325 care-experienced young people have sent a message to the Children’s Minster, Janet Daby MP, calling on the government to provide better mental health support for children in care and care leavers.
The young people were responding to a consultation run by A National Voice, the children in care council for England hosted by Coram Voice, which found that their top three priorities for the new Children’s Minister are:
1: Care-experienced children and young people need better mental health support
63% of respondents identified mental health as the top issue to be tackled. “Your mental health impacts everything; everyday life, education, just getting up in the morning,” said one young person. Their suggestions included “opt-out rather than opt-in” counselling and therapy and “more and better trauma training for staff, teachers and foster carers.”
2: Care-experienced children and young people need professionals to listen to them in decisions about their lives
45% of respondents said that listening to care-experienced children and young people was a priority. “The decisions made about our lives are often out of our control,” said one young person. “It creates chaos and fear in young people which lasts a lifetime.”
3: Care-experienced children and young people need support to build better relationships
34% of respondents said that building better relationships was one of their priorities. “When I was first in care I didn’t understand or know how to have good/friendly relationships,” said one respondent. “It would be good to have help learning this.”
Young people also called upon the Children’s Minister to:
- Take A National Voice’s considerations seriously
- See children and young people regularly
- Make sure young people are the driving force for change
- Keep young people informed on progress
- Be honest and not give misleading information
- Do what they say they are going to do and don’t make false promises
- Commit to a long term vision and do their job well
“You have the power to transform lives,” said one young person who responded to the consultation. “For children in care and care leavers like me, the system can be the difference between struggling to survive or finding the confidence to thrive. Your decisions can create a future where every child in care feels valued, supported, and capable of achieving their dreams. We are not just statistics. We are future leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, artists, and innovators—but we can only reach our potential if the system lifts us up instead of holding us back.”
Brigid Robinson, Managing Director of Coram Voice, said: “This is a powerful message from care- experienced children and young people that they need more and better support – particularly around mental health. 2025 is the 50th anniversary of Coram Voice, the charity that was set up to make sure their voices are heard. We’ve made huge progress in the last 50 years, but it’s clear that we need to respond to the challenges children and young people still face. We look forward to working productively with the Children’s Minister and the new government to make life better for children in care and care leavers.”
To read the full report, visit https://coramvoice.org.uk/messages-to-the-minister
To mark its 50th anniversary, Coram Voice recently published its Care Ambitions for the future. To find out more and pledge your support visit https://coramvoice.org.uk/news/coram-voice-celebrates-50-years-of-getting-young-voices-heard/