Merlin Entertainments, which runs Legoland and Alton Towers, has become the latest signatory of the UK Care Leaver Covenant, a national inclusion initiative which supports young care leavers to live independently. The covenant is made up of private, public and voluntary sector organisations that have pledged to support those leaving care in the UK. To mark it signing up to the covenant, Merlin has created a dedicated careers programme for care leavers named Merlin Illuminate. It will see care leavers offered extra support with job interviews as well as access to a range of virtual events to offer tips on CVs and career development. A podcast series on interviews and CV creation will also be launched. Care leavers will be offered discounted tickets to Merlin UK attractions through the Care Leavers Covenant app, and work experience at key events, such as the Blackpool illuminations switch-on. The company will also organise a mentor day marked by an annual lighting up of some of Merlin's attractions including the London Eye, the company has said. Chief operating officer for resort theme parks and midways for Merlin Entertainments, Fiona Eastwood, said: "We want to ensure that as a company we are shining a light on these young care leavers, aged 16-25, who may not have a support network. “Our ‘Merlin Illuminate’ programme is designed to offer advice, knowledge, and help provide practical routes to employment.” Johnny Mercer MP, cross-government care leaver lead who helped to launch the campaign, added: “It’s fantastic to have Merlin on board with the Care Leaver Covenant, joining the hundreds of other signatories that have committed to support this vulnerable cohort of young people. "The launch of Merlin Illuminate is another example of brilliant work that is being undertaken across the country to ensure that care leavers have the right support in place to access employment opportunities." Matthew Gordon, chief executive of Spectra and delivery partner for the Care Leaver Covenant, said he was “delighted” to have the company sign the covenant. “Since the covenant launched, it has been important to recognise our young people as whole people, who want to do meaningful work, who want safe and warm homes, and who want to access popular culture and entertainment like their peers. The Merlin Entertainments offer really speaks to this approach," Gordon added. Source: www.cypnow.co.uk Care News: Children’s commissioner consults on making care experience a protected characteristic27/7/2023
The children’s commissioner for England is surveying care leavers on whether care experience should be treated as a protected characteristic, but some campaigners warn that a consultation is not enough. Dame Rachel de Souza has launched a consultation to ask care-experienced people whether they believe care experience should be made a protected characteristic, after a nationwide campaign led by care leavers led 46 councils to adopt the policy. This comes after De Souza met with a group of care-experienced young people about the campaign in June, to discuss recommendations laid out in their protected characteristics report. De Souza said: "As children's commissioner, it is my job to listen to the views and voices of children and young people. I want to ensure that it is their voices that are reflected in the debate around care experience as a protected characteristic, so we can make sure that any policy changes are based on what they think would make the most difference to improve their lives and outcomes. "Last year I established my own Care Experienced Advisory Board to make sure that the voices of children in care and care experienced people are central to all of my work. The debates we've had about this topic have been invaluable, and I want to ensure that as many care experienced young people have equal opportunity to have their say." She added that the survey has seen an "overwhelming response" so far, which "shows how important it is for young people to share their views". Some campaigners have said that simply consulting on the topic does not go far enough, with care experienced campaigner Terry Galloway – who led the protected characteristic campaign – saying: “This nonsense is hugely frustrating and needs to be called out. If you need to do another survey to know what to do when you are supposed to be holding the government to account, then Houston, we have a problem." As part of his campaign, Galloway highlights that outcomes for those with care experience can be lower than their peers, with care-experienced people at greater risk of ill health, entering the justice system, homelessness, poor mental health and lower mortality rates. “I’m thankful the commissioner has done something, but I’m disappointed there is no proper explanation of what protected characteristics can do for care experienced people. We are clearly driving this from the ground upwards, but the biggest tell for me is the lack of serious challenge to this policy from those in power. "I’m offering Rachel De Souza the opportunity to be on the right side of history with this, which means she and her team should be working directly with me and the growing number of councils that are dissecting the blockages and creating solutions in policy that will stop our care experienced people from dying." Poet and author Lemn Sissay, who is care experienced, also criticised the move in a blog post, saying: “Don’t be hoodwinked by the commissioner’s surveys. If we as adults do not know what is best for children then we fail them. “The team representing the children’s commissioner ask: 'Tell me what you think about whether care experience should be given protection in law?' I would ask the same question of the children’s commissioner.” This consultation comes after Tower Hamlets Council voted