Corporate Parents

Corporate parents

West Berkshire Council fully support the corporate parenting principles introduced by the Government that require all departments within a local authority to recognise their role as corporate parents and encourage them to look at the support and services they provide. The principles require corporate parents:

• to act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being, of those children and young people.
• to encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings and consider the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people.
• to help those children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners.
• to promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes, for those children and young people.
• for those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives,   relationships and education or work; and to prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living.

Protected Characteristics

People who have experienced being in care will be treated as having a protected characteristic by West Berkshire Council, this means that West Berkshire Council need to consider the impact of any decisions they make in relation to Care Leavers.

To ensure that our support and services help prevent discrimination we will actively seek out and listen to the voices of care-experienced people when developing new policies, and formally urge other bodies, including key partners, to consider care experience as a protected characteristic until it is introduced in legislation.