Redcar and Cleveland Council
Redcar and Cleveland Council - Care Leavers App
The Brief
Redcar and Cleveland Council have a responsibility for the care and support of young people leaving the care system throughout the borough. Redcar recognised the need to provide a robust and user-friendly platform to assist care leavers in their journey toward independence.
The council wanted to ensure information and messages to their young people are consistent and that every young person has access to key information, advice and guidance. Providing a tool to their teams to double check the information they are providing to Care Leavers.
With the added benefit of reaching young people that are not in touch, ensuring they can access the same details as those that are in touch with the local authority.
Our Approach
Redcar and Cleveland Council opted to include a website version of the app, ensuring as wide an audience as possible can access important information, advice and guidance - including foster carers and professionals.
Redcar and Cleveland Council’s App, Target, was created in partnership with focusgov, the leaving care team and young people in Redcar and launched October 2022, during Care Leavers Week. The aim was to ensure all information, advice, guidance, events and opportunities were available to access in one place.
Leaving care is a hugely important service within the council, and providing a dedicated app highlights the importance and value of what is provided. They are now being heard and seen by young people, professionals and wider local authority departments. Other teams are now talking about their local offer and how they could develop it.
The Results
Redcar and Cleveland Council have seen a reduction in the cost of translations, as languages are being used on the app, and found the app is adaptable to changing needs. Using additional features such as push notification to highlight key information has also provided an easily accessible way for those that don’t know the information to gain access to it.
Speaking with the team at Redcar, they know some of their challenges are already being addressed and that both the Care Leavers App and website are being used by young people and professionals.
Over 547 young people downloaded the app in the first 6 months, and 9,285 page views with an average session duration of 5 minutes and 1 second.
With the most popular sections on the app being the local offer and information and advice
They explained the app is easy to update and their local offer, finance information and introduction to the leaving care team sections are the most popular amongst their young people.
The team at Redcar and Cleveland are continuously encouraging conversations about their app with focusgov attending a consultation event with young people in August 2023 and a Care Leavers Mixer event in October 2023.
Want results like these?
To arrange a demo or to find out more, get in touch with our friendly team today.
