Independent Visitor Scheme (IV Scheme) Annual Report 2016/7

Independent Visitor Scheme (IV Scheme) – Annual Report 2016/7

IV Scheme at full capacity! In April 2015, there were 12 Independent Visitors (IVs) matched with a child and a further 12 were recruited during the year. At the beginning of April 2016, 24 children were matched with an IV, with new matches for disabled young people and 17 year olds for the first time.

During the course of the year, a further 8 IVs have been recruited and approved by the IV Approval Panel. The IV Approval Panel continued to approve some IVs for more than one match so that taking into account IV resignations, there are now 30 IVs supporting a total of 36 ongoing matches. This is the maximum number of matches recommended by the IV National Standards for one full-time Co-ordinator to support.

A further 10 children and young people during the year have had matches which ended, e.g. they are no longer looked after; their IV has resigned; they were offered an IV and have either declined the service, or have tried out having an IV and then decided it’s not for them after one or two visits.

Feedback from children and young people: The IV Co-ordinator has offered to meet all children and young people with IVs during 2016-7 to find out their views on the IV Scheme. Meetings take place either a year after the previous monitoring meeting, or a year after the match was initially confirmed at a 3-month IV review.

The majority have taken up this offer, and most have been very positive about the matching process and the relationship they have with their IVs. The lowest scores given were by two boys who had both requested a young female IV and had been matched with men over 50. But both boys were still very clear that they wanted to carry on seeing their IV. All children matched since April 2016 have had a review of their match after 3 months; they are also very happy to have an IV.

Comments from young people included the following:

 “He’s an awesome person!” (boy aged 14)

1  “My IV has helped me having fun! She’s someone I can talk to if I need to” (girl aged 14)  “My IV gives me sensible advice and helps me if I’m going through a tough time. He has helped me manage my feelings to keep my place in college” (boy aged 16)

 “I wasn’t sure what to do about some friends on facebook who were messing me about. My IV gave me some good advice and I blocked them. She also spoke up for me so I came to this placement which I’m glad about” (boy aged 17)

 “I give my IV 100 out of 10!” (boy aged 14)

As the IV Scheme was not well known or understood by looked after children, the Co-ordinator consulted both young people with an IV and the Children In Care Council about publicity material. Their views informed the production of a leaflet, widely available from May 2016. It is used regularly by social workers, Independent Reviewing Officers and the Co-ordinator when talking to children about having an IV.

One girl and her IV assisted with the training of IV applicants in July; this was very well received by applicants as the highlight of the course – the warmth and significance of the IV relationship really shone through. In her own words: “She’s the perfect IV and I don’t think there could have been a better match for me. She’s an enormous part of my life and means a lot to me as I do to her.”

There are currently 15 children on the waiting list for an IV; their feedback is clearly: “We need more IVs now!” A further 18 have been flagged up as likely to benefit from an IV but referral information is awaited from their social worker. The majority are boys where the preference is for male IV, and many are very specifically asking for a young (i.e. under 30), physically active IV. This has clear implications for the next IV recruitment drive.

Matches by Gender of matches open during year 2016-2017 Female YP: Male IV 0 Male YP: Male IV 9 Female YP: Female IV 15 Male YP: Female IV 12

2 Feedback from other stakeholders – IV Scheme Evaluation: a graduate trainee devised “Have your Say” on-line surveys which ran for just under three months until 6 January 2017; 23 responses were received from professionals (foster carers, social workers and Independent Reviewing Officers) and 23 responses from the 30 IVs currently active.

Overall the survey results were very positive. They generally demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with all the areas measured, such as referral and matching process, responsiveness of Co-ordinator, support to IVs, etc. In particular, the evaluation highlighted the benefits of the scheme to children and young people – as observed by professionals working with them, as well as by their IVs - in giving them the opportunity to have experiences they would not otherwise have and exposing them to a positive adult role model with whom they can talk freely. The evaluation highlighted the need to improve awareness of the scheme among professionals and for there to be a far greater number of IVs to befriend the many children who would benefit from having an IV.

Support to IVs: All IVs receive 1:1 supervision, and can also attend quarterly support groups. In this setting, IVs exchange experiences and seek advice, as well as having input from a speaker. During the year we have heard about solutions-focussed work from a WSCC social worker, the service provided by Barnardos to children at risk of Child Sexual Exploitation, and engagement work with CLA including the Children in Care Council. The Library Service has continued to provide venues for these meetings which is much appreciated. The fourth meeting of the year was a social and quiz night!

IVs have access to the WSCC Learning & Development Gateway and can apply for relevant courses free of charge. An increasing number are doing so; some also attended courses on aspects of adolescent mental health jointly run by MIND/YMCA/WSCC. The Co-ordinator has made it a requirement for IVs to complete the on-line training on Child Sexual Exploitation. Those IVs matched with UASC also have had training on preventing terrorism. The imam at Worthing mosque very kindly invited IVs interested to know more about Islam to visit the mosque one December evening; this was a very informative visit.

Extension of IV Scheme to Vulnerable Care Leavers: The past year has seen the running of a successful pilot scheme, extending the IV Scheme’s support to those IVs matched with vulnerable care leavers. Previously IVs have been on their own once the young person reaches the age of 18.5 years if they and the young person want to continue seeing each other - as many do. However, three care leavers with IVs have transferred to Adults’ Services and another is supported by the Community Mental Health Team. It was recognised that their IVs – all of whom wished to stay in contact with their young person –

3 would benefit from ongoing supervision, access to training and the payment of travel expenses. This was fortunately possible due to additional funding from WSCC’s Volunteering Fund.

Developing best practice: An IV Steering Group was established in April 2016 and has met quarterly. It draws on the expertise of a range of Children’s Services staff, IVs and a foster carer, in order to ensure the Scheme continues to develop and reflect best practice, considering one or more of the IV National Standards at each meeting. The Steering Group scrutinise quarterly statistics on referrals and matches, check progress in implementing the IV Scheme Annual Plan and gave valuable feedback on the draft evaluation surveys.

The future is rosy! The 2015 OFSTED inspection of Children’s Services highlighted lack of capacity in the IV Scheme. This was further demonstrated by a scoping exercise carried out in February 2016 when Independent Reviewing Officers were asked which looked after children on their caseload would benefit from having an IV in the following 6 months – over 80 were identified. As indicated above, the IV Scheme Evaluation also clearly demonstrated the demand for more IVs. However, there can be no further IV recruitment without additional staff capacity to assess applicants and support new IVs.

A development plan for the next four years – 2017-2021 – was drawn up, with the aim of achieving 150 matches by the end of that period, supported by an appropriate number of additional staff recruited in years one to three. A strong case was made for meeting current unmet need in terms of IV matches for disabled children, UASC and children placed out of county, as well as mainstreaming support for IVs matched with vulnerable care leavers. The plan was approved in full at the February Council Meeting; recruitment to a new full- time IV Manager post will commence in April 2017, together with much needed part-time administrative support. Additional staff will be supported in subsequent years.

Celebrating success! Stakeholder feedback in the on-line survey about the professionalism and quality of IVs was very positive. All our IVs are of course volunteers and do a fantastic job – often in addition to very busy working and home lives. The IV Scheme has therefore presented Long-Service Awards to IVs who have been matched for over a year, then at two, three, five and ten years, in recognition of their valuable contribution. One IV received his 5-year award this year, which has really inspired others! The IVs have all been very heartened by the news of the Scheme’s expansion in years to come and remain committed to the children and young people they visit.

Louise Williamson, IV Scheme Co-ordinator: April 2017