The Health and Wellbeing of London’s Looked After

Children

NCB Conference 23rd February 2010

Promoting the health and well being of looked after children: Implementing the guidance in London

Amy Wilkinson Health and Well-being Policy Lead

Government Office for London

Shirley Ayres

Consultant to GoL (Health of Looked after Children)

How are our Looked after children in London?

• 8070 Looked after children living in London (1 in 6 of England’s looked after children)

• 89% had up to date routine immunizations, a dental health and an annual health check in the previous year (DCSF Stat returns July 2009)

• 2nd best performing region in the country

The London Challenge• High numbers of children in care outside of authority

with corporate parenting responsibility• Wide range of diversity of ethnic groups, and

unaccompanied asylum seekers• A significant rate of socio economic and health

inequalities• A dense urban environment• Local areas with the highest numbers of looked after

children in the country

What have we done for our LAC?

• The London Pledge• 8 Specific ‘Be Healthy Pledges’• Mobility work : CAMHS passport for

Children in Care• Scoping study • Emerging Practice Guide

Messages from the Scoping Review

Shirley Ayres

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove… but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” Forest E. Witcraft American Scholar, Teacher and Scout Leader (1894 – 1967

Integrated Working ~ the big challenge

Sharing information and resources

requires:

• Conversations

• Relationships

• Connections

Aims of the Scoping Review

The Scoping Review was commissioned to identify emerging

practice around the health of Looked after Children in London

The study was initially focused on annual health assessments and

health plans, immunisation and vaccination rates and school

attendance.

After consultations the study was broadened to include the London

Pledge, commissioning health services for looked after children,

access to CAMHS, well being initiatives, supporting young women

in care who become pregnant and sexual relationship education.

Methodology

• Qualitative and quantitative methods were designed to gather data from across the broad areas of LAC health and well being

• Literature Review

• Review of Children and Young Peoples Plans

• Discussions with stakeholders to identify key issues for consideration

• Identifying emerging practice and meetings with local authorities

Online SurveyThe questions were developed to gain an awareness and understanding of

emerging practice which was supporting the health and well being of

Looked after Children and Young People

Invitations to complete the survey sent to over 500 named contacts.

72 responses were received representing 24 London Boroughs, 9 Primary

Care/Mental Health Trusts and 12 Voluntary Sector and Independent

Organisation’s.

Communicating the key messages and themes

• the online survey, • meetings and discussion• October 2009 conference attended by over 120

participants from the care and health sectors• two publications: Promoting the Health and Well

Being of London’s Children in Care – Sharing Emerging Practice and Scoping Review Final Report

• articles on a number of websites tweets, and LinkedIn groups

The London Pledge for Children and Young People in Care

Are you aware of the London Pledge for Children and Young

People in Care?

 • Yes 84.4%

• No 14.1%

• Not sure 1.6%

“We will only promise you things that we know we can do”

The special needs of children in care

Does your Health Services Contract specify any training

or competence requirements for Doctors and Looked

after Children Nurses which relate to the special needs

Of children in care?

• Yes 40.4%

• No 11.5%

• Not sure 48.1%

Access to health data

How are immunizations and vaccinations tracked

and monitored for children in care?

• The PCT has a database 20.0%• The local authority has a database 11.4%• They are recorded on both the PCT and local authority

database 48.6%

• Not sure 20.0%

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)

There is a particular issue about access to the

CAMHS service for looked after children placed

outside their home borough, looked after

children in transition and care leavers.

Mobility work : CAMHS passport for Children in Care

Effective Communication

Does the Family Information Service include a local

directory of CAMHS for children in care available to

referrers in all agencies, staff and families?

• Yes 39.4%

• No 9.1%

• Not Sure 51.5%

Choice and Control

“Children want to be able to choose who

they relate to and who they trust, and rely

on that person to act as lead professional

communicating on their behalf with the

other professionals involved – as parents

generally do for their children”.

Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care

Key Themes

• Focus on the needs of the child or young person in care• Leadership and Vision• Recognise that Health and Well Being are at the interface of a

number of different services• A whole systems approach• The importance of Integrated Working linked with Training,

Consultancy and Support• Commissioning Services ~ outputs and outcomes• Accountability and Monitoring• Developing and Sharing Good Practice

Big ideas for improving health services for London’s Looked after Children

Involving Children and Young People

Ask children and young people in care what makes them happy

Annual Health Assessment

A national template for health assessments and plans

Communications and Promotion

National up to date database of Looked After Children’s Nurses

and services for LAC so we can access these for our out of

borough children.

Health

Develop screening tool for 0-3 years as SDQ is not validated or

appropriate for this age group.

Make a difference today • Link up and share emerging practice and insights with

colleagues here today, in your local area, across London, nationally and internationally.

• Read the GoL Reports and find out what else is happening across London  

• Ensure that every child and young person in care with your authority has their own copy of the Pledge

• Ask your Children’s Trust to hold an annual Partnership Working event which focuses on the needs of children in care.  

• Join the Network for Professionals working with children and young people in care on LinkedIn. Send me an email and I will send you an invitation

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient.If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and others.If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Children Learn What They Live. Copyright 1972/1975 by Dorothy Law Nolte

Contact Details• Amy Wilkinson

Health and Wellbeing Policy LeadChildren and Learner's DivisionGovernment Office for London157-161 Millbank, London SW1P 4RR

• Amy.Wilkinson@gol.gsi.gov.uk• www.younglondonmatters.org

• Shirley Ayres ~ Consultant to GoL (Health of looked after Children)• Shirley.Ayres@btinternet.com• www.shirleyayresconsulting.co.uk• LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/shirleyayres

Twitter: http://twitter.com/shirleyayres• Skype: shirley_ayres

With special thanks to Kwai Yu ~ Founder of the Leaders Cafe 2020 for sharing the quote and poem.