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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED to note the Quarter 1 Progress Update including the Corporate Parenting Quarterly Progress Report Quarter 1 2025-2026.
RESOLVED to note the information provided.
RESOLVED to note the information provided.
It was noted that Council, at its Annual Meeting on 22nd May 2025, appointed Cllr Sarah Merry as Chair of the Committee for the 2025 – 2026 municipal year and the following Members to the Committee: Cllrs Cowan, Ebrahim, Ferguson-Thorne, Kaaba, Lay, Lister, Littlechild and Taylor
The Terms of Reference attached to the agenda were noted.
Apologies were received from Cllr Ferguson-Thorne, Lay and Littlechild.
There were none.
The minutes of the 24th March meeting were approved and signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to note the Quarter 1 Progress Update including the Corporate Parenting Quarterly Progress Report Quarter 1 2025-2026.
The Committee was provided with an update in relation to the overall progress to date on the Corporate Parenting Annual Plan 2025-2026. Rebecca Brockway (Policy and Development Manager) gave a presentation, first outlining the feedback received from the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee (CYP). In particular, CYP members had highlighted the importance of social media to engaging with young people, and proposed that social media considerations be built into annual plan actions. CYP had also requested more information on CPAC’s terms of reference and governance arrangements, and access to its data dashboards where appropriate, among other recommendations. She added that the data dashboards were being refreshed to support both operational leads and CPAC oversight, offering deeper insights into children’s needs and enabling more targeted interventions. Of the 37 actions identified in the annual plan, 13 had been initiated, 16 were in progress and 8 were complete. Only one action was considered to be amber level in terms of delay, and this was regarding the new dashboard which was scheduled for June 2025, and was underway. The first quarterly KPI report had been completed and circulated to Members, and 100% of Corporate Safeguarding assessments were complete. The delivery group for corporate safeguarding was also in place, with representation from all relevant directorates. The annual communications plan had been finalised, and the first meeting of the task and finish group for work experience and employment opportunities had taken place. Regarding the priorities of the Corporate Parenting Strategy, she noted that skills-based development opportunities were being provided to 17 children looked after, and the Passport to the City summer programme was in place with spaces for children looked after. The Cardiff Commitment mentoring programme had been initiated and was undergoing consultation with young people. The review of the young person’s multidisciplinary team had been undertaken and an action plan created, while the personal advisor service was supporting 33 young people in universities across the country. Members noted the importance of clarity between the roles of CPAC and CYP, with clear delineation of who was responsible for what. It was also suggested that CYP would likely want to view the clearer data relating to children in care as well. Officers reassured Members that they were in conversations with children’s services to ensure that reports aligned and efforts were not duplicated. The Committee RESOLVED to note the Quarter 1 Progress Update including the Corporate Parenting Quarterly Progress Report Quarter 1 2025-2026.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to note the information provided.
The Committee was provided with an update in relation to programmes that fell under the sphere of Priority 1 of the Corporate Parenting Annual Plan 2025-2026. Deborah Williams (Virtual Headteacher) and Rhian Davies (Lead Officer for Emotional Health and Wellbeing) outlined the basis of the trauma-informed approach, noting that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were linked to long-term mental and social issues. Recovery from trauma was treatable, but required consistent support and secure relationships, and there had to be a whole system response to improve outcomes for children and young people. The Virtual Headteacher had worked closely with colleagues in children’s services throughout her time in the role, ensuring access to the trauma-informed UK schools diploma. They had now become part of phase 2 of the Welsh government’s pilot bringing together the work of ACE Hub Cymru and Traumatic Stress Wales. Officers gave a presentation on Trauma Informed Practice Skills & Strategies (TIPSS), which was a training package aimed at increasing understanding about trauma, and sharing materials and resources for supporting children and young people affected by trauma. It was made up of two strands – Trauma-Skilled and Trauma-Enhanced – each of which could be done in three modules over one day. It had been developed by Traumatic Stress Wales and funded by the Welsh government. The framework of A Trauma Informed Wales was built around five key principles: a universal approach that does no harm; person-centred; relationship-focused; resilience and strengths-focused, and inclusive. The TrACE Informed Organisations Toolkit also provided a self-assessment tool for organisations to complete and implement, focusing on building onto rather than into good practice, and identifying where improvements and changes could be made to policies, practice, culture and environment. E-learning was also provided on adverse childhood experiences, focusing on the impact of stress and trauma on development. They would roll out the trauma-skilled training across the inclusion and achievement service across 2026/27, and the trauma-enhanced training after that. There was still more to do on reflective practice, and next steps could include a trauma-informed conference, half-termly reflective supervision sessions and CPD opportunities. Members welcomed the work that had started but noted that it would take time to filter down into schools and frontline services, and asked whether there was sufficient resource available to roll out the training to everyone who needed it. Officers recognised that it would be a lengthy process, and one that would be undertaken collaboratively and in stages, beginning with inclusion and moving onto specialist provision. Across teams, there would be 50 trainers in all, and they would learn about how to most effectively implement the training as it went. Officers added that the approach was nationally backed rather than Cardiff-specific, but it was important that Cardiff sought to lead the way. This sort of cultural shift would take time but it was essential to embed into the system that trauma wasn’t just an event, but rather shaped how children and families interacted with the world. By training the whole workforce and moving towards a shared language and set of values and responsibilities, they could ensure consistent and compassionate responses to those