You can find answers to some frequently asked questions below. If you any other questions that aren’t covered, please email voices@coramvoice.org.uk
Read the Voices 2025 Privacy Policy.
The deadline for entries is Sunday 23 March 2025.
Eligibility
1. Am I eligible to enter Voices 2025?
Voices 2025 is open to young people currently in care and care leavers who will be aged between 4 and 25 years old on 11 December 2024, and who are full-time residents of the UK (this includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man). This also includes as well as separated minors or former separated minors.
2. How do we define “care experience”?
A care-experienced person is anyone who, at any stage in their life, for any length of time, was in care. This includes, for example, being looked after by foster carers, in a residential children’s home, with family or friends or in other arrangements like hospitals, supported accommodation or secure units. Someone who has been adopted after being in care is also care experienced
3. Am I a care leaver?
Sometimes it can be very complicated to know whether you are considered to be a care leaver. Click here to find out if you are a care leaver. By answering the questions you will be taken through the maze of the leaving care system and will hopefully learn more about how you can be supported.
4. Do I need to prove that I am care experienced to enter?
No. The competition operates on the basis of trust and no documentation is required to enter. Please help us honour the spirit of the competition by only entering if you match the definition of care experience, as above.
5. Can I get help or write my entry with my friend?
The work must be original, which means it must be your words and your voice. It’s fine to get help with spelling and grammar or to write in a group situation, but you cannot write your piece jointly with someone else.
6. What is the age limit for care leavers?
We know that the care journey doesn’t end at 25 for everyone. If you are aged 25 or under, and your case with Children’s Social Services is open or closed, you can enter the competition. If you are over 25 years old and are still receiving support from Children’s Social Services, then you may still be eligible. If you have an allocated Personal Adviser (PA) and/or your case is still open with Children’s Social Services then you can enter. If you are over 25 and don’t know whether your case is open or closed, you can get help from your local advocacy service to find out. You can find contact details for your local advocacy service.
Your entry
1. What can I send in?
Voices is a creative writing competition, so you can express yourself in any way you choose! You can write a poem, craft a short story, create a rap, share a heartfelt piece about your feelings, or even submit a diary entry. Don’t forget, you aren’t limited to just written work! You can also send in audio or video submissions. How about recording a spoken-word piece, recording a song, or performing a monologue written for the stage? See below to find out all the different ways we accept submissions.
The only real limits are that it must be your own work and that it must be about this year’s theme – “My Voice”. If an entry is copied from someone else, it will be disqualified. You can interpret the theme however you like – we look forward to seeing your creativity come out!
2. Is there a word limit?
Your entry must be no more than 500 words. If you write more than this we’ll stop reading at 500.
3. Can I submit my piece of writing in a different language?
Unfortunately, we can only accept entries written in English.
If English is not your first language or if you have any learning difficulties that affect your English (for example, dyslexia), ask someone to help you with your entry. Do you know someone who can help you translate your work or write it down as you say it out loud?
Please let us know if you have any learning difficulties or if English is not your first language and we will remember this when judging your piece of writing.
4. Do I have to send in a written submission?
There are so many ways to submit your work to Voices 2025. If you don’t want to write a poem, story or other text-based creation, we would love to hear your voice directly! Have you thought about writing and recording a song or a rap? These must also be under 500 words and will be judged alongside all the other creative writing entries (i.e. there is no separate song or rap category). See below for how you can enter a song or rap to the competition. We can’t wait to hear them!
We’re also looking for individuals to submit an artistic creation, and we will be choosing one as the front cover for the Voices 2025 official publication. This is not part of the main Voices 2025 competition (i.e. it will be considered separately to other types of entries by our judges) but the winning artist will still of course be invited to our Awards Ceremony in May 2025, along with a plus one, and given a £50 Love to Shop voucher.
Artistic entries must still be in line with our theme ‘My Voice’ and can be submitted using the main entry form and attaching the piece using the attachment option. There will be no age category for artistic submissions, and the young person must be aged between 4-25 years. Any form of artwork is welcome (including digital and photography). Please see our terms and conditions below for specific requirements. We welcome submissions from young people with varying and complex needs. Your piece may also be featured on our social media and promotional platforms.