in favour of treating care experience as a protected characteristic at a meeting on 26 July, becoming the 46th local authority to do so. Emily Harle Source: www.cypnow.co.uk Pilots to test recommendations taken forward by government from the Care Review have been launched across seven local authorities. Dorset, Lincolnshire and Wolverhampton councils will be the first to deliver the Families First for Children (FFC) programme. Based on the government’s response to the Care Review, Stable homes, built on love, it is designed to “test new ways to reform every part of the children’s social care system, helping children to stay with their families in safe and loving homes, whilst protecting vulnerable children where needed”. Backed by just under £40m in funding, it will test a move towards locally based, multi-disciplinary family help services and a shift towards the review’s aim of “keeping families together” through an increased use of family group decision-making. Local authorities taking part will also see the introduction of family network support packages (FNSPs) to remove any financial or practical barriers faced by families accessing services. The FFC also includes the introduction of specialist child protection social workers in children’s services departments and a scheme to strengthen data sharing among partner agencies in a drive towards improving safeguarding partnerships. FFC pilots will run until March 2025. A second wave of local areas piloting the programme is expected to launch in spring 2024. Four local authorities - Brighton and Hove, Sunderland, Gateshead and Telford and Wrekin – have also been chosen to test a family networks pilot, backed by £7.8m of funding. The pilot will prioritise family-led solutions by increasing the use of family group decision-making and testing the introduction of FNSPs. While the impact of FNSPs will be looked at through the FFC, a standalone pilot is being run to “understand the impact of this policy in isolation”, according to the DfE. Staffordshire, Hartlepool and Hammersmith and Fulham are also expected to take part in a second wave of the family networks pilot from spring next year. Public services delivery organisation Mutual Ventures, alongside social enterprise Innovation Unit, have been named as delivery partners for the pathfinders. Responding to the launch of the pilots, Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Children and Young People’s Board, described it as “a helpful step forward”. However, she added that the LGA “remains concerned” that the £45m put forward by government falls short of the £2.6bn to reform children’s social care called for by Care Review chair Josh MacAlister in his final report. John Pearce, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), added: “During this period of pathfinding and piloting it is crucial that real-time progress and learning is shared with the sector to help other local authorities implement the reforms in the future. The earlier we work with, and provide support to, vulnerable children and families to help them overcome the issues they face, and to stay together safely where possible, the less impact these challenges will have on their lives but also on society. “While the investment announced today is welcome, we continue to need a long-term equitable funding solution for children’s services so that all children and families can thrive, wherever they live.” The DfE has also called on councils to apply to pilot regional care co-operatives to commission children’s social care placements after the ADCS warned that there had been a lack of interest across the country. Fiona Simpson Source: www.cypnow.co.uk 18 awards up for grabs, with new categories including gongs for AMHPs and university lecturers, as 2022 winners highlight the importance of championing oppressed and unheard people The Social Worker of the Year Awards 2023 has opened for nominations, with 18 category prizes up for grabs, alongside the overall winner’s gong. New for this year is an award for approved mental health professionals, while the previous university of the year prize has been replaced by one for lecturers. The scheme is open to registered practitioners in England, self-nominations and third-party nominations are accepted and entries must be submitted through the awards’ online portal by 2 June 2023. The launch came as the overall winners from last year’s awards addressed MPs and peers on the importance of championing oppressed and unheard people, at a parliamentary reception last week. Central Bedfordshire Council audit manager Kirstie Baughan, who was garlanded last year for her extensive voluntary work for asylum seekers and refugees, raised the issue of how the group was treated, in the wake of the government’s controversial Illegal Migration Bill. ‘Need to show compassion, care and welcome to asylum seekers’ “I want to take this opportunity to emphasise the importance of each and every one of us standing alongside those that are not being heard, advocating for fair and equitable treatment of asylum seekers and refugees and remembering that every person who comes to the UK has a unique, personal story,” she said. “As social workers, MPs, government officials, we all have a responsibility to be role models and treat every individual with compassion, care and welcome.” Kirstie shared the overall prize with the team around Kasibba, part of Camden’s integrated learning disability service. The team spent six years battling to move Kasibba (not her real name) – a black, autistic woman, who had been inappropriately detained in a mental health hospital for decades – into the community. Also addressing the reception, Andrew Reece, head of integrated learning disability services, paid tribute to “the total dedication and commitment” of