who needed it most. Officers also emphasised the importance of reviewing processes and procedures, and being willing to challenge existing systems. They were seeking to enable practitioners to work in trauma-informed ways, and working with other parts of Wales to help them develop their approach too. There was a clear focus on building services around locality models and supporting children as they stepped down from statutory services, as well as embedding early help to provide a joined-up service. Services were developed with resilience in mind, and sought to reiterate consistent messages to children and families, with support rooted in local communities. Members noted the importance of strategic alignment, and were reassured that the Director of Children’s Service and AD Education were mapping out strategic and operational projects. Officers gave a presentation on the Passport to the City programme, noting that there were three groups in their delivery model: universal, targeted and bespoke. The bespoke offer included structured wellbeing sessions, access to sporting events, family engagement, access for priority groups and tickets to shows. There was now a summer programme for children looked after, featuring water sports, indoor climbing, skiing and filmmaking. They had worked both with the council and external partners to fund this, as there were plenty of social value opportunities, and were looking to develop sustained engagement. It was important to provide rich experiences for children and young people in care, and transport was a key barrier to this. To overcome this, they provided free bus and train travel and sought to ensure that young people had the skills to make use of them. In particular, officers noted that young people did not want to be stigmatised or singled out, so it was valuable to identify the friendship groups that children looked after were in and bring them all to events. The key goal was to provide opportunities that promoted skills development, confidence and personal growth, while also fostering a sense of belonging as a citizen of the city and improving emotional health and wellbeing. The service sought to ensure visibility of what was on offer and build on work already undertaken, growing the partnership and the offer over time. It was intended to ensure that every care-experienced child and young person could reach their potential, and was able to enjoy a wide range of leisure, sporting and cultural activities. Members highlighted the importance of sustainability in the long term and asked how outcomes would be measured. Officers explained that they brought partners together four times a year to review and unpack what had happened, with young people’s voices central to that. The program evolved year on year, with schemes starting as introductory sessions and being built into long-term engagement pieces. Volunteering opportunities were key, as this allowed organisations to quantify their impact on the program. Data dashboards would also support bespoke organisational planning, breaking down cohorts by age and ALN status for example, which could be reflected in quarterly reports. Members advocated providing unique opportunities in line with what individual children and young people wanted. Officers acknowledged the importance of engagement, and explained that in addition to centring the voices of young people, the program had also been working with the university on research methods. The Committee RESOLVED to note the information provided.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to note the information provided.
The Committee was provided with an update in relation to programmes that fell under the sphere of Priority 2 of the Corporate Parenting Annual Plan 2025-2026. Victoria Highgate (Mentoring Programme Manager, Cardiff Commitment) gave a presentation outlining how the mentoring programme aligned with the council’s Stronger, Fairer, Greener agenda, with public, private and third sector organisations working with schools to raise ambition and connect children with opportunities, helping them to fulfil their potential and contributing to the city’s economic growth. The programme was built around five priorities: partner support; experiences of work; learning pathways; social value; and children & young people who need it most. She added that the program sought to engage with communities across the city, in particular in the Southern Arc, one of the most deprived areas of Wales. One Million Mentors (1MM) had been in Cardiff since 2019 and had provided mentoring opportunities to more than 500 young people, working closely with schools like Willows, Cardiff West, Cathays and Mary Immaculate and with a wide variety of businesses. The Cardiff Commitment was working with 1MM and the Children’s Services Bright Sparks group to develop a mentoring programme specifically for children looked after. This was still in its early stages, and they were expanding mentor recruitment both internally and externally and utilising the network of Cardiff Commitment businesses to identify additional mentor training opportunities, for example in exploitation. Key barriers included working with disengaged young people and commitment from young people and mentors. It was important to ensure that mentoring was what they wanted, enabling them to raise aspirations and improve their wellbeing, relationships and lifestyle choices as well as developing soft skills. Members welcomed the expansion of the programme but warned against spreading limited resources too thinly when delivering quality mentoring took time and effort. Officers explained that 1MM had processes in place to support key aspects of the service, for example carrying out DBS checks on potential mentors, and the pilot scheme would be closely monitored to identify where additional resource was needed. Laura Williams (Partnerships and Performance Manager, Youth Service) outlined how the service provided support for children looked after, emphasising the importance of working with young people. It was important to engage them in rights-based activities, and build up resilience and inclusion throughout. The service followed the Youth Work Strategy for Wales and in particular the Youth Engagement & Progression Framework. It sought to reduce the number of young people who were disengaged pre-16, and offered the option to engage in Welsh or bilingually. The integrated delivery model worked both in schools and online, and sought to improve wellbeing, behaviour, attendance and attainment. Individuals could participate through locality provision, bespoke and targeted group sessions, an online Discord youth club and digital groups. There was also summer transition support for those in Years 10 and 11, helping them to build up capacity and develop transferable skills. Throughout, the youth mentoring process of support had a clear line of support based on a vulnerability assessment profile (VAP), with lived experiences at the core. The Committee RESOLVED to note the information provided.
There were none.
22nd September 2025 at 3pm.
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