Services for children are a large part of the overall services that we provide at West Sussex County Council. During this financial year, our Conservative Administration at the county council is spending over £200 million on children’s social care and supporting young people. Sadly, not all children have the best start in life that we all want them to have. For those children and young people who are placed with foster carers, we are very grateful to our fantastic foster carers for the amazing support they provide.
More foster carers are needed. If you would like to make a difference to a child in West Sussex and could provide a safe, secure and loving environment, help them through a challenging time in their lives, and have a spare room, then the county council’s fostering team would love to hear from you. If you would like to know more, including about the financial support provided, then please click here to find out more information.
It is known that children who enter the care system, on average, have greater challenges during their adult lives. This is why providing support in early adulthood from ages 18-25 for care leavers is also important, as well as the support given while they are children and young people. Last month, West Sussex County Council was inspected by Ofsted, who assessed arrangements for care leavers aged 18 to 25, including support into adulthood and for care leavers with specific needs.
We are delighted to say their finding were very positive. West Sussex County Council was praised for its “substantially improved” services that help young people leaving care to develop and flourish. Ofsted said the council has created “a culture of excellent support” for care leavers and that “leaders value them, their opinions matter to them, and that their work translates into meaningful change in how services are delivered.” The success of the West Sussex House Project, which provides young people leaving care with a safe home and supports them to live independently, was also highlighted. Launched in January 2023, the project has already seen eight of the first 11 young people to take part now living in their own homes. WATCH: Welcome to the West Sussex House Project video.
A letter to the county council from Ofsted, published last week, says services for care leavers in West Sussex have substantially improved since a previous inspection in 2023. It adds that improvements have been made to help young people make the transition into adulthood safely and at their own pace. The council’s localised approach to housing support for care leavers was also hailed by Ofsted. This means that many young people can maintain local links and have access to local services, such as colleges, employment and training opportunities.
Cllr Jacquie Russell, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Learning and Skills, said: “I am incredibly proud of all of our staff who support care leavers. I’m delighted that their hard work and dedication, and the positive impact it has on young people’s lives, has been recognised by the Ofsted inspectors. Their findings are testament to the amazing work done every day by our teams to help care leavers fulfil their potential as they move into adulthood, and to continually improve the services we offer to those who need our support.”
Cllr Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council, added: “We have invested in people and infrastructure, including our Children and Young People services, to deliver the sustainable services our residents need as part of our council priorities. I’m pleased that the positive impact this has had on our services to support care leavers has been recognised by Ofsted.”