Breckland NiCC
Where is it?
The Norfolk in Care Council (NiCC) group in the Breckland area meets in Dereham.
Your foster carer can provide transport to meetings, but if they can’t, we can arrange transport to make sure you can take part.
When does the group meet?
The group meets in the evening on the third Thursday of each month. Food is provided as many members go to the meeting after school and need something to eat.
What has Breckland NiCC been doing?
Independent review office service – reviewing paperwork
Independent review officers visited the group to gain some feedback on review paperwork. They asked each of the young people who attended what they thought of the paperwork, which is used after reviews for feedback, and they decided on which they preferred. This feedback has been used to inform the choice of paperwork used after a looked after children (LAC) review.
New to care website feedback
A group of Breckland NiCC group members attended a day out at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse where we discussed the sorts of questions young people have about being new to care. One of the questions a lot of young people asked was:
"Why do foster carers want to look after other people’s children?"
We took this question to the Family and Adoption Conference held at the John Innes Centre in Norwich and this is what they said:
- Having been a parent, I still have a lot of parenting in me! Lots of love to give and lots of experiences to provide. I want to make sure young people have a nice upbringing and experience a nice family life.
- Every child deserves a loving, safe upbringing
- To try to give children and young people a positive childhood. We can relate to them and want to make sure they are happy.
- My partner is a foster carer and I wanted to become one too to make sure I could support her and the children that live with us
- I want to help them become the best that they can be, and I also want to help them deal with their past traumas
- I want to provide young people with opportunities that they otherwise may not have had
- I was fostered along with my four siblings.
- I was working with children and young people and I really enjoyed it. I decided to foster when my own children were older.
- Help them to realise their potential future
- To give the child a better start to their lives
- Every child needs a good home
- I want to make a difference to children and young people’s lives. I want to help them and to help them to fight their battle
- It’s all for the children – to see their smiley faces
- Empathise and want to give them a good home
- Every child is entitled to have a loving and safe home and to be a part of a loving family
- There are a few reasons why I decided to foster:
- Society – I want to have a purpose and help children and young people in our society
- Community – children and young people are the responsibility of everyone and I want to take care of children and young people
- Personal – be a part of a nurturing community. I want to help people!
- My Christian faith instils a caring nature in me and I want to be able to give back to the community
What do social workers do well and what could they do better?
We had a look at social workers in Breckland and what they do well and what they could do better. Many of the young people thought that their social worker was nice and kind. When talking about what social workers could do better, lots of young people said they need to be listened to more. This was taken to another meeting to discuss further.
Do Breckland young people feel listened to by their social workers?
When talking about being listened to, many young people mentioned that:
"We want to be more involved in the decisions that are taking place about us, and have it better explained to us why they were happening."
In order to help this, the NiCC group helped design a top tips for social workers, which has been shared with all social workers in Breckland.
The promise, advocates, and how to make a complaint
We asked young people at the West and Breckland NiCC groups about 'the promise', advocates and how to make a complaint.
They said: "It is important for young people to know what their rights are and to have this information shared with them."
To help achieve this, we invited the team manager for LAC in Breckland to come and speak to the group about their concerns. The manager has said she will make sure all information is shared with all LAC and young people in Breckland.
What is Breckland NiCC doing next?
The Breckland group is currently undergoing a transformation stage. It currently functions as a youth group which is fun and enjoyable, but does not give young people much opportunity to feedback and inform service development. The participation team will be working closely with the group to make sure they get support to do this.
If you would like to get involved email us csparticipationteam@norfolk.gov.uk.