City of York Council was one of only two councils nationwide to pilot a ground-breaking new project that gave young people who have been in care a chance to inspect services for children.

The pilot scheme, which was also carried out by West Sussex County Council, proved to be hugely successful and showed that looked-after children and young people are more willing to open up to inspectors who have first-hand experience of being in care.

Entitled LILAC (Leading improvements for looked-after children), the project trained  young people who have spent time in the care of the council to inspect statutory, voluntary and independent children's services. It looked at how young people are involved in key decision-making processes, including those relating to their choice of school and care placement. The inspections are based on standards that the young people themselves have devised. In the future, services that meet the agreed standards will be recognised by being awarded a LILAC kite mark.

The LILAC project has been managed by Fostering Network with support from the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the National Leaving Care Advisory Service (NCLAS). Following on from the success of the pilot scheme, the project has now been formally launched across the country.

Ruth Love, a group manager in the council's children's services team, said: "We were delighted to have been offered the opportunity to take part in such an innovative pilot project, particularly one that places such importance on giving young people a voice. It is pleasing to hear that the pilot was considered so successful that the scheme is now being rolled out to other areas. We were pleased to receive a positive outcome from the inspection, which showed that we respond well to children and young people’s views here in York. We are, of course, looking to address any gaps in services that were identified by the inspection."

LILAC project co-ordinator and Chair of A National Voice, Lucinda Smith, said: "The pilot inspections have shown us that care-experienced young people have much to offer in assessing and supporting the development of a service's planning, reviewing, complaints and participation procedures. The young people involved have been fully trained and developed a robust framework of standards to inspect against."

For more information about the LILAC project visit www.fostering.net