At the meeting of Full Council on 29 May 2025, Councillors approved a Corporate Parenting Strategy. This document sets out how the Isles of Scilly will be ‘Care Ready,’ to respond to the needs of any children who have to come into local authority care on the islands between 2025 and 2028. You can read this Corporate Parenting Strategy by clicking on the link below:
READ THE COUNCIL OF THE ISLES OF SCILLY'S CORPORATE PARENTING STRATEGY |
As the strategy states, the Council of the Isles of Scilly is committed to providing a safe and caring environment for children to grow up, learn and play, and works closely with families to keep children within their family environment where it is safe and appropriate to do so. However, sometimes families experience issues which cannot be resolved easily, and children may need to be brought into the statutory care of the Council in accordance with relevant legislation.
At the time of writing, according to the statutory definition, there are no ‘children looked after’ or ‘care experienced’ young people living on the Isles of Scilly, however the strategy sets out how the Council and its partners will respond to the needs of children, should the need arise to look after them by taking them into local authority care.
Establishing an overview panel – ‘The Islands that Care’
As identified in the Corporate Parenting Strategy, one of the Council’s priorities is to develop a Corporate Parenting Board which will be known as the ‘Overview Panel - The Islands that Care.’
This panel will be accountable for the delivery of the outcomes identified in the Corporate Parenting Strategy and for helping Council Members and officers to make decisions which drive improvements for children and young people across the islands.
The Terms of Reference for this panel were also approved at the meeting of Full Council on 29 May 2025.
Councillor Frances Grottick, Lead Member for Children, Council of the Isles of Scilly said: “I welcome the Corporate Parenting Strategy as a mechanism for ensuring the Council, its partners and the islands as a whole are ‘Care Ready. This document will help focus and strengthen all of our preparations to protect children looked after and care experienced young people, and support them to thrive as if they were our own children. It’s particularly heartening to hear the voices of our islands’ children and young people in the strategy and I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to its development – your perspectives are all vital to ensuring the Council is prepared to be the best Corporate Parent possible, if the need arises.”
Further information
If you have any questions about the Corporate Parenting Strategy, please email familyscilly@scilly.gov.uk or call 0300 1234 105, Option 5.
Raising a concern or seeking support
If you are worried about a child or young person, please get in touch using the details below.
Call: 0300 1234 105, Option 5
Email: childrenssocialcare@scilly.gov.uk
REMEMBER: If you have a reason to believe that a child is at risk of immediate harm, please do not hesitate to call 999 and ask for the police.