Minutes:
9.1 The Panel received a presentation from Mandy Lewis, Head of the Virtual School, detailing the results from the Bright Spots survey which was conducted by the children’s charity Coram and the University of Bristol. The survey asked a range of questions to Looked After Children (LAC) about their experiences in care.
9.2 The Panel were informed that all LAC aged 4 to 18 in East Sussex were invited to respond to the survey. The response rate was 39% which the Panel were informed accounted for over a third of all LAC and that compared to similar surveys in other local authorities this was a high response rate.
9.3 The Panel welcomed the many positive outcomes of the survey, these included:
· 89% of LAC in East Sussex felt that their lives were improving.
· 90% of LAC in East Sussex felt safe ‘all or most of the time’ in their placements. The Panel were informed that this level is higher than the general population of 8 to 13 year olds which another survey found to be 75%.
· 93% of LAC aged 11-18 reported that they could easily get in contact with their social workers.
·
In East Sussex, the turnover of social workersis lower than in other
authorities. 11% of young people wrote that they had had three or
more social workers in the previous year. This is significantly
less than in other authorities where on average 28% young people
reported this.
·
Children and young people in East Sussex
were more likely than their peers in the general population to
report that their carers showed an interest in their
education.
·
In comparison to their peers in the
general population, higher proportions of children and young people
in care in East Sussex had access to nature.
The Panel discussed the mental and
physical benefits of this.
9.4 The Panel also discussed the areas for improvement that the survey highlighted, these included:
· Bullying: The Panel questioned that outcome that 45% of LAC surveyed aged 8 to 11 reported that they were afraid ‘all of most of the time’ or ‘sometimes’ of bullying. In response Mandy Lewis explained to the Panel that this question was not necessarily indicative of the amount of children that experienced bullying, but rather the amount of children that are fearful of being bullied. The Panel were also informed of the steps being taken to address the issue of bullying in schools, which included: explaining to schools what is being reported by children; ensuring that schools have policies in place to support the emotional and mental health of LAC; making sure that children have someone they can talk to in confidence about bullying and including information on mental and emotional wellbeing as part of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education).
· Stigma: The Panel also discussed the finding that 15% of LAC aged 11 to 18 surveyed reported that adults did things that made them feel embarrassed about being in care. Liz Rugg, Assistant Director for Early Help and Social Care informed the Panel that stigma of being in care is an ongoing national issue and that there are measures that are being taken to address this in East Sussex. For example, LAC are no longer taken out of school classes for meetings during the day; steps such as this ensure that LAC are treated equally to other young people and extra attention is not unnecessarily drawn to them.
· Self-esteem: The Panel were informed that the survey found that 22% of LAC between the ages of 11 to 18 were unhappy with how they looked, this is compared to 10% in the general population. Members discussed the role of social media and how this is having an impact of young people’s body image.
9.5 The Panel
welcomed the positive outcomes of the survey and noted the
Departments comments and actions towards the areas where it is
seeking to make further improvements.
9.6 RESOLVED: to note the report.