(a)

Pledge 43 was due to be signed off imminently – the STEM Conference had taken place with great success and events had also gone ahead on the same date in Plymouth Lido encouraging young people to have greater exposure to STEM activities;

(b)

Pledge 48 focused upon support provided to young people in care with their career aspirations. It was highlighted that every young person in care between the ages of 14 and 17 had been asked what their career aspirations were; 102 young people had clear aspirations and it was now for officers to facilitate work experience opportunities. Work was also ongoing with Barnardos in partnership with the Council regarding care journeys; aspiration audits were to be undertaken with children in care to identify what support was required to help them fulfil their aspirations.

(c)

data linked to the proportion of care leavers that were in Education, Employment or Training (EET) and Accommodation was provided in percentages in order to prevent the identification of any young person; it was acknowledged that this information could be provided in more detail at the Corporate Parenting Group;

(d)

44.4% of young people leaving the care system were NEET (not in Education, Employment or Training) however personal advisors were responsible for supporting young people up until the age of 25 to find education, training and employment opportunities. It was highlighted that there were a range of reasons as to why a proportion of care leavers were NEET however a work plan was being developed to improve outcomes for the care leaver group, including support and guidance on accommodation and other factors to enable them to be independent adults. Progress and improvement of outcomes contained in the work plan would be reported back to Members in approximately 6 months’ time;

(e)

career aspiration work linked to the 17-25 age bracket was the subject of a report that went to Cabinet in July 2019; a small cohort of young people had been identified as needing their aspirations explored and identified. This work had been completed and this group of young people would join the 102 young people from the 14-17 age bracket in coming forward for work experience;

(f)

the Young Carers Champion was responsible for working with schools to identify numbers of young carers however specific names or the breakdown of young carers via year group was not recorded;

(g)

the increasing burden of young carers was deeply concerning and was one of the reasons it was identified as a Pledge; the Council was working with schools to identify young carers in order to provide the required support. Any safeguarding issues would be monitored and dealt with via a referral to the children’s social care department;

(h)

where any agency was concerned about the welfare of a child it wouldn’t have to reach a statutory framework threshold; agencies could undertake an early help assessment referral to mobilise support at an earlier stage - it was agreed that work would be undertaken to assess what response adult social care colleagues had when dealing with a vulnerable adult known to receive support from a young carer to ensure the process was adequately joined up – an update would be provided to members;

(i)

school attainment standards would continue to be a priority for the local authority; it was recognised that support was provided from a variety of angles to those school leavers who had left without a good education including work around skills and adult education courses, however more work was to be done. It was highlighted that it was important for children to receive a good education whilst at school and schools were looking to recruit good teachers, good school leaders and improve teaching networks. Ofsted were working more closely with the local authority to go into schools in an informal way to provide support other than inspect, and a national expert was working with some Plymouth schools to help promote improvement;

(j)

it was acknowledged that some young carers didn’t require intervention from social care however were still encouraged to come forward to authorities to ensure that adequate support was in place if required. The collection of data regarding the variation of young carers, and the support provided, was recognised as being inconsistent from to school and an update would be provided to Members detailing how the current system worked and what good practice could be shared.

1.

to recommend to the Corporate Parenting Group that they consider in more detail data linked to the proportion of care leavers that were not in Education, Employment or Training (EET) and Accommodation;

2.

that progress and improvement of outcomes contained in the work plan focused upon care leavers would be reported back to Members in approximately 6 months’ time;

3.

that work would be undertaken to assess what response adult social care colleagues had when dealing with a vulnerable adult known to receive support from a young carer to ensure the process was adequately joined up – an update would be provided to members;

4.

an update would be provided to Members detailing how the current system in schools regarding the recording and support of young carers worked and what good practice could be shared.