What does it mean to become a corporate parent?

Our vision for children’s services in Wales is that we want more children supported to remain with their families with fewer children and young people entering care.

Our Programme for Government contains 8 commitments which provide the framework to do this. One of these commitments is to strengthen public bodies in their role as a corporate parent.

The delivery of these commitments will effect change across the whole system in Wales and aligns to the aims and objectives in our children and young people’s plan.

We know that the changes needed to deliver our vision will take time and cannot be achieved overnight, but we do know that things can change quickly when everyone works together. The corporate parenting charter is a good example of how we can all work together to support and improve outcomes for care-experienced children and young people to have those life chances they deserve. The charter’s principles and promises align to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Let me say thank you for taking the time to read this toolkit, I hope the information in here will help answer your questions and encourage you to join us in becoming the best corporate parents we can be. By becoming a corporate parent, you can help us to ensure that care-experienced children and young people have the same life chances as other children and young people in Wales.

The term "corporate parenting" has been predominantly used to explain a local authority’s role in the lives of children from their area who have been taken into care. To explain its meaning using local authorities as an example:

When a child comes into care, the local authority becomes the ‘corporate parent’ meaning it has the collective responsibility along with its elected members, employees, and partner agencies to be the best parent it can be to that child. Every member and employee of the council has the statutory responsibility to act for that child in the same way that a good parent would act for their own child.

Being a corporate parent is about wanting the best for child, to see them:

• flourish with good health
• be safe and happy
• do well at school and enjoy good relationships with their peers
• contribute in their community
• make the most of leisure opportunities, youth work services, hobbies and interests
• grow towards adulthood equipped to lead an independent life
• make their way as adults through education, good careers and jobs of their choice, and to be financially secure

Corporate parenting is not restricted to local authorities. We want everyone to have a shared responsibility across public sector bodies, private sector and the third sector to be a corporate parent to care-experienced children and young people. We know health, education, housing and other bodies all have a part to contribute to them flourishing and thriving.

This toolkit aims to give examples of how different public, private and third sector bodies can do just that and become a corporate parent.

Care-experienced children and young people need corporate parents to take a rights based approach by:

• acting in the children and young people’s best interests, supporting them to exercise their rights and entitlements and promote their physical and mental health and wellbeing
• ensuring that children and young people are cared for in a way that enables them to develop long term, loving relationships and to sustain relationships that matter to them
• acting compatibly with the UNCRC in everything that you do
• encouraging them to express their views, wishes and feelings in the language of their choice
• understanding and supporting young people on questions and issues around things that are important to them
• making sure your staff have an understanding and can signpost young people to organisations who can assist them
• taking their views, wishes and feelings into account
• helping them gain access to, and make best use of, services provided by the local authority, its partners, the voluntary and third sector and across the community
• supporting children and young people to play an active role in the community and maintain the community links they develop
• encouraging them to have high aspirations and try to secure the best outcomes for themselves
• making sure they are safe and have stability in their home lives, relationships, education/work
• preparing them for adulthood and independent healthy living

The corporate parenting charter aims to strengthen the principles of corporate parenting to wider public bodies, private bodies and third sector organisations. We are inviting and encouraging everyone to become a corporate parent.

The charter was officially launched on 22 September 2023.

It has been developed by the corporate parenting implementation group, which includes representatives from:

• local authorities’ heads of children’s services
• Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA)
• Voices from Care Cymru
• Children's Commissioner for Wales
• National Youth Advocacy Service
• Children in Wales
• National Adoption Service
• Public Health Wales
• care-experienced children and young people

The charter includes a set of promises and principles that we are inviting any organisation to sign up to and become a corporate parent. The principles align to the UNCRC information, which can be found on the Children’s Commissioner for Wales website.

Before signing up, think about how you could adopt the principles when: 

• delivering your existing services and support
• planning or commissioning new services
• engaging with care-experienced children and young people

It may be that not all the principles are relevant for your organisation but think about what best fits with what you do.

Principle 1: equality

Support care-experienced children and young people to have the same life chances as every other young person in Wales.

Principle 2: eradicate stigma

Recognise care-experienced children and young people for who they are, not just by their experience of being in care.

Principle 3: togetherness

Work alongside care-experienced children and young people to ensure their views, feelings and ideas are integral to, influence and inform the services they receive and the way they receive those services.

Principle 4: support

Ensure those working in your organisations with care-experienced children and young people understand their needs and have access to information and training.

Principle 5: ambition

Ensure that every care-experienced child and young person reaches their potential and is able to enjoy a wide experience of leisure, cultural, sport and social activities.

Principle 6: nurture

By making all care-experienced children and young people feel valued, respected, cared for and loved.

Principle 7: good health

By providing support to access the right health care and advice needed to support the best physical, mental health and general well-being for all care-experienced children and young people.

