Children's Advocacy and Independent Visitors

Advocacy is about representing the views, wishes and needs of children and young people to professionals making decisions about their lives, and helping them to navigate the system, especially in times of transition. Advocacy services provide independent and confidential information, advice, representation, support and advocacy for eligible children and young people. High quality advocacy is an important preventative measure to ensure practical problems do not escalate, that children and young people are protected from harm or risk of harm to their wellbeing and to ensure that potential system level failures are identified and tackled at the earliest opportunity. Independent Visitors are trained volunteers who can step in to support children within the context of National reforms including FFP and provide a stable adult relationship outside of their care arrangement. They can visit them where they live and be a friend and mentor as they grow up. This specification for this service will be based on the National Standards for the Provision of Children and Young People's Advocacy Services 2023.