Child and family support

What’s being done?

This tracker sets out all of the actions that Devon County Council and its partners have taken in direct response to the issues that matter most to you!

Over the last few years, young people in Devon been speaking up about the issues that matter most to them. As the Devon Youth Council, we’ve summarised this feedback into a series of key targets, set out in each category below, of what we’d like to see happen in Devon. Please note that these targets are written by the Devon Youth Council to Devon County Council and its partners.

This page is updated quarterly. The current version reflects any changes up and including those that were made between September and December 2025.

Housing and home

🎯 We would like you to work together to ensure a smoother and faster transition into appropriate and stable 18+ housing, with a consistent and supportive approach regardless of where we live in Devon.

  • What we’ve done
    • The new 16+ model for supported housing has been completed in partnership with members of the SUSU council and will be put into effect starting in July 2026
    • B+Bs are now only used to house young people in emergencies for as short a time as possible.
    • Julian Watkins will be chairing the Lasting Homes for Care Leavers Panel in order to offer additional support to accommodation providers where there may be challenges. The SUSU council members have worked with commissioning managers to create a better model for 16+ accommodation which includes trauma-informed training and mental health training for support staff. The new plan will be finalised in September 2025.
    • We have developed our Staying Close model which is an in-house form of supported accommodation to provide stability for young people and prepare them for their own tenancies. The first Staying Close house has opened in Exmouth as a DCC managed alternative to commissioned supported housing.  Others planned for Tiverton and Exeter.
    • The strength based HUB forms for housing are now consistently being used so that there is less focus on ‘risk’ and more on what young people have achieved and can succeed in.
    • If you are care-experienced, living in supported housing and also working (full time or part time), DCC will pay the service charge of the accommodation provider so that you can keep more of your money.
    • We are tracking in our data the occurrence of the use of the legal term ‘intentionally homeless’ in relation to care-experienced young people, so that we can ensure that going forwards this will only occur in very specific circumstances. We cannot at this stage get rid of its use entirely.
    • When care-experienced young people can prove that they are ready to live independently, their Band B rating is backdated to their 16th birthday. This gives a higher priority to care experienced young people.
    • We held a focus group with care-experienced young people currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) and this has helped to inform how we will provide you with more individualised support into employment.
    • The housing options pages of the SUSU website has been updated so that it is easier to understand and has all the information.
    • The Care Leaver Joint Housing Protocol has been launched.  It provides a commitment for District Housing Officers and DCC to work in partnership to achieve best outcomes for Care Leavers.
    • There have been two joint training events with housing district colleagues and PAs to look a how best to support care experienced young people with housing needs which included training on the law and trauma-informed practice.
  • What we’re doing
    • The new 16+ model for supported housing involves working in partnership with our District Councils to develop a range of affordable move on options. There will be clear move on plans which will be developed at each stage of the model.
    • The new 16+ model for supported housing will limit the number of moves allowed so that problems are addressed properly rather than just moving young people from one place to another.
    • In the new 16+ model for supported housing, young people will have a consistent key worker who will support them to make and maintain community connections.
    • Members of the SUSU council have visited residential home providers around England and are working with the Commissioning team to decide which Provider should be responsible for new children’s homes in Devon as part of the Growing Futures Project.
    • We know that if you have Special Educational Needs or Difficulties, you will need more support to transition into appropriate housing. The TASC team are creating a transitions pathway that should make it easier for you to access support and understand what is happening next.
    • We are increasing our renting ready/ tenancy training offer to help young people be able to transition to their own tenancies and demonstrate their budgeting and independent living skills as this is an expectation of landlords whether that be private or social housing. Young people need to engage with these to move forwards.

Education, employment and training

🎯 We would like you to work together to ensure that more of us with SEND or care-experience are supported to thrive in our education and ultimately achieve paid employment in a field which interests us.

