NEWS ARCHIVE
The DCSF launches Care Matters
March 2008
The DCSF launched the Care Matters: Time to deliver for children in care implementation plan on Wednesday 26th March.
The Who Cares? Trust very much welcomes the spirit of the Care Matters agenda. The aspirations we have for children in care are no less than any parent would have for their own children. The Who Cares Trust has, and will continue to champion the views and experiences of children in care so that their key messages continue to be integral to the change programme.
The implementation plan sets out the national framework for change for children in care, outlining how the performance management framework will support this. It details how Children’s Trust partners can work together to implement change locally and how monitoring and evaluation will track progress.
For further details, please see: www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications
Create to Educate Events
December 2007
The Who Cares? Trust’s Create to Educate events have been and gone, but the great sense of achievement and success on the part of young people involved in the creative arts is still with us after these wonderful celebratory occasions. We have received extremely positive feedback from the events.
Marbled pictures created by children from Camden’s young archeologists’ project
Read more about Create to Educate.
Reunification Matters
November 2007
The Who Cares? Trust is delighted to announce the publication of Reunification Matters: Supporting successful reunification for children and families when they go home from care.
Front cover of Reunification Matters
The White Paper Care Matters: Time for Change puts a welcome spotlight on a neglected area of policy, research and practice: children returning home from care. It sets out a wide range of measures, many of which could play a part in increasing the chances of successful and lasting reunion.
This Practice Summary aims to encourage and assist Children’s Services to focus on reunification as part of their white paper implementation strategies.
Reunification Matters acts as a bridge between the recommendations for improved reunification practice sited in The Who Cares? Trust’s publication The Journey Home: how Children’s Services can support the reunification of children with their families and the measures set out in the White Paper.
Order copies in Publications.
DCSF - Our Children, Time to Talk consultation - Deadline 19th October 2007
September 2007
Ed Balls, Secretary of State (Department for Children, Schools and Families) invites children, young people, families, carers and professionals to give their views on how to improve the outcomes of ALL children and young people.
The Who Cares? Trust is keen to encourage children and young people in care and those working with them to take part in this consultation.
Read more about this consultation and fill out the short questionnaire which you can submit online direct to the Government at: www.dcsf.gov.uk/timetotalk.
Screenshot from Time to Talk questionnaire
There is also advice here on how to set up a consultation with groups yourselves which you may like to do with some young people.
Please encourage children and young people in care to submit their views too, either through group consultation with them if you have time or ask them to fill out the questionnaire. We have put a link to the questionnaire on our new website for young people, Who Cares? Xtra
Please let us know what you feed back to the Government too as it will help us with our ongoing work at the Trust: mailbox@thewhocarestrust.org.uk
WOW! Young people’s journey into the World of Work
September 2007
The Who Cares? Trust is delighted to announce the launch of a new innovative tool providing a wealth of information to help young people in care into the World of Work.
Screenshot from WOW - World of Work CD-ROM
WOW is an interactive CD-ROM about achieving in the World of Work, designed for young people in care and those working with them. It has been produced in conjunction with the What Makes The Difference? (WMTD) project and the involvement of young people in design, content, testing and filming has been a key element.
The CD-ROM is packed full of activities and information relating to exploring skills and qualities, career choices and work experience. It provides young people with help applying for jobs by giving advice on decoding job ads, writing covering letters and CVs, and preparing for interviews.
The CD-ROM also features inspirational film clips from young people and employers, and links to useful downloadable documents, project examples and relevant websites.
Find more information in Our Work.
Order copies in Publications.
MISSION: Library
August 2007
A questionnaire was inserted into the Issue 79 Life Skills edition of Who Cares? magazine (April 2007) along with a poster promoting the use of libraries.
Over 145 questionnaires were received.
Read the full article in Our Work.
Who Cares? Xtra site goes live!
August 2007
The Who Cares? Trust is delighted to announce the launch of its new website for children and young people in care, Who Cares? Xtra.
Screenshot from Who Cares? Xtra
Read the full article in Website for children in care.
Visit the site at: www.whocaresxtra.org.uk.