Principle 8: a stable home

By seeking out and providing stable places to live that are right for all care-experienced children and young people.

Principle 9: a good education

By providing opportunities and support for all care-experienced children and young people to learn and develop to help them become who they want to be.

Principle 10: thrive

By ensuring all care-experienced children and young people are prepared for the future and are able make positive choices for independent living and adulthood.

Principle 11: lifelong

By working to provide access to and raise awareness of the support and information available to care-experienced young people after leaving care.

To help you understand what it means to become a corporate parent, the following are some examples of how it works in practice.

Basically, it is about 2 things:

• think about what you can do to support and nurture a care-experienced child or young person
• consider what you would want for your own child

These examples have been grouped into the following areas:

• social services
• education services
• health services
• housing services
• the third sector
• the police and criminal justice system
• culture, leisure, play, community services and youth work provision
• the private sector

Social services

Corporate parenting principles which apply to social services: 

• all principles 

In social services, the role of corporate parents can include a range of individuals. For example:

• councillors
• chief executives and corporate directors
• directors of social services
• local authority commissioners and procurement teams
• social workers
• Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs)
• personal advisers
• youth, play and support workers
• residential children’s home staff
• foster carers, kinship carers and adoptive parents

Examples of aims as a corporate parent in social services:

• Have the same aspirations, hopes and expectations that all parents have for their own children.
• Be confident that the child or young person is safe, healthy, active, nurtured, and supported to make safe and informed life choices.
• Make sure that wherever the child or young person lives, they feel they belong and can grow in confidence through promoting equality and inclusion.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent in social services:

• Make sure the child or young person is truly involved in decisions which affect them and that they get the support and opportunity to state their views which are listened to and taken seriously.
• Expect the best from all services so they can help the child or young person to reach their full potential and ensure there is someone who advocates for them in the same way as good parents do.
• Ensure that the child or young person can maintain meaningful connections that are important to them and will support their ongoing development, for example staying in contact with birth family, former foster carers and residential carers. 
• Make sure that all the child’s or young person’s achievements are recognised and the ones most important to the young person are remembered and recorded through, for example, photographs. Make sure these records and memories are kept safe and with the child or young person. 
• Make sure that the child’s or young person’s care plan takes full account of their educational needs and identifies how adults with different roles can help their achievement and wellbeing in school and also in informal education settings such as youth work.
• Encourage and support the child or young person to consider post-16 education, training or employment.
• Promote learning and development opportunities to staff in order to raise knowledge of the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma and the needs of care experienced children and their carers. Ensure that key staff take up these opportunities.
• Support the young person to transition from care into independent living.
• Make sure the child or young person has the opportunity to have positive experiences, for example, staying overnight with a friend or going on a school trip and to try out new skills such as sport, music, drama, arts and culture.
• Support the child and young person in sustaining those activities and skills which they enjoy.
• Ensure the child or young person has access to time, space and permission to engage in everyday play and leisure opportunities appropriate to their age, abilities and interests. 
• Develop positive relationships with other organisations, including the third sector to maximise the range of opportunities and support available to children and young people.
• Support the child or young person when there are challenges and things that do not work out and continue to support the child and young person as a good and loving parent would do. Enable them to overcome the challenges, setbacks and mistakes which all children and young people will encounter and make.   
• Make sure that the child or young person is part of their local community and can use local universal services without discrimination. Where there are institutional barriers, you will be confident in approaching the relevant agencies to tackle these.

Education services

Corporate parenting principles which apply to education services: 

• equality (1)
• eradicate stigma (2)
• togetherness (3)
• support (4)
• ambition (5)
• nurture (6)
• a good education (9)
• thrive (10)

Examples of aims as a corporate parent in education services:

• Know who your care-experienced children and young people are and work closely with carers, including foster, kinship and residential carers, and birth family to meet the children or young people’s rights.
• Make sure that care-experienced children and young people and care leavers have the same opportunities as their peers who are not care-experienced to benefit from high quality education including progression to further and higher education. Support the aspirations of care experienced children and young people to enable them to achieve the same educational outcomes as their peers.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent in education services:

• Work in a child-centred way to promote attendance, make additional arrangements where necessary to support learning, overcome disadvantage, and encourage participation in the broadest sense.
• Promote mental and physical well-being in care-experienced children and young people. Assist them to achieve their full potential by utilising available opportunities which augment their learning, life and work skills, as well as other activities such as the arts, sport or youth work.
• Make sure that each child or young person’s particular needs are met, in a way which does not single them out from other children and young people but promotes aspiration and engagement.
• Promote learning and development opportunities to staff in order to raise knowledge of the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma and the needs of care experienced children and their carers. Ensure that key staff in all educational settings take up these opportunities.
• Strive to build positive relationships among individual children and young people, be open and approachable and encourage all children and young people to speak to you openly about their concerns.
• Have high expectations of care-experienced children and young people, as well as care leavers. Give them encouragement and support to build on their strengths.
• Make sure that care-experienced children or young people who require additional help to support their learning can readily access targeted support, either within the school or college or via specialist resources within the local authority and partner agencies.
• Maintain stability in schooling, whenever appropriate, to the interests of the child or young person, even where a placement has to change and the child has to move to a different locality.
• Continue to support the child and young person to overcome any challenges and setbacks which they may encounter.
• Be able to represent the views of the child or young person, or to advocate on their behalf in appropriate forums.

