Bridgend County Borough Council signs the Corporate Parenting Charter

With approval from its Corporate Parenting Cabinet Committee, the council has signed the Welsh Government’s Corporate Parenting Charter. This promises the continued support of care-experienced children and young people from across the county borough, ensuring that they have the same opportunity to fulfil their potential as their peers – a commitment which aligns with the local authority’s new Corporate Parenting Strategy, which was launched in April 2023.

The Charter is an agreement for public sector organisations that regularly engage with care-experienced children and young people, and the Bridgend Corporate Parenting Board is seeking for all of its member agencies to sign up to it by the end of March 2024.

Joining both Awen Cultural Trust and Bridgend College who have already signed the pledge, the council has committed to using the guiding principles offered by the Charter to safeguard and support the rights of the children and young people in its care.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Social Services and Health, Councillor Jane Gebbie, said: “We fully embrace our commitment to the Charter, which offers a point of reference for institutions like ours to have a shared understanding and expectation for parenting our care experienced young people.

“As always, as corporate parent, we will ensure that all of our efforts for our young people are underpinned by considerations of equality, empowerment and protection, as outlined in the new Corporate Parenting Strategy, which was launched just last year.

“Our whole council approach, as well as our relations with multi agencies, is pivotal in the efficacy of our corporate parenting in the county borough. Working together to achieve the shared goals and aspirations for our children and young people is paramount, and their welfare is, and always will be, our priority.”