Our principles and vision

The sufficiency strategy is underpinned by our commitment to young people as set out in our corporate parenting principles. In Cumberland our principles tell cared for, care experienced and separated young people about the hopes and aspirations we have for them. These being:

1. Your experiences will be at the heart of any decision we make, including how we plan our services, how our services work and how we check that they are working well.
2. Every member of staff in Cumberland Council is responsible for making sure you are supported and that you reach your full potential.
3. Wherever safe and possible, you should live with your family. We will ensure that if you are in care, it is only because you need to be in care.
4. We will try and stop you from being in care by working with your family earlier on and supporting them to give you ever opportunity for you to stay within your family. Where you need to be in care, we will look at all options for you to live with your extended family or family friends where possible.
5. We will try our best to provide the best quality homes possible for you, that give you all the support you need and make you feel safe.
6. We want to make sure you are not moved around a lot and that you have one stable home to live in and a family to belong to. We will support you to keep and strengthen the relationships you have that are important to you. We will help you to keep in contact with people that you love throughout your childhood and into adulthood.
7. We will support you when you are ready to leave our care to move on independently, doing everything we can to make sure you are set up for life.

Our vision

“We want you and every cared for child and care experienced young person to grow, flourish and thrive so that you reach your full potential. You have the right to be happy, healthy, feel safe and secure. We want you to feel loved, valued and respected with the best opportunities to succeed in your lives.”

We recognise that the diversity of our children and families brings a rich heritage to Cumberland. We commit to carefully listen to and celebrating the diverse backgrounds of our children and families in all we do. Cumberland Council have committed to a set of values that underpins not just what we do, but how we strive to do these things. These are to be:

• compassionate
• innovative
• empowering
• ambitious
• collaborative

Our political leaders and officers have been sensitive to the lived experience of Cumberland’s children and young people and are committed to improving not only where young people live, but the care and support they receive. This has led to a firm political commitment to prioritise investment in effective services for children and families, and underpinned our decision make cared for and care experienced a protective characteristic, ensuring we give this the importance it deserves across all the work we do.