all the staff who had supported Kasibba, as well as the support of health and social care managers across Camden. ‘We need to hear people’s voices and respond’ However, he added: “Kasibba was failed by all of us for many, many years. As a system we saw her as a ‘savage’ not a person and used discriminatory, derogatory and racist language to describe and demonise her. As a system we failed to find a way to hear the voice of Kassiba; we need to hear people’s voices and to respond to them.” MPs attending the event paid tribute to social workers, with former children’s minister Tim Loughton describing practitioners as “the fourth emergency service” and Labour shadow children’s minister Helen Hayes adding: “Often the best social work goes entirely unseen by most people. Social workers work in a context of enormous pressure. “Today, we celebrate your brilliance, we celebrate your commitment, the vitally important work that you do and the critical difference that you make. Thank you and congratulations.” Awards categories
Find out more about this year’s awards. The launch of nominations the awards follows news of the shortlist for four of the gongs at this year’s inaugural scheme run by social work charity Frontline. In the practice category, the line-up is:
The nominees for the leadership award are:
The innovation award shortlist is:
The winners of those awards will be announced at a ceremony next month. Source: www.communitycare.co.uk Chancellor also announces more support for disabled people to get into work but sector criticises lack of additional resource for social care system. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced increased tax relief for foster and shared lives carers, improved support for care leavers and enhanced help for disabled people to enter the workplace, in his Spring Budget today. However, social care leaders have criticised the lack of funding for core services for the coming years, while the statement also did not provide further detail about public sector pay settlements for 2023-24. While many foster and other carers do not pay tax on the payments they receive from their provider for their role due to the so-called qualifying care relief (formerly ‘foster care relief’) scheme, the benefit this provides has been frozen for 20 years. This has prompted concerns among fostering leaders in the light of evidence that half of carers had considered quitting their role due to the impact of the cost of living crisis. More generous tax relief for carers Hunt announced today that the earnings threshold for the scheme would rise from £10,000 to £18,140 per household from April this year, an amount that is pro rated based on how much of the relevant tax year the carers have been approved to carry out their role. At the same time, the extra relief that carers receive for each person they care for will rise from £200 to £375 per week for each child under 11, and from £250 to £450 for older children and adults. The package will cost £15m in its first year of implementation, and all the figures will be uprated each year in line with the government’s consumer prices index measure of inflation. The qualifying care scheme is applicable to anyone who has a child or adult placed with them by a local authority, Northern Irish health and social care trust, fostering agency or shared lives service, and encompasses staying put provision for former foster children, and kinship and parent and child fostering placements. In the case of foster carers, the package represents a further boost following the Department for Education’s announcement that national minimum allowances in England would rise by 12.43% for 2023-24, above the rate of inflation. Those in Wales will increase by 5.5%. ‘Recognising the value of foster carers’ Sarah Anderson, a foster carer and founder of information service FosterWiki, welcomed today’s news on LinkedIn. “We are pleased to see the government taking such a positive step forward in recognising the value of foster carers,” she said. “This will be a much needed boost for retention and recruitment but we must not rest on our laurels.” Charities the Fostering Network and Kinship also welcomed the changes and the benefits they would bring unrelated and kinship foster carers, while Association of Directors of Children’s Services president Steve Crocker said the ADCS hoped it “will encourage more people who believe they have the right skills to foster to come forward so all of those children who need a foster placement find one”. The Budget also included a boost for the staying close scheme, under which care leavers formerly in residential settings are provided with move-on accommodation and practical and emotional support from a member of staff from their former children’s home or someone they trust. Boost for staying close scheme for care leavers Funding will increase by £15m to £23.1m annually for each of the next two years, which Hunt said would enable around half (76) of local authorities to deliver it by March 2025. Fifteen councils were funded to pilot the scheme in 2022-23, in addition to five who were enabled to do so, along with three private providers, from 2017-18. This was also welcomed by the ADCS, for whom Crocker said that the scheme helped “equip young people leaving care with the skills needed to live alone and navigate adulthood, such as how to cook, budget and access support”. Hunt said the measure would help more care leavers into employment, in line with one of the central objectives of the budget, to reduce the number of adults currently out of work. This includes an estimated 2.5m who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness. To tackle this, Hunt announced a number of measures to help disabled people into work, alongside a Department for Work and Pensions white paper on health and disability. This government’s proposals include:
