Issue - meetings

The Committee will receive a presentation from Barnardo’s about their work with the Council on Children’s rights, Sexual exploitation and Miss U(missing from care missing from home).Gloria Stott , manager of the north London Sexual Exploitation and Missing Service , and Babette Bleach , who manages the London Children’s Rights Services will provide this presentation.

The Committee received a presentation from Gloria Stott and Babette Bleach of  Barnardo’s about their work with the Council on children’s rights, sexual exploitation and trafficking. Barnardos had been working, contractually with the Council since 1995 until 2011 on these areas of work . At the start of this financial year  they had entered into a spot purchasing arrangement with the council to provide an advocacy service to identified children , undertake independent visits to children’s homes and work with young people who had been identified by the council as being vulnerable to trafficking, and sexual exploitation.  Recently external funding had also secured the services of a practitioner from the Barnardo’s to work  in the Safeguarding service with missing children, 2 days a week.

Although the Children’s service  had block commissioned 6 places this did not limit them procuring  further places if the need arose. On an influential level, Barnardos’ was educating the  Safeguarding service about  the circumstances that can  put a child /young person at risk of sexual exploitation. Barnardo’s also  shared intelligence about potential cases of sexual exploitation  and worked with the services when cases were identified by them. Barnardos also offered a child /young person an alternative support provision separate to the local agencies that they were required to deal with.

 The Committee further considered information about the Children’s Rights services provided by Barnardo’s. The Advocacy service had started  as a short term project and had been  expanded in the last three years. This had  culminated in a contract between the Council and Barnardo’s to provide advocacy support services to 87 young people. This support from Barnardos was about  enabling children / young people  to provide their views on their care  and feel independent of the process .

 Barnardos also provided  independent visits  to the Council’s children’s residential  homes and   were contracted to support 10 young people living  at these homes. Members were reassured that there was a separate non statutory body that could  make visits to the  homes and speak with  the young people at the home.

 A question was asked about how issues raised by young people through advocacy services were taken forward with the Council. In particular concerns about independent living arrangements, The Committee noted that there were regular monitoring meetings held between the Children’s service and   Barnardo’s where each party provided an update on all the cases that they are working on.   As part of this working relationship with the council,  Barnardo’s felt able to raise the  individual issues of children/young people  as well as be influential in the types of services provided to them. In the unlikely event that they found  their views not taken on board by the Children’s Safeguarding service, Barnardo’s representatives  were aware that  they could advance   their concerns to a higher management level.

Members were interested in how the  service decided on the children that would access the services provided by Barnardo’s . This  information was sought  to be assured, as corporate parents, that  there was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129