York welcomes national children’s leaders to celebrate success

Young people and social workers in York met national children’s leaders last week as part of a visit to find out more about City of York Council’s work to transform services for children and young people.

The government minister for Children and Families, Minister Janet Daby; Frances Oram, Children’s Social Care Reform, DfE; and Isabelle Trowler CBE, Chief Social Worker, met young people and children’s social care teams in York earlier this month [Wednesday 2 October]. 

The Minister met young people from York’s I Still Matter, a group for young care givers; as well as young people on the Staying Close programme, who are provided with wrap around support in their transition to live independently.

The Minister also visited Clifton Family Hub, which will be home to York’s new dedicated SEND hub. Plans for the new hub gained approval last month and will bring together professionals from education, health and social care in the same place, supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and their families.

The visit follows a period of significant change in the service, which has seen an end to the use of agency social workers, creating more consistency for children and families; the adoption of a new model of working, which puts children and young people at the heart of everything the teams do; and a significant reduction in the number of children in care, thanks to better early support for families. 

Martin Kelly, OBE, City of York Council’s Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, said:

“I’m pleased that local young people have been able to share their own experience of our services with national leaders. I hope their feedback about how our new-look services have helped them will help shape national policy around children and young people in the future.

“I’d like to thank everyone who met the Minister and her colleagues over the course of the day. It was fantastic to hear the personal stories and see the positive impact our services make first hand. I’m incredibly proud of the team here in York and the work they’ve done to put children and families at the very heart of everything we do.”