March 2016
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Delegates at this seminar considered the future for policy relating to children in care.
It was timed as Government’s Education and Adoption Bill continued its passage through Parliament, which will introduce regional adoption agencies designed to speed up the adoption process. The agenda also included discussion on the impact and future of the Adoption Support Fund, rolled out nationally in May 2015, and which provides specialist therapeutic and support sessions for adoptive families.
Further sessions considered steps to improve the quality and safety of residential settings for children in care, in light of Ofsted's annual social care report that found services for looked-after children 'inadequate' or that 'require improvement' in two-thirds of local authorities inspected in England in 2014. With the findings of an independent review into offending rates among children in care, due to be published in early 2016, the agenda also explored measures to reduce the number of looked-after children entering the youth justice system. Attendees also examined the impact of both Ofsted’s new inspection framework and government’s set of Quality Standards for children’s homes, introduced in April 2015.
Discussion was on concerns that some councils have failed to provide adequate accommodation for care leavers, and measures to improve further education and employment opportunities for those leaving the care system.