So what does the service actually do?
Who says that anyone will listen to my views?
What’s the difference between an advocate and my social worker?
How can I contact the service?
Who is the service for?
For children and young people who are, or have been, in care. And also for children with disabilities who receive a respite service. The age range is 8 to 21, rising to 24 if you are in full-time higher education.
The service is for children and young people who are ‘looked after’ by Hounslow Social Services, or who receive respite care from Hounslow. Your placement doesn’t have to be in Hounslow Borough itself for you to use the service.
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What does advocacy mean?
Making sure your views and opinions are heard and taken seriously when decisions are made about your life. Advocates can help you try to get something changed or stopped. This may not always happen, but the advocate tries to negotiate to resolve the problem.
So what does the service actually do?
Here are two examples.
You might have a review coming up and want to ask for more contact with your family. The advocacy worker would sit down with you and help you work out what you want to say – your reasons for wanting more contact – and would look at ways you can get your ideas across at the review. They would come to the review with you to make sure your views are listened to, and if necessary they would speak for you.
The second example is if you were unhappy about something your social worker had said. They would help you discuss it with the social worker and try to sort things out. If you wanted to make a complaint, they would help you with this.
So, basically, an advocate helps you sort things.
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Who says that anyone will listen to my views?
Children and young people have a right to be involved in decisions about their lives and to have their views heard and taken seriously. This is the law, as laid down in the Children Act 1989 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Who runs the service?
A big children’s charity called NCH. This means that the service is completely independent from Hounslow Social Services.
What’s the difference between an advocate and my social worker?
The advocate is there solely for you – to make sure your voice is heard. The advocate just states your views. They don’t make decisions about you.
The social worker has a different role. They must listen to your views, but they also listen to the views of lots of other people involved in your life. Then they have to make a decision about what’s best for you.
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Is the service confidential?
Yes. Everything you say to the advocate is confidential. But if you tell the advocate that you or another person are being seriously harmed, or knows about a serious crime, they may have to tell someone else. If this is the case, they always speak to you about it first and try to keep you in control of the process as much as possible.
The advocate works in a completely open way with you. If your social worker or carer tells the advocate anything about you, it is likely that the advocate will pass it on to you.
How can I contact the service?
The address is;
Grove House
London Road
Isleworth TW7 4DS
tel 020 8232 1517
tracey.morton@nch.org.uk
nch office
tel: 02088475647
email family.solutions@nch.org.uk
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