5. Can I edit my entry after submission?
No, once the entry has been submitted it cannot be edited or resubmitted.
How to enter
How do I enter?
Entries can be submitted via the entry form. You must include your name, age and where you live on the form. You can type directly into the form or attach a word document, PDF, scan, photo, audio file or video file of your entry. We recommend MP3 for audio and MP4 for videos.
Can I submit more than one entry?
No, unfortunately, you can only submit one entry. The first entry you submit will be the only entry judged.
When is the entry deadline?
The deadline is midnight on Sunday 23 March 2025.
Do I need adult consent?
If you are under 18, it is very important that you have adult consent – without this, we may not be able to shortlist you into the top 24. This could, for example, be a teacher, your carer or social worker. If there are any problems getting help and consent from an adult, please let us know and we will do our best to help.
What if I don’t have access to a computer?
If you don’t have access to a computer, we encourage you to ask a trusted adult, such as a social worker, foster carer or personal advisor, to help you enter the competition and complete the entry form. They can assist you with submitting your entry online so that you can still participate and share your voice.
Prizes and judging
How is the competition judged?
Each piece of writing will be judged on the following criteria:
- Theme – How well does it match the theme of ‘My Voice’?
- Voice – How strong, original and unique is the voice?
- Emotive – How well does it engage the readers’ emotions?
Who are the judges?
Every year, the Voices competition entries are judged by an amazing set of people who have care experience or work in creative fields. They read all the shortlisted entries and decide on the winners.
For each age category, there will be both adult judges and young judges. The young judges are care-experienced young people who were shortlisted in previous years and wanted to get involved again!
Keep an eye on our social media and newsletter as we announce the judges for this year.
What are the prizes?
Prizes will be awarded to 24 shortlisted candidates. The shortlisted candidates will receive a book voucher. Third place will receive a £25 ‘Love to Shop’ voucher. Second place will receive a £50 ‘Love to Shop’ voucher. The winners will receive £100 ‘Love to Shop’ voucher. Further prizes and awards may be announced during the competition.
Can I receive feedback on my submission?
Unfortunately, due to the high volume of entries, individual feedback cannot be provided unless your submission is shortlisted.
When is the final awards ceremony and can I come along?
There will be an awards ceremony in May 2025 (date TBC) in central London. The top 24 shortlisted candidates will receive invitations for themselves and two guests. The awards will be announced at the ceremony. It is a great event so please keep an eye out for announcement of venue, our host and judges..
If your entry is not shortlisted, unfortunately we will not be able to offer you an invitation.
How will I find out if I have been shortlisted?
If your submission has been shortlisted, we will send you an email letting you know and telling you what happens next. All shortlisted entrants will be contacted by the end of the week beginning 28th April. We will put an announcement out on social media so keep an eye on our platforms too.
Privacy and Copyright
Will you publish my writing?
We may publish your piece of writing to help raise awareness of the work Coram Voice does and the experiences of young people in care and care-leavers and the things that are important to them.
Copyright: Who owns the rights to my writing once I submit it?
By entering, you keep the ownership of your work (i.e. the copyright), but you give Coram Voice permission to share it forever. This means they can post it online, show it on TV or other places, without paying you.
What will you do with my personal information?
We will use your information to send you a certificate of achievement, to contact you if you are shortlisted and to keep you updated about the competition. We will only keep your personal details for a year. For more information, you can look at the terms and conditions below.
Why can’t I put my name in my piece of writing?
We want to share your great stories with as many people as possible. If you put information that could identify you or someone else, then we would need to check with everybody that they agree to us sharing their details. That would take a very long time – we would rather spend that time sharing your !
Who can I contact if I need help?
If you have any questions that haven’t been answered on this page, please contact us at voices@coramvoice.org.uk.
Voices Writing Competition
Voices 2025 is Coram Voice’s ninth annual Voices writing competition for children in care and young care leavers. The national competition was launched in 2016 to mark Coram Voice’s 40th anniversary and in honour of our founder, Gwen James, who died in 2015.
A platform for the voices of children in and around the care system, the competition promotes a positive image by showcasing young people’s creativity and improving understanding of their experiences.
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