Underlying Principles

Children’s Trusts will focus on these principles when consulting on and delivering the London Pledge promises and any additional local commitments. Children’s Trusts will ask children and young people in care how they would like these principles to be measured.

1. We will only promise you things that we know we can do.
2. We will care for you as an individual person with your own specific needs which we will plan to meet.
3. You will have the opportunity to talk to your social worker alone every time he/she visits you.
4. We will always involve you in the decisions we take for you and we will respect your right to make choices about your life.
5. We aim to be the best as parents and to make your experience of being looked after a positive one.
6. We want you to be healthy, safe, have fun and gain achievements for yourself. We want you have stability in your life, to make a positive contribution to your community and to leave care able to make your way successfully in life. We will support you to achieve all this.
7. We will have expectations of you as well and we will make these clear to you.
8. We will listen to you as individuals and as a group and we want you to tell us when you meet us whether we are keeping our promises.
9. We will take account of your particular needs, especially those relating to disability, race, culture, religion and sexuality. We will take account of anything that is leading to you being treated unfairly and will give you support to overcome it, including anyone treating you unfairly because you are in care.
10. We will ensure that you receive your full set of rights, as set out in relevant legislation, regulations and guidance and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
11. We will also ensure that you receive your London Pledge entitlements, wherever you live. Any failure on the part of Councils and their Children’s Trust partners to deliver this will be promptly resolved.