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A place to call home - PSA 16 - Improving the accommodation prospects of care leavers
20 January 2010
Nottingham
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Aim of the Conference
The aim of the conference is to bring together the key service providers to share recent developments and good practice relating to the requirements of PSA 16 to provide socially excluded adults a home, specifically focussing on young adults leaving care.
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Who should attend?
Housing and children’s services, leaving care services, adult social care, supporting people, and third sector organisations who work with young people in and from care.
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Overview of the day
The programme has three interlinked elements:
- Key speakers from Government departments and the National Care Advisory Service who will look at how different departments are supporting PSA 16 targets, recent issues which affect these targets (eg G v Southwark), and resources available to support local authorities and their partners.
- Four workshops in which local authorities from around the country will focus on the strategic, operational and personal approaches required to improve accommodation for care leavers. Delegates will be able to attend three of the four workshops.
- Box of Frogs Theatre Company of supported housing service users whose performance will form the basis of discussion on partnership working to improve housing prospects for this group of young, vulnerable people.
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Agenda
(subject to change)
9.30 Arrival & refreshments
Morning Theme - Delivering your corporate goals
In the opening plenary key national speakers will outline the requirements of PSA 16 and in the support available nationally for local authorities. |
Plenary
- Welcome by Conference Chair
Julie Mepham, Project Manager, NCAS
- Suitable accommodation for care leavers - identifying obstacles and seeking solutions
Val Keen, Youth Homelessness Advisor, DCLG presents on the DCLG diagnostics tool giving examples of positive practice including responses to G v Southwark
- Journeys to Home - Care leavers’ transition to settled accommodation
Sue Baxter, NCAS Associate, shows the findings of the accommodation project and the suite of resources available for local authorities and their partners
11.00 Workshops
The four workshops follow the strategic operational personal approach identified in NCAS good practice guide Journeys to Home, with the range of accommodation options that can be available for care leavers.
They afford an opportunity for local authorities cited in the tool to facilitate discussion by demonstrating how their approaches have improved accommodation outcomes for young people from care. |
- Working strategically to improve the accommodation prospects of young people from care
- Working operationally to improve the accommodation prospects of young people from care
- Working on a personal level to improve the accommodation prospects of young people from care
- Providing choice and opportunity in accommodation for young people from care
Further details on workshops and facilitators are set out below.
11.45 Coffee
12.15 Workshops repeated
13.00 Lunch
Afternoon theme - Delivering for individuals and communities
The afternoon plenary will focus on partnership working within localities as this was identified in the NCAS tools as critical to success. The session will explore how individual local authorities can ensure services are in place to improve accommodation outcomes for young people who have left care.
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13.45 Box of frogs - Theatre Company of supported housing service users production generating round table discussions.
15.00 Tea
15.15 Workshops repeated
16.00 Final address
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Workshop details
There are four workshops, each of which will run THREE times. Delegates will therefore be able to attend three out of four workshop sessions. Booking forms should include three workshop choices.
In all workshops, facilitators will be asked to identify the challenges they encountered and how they resolved these.
1. Working strategically to improve the accommodation prospects of young people from care
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Facilitators: Clare Rowntree, Housing Development Manager, Oxfordshire County Council and Richard Porter, Manager 16+ Service, Plymouth City Council
The workshop will emphasise the importance of a commitment to working strategically and address main activities that are required at a strategic level to contribute to improving the accommodation outcomes of young people from care.
The workshop will address:
- Identifying needs and services
- Action planning
- Partnership working
- Combining resources
- Involving young people
2. Working operationally to improve the accommodation prospects of young people from care
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Facilitators: John Short, Development Officer, Hertfordshire County Council and Keri Deasy, Strategy and Commissioning Manager, London Borough of Camden
The workshop will emphasise the importance of local authorities and their partners developing a comprehensive operational approach to provide safe, suitable and secure accommodation to people from care. This workshop will outline the processes that local authorities and their partners need to have in place to improve and maintain good quality accommodation for young people from care.
The workshop will address:
- Meeting diversity of accommodation needs
- Developing policies, procedures and protocols on providing and commissioning accommodation
- Skilled and competent staff
- Involving young people
3. Working on a personal level to improve the accommodation prospects of young people from care
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Facilitators: Kathy Longshaw, Placement Services Manager, Wiltshire County Council and Janet Hadi, Accommodation Manager, Bradford City Council
The workshop will stress the need for all young people from care to be involved in and have control over their accommodation choices. It will outline how local authorities and their partners can deliver young person-centred accommodation services which can improve the outcomes for young care leavers in accessing and maintaining accommodation.
The workshop will address:
- Engaging young people in accessing and maintaining accommodation
- Supporting young people in acquiring practical and emotional life skills
- Enabling young people to realise a wider choice of accommodation
- Enabling staff and carers to support young people accessing and maintaining accommodation
4. Providing choice and opportunity in accommodation for young people from care
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Facilitator: Ian Stewart-Watson Operations Manager, Leaving Care Service, Devon County Council
The workshop will outline the need to provide a range of accommodation for the diverse needs of young people from care. In order to improve the number of young people from care in safe, suitable and secure accommodation local authorities need to ensure provision ranges from highly supportive environments to more independent arrangements.
The workshop will address:
- Identifying need for different types of housing provision
- Establishing a range of provision directly and from partners that offers choice to young people from care and alternatives if initial arrangements are not suitable
- Establishing appropriate accommodation for immediate access
- Involving young people
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Organisations are very much encouraged to send a team to this event, which will include strategic service directors or senior managers, operational managers, frontline staff, and service users.
This conference is FREE but you MUST BOOK.
There are opportunities for exhibition space - ring to find out more.
If you have any questions, ring Central Conference Consultants Ltd on 0115 916 3104 |
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To make a booking
THIS EVENT HAS FINISHED.
Confirmation of booking:
Your booking will be acknowledged in writing, and we will provide you with directions and details of local hotels. If you do not receive such acknowledgement, please contact Central Conference Consultants Ltd on 0115 916 3104. |
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Enquiries
If you have any queries about the conference please contact Central Conference Consultants Ltd on 0115 916 3104 or email ccclimited@aol.com |
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