  • What we’ve done
    • We have received recognition from Ofsted Inspectors that more care experienced young people are moving into education, training and employment, and more young people are going to university.
    • We have run our first ‘Working Office’ programme for Care Leavers which gives an opportunity to have the experience of working in an office as well as a certificate to prove it. More are booked for 2026.
    • The number of care experienced apprenticeships continues to grow across DCC and the Echo Network has been formed to ensure that our employees with care experience have a forum for support, community and ideas to continue to support DCC in upholding Care Experience as a protected characteristic.
    • Young people who are accessing alternative education provisions have shared their views on what is working and what needs looking at in these provisions so that the commissioning service can make sure they purchase the right kind of support. As a result of the views young people have shared on Alternative Education Provision, the commissioning team have made some key changes to their requirements.
    • An online vocational profile tool has been developed to support young people with SEND to consider their motivation, interests, work attitudes, resource, and support needs by gathering and assessing information that is relevant to their future job and career aspirations. It was launched to schools and professionals on 28 November.
    • Virtual School learning advocate for young asylum seekers has been appointed. This will help Young Asylum Seekers to access appropriate support for learning.
    • Devon County Council are developing their works experience offer for care leavers and have updated the guidance for managers to support care-experienced young people with work experience opportunities.
    • PACE (Positive about Care Experience)  training programme for education providers and employers has been launched so that colleges and employers are more trauma-informed and understanding of support they can offer to care-experienced young people.
    • We have developed and rolled out Cyber Fundamentals workshops, designed specifically for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) schools through the Raising Digital Engagement Programme for KS3 students.
    • We have introduced an additional 200 Further Education place for young people with SEND at Petroc college and 12 at South Devon college from September 2025. In addition, we have again commissioned 40 places on Petroc’s Home to Onsite (H2O) programme throughout the academic year, which supports young people who need a tailored and thorough transition and support to access college provision, and an additional 37 places to be delivered through South Devon college.
    • An additional 50 Further Education places for young people with SEN were introduced in September.
    • A locality based Early Help Education offer is being piloted in North Devon since September 2024 to support schools, enabling a more proactive approach to supporting children and young people.
    • The first version of the Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) framework has been developed to improve universal support and inclusion for all children and young people in schools and settings. This is currently being embedded within schools across Devon. The OAIP framework now also has a section on targeted support, so that schools can offer better support for children and young people with SEND within their education setting.
    • An online vocational profile tool has been developed as part of a project on future careers led by Network for Change. The group created a questionnaire for young people in special schools exploring career aspirations and barriers to access those. The results of the questionnaire have been used with the new tool and will result in creating the right careers support for young people in Special Schools to work towards future careers and jobs that they will enjoy.
    • The Youth Voice event in November 2024 clearly demonstrated the need for more neuro-affirming spaces in schools and colleges. This message has been heard, and the Head of Education is working on embedding the Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision guidance for all schools in Devon so that schools are as inclusive as possible.
    • The Aspirations worker employed by the Virtual School is specifically looking at care-experienced young people who do not have a post 16 or post 18 education plan.
    • There is a new internal pathway planning forum that looks at post-18 planning for care-experienced young people from the age of 16.5 so that we can support social workers to put things in place for your education, training and housing and look ahead, as we know that things can become more difficult at 18 so early planning is important.
    • We have a range of works experience opportunities for care-experienced young people across Devon and are matching young people to them through our newly developed Talent Bank. If you want future employment opportunities please speak to your PA.
    • We held a focus group with care-experienced young people currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) and this has helped to inform how we will provide you with more individualised support into employment.
  • What we’re doing
    • We are working with Exeter College to help care-experienced young people access individualised apprenticeships (as part of the PACE programme).
    • We are piloting a free bus with Stagecoach for a small number of care leavers who need it in order to help with getting to work experience opportunities and to work.
    • University of Exeter are developing their offer to care leavers.
    • Young asylum seekers have raised some of the challenges around integration in some education facilities in Devon. The Head of Education (Jack newton) has spoken with the college who are considering how to address this.
    • Young asylum seekers have raised with us the challenges some of you are facing to access education, employment and training opportunities. This has been raised with the Deputy Director who is looking at how to address this problem. The college are looking at different options other than just ESOL.

Mental health

🎯 We would like you to work together to improve mental health support up to the age of 25. Focus your attention on the needs of vulnerable groups, addressing gaps in services, the transition into adult services, and the early help support offer. 

