Young People in Care from Strong Island Media on Vimeo.

Why?

Some children and young people felt afraid to go to school because of being bullied. They also felt they were treated differently because they were in care.

What?

The participation worker and virtual school from Isle of Wight and Hampshire worked with some young people, who were not the usual group who engaged with participation activities. The video described the impact of being in care on their education and their experiences in school. The video was written, directed and filmed by the young people.

“It wasn’t the kids destined to go to university … we’re talking about those wouldn’t normally have a voice, and certainly would feel quite disenfranchised. But the way that they engaged in that activity was really brilliant…. The young people also spoke at a head teacher’s conference where they talked about the
process of making the video.” (Participation Worker)

This work was done to represent the views of disengaged young people to capture their specific perspective and not the view of children in care in Hampshire generally.

Impact

The film was used in schools and seen by the corporate parenting board. It engaged young people who previously had been reluctant to work with the participation team. The young people were supported to attend a head teachers conference to talk about the film.

It was a way of working with young people to tell some of their stories.

Virtual Deputy Head Teacher