In this video Clare Holdsworth, alongside her colleague Tanya Ward (both from the Children’s involvement team), discuss this case study and how it impacted children and young people.

 

The Children in Care Council selected from their LA Bright Spots findings fear of bullying and stigma experienced in school. They chose them as their areas of focus. They created a resource for schools to be used during assembly to challenge stigma and to educate.

Why?

The Bright Spots survey findings found that that young people were being bullied in school and experiencing stigma because of being in care. The Children in Care
council chose these areas as priority for action.

What did they do?

The young people wrote and made an animated interactive video to be used in school assemblies.

The participation worker described the process:

“There are 2 little characters that introduce themselves and say all the things they are, and then right at the end they say also, “I’m in care ….” They do some … myth busting… and the characters take them through the myths and say what it’s really like…. There’s going to be … a little pack that goes with that so that schools can do displays to reinforce the messages …. The graphics are sort of quite funky and accessible … so it’ll be junior all the way through secondary. I think the points are sort of simple but hard hitting.”

The pack includes ‘Top tips for teachers’ such as having an agreement on how foster carers will be referred to in school.

Impact

Making the film has improved the confidence of those involved in making the
video. The virtual school funded the work and supported the young people making the film. Improved communication and closer working between the virtual school and Children’s Services led to more offered from the virtual school such as offering young people access to a writers in residence workshop.

It can be embarrassing if the school says, ‘Your foster carers are here for a meeting.’

Young person