  • What we’ve done
    • A new emotional wellbeing service, My Way, has been launched by Young Devon and partners for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.  It has been designed in partnership with young people and in response to the needs that have been raised by young people over several years. It provides free, early-access support to children and young people, giving them the tools to improve their mental health. Designed with a particular focus on 11–17 year olds but accessible for young people aged 8–25, the service brings together community-based support, face-to-face therapeutic care, and digitally delivered advice, guidance and therapy.
    • DCC’s Therapeutic Wellbeing Service has supported over 150 care experienced young people in the last year including Young Asylum Seekers
    • Members of the Devon Youth Council shared the results of their mental health support in schools and colleges research at the Devon schools leadership conference in March.
    • We have introduced an additional 200 Further Education place for young people with SEND at Petroc college and 12 at South Devon college from September 2025. In addition, we have again commissioned 40 places on Petroc’s Home to Onsite (H2O) programme throughout the academic year, which supports young people who need a tailored and thorough transition and support to access college provision, and an additional 37 places to be delivered through South Devon college.
    • Adult Social Care have employed a Mental Health Social Worker to support young people during the transition into adulthood.
    • Children in Care CAMHS review has taken place including a focus group with care-experienced young people.
    • There are now seven Neurodiversity Navigators based across the county to support families of children and young people with neuro diverse needs (diagnosed and undiagnosed) to help them access the right support at the right time.
    • The Devon Youth Council have completed their peer research into MHST provision and the results have been shared with NHS commissioners who are considering next steps
    • Mental health was identified as the top issue for young people in Devon in 2024-25. The Devon Youth Council facilitated a Youth Voice Saturday event on Mental health support in schools and colleges which was well attended by NHS and Inclusion managers. The key messages from the event can be read here.
    • Our Lifelong Links project recognises the positive impact of long-term trusted relationships for care-experienced young people on wellbeing and future relationships. Our Young Care-experienced Lead will be giving a presentation on Lifelong Links to PAs soon so that as many of you as possible can access this opportunity. Lifelong links is growing in its impact. It received 25 referrals in 2023-24 and 73 referrals 2024-25. Of these, many young people have been re-connected with people who are important to them.
    • We have started a project to improve Lifestory work so that we can improve the quality and consistency of this and prevent ongoing questions about your early life affecting your mental health as you get older. A member of Children’s Services staff attended the SUSU council meeting in February to share new Lifestory booklets and training for workers. The council liked the approach and think it will work. The training has been delivered throughout March and April 2025.
    • We have bought a number of Rees Foundation Ask Jan subscriptions for Care Leavers. This subscription offers counselling, peer support and other opportunities. Speak to your PA if you would like to access this offer.
    • In order to educate paediatricians on the importance of understanding mental health needs and fighting for support for young people’s mental health needs when they stay in hospital, a member of the Devon Youth Council worked with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to create a training video for doctors based on her life-experiences.
    • The new Therapeutic Wellbeing Practitioners will research the issues that care-experienced young people have raised around mental health support needs-  particularly the gaps in provision and the transition into adult services. They will advocate for you to get support when you need it and offer some therapeutic support themselves if required. A member of the SUSU council is now part of the TWS steering group to ensure that the young person’s view is at the centre of the project.
    • Three new Therapeutic Wellbeing Practitioners (TWP) for Care Leavers have been employed and are all now in post.
  • What we’re doing
    • SUSU council members met with the lead for a new wellbeing service which is planned for 2026. They shared what should be included and prioritised with this service which will be for young people who receive support from social care.
    • We are planning a pilot scheme which will train Personal Advisors in Trauma Stabilisation. This will help support young people to manage trauma behaviours in a healthy way, with a view to further supporting care experienced young people to engage in community activities, ongoing mental health support and education, training and employment.
    • We are working towards having an award-winning mental health support programme rolled out across all schools in Devon by 2029. This will see primary, secondary and colleges across the county equipped with dedicated mental health practitioners on site in all schools through The Mental Health Support Team in schools (MHST). Schools will also have access to training, consultations, digital mental health tools as well as access to a network of trained professionals to provide both preventative and responsive services.
    • Children in Care CAMHS will be redesigned over the next 6 months according to the results of the review and resources.
    • Some leisure centres in Devon are offering free access for care-experienced young people as we know exercise is important for wellbeing. We are working with local councils to get all council leisure centres to adopt this policy.
    • We are developing our training offer to foster carers so that they can better understand and support young people who are experiencing mental health challenges. CAMHs is due to run a group for Foster carers on Nurturing Attachment starting in the autumn 2025.
    • The Thrive directory of community support services for mental health has been created. This now needs to be embedded and used effectively by professionals working with young people.

