BLACKBURN with Darwen Council is currently responsible for looking after more than 650 children and young people.

As of June 30, it oversaw the welfare of 334 children in local authority care and another 344 who had recently left care.

The figures are revealed in a report to the council's executive board by children's services boss Cllr Julie Gunn outlining a new Corporate Parenting Strategy for 2024 to 2027.

It tells her senior colleagues that the blueprint has been produced in collaboration with the authority's children in care and care leavers.

The report says: "At this time, Blackburn with Darwen Council is the corporate parent to 334 children and 344 care leavers.

"As a corporate parent, the council has a collective responsibility to be a good parent to children and young people in its care and is expected to do what any responsible parent would do for their children.

"The council has a strong corporate parenting ethos which recognises that the care provided for children is not just about keeping them safe.

"It recognises the importance of stability for children and the Permanence Policy sets out the commitment to children in the care of the council and the ambition to secure emotional attachment, physical stability and long-term commitment to children.

"It also aims to ensure that all children in care receive access to appropriate, high-quality and stable education, thus affording them with positive educational experiences.

"Through collaboration and co-production, children in care and care leavers have produced the strategy.

"They have developed their top five priorities that matter to them, and they want to see the impact of their contribution on this strategy, whilst understanding the commitment of corporate parents and holding them to account: identity, health and wellbeing, stable homes, learning, and independence.

"Children in our care and care leavers have said why each priority is important to them and what they want to see being delivered by 2027.

"Corporate parents have also agreed wherever possible to be corporate grandparents to care leavers and their children.

"An action plan has been developed that will regularly be reviewed with our children in care, care leavers and corporate parents to illustrate impact.

’A failure to embed the strategy would risk letting down our looked after children and care leavers and falling short in our collective role as corporate parents."