Disappointment over lack of social care funding But while the Spring Budget also announced significant extra funding for defence and childcare, there was no boost in core funding for children’s and adults’ services over what was set out in the autumn statement in November, to the disappointment of sector leaders. Association of Directors of Adult Social Services president Sarah McClinton described it as a “missed opportunity”, saying that the resources announced in November “were welcome, but nowhere near enough to correct the underfunding of adult social care that’s been going on for decades”. She added: “We need a long-term, fully funded plan that meets the needs of older and disabled people and their carers and addresses the staffing crisis in social care. We estimate that means another £7bn this year, and £9bn next year.” For the Local Government Association, chairman James Jamieson said that, given the Budget’s ambitions to support people back into work, it was “disappointing there is no further investment in adult social care, public health and children’s services, which all play a vital role in supporting economic growth and helping people back into work, alongside boosting people’s health and wellbeing”. The British Association of Social Workers, meanwhile, bemoaned a lack of action on tackling poverty – for example, by heeding its call to extend, from 60 to 180 days, the pause on action from creditors for people in debt provided by the breathing space scheme – and on investment in social work recruitment, retention and development. ‘Choosing between eating, heating and social care’ And the chief executive of social care advice provider Access Social Care, Kari Gerstheimer, warned that the lack of additional funding for the sector came with “too many of the working age disabled people, older people and carers we support are choosing between food, heating and social care”. Carers UK chief executive Helen Walker said that, with adult social care vacancies rising by 52% to 165,000 in the year to March 2022, the “failure to set out a workforce plan for social care during this Budget is a massive missed opportunity”, with the sector “at risk of collapse”. From the care provider sector, Care England chief executive Martin Green also expressed his disappointment, saying that “against the backdrop of a workforce crisis and rising vacancies, the rising cost of living and increasing energy costs, the stabilisation of the adult social care sector should be the government’s priority in the coming months” The Budget also did not deal with the issue of public sector pay for 2023-24. Social worker pay latest Most public sector social workers in England and Wales are covered by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services, whose employers have offered staff a rise of £1,925 or 3.88%, for those currently on £49,950 or above. The increase would be worth 3.88% to 6.4% for social workers. But despite employers saying it was their “full and final offer”, it has been rejected by union leaders, who are now balloting their members on the proposal. For social workers in the NHS, the Department of Health and Social Care has suggested that any pay rise should not top 3.5%. In its evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body, which will propose this year’s increase for government approval, the DHSC said increases of above this level risked increasing government borrowing or requiring cuts to public services at a time when “sustainable public finances are vital in the fight against inflation”. For Cafcass staff in England, pay rises for 2023-24 will be determined by civil service rules, which are yet to be published, but are likely to be bound by the same 3.5% limit. On the back of these rules, social workers and other staff working for the family courts body received a pay rise below that given to local government colleagues for the sixth time in the past seven years in 2022-23, a trend that has prompted Cafcass chief executive Jacky Tiotto to warn of an exodus of practitioners. Source: www.communitycare.co.uk/ In undertaking my Independent Family Review, I’ve heard from families of all kinds about why family is so important. I wanted to understand why this what, and what we as policy makers could do in response. The importance – and power – of family life is no different for children in the care system, but it is often more complicated to achieve. Children in care are often balancing relationships with birth families, foster families, and hopefully, loving and nurturing relationships with professionals. Within this, it is clear from talking to children in care that sibling relationships are absolutely vital, but too often this is not recognised or supported by the care system. This report seeks to correct this andfocus on extending the protective effect of family to every child in the care system. The Family Review identified how family can cast a protective effect over its members, and that this protective effect was made up of four elements:
The children I speak to, and those who call my Help at Hand helpline, tell me how important these relationships are to them. They talk not just about siblings related by birth, but those such as foster siblings or siblings in blended families, who have become just as close. But the importance of these relationships is not always reflected in the decisions made about children. As one care experienced young person told me: In my conversations with children in care, too often it seems they have to shoulder a weight of responsibility that they shouldn’t have to. I am left with a deep admiration for their resilience and maturity, but a sadness when I think of what they have been through to reach that point.
