LAC - Caerphilly County Borough Council

Caerphilly LEA has undertaken a review of its services to vulnerable children, which resulted in a significant restructure.  Previously LAC support workers had fallen under the remit of additional support, but now under the remit of the Safeguarding Team, they are able to form much closer working relationships with key partner agencies.  Also, as Safeguarding is the central point of contact for the LEA in all matters of vulnerable children, the LAC support worker roles became infinitely more recognised by partners.  The Safeguarding Team as a whole were then able to assess the previous years performance, identify strengths and shortfalls then tailor our service to the needs of our young people.

Initially it was proposed that the two support workers would have specific roles, one with a remit for behaviour, the other for foster carers.  We have since identified that the division of roles in this manner resulted in duplication of service for some young people.  In order to clarify remit of the service, each worker now takes joint responsibility for both remits.  Their work is instead divided by catchment area.  They undertake all service tasks in their own geographical area.  This has facilitated better liaison with individual schools and designated teacher.  More importantly it has lessened the impact of multiple professionals in Young People’s lives and allowed for a more qualitative relationships and connections between the young people and the support workers.

Referrals for services can be made by the home LEA or the individual school in which the Young People are educated.  The Safeguarding Team are committed to equity of service for all Looked After Young People regardless of Home LEA, and would seek reciprocal arrangements for Caerphilly Looked After Children placed out of our County.

The RAISE LAC workers have diversified the age range to ensure they connect with pupils before they become completely disengaged in their education.  We have made excellent links with our colleagues in 14-19 pathways and EOTAS.  Diversifying the curriculum for young people who are not academically minded, ensuring that those young people have every opportunity to succeed is a clear priority for the Team.