Believe in Me Awards Ceremony
July 2007
The Who Cares? Trust held a star-studded awards ceremony in central London in July 2007.
The ceremony was attended by a number of celebrities and professionals to help congratulate the adults that had been nominated to receive awards by children and young people living in care.
Read the full article in Believe in Me Awards 2007.
Believe in Me Awards 2007
The Who Cares? Trust announces the second Believe in Me Awards for adults working with children and young people in care. The awards will be held in July 2007. The awards will be open solely for children and young people to nominate a carer, relative or professional who has made an impact on their life.
To read more, please see Believe in Me Awards 2007
Continuation of Employability work
The Who Cares? Trust continues to promote the employability needs of all young people in and leaving care. It is supportive of a number of initiatives, both governmental and across different organisations and authorities, which are continuing to develop similar work and promote access to further and higher education, training and employment opportunities for young people.
Materials from both programmes have proved immensely popular and many authorities have adapted them to suit their own programmes. We are aware that stocks are very low and are currently working on producing a CD ROM about the world of work, to incorporate information from both Employability and Employability Plus, edited to reflect constructive feedback from practitioners. If you have any thoughts on this which could be fed into the development process, particularly any that have resulted from your own employability programmes, please let us know:
grainne.sinclair@thewhocarestrust.org.uk or
jenny.robson@thewhocarestrust.org.uk
WOW – The world of work CD will be produced in 2007.
Who Cares? goes to university – March 2006
The Who Cares? Trust launches two guides about going to university – one for care leavers and one for professionals and carers.
Tuesday 14th March Chelsea Football Club
Thursday 16th March Manchester United Football Club
Closing date: 28 February 2006
For further information the seminars, please contact:
grainne.sinclair@thewhocarestrust.org.uk
For further information about the guides (after 16 March) please contact:
The guides are free of charge, apart from postage and packing.
Believe in Me Awards
On 16 March 2005, The Who Cares? Trust, together with The Department for Education and Skills, held the first national awards for adults working with children in care at Claridge’s Hotel, London. All award winners were nominated by children and young people in care.
The Believe in Me Awards celebrate how adults working in the care system can make a positive difference to young people in care. The awards recognize the positive impact that promoting and supporting children’s talents and interests can have on their lives. The awards were open to a broad range of professionals and carers, and were nominated solely by young people.
Over 750 nomination forms were received between the end of October 04 and the December deadline set by The Who Cares? Trust. The steering committee and additional young people from care formed the judging panel. They selected 25 winning pairs (nominators and nominees), who were invited to Claridge’s Hotel, London W1 on 16 March 05, with other local authority representatives, for the celebration lunch and awards ceremony involving celebrities and support from the Complete Works Theatre Company. The event was attended by Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Children, Young People and Families in March 05.
After The Awards ceremony
Feedback showed that the event was considered to be an outstanding success for young people, carers, other professional staff and local authorities alike.
We have produced a souvenir CD Rom of the event, which was made for us by
The Complete Works Theatre Company Ltd, who recorded the entire event and
worked with us in a true spirit of partnership. We support their work in helping looked after young people, care leavers and young offenders, people with disabilities and difficulties, special educational needs, medical conditions and emotional and behavioural difficulties, whom they involve in Theatre, Film, Music and Consultation www.tcw.org.uk (email at
info@tcw.org.uk). They also offer an
educational service where tutors with a wide range of professional qualifications
and skills work on a one-to-one basis and in small groups to deliver National
Curriculum subjects.
We have sent the CD Rom out to all the winners, guests who attended the event,
all Directors and Head of Services for Children and Young People.
For more details, please see Believe in Me Awards 2007
Young people give positive view of care in national awards
The Department for Education and Skills together with The Who Cares? Trust
has announced the first ever young people’s awards for adults working with
children in care, to be held in London in March 2005.
The awards, entitled Believe in me, will reflect how adults working in the
care system or who come into contact with young people in care, can make a
positive impact by promoting and supporting young people’s talents and interests
and so improve their opportunities in the future. The awards will be open
to a broad range of professionals and carers, and be nominated solely by young
people.
