Councillors should attend corporate parenting training sessions to
help them understand the lives of children in care, delegates were
told.
Some councils already have policies in place that make such
training compulsory. Frances Pearson, the cabinet adviser on health
and social care for Hackney Council in London, said training for
councillors in the capital's boroughs was "made obligatory through
the party whips".
Susanna McCorry, cabinet member for social care and health at
Birmingham Council, said training was made obligatory in her local
authority through a corporate parenting "pledge".
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She said corporate parenting was a priority for every council
department that dealt with services used by children, including
leisure.
Each councillor was encouraged to visit children's homes in their
wards and develop an interest in social services, she added.
