Report finds ‘significantly inconsistent support’ for care leavers in Slough

An Ofsted inspection into Slough Borough Council’s arrangements for young people leaving care has found support is ‘significantly inconsistent’.

Children in the borough are supported through the Slough Local Area Partnership, which includes the council, the NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB), education providers, and other commissioned partners.

Ofsted carried out a focused visit into the council’s children’s services from November 19-20 last year and published the report on Monday (January 12).

Inspectors said that ‘keeping in touch’ with young people over the age of 18 and supporting them to make sure their welfare is safeguarded is ‘significantly inconsistent’.

Care leavers should have a pathway plan in place, and although these reflected young people’s views ‘well’, the quality and timeliness of the plans is also ‘inconsistent’, according to the report.

It added: “Some plans are not well matched to care leavers’ needs and do not capture their hopes and wishes sufficiently, clearly or accurately.”

Care leavers should also get an allocated Young People’s Adviser (YPA) who is responsible for their ‘pathway plan’, making sure children still have access to wellbeing support and key information about things like finances and housing before living independently.

During the visit, Ofsted inspectors saw that advisers and virtual school staff are committed to developing ‘strong and nurturing relationships’ with the children.

But the report said the caseloads of the advisers are too high, with some ‘overwhelmed’ by their workload or finding it ‘unmanageable’, not always being able to prioritise updating pathway plans as a result.

The report said: “This makes it harder for YPAs to find the time they need to provide effective support to all care leavers, including visiting them at a frequency that meets their needs and ensuring that case recording and plans are always up to date and of a consistent quality.”

A ‘significant number’ of young people between 18 and 21 years old have had their cases closed prematurely or they do not have an adviser at all.

The report said: “For a significant number of young people, there has been a failure to keep in touch and ensure that those requiring support have an allocated personal adviser.”

It added: “While leaders recognised this deficiency earlier in the year, a lack of decisive management oversight and intervention means that a considerable number of care leavers are still not aware of their entitlement.”

But the investigation also found that for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people leaving care, support is quickly put in place.

Yet their advisors said that when these young people are granted asylum outside of Slough and then have to move back once housing for them is found, this ‘disrupts their progress in feeling settled’.

Slough Borough Council accepted the findings of the report.