The initiative comes from recommendations within the green paper Every Child
Matters and has the backing of Margaret Hodge MP, Minister of State for Children,
Young People and Families. Having a breadth of professionals and carers as
potential award nominees underscores the government’s commitment to a new
workforce for children, putting them at the heart of services.
The Believe in me awards particularly aim to raise the profile of foster care
by recognising the invaluable contribution foster carers make, and to encourage
potential foster carers to come forward.
Margaret Hodge in promoting the awards says:
"Foster carers play an invaluable role in the lives of many children. This award scheme is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the work of these carers and ensure that they receive the recognition they deserve. I hope that this event will inspire and encourage even more people to consider foster caring as a realistic and rewarding opportunity.”
Susanna Cheal, Chief Executive Officer of The Who Cares? Trust, welcomed the
contribution of young people to the awards:
"The nominations will reflect the talents and interests of young people in care and show us who has really walked the extra mile for us.”
Over 28,000 nomination forms have been sent out to young people in England
through the Trust’s own award-winning magazine Who Cares? with the closing
date of 24 December 2004. The awards will also be promoted by statutory and
voluntary sector organisations that will form the steering group for Believe
in me.
To evaluate the impact of the award, we will be asking professionals about the morale of their colleagues and themselves.
For more information:
www.thewhocarestrust.org.uk/believeinme/
Biking for children in care
click here to read an account of the 2004 cycle ride by Pip Deverson
click here to see photos of the 2004 cycle ride
Once again Biking for Children in Care have been raising money for The Who Cares? Trust and children in care by cycling furiously around England.
For the third year running, Biking for Children in Care covered a gruelling route cycling over 200 miles in three days through Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire.
The cyclists are hoping to raise £20,000 from this years cycle ride to enable The Trust to help some of the most vulnerable children in the UK, the 60,000 children and young people in public care.
The cycle ride was organised by Gill Timmis, herself a professional in child care, in order to raise awareness and correct assumptions about children in care.
Gill explains:
"Most people like me – middle aged, middle class and comfortable – assume that children find themselves in care either because they have done bad things or because they’ve had bad things done to them. Most kids in care are just kids – kids like ours. It makes me mad as hell to see them labelled as a problem."
The money raised from this years bike ride will enable The Trust to provide education, health, information and support to children in care either via CareZone or through the Linkline, the Trust’s confidential helpline.
Last year the £16,000 raised by Biking for Children in Care helped create educational content for CareZone, The Trust’s secure online services for children in care. This money will allow more than 550 children to have access to this invaluable service and give them the opportunity to improve, not only their educational outcomes, but also their opportunities in life.
If you would like to support the cyclists, please contact Susie Hall at supporterservices@thewhocarestrust.org.uk.
BBC Radio 4 Appeal
Bel Mooney recording The Who Cares? Trust Radio 4 appeal
We were delighted to have a Radio 4 appeal this year. Bel Mooney, journalist, broadcaster and children’s author made an appeal on behalf of the Trust, talking about our work with children in care.
The appeal was broadcast on Radio 4, 92-95 FM and 198 LW on Sunday 27 June at 7.55am and again at 9.26. It was repeated on Thursday 1 July at 3.27 in the afternoon.
If you would like to read the full script of our appeal, please click here.
You can make a donation to The Who cares? Trust by calling 0800 044 044 or send a cheque payable to The Who Cares? Trust, to FREEPOST Radio 4 appeal – The Who Cares? Trust.
The Who Cares? Trust urges extension of education duty in Children Bill to schools
Release date: 11 June 2004
"People think that if you are in care you are different from everybody else. That is wrong. We just need to be given the same opportunities and chances as everyone else."
View of a young person in care
The Who Cares? Trust today urges the government to extend the education duty in the Children Bill to school governing bodies to ensure that children in care have a fair chance to a good education and a successful life.
The Who Cares? Trust has been campaigning consistently over the years to improve educational opportunities for children in public care. The Children Bill offers a golden opportunity to ensure that they have a good education - the passport to a successful life for all children: and especially for the most vulnerable.