That is why I have carried out this research looking at the experience of siblings in care and conductednew analysis that shows how many siblings are separated, and why. The findings are stark. An estimated 37% of children with a sibling – that is 20,000 children – are separated from a sibling when placed in care. For some children, the chance of being separated is far greater: 93% of older children placed in semi-independent accommodation are separated from siblings. Children who have come into care because of a disability or because of issues with their behaviour are more likely to be separated than other children. Children told me that too often these decisions were made because there was nowhere available for them to be placed together. When larger groups of siblings were separated, children report beingdivided into groups based simply on age or gender, because it was judged more ‘practical’. These are decisions of immense, life-long importance to children, decisions which may mean they are separated from those people they love the most, being made based on what works for the system, not what is best for the child.If siblings are separated, it is vital that they should be supported to stay in contact with their siblings, so they can maintain these crucial relationships. However, it was clear for from children I spoke to that this is not always happening, particularly when children are in different types of care.This report sets out some clear, practical recommendations that can improve the system for children. I want to see these incorporated into the Government’s plans for improving the children’s social care system. These recommendations are vital for siblings in care, but I also think they will have wider ramifications for children’s social care. Because the challenges in keeping siblings together whenever it is right to do so reflect some of the broader challenges with the system. Sometimes children are separated because they aren’t listened to closely enough, and their priorities aren’t given the weight they should be. Sometimes it is because practice is too varied, with a lack of evidence about what children need. And sometimes it is because the right homes just can’t be found. I believe that with a relentless focus on listening to children, and prioritising their needs, we can build a children’s social care system that allows every child to have the happy family life they so deserve. Source: www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk As part of Care Day, the world’s biggest celebration of care-experienced children and young people, young people with lived experience of the care system share what they want others to #KnowAboutCare. Become, the national charity for children in care and care leavers, has shared stories from young people about their care experience for Care Day. Kim, 25, lives in London and went into care aged seven. She left care at 17, now works for the civil service, and runs her own bakery business, Helen Okani Bakery. She says all care experienced people feel loneliness. “When you’ve been in care the things you’ve experienced have been really traumatic. They don’t leave you and there are things that can trigger that trauma,” Kim said. “All care-experienced people feel loneliness. They’ve experienced feelings of being abandoned, of being neglected or forgotten about. There are times when those feelings are exacerbated, such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.” “For care-experienced people, friends are all they have. Always extend love and grace to the care-experienced community. It’s a long-term thing, being friends with a care-experienced person. It’s a journey and comes with its highs and lows.” Matt, 26, went into care when he was 15 and left care when he was 17. Living in Brighton and working at a psychiatric hospital, criticised the ‘care cliff’ of 25 when you will no longer have contact with the council, your corporate parent. “People leave the care system at 18, or in my case at 17, but what people don’t realise is you are completely on your own from the age of 25. From your 25th birthday onwards you have no contact with the local council, your ‘corporate parent’. It’s unthinkable that a parent would close the case on their own child once they’d reached the age of 25. Why should it be the same for us? It’s so frustrating. “I am 26 now and know I am completely on my own. Most 26-year-olds don’t have to worry about where they are going to spend Christmas, or if they have a family they can lean on if they need to save up for something. In the last year, I’ve had two episodes of homelessness. The last time I had to sleep on my mate’s sofa until I’d raised the £6,500 I needed to pay the deposit and month’s rent in advance. For people who’ve been in care, life often feels like a sequence of failures, and always trying to avoid another one.” Shaunna, 25, went into kinship care aged 13, moved back with her dad and then into residential and foster care at 15. Now studying for a PhD in Neuroscience at Liverpool John Moores University, she says that care-experienced people are well-rounded “with a life outside of being care-experienced”. Casey Armstrong, 23, went into care at 14, and is now studying astrophysics at Dundee University. She says that talking about her care experience can sometimes lead to awkward situations, when she would prefer it to not be such a big deal. “When I am having a conversation about parents and I mention my foster parents, the conversation usually falls dead. I don’t call them my foster parents as a big disclosure, they are who looked after me, but the reaction always seems to be that I am opening up too much. And this is with people who know I am care experienced. “I’m not looking for sympathy, I’m looking to be part of the conversation, and I get excited when we’re talking about parents and there’s a point