How can I have my say?

Hackney of Tomorrow, The Children in Care Council

Hackney of Tomorrow (HoT) is our Children in Care Council. It is made up of children in care and care leavers from Hackey, aged between 12 and 25. We have Junior groups for children aged 12-17, a Senior group for young people aged 18 to 25, and a group for Migrant young people who are looked after by Hackney. 

What does it do? 

All groups within Hackney’s of Tomorrow aim to represent the voice of young people in care and come up with new ideas about how to change and improve services for young people in Hackney. Members of the Care Council often take part in paid work experience projects, such as: running training programmes for foster carers and social workers; developing training resources such as videos and leaflets; interviewing new social workers as part of Hackney’s recruitment process; and carrying out youth inspections, which focus on the different services offered to children in care and care leavers from Hackney. 

Most importantly, members of the Care Council are responsible for presenting their views and ideas to senior management and local councillors every three months at Hackney’s Corporate Parenting Board.  Each group also attends the Pan London Children in Care Council meetings, where they have the opportunity to discuss their ideas and recent projects with children in care and care leavers from all other London boroughs.  

When does it meet? 

Each group meets monthly in person or online. Many meetings take place after 5pm so that young people can join after school, college or work. You can often choose if you join online if you don’t live locally, or in person if you prefer, where you can expect some pizza and the chance to meet other young people. All young people in care or who are care leavers are invited to attend.

Take part!

If you’d like to get involved with the Care Council, please get in touch. You can send us an email at  hackneyoftomorrow@hackney.gov.uk with your details and we will include you in our whatsapp group where we share all the latest information and opportunities coming up.  See our leaflet 

What do I do if I'm not happy with the support I'm receiving?

Sometimes we may not be able to provide you with the support you feel you need, or we may not agree to provide you with a particular piece of funding or service you have requested. There may be a number of reasons for this so it is important you understand the reasons for you not getting the support you feel you need.

Your practitioner should:

• Record any decision not to provide you with a service or funding and the reasons why;

• Tell you about the reasons for this decision (and give you details of the complaints and appeals process if you would like this)

If you’re unhappy about a decision, you need to try to talk to your Leaving Care practitioner as they may be able to help you understand more about why this decision has been made or why the support is not available. If you are still unhappy or confused about a decision that has been made, Hackney’s Children’s Rights Service provides a range of support to children and young people who are supported by, or have been supported by, Hackney Children’s Social Care. The Children’s Rights Officers (CRO) provide an independent service that:

• Helps children and young people have their voice heard through advocacy;

• Represents children and young people's wishes and feelings, and

• Provides information to children and young people about their rights and entitlements.

The CROs can be contacted at childrensrights@hackney.gov.uk or on 020 8356 2444.

If you want to make a complaint

The CROs can also support you to make a formal complaint, if that is what you wish to do. Our complaints team can be contacted on:

• Tel: 020 8356 5800

• Email: children.complaints@hackney.gov.uk

Or write to:

Children’s Complaints

Quality Assurance and Improvement Team

Safeguarding & Quality Assurance

2nd Floor ,Hackney Service Centre

1 Hillman Street

London E8 1DY

We review our Local Offer to Hackney Care Leavers every year. Please let us know your views on the policy and any suggestions you may have. We’ll consider these as part of our review.