The Trust supports the call for a statutory duty to promote the education of children in care on local authorities. However, if this duty is not extended to school governing bodies, the joined-up responsibility for prioritising their education is put at serious risk.
Schools play a fundamental role in enabling children in care to succeed. They have day-to-day contact with children, within an environment that brings routine, reliability and regularity that can anchor a child in care when events beyond the school gates are turbulent and unpredictable.
Schools also have an essential role in co-ordinating the Personal Education Plans for children in care. The school-based Designated Teacher can ensure that appropriate support and challenging targets are set for each child, for which funding is in place.
Susanna Cheal, Chief Executive of The Who Cares? Trust says:
Although schools are already responsible for the education of all children, we believe that it is necessary to distinguish children in care as a group worthy of particular attention. If we really are serious about the outcomes to which the Bill is committed, children in care need and deserve the best opportunities to succeed and reach their potential, which schools are well placed to provide."
Generally children in care are separated from their parents and living away from home, with the local authority as their ‘corporate parent’. In the recent Social Exclusion Unit survey* which asked over 2,000 young people in care for their views about school and education, children said that school really matters to them, and is the place where they feel the same as their peers.
As one young person put it:
"Teachers need to stop assuming that people in care are worse than everyone else. They should try and understand our situation."
ENDS
Editor’s notes
Social Exclusion Unit
The It’s your future survey was distributed to over 30,000 children and young people in care in 2001 via Who Cares? magazine, published by The Who Cares? Trust. Over 2,000 young people responded which led to the publication of the guidance document A better education for children in care, published by the Social Exclusion Unit in 2003.
A young person’s summary of the guidance entitled Smart future was published at the same time.
Copies of the reports can be found at www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk
Children’s potential failing to be measured accurately, says The Who Cares? Trust
Release date: 2 June 2004
The education of children in care is being put in jeopardy, says The Who Cares? Trust. Many children are being taught at a level beneath their ability instead of having their true potential recognised while others who are experiencing difficulties may not be having their learning needs met. These are the key findings of a year-long project that examined the literacy levels of 60 children based in stable foster care placements.
The project, Looking after Literacy in Kent, was led by The Who Cares? Trust and the National Literacy Association, in partnership with Kent County Council. The children, identified as needing extra support and being ‘behind with their literacy’, received a handheld computer with training in its use, regular provision of books as well as dedicated literacy help from a project visitor who supported the children at home.
All of the children who took part improved to a statistically significant degree in reading accuracy, comprehension and spelling, with those in the lower average range at pre-test improving the most.
Professor Sheila Wolfendale, who co-evaluated the project with Trevor Bryans, says:
"Some children referred to the project were found not to have literacy difficulties but to be underachieving, many with reading ages beyond their years. This suggests that their teachers, social workers and carers were focusing on the children’s other experiences rather than accurately assessing their abilities."
One child who took part in the project was originally statemented as having special educational needs. Since taking part in the project he has had this statement removed, his literacy has improved immensely – resulting in being moved up a class in English – and has also become a peer mentor, helping younger pupils who may have been bullied.
The findings from the project are being published as part of a larger Measuring progress resource file. Measuring progress will strategically examine how local authorities should approach assessing the abilities of children in care, looking at individual professional roles and specific interventions at key ages and stages.
Helen Hibbert, Head of Education Development at The Who Cares? Trust, says:
Measuring progress demands a rethink of attitudes towards the abilities and potential of children in care. It is the duty of everyone who works with them to ensure that they are given appropriate challenges and stimulated to succeed alongside their peers."
Measuring progress will be launched in London and York this month and is available nationally from July.
ENDS
Editor’s notes
The National Literacy Association
The National Literacy Association (NLA) campaigns for greater awareness of, and works to support, the literacy needs of children who traditionally underachieve. NLA aims to ensure that when they leave school, 99 per cent of children have adequate literacy for their needs in daily life. NLA would like this set as a target by government so expectations are raised about what children can and will achieve.
