Bright Spots Programme

The Bright Spots Programme was developed in collaboration with the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford and was funded by the Hadley Trust. It is a service improvement tool that supports local authorities to systematically listen to their children in care and care leavers, about the things that are important to them.

How does Bright Spots work?

Bright Spots has three underlying principles:

• Focus on what children and young people say about their lives and what is important to them
• Ensure the views and experiences of children influence service development and strategic thinking
• Share good practice between local authorities by encouraging opportunities for learning and development

Bright Spots Indicators

Since 2013, we have worked with children and young people to develop two new sets of well-being indicators measured by our online surveys:

Your Life, Your Care A survey for children in care aged four upwards.

Your Life Beyond Care A survey for care leavers.

By working with over 80 local authorities and gathering over 24,000 responses from children and care leavers we have gained insight into the key question, what makes life good for children in care and care leavers?

The Your Life, Your Care and Your Life Beyond Care surveys are the largest surveys of their kind, giving more children in care and care leavers the chance to share their experiences. The survey compares local findings with those of other local authorities, as well as with peers in the general population.

Both surveys were co-produced with young people and the questions are based on what 170 young people in care and care leavers said was important to them.

They are evidence-based. The survey is a robust research tool, developed over several years of research. It is comparative to national data, draws on two international literature reviews and piloting with cognitive interviews to test questions. (Selwyn, et. al 2016,  Selwyn et al. 2015a, Selwyn et al. 2015b, Selwyn et al 2020).