Children in Care: Health Services

(asked on 15th May 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which professional bodies they have consulted about the development of the pilot for integrated physical and mental health assessments for looked-after children, announced during the passage of the Children and Social Work Act 2017.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Agnew of Oulton
This question was answered on 30th May 2018

We are due to award contracts for the management and the independent evaluation of the pilots next month. The pilots will begin later in the year, once pilot areas have been selected. They will test improved approaches to the mental health and wellbeing element of the health assessments looked-after children receive on entry to care.

The pilot proposals were tested with the expert working group (EWG) commissioned by the government to look at how to improve mental health support for looked after and previously looked after children and young people. They will take forward the group’s recommendations on assessment of need. The EWG consisted of looked after and previously looked after children and young people, their carers (including foster and adoptive parents) and professionals from the health, social care, academic and voluntary sectors. This included, amongst others, representatives from the Care Leavers Association, the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, the Fostering Network, the British Psychological Society and Coram Voice. In addition, the proposals were tested with the Children in Care Alliance – a coalition of organisations that work to support children in care and care leavers.

The organisation that manages the pilots will be required to support pilot areas to identify and meet speech, language and communication needs. We want the pilots to explore the range of professionals that should be involved in the assessment process.

Reticulating Splines