As well as campaigning for the needs of the 20 per cent of children who continue to underachieve, NLA does practical work in schools, with children in public care, with parent groups and in the wider community, and produces a range of publications and other resources, which are distributed free of charge to all these groups.
Project evaluators
Professor Sheila Wolfendale and Trevor Bryans are both educational psychologists and carried out the work in an independent capacity.
The Who Cares? Trust helps children in care to Think Smart at school
Release date 11 June 2004
Children in care should be enabled to get the most out of school is the key message from the new Think Smart materials produced by The Who Cares? Trust.
Following on from the survey by the Social Exclusion Unit (SEU), It’s your future!, in which young people in care stressed how much they wanted to engage with and enjoy school, the Think smart materials have been produced with the active input of over 80 young people from across the UK.
Think Smart looks at four key issues that emerged from the SEU report – Planning, Bullying, Changing schools and Attendance and Exclusion. The materials have been produced in different formats in collaboration with their target audiences to reflect the content of the subject and meet children’s different learning styles.
Think smart – Planning to do well is a 18 page magazine complete with photostories, checklists, quizzes and tips from young people. Think smart – Bullying is a pack of 32 cards that suggest how children can take positive action and maintain self-esteem. Think smart – Moving schools is a double-sided wallplanner for both primary and secondary school aged children. Think smart – Staying in school is a CD Rom packed full of interactive activities to help young people stay in school, and to minimise the impact of exclusion.
The Think Smart materials are suitable for children and young people aged 8-16 years, and are designed to be used independently, with other children and with carers or workers. They are being launched this month.
Helen Hibbert, Head of Education Development at The Who Cares? Trust, says:
"The poor educational outcomes of children in care are well documented. Despite moves in the right direction, the care population still falls way behind the wider population in educational attainment. Think Smart aims to give children the chance to engage actively with school by providing information and resources to help with every stage of school life from transitions through bullying to attendance and exclusion."
ENDS
Editor’s notes
It’s your future!
Over 2,000 young people in care responded to the Social Exclusion Unit survey in 2001. The survey was distributed via Who Cares? magazine, published by The Who Cares? Trust.
Findings from the survey and the subsequent report 'A better education for children in care' can be found on the SEU website, here.
Pedal power – raising awareness of children in care
23 June 2004
Fifty amateur cyclists are attempting to recreate Le Tour De France through England’s finest countryside as a charity event to raise money for The Who Cares? Trust and children in care.
For the third year running, Biking for Children in Care will cover a gruelling route covering over 200 miles in three days through Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire.
From the 25 – 27 June, the team of cyclists will be raising money for The Trust to help some of the most vulnerable children in the UK, the 60,000 children and young people in public care.
The cycle ride has been organised by Gill Timmis, herself a professional in child care, in order to raise awareness and correct assumptions about children in care.
Gill explains:
"Most people like me – middle aged, middle class and comfortable – assume that children find themselves in care either because they have done bad things or because they’ve had bad things done to them. Most kids in care are just kids – kids like ours. It makes me mad as hell to see them labelled as a problem."
As well as challenging stereotypes, the team are also looking to raise £25,000 for The Who Cares? Trust.
The team will be delighted to receive any offers of sponsorship and the money raised from the bike ride will enable The Trust to provide education, health, information and support to children in care either via CareZone or through the Linkline, the Trust’s confidential helpline.
Last year the £16,000 raised by Biking for Children in Care helped create educational content for CareZone, The Trust’s secure online services for children in care. This money will allow more than 550 children to have access to this invaluable service and give them the opportunity to improve, not only their educational outcomes, but also their opportunities in life.
ENDS
Editor’s notes
If you would like to get involved in the bike ride or sponsor the cyclists please contact Susie Hall on 020 7017 2773 or email supporterservices@thewhocarestrust.org.uk.
Care statistics
- 25-33% of rough sleepers were looked after by local authorities as children
- Children who have been in care are two and a half times more likely to become teenage parents
- Young people who have been in care are disproportionately more likely to be unemployed
- In the year to March 2001, 63% of those leaving care at 16 had no educational qualifications
- The proportion of boys in care has risen in recent years, as has the number of younger children. At 31 March 1999, 21% of all children in public care were under 5 years old.