Physical health

🎯 We would like you to ensure that health provision and information is accessible and holistic and that transitions are supported and smooth. 

  • What we’ve done
    • We have introduced an additional 200 Further Education place for young people with SEND at Petroc college and 12 at South Devon college from September 2025. In addition, we have again commissioned 40 places on Petroc’s Home to Onsite (H2O) programme throughout the academic year, which supports young people who need a tailored and thorough transition and support to access college provision, and an additional 37 places to be delivered through South Devon college.
    • An online Neurodiversity Hub has been developed to provide resources to support to children and young people of all ages who are neurodivergent and their families.
    • Free prescriptions for all Care Leavers for anything other than one-off prescriptions has now been launched.
    • There are now two trauma-informed NHS dentist practices in Devon who will ensure priority access to Children in Care and Care Leavers.  One is in Plymouth and one in Ilfracombe.
    •  NHS Devon has agreed to fund Pre-Payment Certificates for Care Leavers who are not currently covered by free prescription categories. This will go live by 1 April 2025.
    • We have worked with some young asylum seekers to create a video about Initial Health Assessments so that it is less confusing and scary for new young people arriving in Devon. The video has been translated into several different languages. This piece of work won Coram Voice’s Digital Award in it’s national awards in 2024.
  • What we’re doing
    • No actions currently in progress.

Identity and community

🎯 It is important that you ensure we have support to explore and understand our Identity, to find our place in our communities and to feel welcome, included and celebrated. Includes accessible transport.

  • What we’ve done
    • Places to Go and Things to Do was voted the top youth issue in the Make you Mark survey earlier this year. Devon Youth Council presented the findings of their research on this campaign  to County Councillors at their November Youth Voice Saturday and will continue working in co-production groups on the top issues.
    • As part of the Places to Go Things to Do campaign, the DCC Communities team have provided a grant fund of £160,000 to fund voluntary youth projects across Devon. Members of the Devon Youth Council have met weekly since September to assess the applications.  Over 100 youth projects have received funding.
    • In direct response to their research in special schools and on Short Breaks, the Champions for Change group have worked with the Commissioning Team, the Libraries and Active Devon to create some accessible leaflets on some of our most wheelchair friendly outdoor spaces in Devon so that disabled young people can access the countryside with confidence.
    • Young people from Champions for Change have met with the Commissioning Team to work with them to develop the  short breaks  provision in order to ensure that the offer is accessible, will widen their experiences, and will include all the elements that young people have said are important to feeling safe and included.
    • The Youth Participation team, PA’s, voluntary organisations and charities worked together to organise several Care Leaver-month outings, to put on 3 Christmas meals and to provide Christmas gift hampers for Care Leavers.
    • We celebrated the Ramadan period with our young asylum seekers by inviting them to an Iftar meal and sharing this special event with them.
    • An online Neurodiversity Hub has been developed to provide resources to support to children and young people of all ages who are neurodivergent and their families.
    • We developed a celebration and practice Week around celebrating and promoting children in care and care leavers. “Love our Children Week” took place for the first time in summer 2025 and was so important as staff were able to dedicate a week focusing on the successes and challenges of children in and leaving our care and also to do some valuable training. It ended with the annual awards night, which is always a huge celebration.
    • The Care Leaver Hub has been set up in Exeter YES centre as a meeting place for young people with their PAs.
    • We have worked with some of you to develop a Welcome information pack and leaflet for Young Asylum seekers. This was officially launched in January 2025.
    • In order to raise awareness and understanding of care-experience, we have supported some of you to deliver Total Respect Training to teams in Children’s Services. This has made a really good impression and led to changes and improvements across the service.
    • We want to take every opportunity to celebrate your achievements as care-experienced young people, so we have increased our financial incentive when you take exams to include Functional Skills.
    • Our Lifelong Links project recognises the positive impact of long-term trusted relationships for care-experienced young people on wellbeing and future relationships. Our Young Care-experienced Lead will be giving a presentation on Lifelong Links to PAs soon so that as many of you as possible can access this opportunity. Lifelong links is growing in its impact. It received 25 referrals in 2023-24 and 73 referrals 2024-25. Of these, many young people have been re-connected with people who are important to them.
  • What we’re doing
    • Devon Youth Council have started 3 co-production groups as a result of our Youth Voice Saturday:
      1. Promoting a culture of inclusion and creating safe youth spaces in our towns;
      2. Affordable and accessible transport options for young people; 3.Creating a youth directory of all youth events and activities in Devon. Young people and lead decision makers are working together to see if there are any creative solutions to these issues.
    • Young people who are part of the Network for Change are working with transport managers to improve accessibility of transport options for young people with SEND
    • We have started a project exploring how the belongings of children in care and care leavers are stored and looked after throughout care as this is something that has been raised to us as an issue through the Total Respect Training. We are currently recruiting volunteers to help with sorting out our storage facilities for young people’s belongings.