where I can join in on. How I’d like you to react is to not react at all, to just listen to my anecdote or whatever and not dwell on the foster thing. I don’t want to hide that I was in care, you know I was in care, but that is just one part of who I am now.” Source: www.socialworktoday.co.uk By Lynn Perry, Chief Executive of Barnardo’s The care system exists to support children who cannot live with their birth parents. At its best it can protect children from harm and help them recover from traumatic early experiences, but, despite the best efforts of many passionate and dedicated professionals, the system is in crisis, and too often children are being failed. Children who grow up in care often carry burdens that young shoulders shouldn’t have to bear. Nearly half have a mental health disorder, and children in care are three times less likely to be in education, employment or training by the time they reach 19. It cannot be right that we, as a society, allow all this and more to happen without demanding change. One of the greatest challenges facing children in care is instability. For too many children, growing up in care can feel like being “passed around from pillar to post”, with frequent changes of home, school and social worker. This makes it harder to maintain relationships and leads to young people feeling unsettled, with no clear sense of community. We urgently need better support for families when they first encounter challenges, as well as support for children who do need to be in foster care or residential care, right from the start of their journey through to when they leave and take their first steps into adulthood. The government recently published its response to the independent review earlier this year, promising to 'fix’ children’s social care, with transformative plans that put families at the heart of reform. At Barnardo’s we welcome much of the government’s intent. This includes the commitment to help families before they reach crisis point, the focus on family and love and the importance of having a safe, stable and reliable place to call home. However, these plans must be a turning point, and in order to succeed, they must be backed by substantial, long-term investment. Unfortunately, the £200 million funding pledged is much too little to make a serious dent. Even prior to inflation, analysis by the Local Government Association found a shortfall of £1.6 billion per year just to maintain current service levels. The government must commit to urgent and significant investment, to achieve the transformative change we need. Without stabilising children’s social care, the system will continue to head towards crisis, with mounting costs and rising need, exacerbated by the legacy of Covid and now the sky-high cost of living. Right now, we have a unique, once in a generation opportunity to make sure children in care have the same opportunities as we expect for our own children. But we need bold action to make this a reality. Lynn Perry is chief executive of Barnardo’s Source: www.cypnow.co.uk Care News:Split Up in Care - Life Without Siblings Highlights Need to Boost Foster Care Recruitment14/2/2023
Ashley John-Baptiste’s powerful documentary highlights the long-lasting impact and loss for children in care when they are separated from their siblings, after having already been removed from their familiar surroundings and family. As adults it is hard for us to begin to comprehend how such a series of losses might affect us as grown-ups let alone the impact it can have on children. Our experience of working with siblings shows us that there are so many areas that need to be considered; identifying which children have close relationships in large sibling groups and trying to preserve those relationships by keeping them together where possible. Keeping on top of regular contact visits so that they are warm and informal occasions and giving children important information about their brothers and sisters while being mindful of everyone’s responsibilities to keep children safe and protect their right to privacy. This is particularly important when there is an age gap between siblings as one child might be going out and testing boundaries, while the younger sibling needs to focus on building friendships and school-based learning. It's important that we work with people who are skilled in working with family groups, have strong communication skills to talk to and work with children of different ages, needing different outcomes planned, whilst preserving all that is good in their sibling relationships. Brothers and sisters should be placed in foster homes together where they can be, but sadly despite everyone’s best efforts, this isn’t always possible. The increase in the number of children coming into care, the complexity of their needs and the shortage of foster families creates the perfect storm where children sometimes have to be separated as there aren't enough homes available for them to stay together. Many homes no longer have sufficient space and enough spare bedrooms to have sibling groups placed when it is a requirement for each child to have their own space. This can mean that they lose touch with their siblings; the very people who influence their sense of self and identity. This can be very isolating and add greatly to their early traumatic experiences. We do everything we can to ensure siblings safely stay together and in touch, but sadly this isn’t always possible. There were some excellent examples in the documentary of innovative, early intervention practice with the aim of supporting families before things reach crisis point. This work is so important to try to keep families together. There’s a profound and clear message from Ashley’s documentary that I hope will have landed and been heard by all that watched it. Early work with families is crucial and where this doesn’t