Health services

Corporate parenting principles which apply to health services: 

• equality (1)
• eradicate stigma (2)
• support (4)
• good health (7)
• thrive (10)
• lifelong (11)

Examples of aims as a corporate parent in health services, which can be examples for local health boards or health professionals:

• Be able to identify all care-experienced children and young people and care leavers in your area.
• Make sure that every care-experienced child or young person can access health and wellbeing services according to need, regardless of where they live, ensuring co-operation across health board boundaries to achieve this when necessary.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent in health services:

• At local health board level, actively seek to promote the rights of care-experienced children and young people and care leavers within service design and when improving patient care.
• Promote learning and development opportunities to staff to raise knowledge of the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma and the needs of care experienced children and their carers. Ensure that key staff in all health settings take up these learning and development opportunities.
• Support board members to champion the rights of care-experienced children and young people, and care leavers, in their local area and challenge community planning partners to share their commitment.
• Make sure that care-experienced children, young people and care leavers are registered with their local primary health care services, including GP services, dentists and opticians.
• Ensure that care-experienced children and young people have access to appropriate mental health and wellbeing support when needed.
• As a GP you can make sure that care-experienced children and young people and care leavers are able to access medical care as necessary and to participate in public health programmes through universal screening and surveillance.
• As a dentist you can offer dental care and oral health advice as necessary.
• As an optician, you can offer eye checks or other interventions as required.
• All health and care professionals can engage with young people as they move out of the care system and into independence, to make sure they are engaged with health services to meet their changing needs.
• Ensure you work in a whole system way with other sectors to ensure support is joined up and children don’t have to tell their story multiple times.
• Ensure that care-experienced children and young people do not "fall through the cracks" and lose access to services if they are moved or if they move between local health board areas.

Housing services

Corporate parenting principles which apply to housing services: 

• equality (1)
• eradicate stigma (2)
• support (4)
• a stable home (8)
• thrive (10)

Examples of aims as a corporate parent in housing services:

• Make sure that children’s needs and rights are at the centre of decisions made around housing and any housing support offered to families.
• All housing services, housing associations and registered social landlords to raise their awareness of corporate parenting and their responsibilities to care-experienced children and young people and care leavers across their organisations.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent in housing services:

• Make sure that staff working in housing services understand their additional responsibilities to care-experienced children and young people, and care leavers.
• Make sure that your housing allocation policy is sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of care-experienced young people as they move into adulthood.
• Ensure as far as possible that the care experienced young person can set up home in the community where they feel supported and where they have positive friendships and relationships.
• Have in place effective joint working arrangements with clear procedures and effective resolution mechanisms. Make sure care experienced young people understand these.
• Provide a range of accommodation options including supported accommodation, supported lodgings, training flats, communal living opportunities or independent accommodation if suitable.
• Work with social services, personal advisors and others, including third sector organisations, to continue to support the young person, particularly if they have difficulties with successfully managing responsibilities relating to their accommodation which some do in the early years of living independently. 
• Promote learning and development opportunities to staff in order to raise knowledge of the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma and the needs of care-experienced children and young people and their carers. Ensure that key staff take up these learning and development opportunities and that they are aware of their responsibilities to challenge discrimination.
• Work with social services and other appropriate partners at the earliest opportunity to identify young people who are at risk of becoming homeless, are already homeless or vulnerably housed. Working with the young people review and plan multi-agency support to help them sustain the tenancy or other arrangement. These young people will include those leaving secure accommodation and the youth justice system. 
• For any young care-experienced woman who are pregnant, corporate parents should work with social services to ensure there is suitable housing available for them and their babies.

The third sector

Corporate parenting principles which apply to third sector services: 

• equality (1)
• togetherness (3)
• support (4)
• ambition (5)
• thrive (10)
• lifelong (11)

Examples of aims as a corporate parent in third sector services, which can also include a third sector and private sector organisation providing registered care services:

• To provide services which are individualised around the particular needs of care-experienced children and young people.
• Demonstrate how you can add value to the corporate family, how your service delivers better outcomes for care-experienced children and young people, or care leavers.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent in third sector services:

• Ensure the voice of care-experienced children and young people is at the heart of the design and development of your services.
• If you provide services for the general population of children and young people, make sure that you take active steps to include care experienced children and young people.
• Build excellent relationships with local authorities, local health boards and other third sector organisations, participate in community planning processes so that you and the care experienced children and young people you support can influence local service design.
• Be ambitious for your service as well as for the care-experienced children and young people you support.
• Maintain regular and effective contact with the other organisations supporting the care experienced children and young people you work with.
• Ensure that all your work with care experienced children and young people enables them to access their rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Actively promote and participate in every stage of the child’s or young person’s experience.

