A Friend Indeed: The importance of IVs to children in care

A Friend Indeed – IV Research Report

PraxisCollab CIC have produced the first independent and robust review of the evidence of the impact of IVs. Their report identifies five key areas where IVs make a distinctive contribution to the lives of children and young people in care. These are:

• • emotional security.

• • increased confidence.

• • improved well-being.

• • development of life skills.

• • expanded horizons.

The report concludes that “…strong, informal supportive relationships, based on mutual caring and trust, can make a difference to a child or young person’s care experience and life outcomes post-care,”and that investing in IVs is an effective and inexpensive way to improve the life chances of children in care.

 Following this report, the National Independent Visitor Network are calling for six areas of policy change. They are:

1. 1. Legislative reform to open up IV entitlement to all children and young people up to the age of 21. Currently the service only needs to be offered when it is “in the child’s interests to do so” up to the age of 18. This can be done via an amendment to The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 or introduced through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

       

   2. All local authorities in England and Wales should be required to provide sufficient ring-fenced funding for the development of an Independent Visitor service and set clear, ambitious targets on levels of IV take up.

       

   3. Local authorities should engage in practice development work to build more consistent, objective evidence about the impact of IV friendships for children and young people in and leaving care.

       

   4. The Department for Education should work with the IV sector to produce National Standards and guidance on IV to strengthen the consistency and quality of provision. This work should build on the Government’s prior commitment arising out of the children’s social care review.

       

   5. National Government to provide long-term funding for the National Independent Visitor Network with responsibility for developing resources and good practice in Independent Visitor services.

       

   6. Ofsted full inspections of local authorities’ children’s services should inspect and report on the level and quality of Independent Visitor services.