Big drop in number of youngsters in care in Peterborough

Speaking to members of the council’s Adults and Communities Scrutiny Committee at their meeting (Tuesday), Matt Oliver, service manager, said: “The Targeted Youth Support Service (TYSS) has the responsibility for delivering services to adolescents to keep them safe from harm and from harming others.

“Young people are remarkably resilient, but face a series of different challenges as they get older.

“Younger children’s difficulties are mostly to do with parents and their parenting, so we direct our resources towards the parents giving them guidance on how to effectively care for their children.

“By the time they reach adolescence, however, the issues are very different as by that stage most parents have usually given up on their children so that the challenges they face are more complex and usually out there in the real world.

“Through our multi-agency organisation we bring together teenagers with a host of issues and try to guide them so that they become more resilient, having an aptitude and enthusiasm for learning which many of them have simply abandoned, which in turn gives them the opportunity to train towards employment.

“This has been a remarkably successful year and we have reduced the numbers of young persons under the care of the council by 21 per cent in the past 12 months, a figure well in excess of the national average.”

Committee chairman Cllr Nigel Simons (Conservative) asked how such a significant reduction had been achieved. Mr Oliver said: “A number of disparate teams have combined to capitalise on all of their expertise and understanding of how to deal with and talk to teenagers.

“These are young people who, in all probability, are very wary of outside help from adults in the first place.

“What we have achieved is testimony to the hard work that these teams of people have put in, the many hours of time and effort which has resulted in the figures you see before you in the report.”

Mr Oliver also explained that some of challenges for the team as they move forward are the reduction in funding of £116,000 that will affect them in 2020/21.

Cllr Ikra Yasin (Labour) said: “How will this reduction affect the services and will it prevent even more young people from being released from care?”

Mr Oliver replied: “The funding reduction was factored into the coming years’ activities, and while it will be difficult to work within a much reduced financial budget, the hope is that by next year a further reduction in the numbers of young persons at risk and in care can be achieved.”

Councillors congratulated the entire team on their work.