Supporting care experienced parents

🎯 If we are care-experienced and wanting to start a family, it is important that you provide us with stability and trauma-informed support at every stage.

  • What we’ve done
    • The updated Local Offer now has a financial offer those who are expecting or who are new parents.
  • What we’re doing
    • We have started a working group to look at the issues you have raised as care-experienced or vulnerable parents so that we can continue to improve the support that is given to you so that you can be the best parents possible.

Our rights and our voices

🎯 All of us should have clear access to our rights in any situation, know how to make ourselves heard and feel confident in our ability to influence change. 

  • What we’ve done
    • Our Youth Justice young advisors have re-designed the Youth Justice Service feedback form so that we can listen and respond to justice-experienced young people’s views better
    • Devon Youth Council took part in a workshop led by the DCC Lead Member for Finance so that they can better understand how DCC manages budgets. This will help them to be more involved in budget decisions in 2026.
    • Young people from across our youth councils have created a training video on the use of language and jargon for Children Services staff.  This was played at a conference for social care staff and was well received.
    • Youth council members met with Councillor James Buczkowski and senior managers to influence DCC’s strategic plan and to make sure that youth priorities are included.  Hearing and responding to youth views is a top priority in the plan.
    • The Youth Justice team have started a Youth Participation group to ensure that young people can have their voices heard in how the service is delivered and developed.
    • Young people from Network for Change have attended workshops and a major conference where they helped form the new Four Cornerstones approach to SEND support and oversight (www.devon.gov.uk/children-families-education/send-local-offer/working-together/devon-local-area-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-send-strategy-2024-to-2027/the-four-cornerstones/ ) This will embed a restorative and relational culture in all SEND provision and management and ensure youth voice is central.
    • Members of the Devon Youth Council met with the My Life My Say group to help form the National Youth Strategy by representing the views of Devon young people.
    • We are working with children and young people to update our Promise to Children in Care. The new Promise for Children in Care has been launched at Love our Children Week. It is based on SUSU research with Devon children and young people in our care.
    • We are seeking the views and experiences of 4-11 year olds in care through the Bright Spots Survey in January/February 2025. The Bright Spots survey results for 4-11 year olds in care were shared with staff at Love our Children Week and an action plan will now be created to address the top issues.
    • We have developed and trialled a more youth-friendly, jargon-free assessment document for Children in Care.
    • We have created a new section of the SEND Local Offer focusing on Health and Wellbeing support available.
    • The youth participation strategy for Children’s Services is complete. It was co-designed with young people, and all staff are being trained so that they listen to young people in a meaningful and appropriate way. This has been welcomed and adopted across all Children’ Services teams with a commitment to include young people’s views and priorities at all levels of operation and management.
    • We have created this action tracker so that anyone who is interested can see the main issues raised by young people in Devon through the Participation Team and the actions that are taking place to address them.
    • We have recently updated our complaints process so that it is more accessible for young people and so that you know how to feedback any concerns you may have safely and easily.
  • What we’re doing
    • The new 16+ model of supported housing includes regular feedback loops from young people into the contract and each home will have clear information on how to raise concerns or compliments direct to the commissioning team.
    • Young people from Network for Change are working with the Director of the SEND Improvement Board to make sure the strategies and approach are right for young people.
    • The Devon Youth Council have completed the Make your Mark survey across Devon. Over 7000 young people responded and we have established our top issue for 2025. We are currently working on our Places To Go, Things To Do project.
    • An online resource for young people with SEND as they transition into adulthood is being tested in April 2025 by young people from Pathfield school.