work, there's a desperate need for more foster carers. The sad and stark reality is that without more foster families, and specifically carers willing or able to take on siblings, we’re going to continue to see more cases, like Ashley’s, where children are separated. This adds to the complexity and confusion in their early lives and leaves children feeling disconnected and alone during childhood. These feelings can last in adulthood too. The decision to become a foster carer is a big one. It's a whole lifestyle change and a huge commitment but one that can be so positive, rewarding and life changing. If there were more foster homes available, we would see more sibling groups staying together and holding those strong relationships with one another. Pamela McConnell is founder of Five Rivers Child Care Split Up In Care: Life Without Siblings is available to watch on BBC iPlayer Source: www.cypnow.co.uk Five universities across the North East have become the first regional Higher Education partnership to collaboratively sign up to the Care Leaver Covenant. The Care Leaver Covenant is a national inclusion programme that supports care leavers aged 16-25 to live independently. It aims to create meaningful opportunities in five key areas including education and employment and supports care leavers to access those opportunities. The five universities - Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside – who together form the North East Raising Aspiration Partnership (NERAP) - have committed to offering support that is consistent at each institution, so all care-experienced students get the same access to support throughout their higher education journey. The Regional Care Leaver Covenant core offer provides support for students at both and pre-entry and post-entry level and includes areas such as finance, accommodation, wellbeing and employment. Natalie Latham, Head of Education Partnerships at the Care Leaver Covenant said: “We are hugely grateful to NERAP and the five partner institutions for leading the way in offering a guaranteed consistent level of support to care-experienced students. By adopting this approach, learners will get the right help to access university and will be confident that whichever choice they make in the region, they will be well supported.” Care-experienced students currently form only 1.6% of all applications to higher education. A recent UCAS report shows that nationally, 60% of students who have spent time in care have high hopes about going to university or college, yet received no specific guidance at school or college about applying to higher education tailored to their needs. This is despite the fact mechanisms such as financial bursaries, year-round accommodation, and mental health and disability support could make a difference to their decision. NERAP’s commitment will provide this assistance and ensure care-experienced young people in the North East and those supporting them, have all of the information they need. Wendy Price OBE, Head of Widening Access and Participation, University of Sunderland, and Chair of the NERAP Regional Care-Experienced Student Steering Group, said: "This work means that care-experienced leavers in our region are supported throughout the entire lifecycle from school to college, to university and beyond. "By engaging directly with our current care-experienced students, and the staff across our region who support them, we have created a support framework designed to help students to thrive at university. "We will continue to consult with our care-experienced students, and their supporters, to develop this offer further to ensure it is effective, high quality and meets the needs of our students. We hope this will result in more care-experienced young people accessing and succeeding in higher education, then progressing to graduate level jobs within our region." As part of their commitment, NERAP have also created a new intensive programme of activities for care-experienced students in years 7-13, Choices Together, to support young people to think about their futures and how higher education can help them reach their goals. Eddy Conniff, a student at University of Sunderland is a great example of how this end-to-end support has led not only to successful application to higher education but who is also now employed by the partnership to share his experiences to support his peers in the region. Eddy said: "Choices Together holds a special place in my heart for kick starting my journey to higher education. This unique experience and having the opportunity whilst in the care system as a young adult provided me with the outlook of one day being a student. It’s been over a decade since I completed Choices Together, and I am now in my final year of a Psychology degree whilst working as Senior Ambassador at the University of Sunderland and have the amazing opportunity to work with children of a similar background in my other role as a Choices Together Representative with NERAP which is very rewarding. It feels like my journey has been a full 360”. Established in 2011, NERAP is a long-standing collaboration of the five universities in the region who fund and collaborate on pre-16 outreach activity. This includes joint visits to schools to highlight the higher education opportunities in the region, and specific targeted work to support care experienced students and young carers. Led by Newcastle University, the partnership is a core element of each institution’s work to support young people who have the potential to go to university regardless of their background. For further information about the Regional Care Leaver Covenant core offer or the support NERAP can offer please email info@nerap.ac.uk or visit: https://www.nerap.ac.uk/students/care-leaver-covenant/ Source: https://sunderland.ac.uk |
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