Placement Stability

Placement stability is key for producing good outcomes for children and young people who are looked after. Evidence and research demonstrate that children need to build trusted and sustained relationships with carers, social workers, teachers and health professionals. If children build enduring relationships with trusted adults who offer unconditional support, children feel valued. This allows children to achieve to the best of their ability.

Coventry’s Corporate Parenting Strategy places placement stability as the key focus for improving the outcomes for our children. It is the ‘golden thread’ that runs through our work. Links with family members are promoted to make sure that young people are supported into their adulthood. This means that young people have a better understanding of their history and this, in turn, promotes stability in their living arrangements. This is facilitated through the Family Group Conference/ LifeLong Links services where additional investment means that all young people get access to this service where appropriate.

"100% of children aged 8-11yrs who reported that they worried about their feelings or behaviour were getting help from an adult to cope with their worries."

Support with worries

Coventry has a number of aspects that demonstrate its commitment to improving placement stability, and in turn, outcomes for children.

Permanence strategy:

Coventry City Council has a comprehensive Permanence Strategy. This is the bedrock for social work practice and creates a foundation to improve relationship-based practice. This means that all workers across the whole of Children’s Services understand the need for children to have permanency at the earliest opportunity. This is monitored through the Permanence Panel and children are matched to permanent carers at the earliest opportunity.

Sufficiency:

Placement stability is informed by a good understanding of the placement needs of the Coventry looked after population.

Coventry has a Sufficiency Strategy- ‘Homes for Looked after children’ that is regularly refreshed. This means there is an understanding of the placement requirements of our children. Children benefit from this understanding by having the best possible range of placements available to enhance matching. This means children will live with matched carers at the earliest opportunity

Matching:

Homes for Looked after Children (Placements) have the best chance of meeting children’s needs into the future if they are planned, have an element of choice and there are good introductions. It is crucial that children are consulted at the earliest opportunity and have a voice that is respected in the matching process as far as possible. To improve matching of children to the best possible carer, a Placement Referral Form has been implemented throughout Children’s Services. This is a strength based, outcome focused referral which means that staff who search for placements fully understand the needs for each individual child. Discussion between allocated social workers and potential carers means that the best possible match can be made, and the placement is likely to be successful.

Local provision:

Children generally do better when placed close to their families,communities and the professionals that offer them support. When children are placed locally, relationships between the authority and the carer can be closer. Support can be provided by local partners through a ‘team around the child’ approach. Coventry City Council is intensively recruiting foster carers and now has 4 children’s homes for looked after children, with approval and plans to open a further 2 more. This will mean that children are more likely to be placed in or close to Coventry. Working in partnership with the National House Project and Citizen Housing, young people are being supported to move to their own tenancy sooner and therefore experience fewer moves as they become adults.

During the last two years there has been an increase in the number of children who live in Coventry.

As of October 2022, 61.1%of children live in the city with another 21.9% living in neighbouring authorities.