Corporate Parenting Strategy 2025 to 2030

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to ensuring that we put children, young people and families at the heart of everything we do. We want Buckinghamshire to be a place where children are supported to remain with their families, wherever possible and it is safe for them to do so, and for them to experience stability and success in adulthood. The children and young people who come into our care need to know that we act for them as we would for our own children. We will only be successful in achieving our ambition if we work together to improve outcomes for all children and young people across the council.

In Buckinghamshire, Corporate Parenting of our care experienced children and young people is a responsibility taken seriously. Corporate Parenting is the collective responsibility of the Council and partner agencies to provide the best possible care, protection and support for care experienced children and young people. Our aspiration is to provide the right support at the right time to enable our children and young people to develop to their fullest potential throughout their childhood and into adulthood.

Our vision is for our children to grow up in stable and secure homes, and go on to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives as adults. We want Buckinghamshire to be a place where care experienced children and young people can belong and build a successful future.

In Buckinghamshire, we are dedicated to ensuring we treat each child in our care as an individual, tracking and supporting their progress in schools and education settings, safeguarding their health and wellbeing, and striving to provide them with the same opportunities as their friends. We aim to minimise placement moves and make decisions in the child or young person’s best interests when moves are necessary. We also strive to maintain consistent relationships with social workers and Personal Advisors by minimising changes in personnel.

We strive to listen to the voice of our children and young people through our We Do Care Council, family members, the professional network and advocates and ensure our care experienced children and young people are involved in decision-making processes.

Care experienced children and young people are at risk of poorer outcomes than their peers in many areas of their lives including in health, employment and housing. This disadvantage persists into adulthood. We are determined to address this inequality, and our corporate parenting strategy will set out how we will do so.

We are ambitious for every child and young person in our care, encouraging them to overcome challenges and succeed in education, learning, and training. We recognise that care leavers face various challenges and need to know that support is available as they transition to independent living.

With this strategy as our foundation, we remain aspirational as corporate parents, encouraging our care experienced children and young people to reach their highest potential.

Throughout this document we use where possible the term ‘care experienced’ to refer to children in care and care leavers as that is what they have told us they prefer.

When we refer to children and young people in our care, we mean children who are the subject of statutory orders, children for whom we are caring with their parent or carer’s agreement, and young people who have left care and are in receipt of, or eligible for a leaving care service.