours sincerely,
S Smith
-----Original Message-----
Dear S Smith
Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000. Please accept my sincere apologies for the
delay in sending this information to you.
In answer to your request I am pleased to provide the attached
report that went to cabinet in December 2008 and which was approved
by them outlining Kent's corporate parenting framework.
The report includes a copy of KCC's definition of corporate
parenting and also references the NCB booklet, which has been
provided to all elected members to help them understand their role
and responsibilities as corporate parents. The report - and
definition - uses the NCB framework to explain corporate parenting
- including the three levels of corporate parents - and gives some
explanation of which elected members and senior officers within the
local authority are the corporate parents at each level.
I hope this satisfies your request. If you have a query with the
information provided, please contact me on 01622 696692. However,
if you are unhappy with this response, please follow our complaints
process; details can be found at this link
http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/about-the-council/contact-u
s/complaints-procedure.htm#foi on our website. Please quote
reference FOI/08/953.
Best regards
Michelle Hunt Access to Information Co-ordinator Communication &
Information Governance Children, Families & Education Directorate
Kent County Council Room 2.35, Sessions House Maidstone, Kent, ME14
1XQ External: 01622 696692 Internal: 7000 6692 Email: [email
address]
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