The people and services
This session is all about the people and services within children’s social care so you know who young people are being supported by.
There are many reasons young people have a support from social care, whether it’s because they need extra support at home, they may have a disability or it could be a child in care. This session explores the different people and services within social care so you understand who supports children and why.
This session explores the different types of social care support, starting by looking for support for families, then looking at children in need and on the edge of care. We then move into exploring the lived experiences of young people entering, living in and leaving care.
Support from social care is forever changing, a young person may be visited by a social worker at home with their parents, giving them advice and guidance focused on keeping families together. If they come into care they will meet legal representatives who are deciding their level of support, various other social workers who support their family and foster carers. Lot’s of other people too, including health professionals, education support workers and other practitioners. It can be an overwhelming place for a young person and difficult to make sense of who everyone is and what their roles are. When children leave care their support falls away, which can awaken feelings of previous abandonment and loneliness, all whilst trying to manage the practicalities of being independent and maybe dealing with the traumas of their past.
Adults deserve to understand the different roles and services within social care so they know what’s going on for the child, who to speak to if they feel they need some support and recognise the stage of life that young people are in. This knowledge is crucial to ensure you can provide them the right support at the times they may need it the most.
This session aims to give you insights into social care, so you can better support children receiving it.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the different types of support young people receive from social care
- Learn about the different roles and professionals within social care
- Recognise why young people are supported
- Hear the lived experiences of young people who enter care
- Gain insights into leaving care and how young people transition into independence
- Know the systems surrounding children in need, in care and leaving care