Biking for Children in Care - 200 miles for 60,000 reasons
Biking for children in care 2003: the cyclists pause for a break on their epic journey around Kent and Sussex
For the third year running, Biking for Children in Care are raising money for The Who Cares? Trust. This year the cyclists, led by Gill Timmis, are covering over 200 miles in three days through Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire.
From the 25 – 27 June, a team of 50 cyclists will be raising money for The Who Cares? Trust to help some of the most vulnerable children in the UK, the 60,000 children and young people in public care.
The team will be delighted to receive any offers of sponsorship and the money raised from the bike ride will enable us to provide education, health, information and support to children in care either via CareZone or through the Linkline, the Trust’s confidential helpline.
£500 will enable us to run the Linkline for a week
£1000 will help us create online content to deliver support to children in care
£2000 will support our work to bring social workers, teachers and carers together to improve the lives of children in care.
Last year the £16,000 raised by Biking for Children in Care helped create educational content for CareZone, The Who Cares? Trusts secure online services for children in care. This money will allow more than 550 children to have access to this invaluable service and give them the opportunity to improve, not only their educational outcomes, but also their opportunities in life.
The proposed route for this years bike ride is as follows and the cyclists would also be grateful for any support along the way to ease those tired legs and help them on their way!
Biking for Children in Care 2002: the cyclists arrive at John O’Groats
Proposed Route
Day 1: Swindon to Bristol via Chippenham and the Bristol and Bath railway path
Day 2: Bristol to Gloucester crossing the Severn into the Forest of Dean
Day 3: Gloucester to Swindon via Cirencester and the Cotswold Water Park
If you would like to get involved in the bike ride or sponsor the cyclists, please contact Susie Hall at supporterservices@thewhocarestrust.org.uk.
Time for Children
Time for children is a joint initiative from the National Literacy Association, TimeBank, Volunteer Reading Help and The Who Cares? Trust. It aims to improve the literacy skills of children in care through providing one-to-one reading support with a trained volunteer in primary schools and residential units.
The project is currently being piloted in the Blackburn, Lancashire, Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale areas, and we are looking for volunteers to get involved. For more information about volunteering for Time for children, please visit TimeBank at www.timebank.org.uk/tfc
Need2Know
Need2Know is a new portal for 13 - 19 years olds launched in December 2003. It provides a ‘first-stop-shop’ for everything in life, with relevant sign-posts to valuable web sites in the public, private and charitable sectors. It covers areas such as health, relationships, law, money, travel and there’s a regularly updated online magazine called ‘n2k’ full of up-to-the-minute news.
Click here to open the site in a new window
Every Child Matters
The Who Cares? Trust's response, November 2003
We acknowledge that the Green Paper is primarily concerned with the structures for the delivery of services and we support the emphasis on leadership, clear accountability and better co-ordination between local authorities and other partner agencies. Developing constructive partnerships will increase the well-being and safety of all children through preventative and early intervention policies. We believe the general direction of the Green Paper is right, but more thinking is required to ensure the proposals work in practice.
Further dissemination of Employability and Employability Plus
The Who Cares? Trust continues to respond to requests to provide seminar and workshop events for local authorities, wishing to develop their own Employability Programmes. Delegates at these events include Elected Members who have corporate parenting responsibilities for young people in their care, senior management and leaving care and allied professionals, including those from Connexions and disabilitiy organisations. These events now present both programmes as a whole package to facilitate local authorities and other agencies in the vital work of preparing young people in care for the world of work and independent living.
In December 2004, the two programmes will be disseminated in Northern Ireland and Scotland through the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum conference and Voypic leaving care group respectively.
For further information about Employability and Employability Plus, please contact:
Grainne Sinclair
Project Co-ordinator – Development
The Who Cares? Trust
Kemp House
152 – 160 City Road
London EC1V 2NP
Tel no: 020 7251 3117
grainne.sinclair@thewhocarestrust.org.uk
The WHO CARES? Trust is a Registered Charity (No. 1010518).
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