The police and criminal justice system

Corporate parenting principles which apply to the police and criminal justice system: 

• equality (1)
• eradicate stigma (2)
• togetherness (3)
• support (4)

Examples of aims as a corporate parent in the police and criminal justice system:

• Be aware of the care-experienced status of the children and young people you work with.
• Make sure that staff are aware of the issues particularly affecting care-experienced children and young people while maintaining a view of each child as an individual with their own strengths and pressures.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent in the police and criminal justice system:

• Where children and young people become involved in offending, consider what the response of a good parent would be and assist in ensuring this response is provided.
• Positively promote the inclusion of care-experienced children and young people and care leavers in community activities.
• Promote learning and development opportunities to staff in order to raise knowledge of the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma and the needs of care-experienced children and their carers. Ensure that key staff take up these opportunities.
• Build positive relationships with local residential care homes for young people, residential special schools and regional accommodation to make sure that children and young people feel confident to engage constructively without stigma with the police and that staff do not resort to police intervention inappropriately.
• Promote the need for consistency when dealing with children and young people and view each child or young person holistically, not according to the type of incident they may be involved in. The background of the child should always be considered where appropriate.

Culture, leisure, play, community services and youth work provision

Corporate parenting principles which apply to culture, leisure, play, community services and youth work provision:

• equality (1)
• eradicate stigma (2)
• togetherness (3)
• support (4)
• ambition (5)
• thrive (10)

Examples of aims as a corporate parent working in culture, leisure, play, community services and youth work provision:

• To work with care-experienced children and young people to understand their aspirations and what they would like to have access to, giving them the opportunity to try things out, and attempt to take their preferences into account in developing local culture, youth work, play and leisure provision.
• Consider access to sport and leisure and make sure that facilities are as inclusive and supportive as possible for all care-experienced children and young people.
• Support the child and young person in sustaining those activities and skills which they enjoy.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent working in culture, leisure, play, community services and youth work provision:

• Develop programmes specifically targeted at care-experienced children and young people, care leavers and carers.
• Consider the practical barriers such as cost, equipment and clothing, transport and take action working with partners in the community to overcome these barriers.
• Consider other barriers such as fear of the unknown, lack of confidence or lack of awareness amongst care experienced children, young people, care leavers and their carers and take action with others to overcome these barriers.
• Be aware that young people and youth culture may favour different kinds of cultural activity, so identify good practice and take advice from culture professionals and relevant national bodies. You will also want to be aware of your local voluntary and independent arts sector provision, and work with those providers in giving access to good quality opportunities that young people will want to keep accessing.
• Make sure that professionals working in these services understand their corporate parenting responsibilities and are actively engaged in promoting services to care-experienced children and young people and their carers.
• Make sure, for example, that library staff understand the important contribution they can make to care-experienced children and young people’s homework, and other schoolwork, as well as care leavers’ ability to engage with further education.
• Use opportunities within your broader services for children and young people in your community to address and tackle any stigma against the care experienced community.
• Encourage other services such as social work to use your facilities for meetings and events, so that professionals and carers develop a better understanding of what is available.
• Develop intergenerational opportunities to enable care experienced children and young people to develop roots and relationships in their communities.

The private sector

Corporate parenting principles which apply to private sector services: 

• equality (1)
• eradicate stigma (2)
• ambition (5)
• nurture (6)
• thrive (10)
• lifelong (11)

Examples of the private sector can include national and small businesses, the banking sector and the hospitality industry. Examples of aims as a corporate parent in private sector services:

• To provide opportunities for care-experienced children and young people to access their needs and rights like all children and young people in Wales.
• To provide opportunities and advice which supports care-experienced children and young people to be prepared for adulthood and independent living.

Examples of what you can do as a corporate parent in private sector services:

• Offering care-experienced children and young people work experience placements, work shadowing opportunities, internships, traineeships and apprenticeships.
• Providing appropriate tailored support to care-experienced children and young people before, during and after placements, work shadowing opportunities, internships, traineeships and apprenticeships.
• Providing one-to-one mentoring to care-experienced children and young people on how to manage their finances, their career/employment guidance and further education opportunities.
• Concessionary and discounted access be made available for sport, leisure and cultural activities for care-experienced children and young people.
• Ensuring that care-experienced children and young people are treated equally by all staff.

For further information please email corporateparenting@gov.wales.