Brighton & Hove City Council leader Jason Kitcat on the Pledge to young people

About 450 children currently live in the care of Brighton & Hove City Council. The council, led by councillors, is corporately the parents for these children and young people.

They’ve often had difficult backgrounds and experiences, so building on this relationship of trust and respect is crucial to making sure that they are safe, happy and healthy. So, in partnership with the children, we have recently redeveloped our Pledge to young people who are in or have left care. This Pledge was launched over Easter and sets out how we will care for and support them. The Pledge has been formalised in leaflets brilliantly designed and produced by young people in care and care-leavers themselves.

Among the promises in the Pledge for children is ensuring that they can live somewhere safe and comfortable, arranging extra tuition if needed to help them through school, and recognising and celebrating their achievements.

Older teenagers leaving care also need additional support as it can be hard to transition to living independently as an adult. So we’ve pledged to support them by helping them organise their own accommodation, discussing their aims and ambitions, and offering advice on higher education and employment opportunities. Among these are the apprenticeships we offer at the council specifically for care-leavers to help them develop skills and experience for their future careers. Running throughout the Pledge is a commitment to involve young people in decisions about them.

We’re working on reducing the number of children coming into local authority care through more proactive work by the council and others to support families and safe environments for children. But for those that are in care, it’s absolutely crucial that we continue to offer these young people the valuable guidance and support that any parent would want to give to their child. We’re proud that we’ve been able to work with our children in care to jointly renew our Pledge to them, in their language, to meet their needs.