Abstract
Children’s social care services support children and young people experiencing the greatest need in society including children who need to be placed in residential or foster care and children who need to be protected from harm. Demand for children’s social care services is growing, with the Institute for Government (2021) arguing that the demand for social care will grow by 4.8% between 2019/20 and 2024/25. NCT play a central role in addressing the demand for services in Northamptonshire. Through development in existing service provisions (i.e. Foster Family Support/Capacity Building Project) and the introduction of new services (i.e. Vulnerable Adolescent Mentoring Project and Care Leavers Mental Health and Wellbeing Project), NCT seeks to fill a gap in service provision.
Qualitative information illustrates the benefits of the projects, with initial interview analysis showing that the Foster Family Support/Capacity Building Project, Vulnerable Adolescent Mentoring Project and Care Leavers Mental Health and Wellbeing Project fil gaps in service provision, improve staff members skills and knowledge, and deliver effective services to children, young people and foster carers in Northamptonshire. The support offered by NCT contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through improving health and wellbeing for children and young people receiving therapeutic support (SDG3 Good Health and Wellbeing), and promoting education and training through mentoring support for children and young people characterised as NEET, as well as providing apprenticeship opportunities for care experienced young people (SDG4 Quality Education and SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth).
Whilst a wealth of qualitative information exists for the projects, the quantitative information is limited. Baseline data is patchy with collection of information impacted by changes in systems and organisational structure since the move from NCC to NCT and questionnaires, designed by the ISII, have only been completed by a small number of children, young people and foster carers, despite numerous efforts by project staff to share and promote the surveys.This creates challenges in mapping quantitative outcomes. Based upon the findings outlined
Qualitative information illustrates the benefits of the projects, with initial interview analysis showing that the Foster Family Support/Capacity Building Project, Vulnerable Adolescent Mentoring Project and Care Leavers Mental Health and Wellbeing Project fil gaps in service provision, improve staff members skills and knowledge, and deliver effective services to children, young people and foster carers in Northamptonshire. The support offered by NCT contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through improving health and wellbeing for children and young people receiving therapeutic support (SDG3 Good Health and Wellbeing), and promoting education and training through mentoring support for children and young people characterised as NEET, as well as providing apprenticeship opportunities for care experienced young people (SDG4 Quality Education and SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth).
Whilst a wealth of qualitative information exists for the projects, the quantitative information is limited. Baseline data is patchy with collection of information impacted by changes in systems and organisational structure since the move from NCC to NCT and questionnaires, designed by the ISII, have only been completed by a small number of children, young people and foster carers, despite numerous efforts by project staff to share and promote the surveys.This creates challenges in mapping quantitative outcomes. Based upon the findings outlined
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University of Northampton |
| Commissioning body | Northamptonshire Children's Trust |
| Number of pages | 87 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2022 |
Keywords
- Children
- Young People
- Foster Care
- Wellbeing
- Mentoring
- Care Leavers
- Mental Health
