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At the Full Council meeting on Tuesday (14 January), a motion was passed to treat care experience as if it was a protected characteristic - that it cannot be used as a reason to discriminate against someone.
The motion was put forward by Cllr Catherine Gibbons, executive member for children’s services, families and lifelong learning.
Cllr Gibbons said: “As corporate parents, we share a collective responsibility to provide the best possible care and safeguarding for children in our custody.
“We have that duty to illuminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation of people with protected characteristics.”
Care experienced people will now be recognised as a vulnerable group who face discrimination.
Cllr Gibbons added: “In a recent article, one young person described her care experiences as being like a superpower, developing qualities such as adaptability, empathy and resilience.
“However, the article also pointed out that bullying is a significant challenge for many young people in care and negative assumptions about them can affect their personal circumstances throughout their lives.”
One young person said about the motion: “I think that this is a good idea as it will open a lot more minds for us care leavers and will also allow us to not be looked at any differently from anyone.”
Another said: “Being care experienced isn’t just a label we are given by our corporate parents and other legal bodies, it is a life experience of someone who is often stigmatised and seen as ‘less than’ their general population peers.
“We can show you exactly what we can do when we are believed in and protected by a system built for us, by us.”
North Somerset Council thanks all the care experienced young people who have helped highlight this important issue.
As a result of the motion, the council will ensure it seeks out and listens to the voices of care experienced people of all ages when developing new policies and plans.
The council will also explore how to guarantee all care experienced people an interview for a job within the authority, where they meet the essential criteria of the post applied for.
The council will also write to all public bodies, the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses in North Somerset to make them aware of this motion and, where possible, offer training on corporate parenting and the issues facing care experienced people.