Children in care

What happens when you're in care, how foster placements work and your rights

The Children in Care Council website gives you all the information you need about being in care in Essex.

Their site tells you about what happens when you're in care, how foster placements work and what your rights are.

Our promise to you

The Essex Corporate Parenting Pledge is a set of promises we make to everyone in care in Essex.

Find out more about the Corporate Parenting Pledge on the Children in Care Council website.

Our co-parenting strategy

Our Co-Parenting Strategy 2022 to 2027 (PDF, 3.26MB) sets out how we will work together to be good corporate parents to children and young people in our care and to care leavers. All elected Members, council officers and our partners have the responsibility of being corporate parents.

The strategy reflects the views shared by children and young people, their families, carers and the professionals who support them. It sets out seven outcomes around what they have told us matters most.

Children in Care Sufficiency and Commissioning Strategy

Our Children in Care Sufficiency and Commissioning Strategy (PDF, 1.12mB) sets out the actions the council intends to take to meet its sufficiency duty. This is the legal requirement to secure accommodation for children in care, within 20 miles of home and within local authority boundaries wherever possible and appropriate.

Children in Care and Leaving Care Partnership Strategy

Our Children in Care and Leaving Care Partnership Strategy (PDF, 6.08MB) adopts Essex County Council’s Co-Parenting approach across the Children in Care and Leaving Care Partnership. Through this strategy, partners commit to working together across all aspects of a young person’s life, to help all children and young people in and leaving care to be happy, loved and safe and to achieve their aspirations.

Essex Virtual School

Essex Virtual School works to improve the educational outcomes of three main groups of children:

  • children in care
  • previously looked after children
  • children with a social worker

 Essex Virtual School:

  • brings together the educational information about children and young people who are cared for by the local authority as if they were a single school – no matter where in the country they may be
  • acts as the educational advocate for children in care (that parents are for other children)
  • offers advice and guidance to schools and parents/carers of children previously looked after by any authority who attend Essex schools
  • is the strategic lead for improving educational outcomes for children with a social worker

We aim to:

  • improve understanding of the unique barriers to learning and education experienced by many of our children and young people
  • promote and foster a culture that takes account of children and young people’s views according to age and understanding, identifying, and meeting their educational needs
  • work in partnership with all of those who support our children and young people to raise aspirations and expectations and build capacity to make a positive difference to their educational experiences and outcomes
  • provide support and challenge where needed to ensure that the educational needs of our children are prioritised

To find out more about what we do, visit the Essex Virtual School Website.