The Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee of Cardiff Council was scheduled to discuss the Q3 progress update for the Corporate Parenting Annual Plan 2025-2026. The meeting agenda also included updates on social value for children looked after and the evaluation of the Virtual School Model. Additionally, the committee was set to review progress on Priority 5, focusing on involving and celebrating children and young people, with specific agenda items on independent advocacy and ensuring children's voices are heard.

Q3 Progress Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the progress made during the third quarter of the Corporate Parenting Annual Plan 2025-2026. This update, detailed in the Public reports pack ¹, was expected to cover key areas of achievement and development in corporate parenting efforts. The report outlines that the Corporate Parenting Annual Plan 2025-2026 sets out the priorities and delivery plan for corporate parenting, detailing actions required to meet the fundamentals of corporate parenting and its five key priorities. The Corporate Parenting Strategy 2025-2028 outlines the council's commitments, challenges, and steps to ensure the best possible outcomes for children. The Strategic Safeguarding Team is responsible for producing quarterly and annual progress reports.

The update was expected to include:

• Corporate Parenting Advisory Committee Actions Update: Information on actions and queries raised at previous committee meetings.
• Quarterly KPI Report: A report capturing progress on Key Performance Indicators and actions within the Annual Plan, with analysis presented to the committee.
• Partnership Event: Details of an awareness-raising event planned for 12 February 2026 at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff, aimed at increasing awareness of corporate parenting among key partners.
• Celebrating Achievements: Case studies highlighting the achievements of children and young people engaging with the Youth Service and Into Work Advice Service.
• Member Visits: Updates from visits undertaken by committee members to the foster carer's coffee morning and the Ty Gorwell supported accommodation.
• Corporate Parenting Annual Plan 2026-2027: The committee was to be asked for initial thoughts and contributions towards the development of the next annual plan.
• Social Value: An overview of work undertaken to explore how social value can create opportunities for children looked after and support corporate parenting responsibilities.
• Evaluation of the Virtual School Model: A summary of the independent evaluation of the Virtual School Pilot, published in December, which aimed to establish approaches, compare effectiveness, and explore impacts on participating local authorities. The evaluation recommended a strengthened, consistent national approach to improving educational outcomes for children looked after.

Social Value for Children Looked After

Jade Williams from the Corporate Parenting Team was scheduled to present an update on social value initiatives aimed at benefiting children looked after. This discussion was expected to cover how social value principles are being integrated into council practices to create opportunities and support for this group. The report indicates that significant work has been undertaken to explore how social value can create opportunities for Children Looked After (CLA) and support the council's corporate parenting responsibilities. Current efforts focus on informing contractors about corporate parenting and how they can support CLA. Future plans include expanding this by sharing best practice with partner local authorities involved in Ardal Procurement and engaging CLA in identifying needs for future social value projects. Officers from Housing and Regeneration, Specialist Accommodation, and Into Work have prioritised CLA in relation to social value, delivering and planning projects to benefit them and raising awareness with contractors.

Evaluation of the Virtual School Model

Deborah Williams, the Virtual School Headteacher, was scheduled to present findings from the evaluation of the Virtual School Model pilot. This evaluation, published in December, aimed to assess the approaches taken by local authorities involved in the pilot, compare their effectiveness, and explore the short and long-term impacts on participating local authorities. The report highlights that the evaluation identified positive impacts, including enhanced integration between teams supporting care-experienced learners and more preventative provision. It also provides recommendations for further work to ensure care-experienced learners receive necessary support in their education. The evaluation recommends a strengthened, consistent national approach to improving educational outcomes for CLA, and where possible, extending these measures to all care-experienced children to reduce inequalities. Recommendations include creating a shared framework for monitoring and data collection, reviewing funding arrangements, using the National Delivery Group to establish common standards and share best practice, including support for adopted learners and children previously looked after, formalising rights and entitlements for CLA to guarantee minimum standards, and introducing a statutory local authority lead to champion these rights and drive accountability.

Priority 5: Involving and Celebrating our Children and Young People

This section of the agenda was dedicated to updates on initiatives focused on involving and celebrating children and young people.

• Highlights from Independent Advocacy: Scott Giles from the National Youth Adoption Service was scheduled to provide highlights from independent advocacy services. The report indicates that NYAS Cymru, a rights-based charity, provides independent advocacy services for children and young people aged 5-25 in Cardiff. They offer an active offer of advocacy for those new to the looked-after or child protection system and issue-based advocacy for children on the child protection register, children looked after, care leavers, and those receiving care and support. Key data from 2024-2025 shows NYAS received 737 new referrals to the Cardiff advocacy service, with 153 being looked-after children and young people and 13 being care leavers. The service supported advocacy on issues including meetings, social services, contact, school, leaving care, and access to services. They also provided 255 active offers of advocacy for those new to the looked-after and child protection system, with 147 accepted.

• Ensuring Children's Voice: Matt Osborne and Lucy Thomas from Children's Services were scheduled to discuss efforts to ensure children's voices are heard. This agenda item was expected to cover the new Participation Strategy 2026-2029, which outlines steps to effectively capture the voice of care-experienced children and young people. The strategy aims to provide inclusive, respectful environments where young people's feelings are actively sought, valued, and acted upon, establishing a common framework for participation across Children's Services. The strategy focuses on embedding participation across different teams, utilising the Degrees of Participation Model, with aims including improved service provision, better outcomes, strengthened engagement, earlier intervention and prevention, increased accountability, and inclusivity. The strategy will be implemented using a participation evaluation plan requiring teams to assess their engagement with children and young people. The strategy and evaluation plan are available as Appendix I of the report.

The meeting was also scheduled to address any urgent items and confirm the date of the next meeting, which was set for 13th April at 3pm.