Category: News

03 Mar 20

Children’s Minister Vicky Ford has announced that the Department for Education will renew funding for Coram Voice to continue to deliver Always Heard, the national advocacy helpline and safety net for care experienced children and young people (0-25 years old) in England.

Speaking at a Parliamentary Reception to mark the 30th anniversary of the UNCRC yesterday (the 2^nd of March) the minister reaffirmed her support for the Always Heard service and thanked Coram Voice for providing this vital service.

Always Heard is the only national advocacy service that guarantees children and young people who need an Advocate, get an Advocate. Launched in 2017, Always Heard has supported over 16,000 care experienced children and young people. The contract extension will see Always Heard get the funding it needs to continue into 2021.

Always Heard provides Advocates for children in care, children on the edge of care and care leavers. Our Freephone advocacy helpline provides independent advice and supports children and young people to access advocacy services. Our Safety Net Advocates provide vital advocacy support to any child or young person unable to access advocacy through their local service. Always Heard guarantees no child is turned away.

With many care experienced children and young people finding their pathways to advocacy blocked, Always Heard also work to change the systemic barriers to this vital support. We work with local authorities to make sure that they put in place the advocacy service their children and young people are entitled to. Always Heard also works with the Department for Education, Ofsted and the Children’s Commissioner to help improve the systems by sharing information about barriers to advocacy, making sure the voice and experience of young people are at the centre of the conversation.

In the last year alone, Always Heard has made 6,000 signposting or referrals to local advocacy services and supported over 600 children and young people with Safety Net Advocacy. Our advocates helped children and young people facing issues like homelessness, problems with finances, difficulties accessing education, or needing support to speak up in care planning meetings.

As a result of Always Heard’s work, children and young people have told us that feel more confident, safer, motivated, and better able to form positive relationships. We have also seen several local authorities moving to improve their offer to children and young people in care by putting additional resources into their advocacy services.

Brigid Robinson, Managing Director of Coram Voice says; “We are delighted by the news that the Department for Education are set to extend the Always Heard contract.

“This exciting news means that Coram Voice will continue to be able to provide our unique guarantee that every care experienced child and young person who needs an Advocate, gets an Advocate. We will continue to make sure that no child is turned away.

“We will also build on our work with local authorities and decision makers to remove the barriers to advocacy, making sure that care experienced children and young people always have their voices heard.”

Find out more about Always Heard

06 Feb 20

Coram Voice today (6 February 2020) launched a new video that helps explain to children and young people what to expect when attending a Child Protection Conference.

The video, co-produced with children and in partnership with Norfolk County Council, helps children and young people understand what Child Protection Conferences are about.

Among the topics covered in the video are feelings or worries children and young people might be facing prior to the meeting, the different people that will be there on the day and the information that will be discussed. Its aim is to give children and young people information so they feel more comfortable and confident taking part.

Coram Voice, Managing Director Brigid Robinson says; “We are really pleased to launch this video which will be an effective tool in breaking down and clarifying the often complex and daunting process of Child Protection Conferences for children and young people. 

“The video will be helpful both to children and young people looking for information and the professionals who work with them. A huge thank you to the young people and staff for making this possible.”

17 Jan 20

Coram Voice is delighted to announce that award-winning Scottish actor and former Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi will host the awards ceremony for Voices 2020, the national creative writing competition for children in care and young care leavers.

This is the fourth consecutive year that Peter has hosted the awards.

The competition, now in its fifth year, is open for entries until 12 February 2020, with finalists invited to the awards ceremony on 8 April 2020.

This year’s theme, chosen by young people is ‘Dreams’ and young people are invited to submit creative pieces in any written form with a 500 word limit, including poems, short stories and raps. Launched in 2016, the competition is a platform for care-experienced young people to express their creative talents and to celebrate their voices.

Peter Capaldi said: “I’m delighted to be hosting the Voices awards ceremony once again. The competition continues to go from strength to strength,  showcasing the passion and talent of resilient young people whose written pieces inspire, and help us to better understand the often challenging experiences that they have growing up.

“I am really looking forward to seeing how this year’s theme of ‘Dreams’ will inspire the entrants, and as always I am expecting to be moved by the power of their words. I wish the very best of luck to all the young writers!”

The awards ceremony will be hosted for 24 young people who are shortlisted from across the four competition categories: primary, lower secondary, upper secondary and care leavers. Prizes include up to £100 shopping vouchers and winners will be decided by a panel of authors, poets and presenters, including Lauren Child MBE, Abi Elphinstone and rap artist Ric Flo.

Brigid Robinson, Managing Director of Coram Voice said: “We are so pleased to have Peter joining us as host for Voices once again. He is an inspiration for all the young people who take part in the competition and makes the awards ceremony such a special and memorable experience for them.

“It’s been fantastic to see the entries coming in from our young writers so far, they are moving and inspiring and we’d encourage all young people to send in entries before the 12 February deadline, for the chance to meet Peter when the winners are announced in April. Good luck!”

For more information on the competition and to enter, please visit the Voices page.

11 Dec 19

Return of fifth annual creative writing competition for children in care and young care leavers

Coram Voice is excited to announce the return of Voices, the annual writing competition for children in care and young care leavers across the country. The competition, which is now in its fifth year, will be open for entries from 12 December 2019 until 12 February 2020.

Coram Voice, a charity that ensures the voices of children and young people in and around the care system are heard, first launched the competition in 2016 as a platform for care-experienced young people to express their creative talents and to celebrate their voices.

The theme of this year’s competition, ‘Dreams’, was as always chosen by care experienced young people. Entries can be in any written form including poems, short stories, raps or newspaper articles, with a 500 word limit. There are four age categories: primary school, lower secondary school (age 11-14), upper secondary school (age 15-17) and care leavers (age 18-25).

Entries will be judged by a panel of authors, poets and presenters, due to be announced shortly, alongside young people who were finalists in last year’s competition.

Previous competition entrants said that participating had inspired them to write more, made them feel appreciated and valued for their talents and helped them to express their emotions about being in care.*

One finalist in last year’s competition said: “The benefits of the competition are that you get to write down your thoughts and feelings and people actually read it” whilst another added: “I wanted to express my feelings about being in foster care and get rid of the negative stigmas about being in care.”

Brigid Robinson, Managing Director of Coram Voice, said: “It has been fantastic to see the competition go from strength to strength and to read all of the remarkable entries we’ve received over the last five years.

“This year’s theme of ‘dreams’, chosen by young people, is guaranteed to see more creative and inspiring written pieces from care experienced young people, reminding us all of their talent and resilience. We hope their stories will continue to improve understanding around their experiences and celebrate their achievements”

Entries can be submitted online at coramvoice.org.uk/voices2020 between 12 December 2019 and 12 February 2020.

Enter now or for more information on the competition click here

 

*Qualitative semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with eleven children and young people who were shortlisted in the Voices 2016 and Voices 2017 competitions to understand their experiences of the competition and how it may have impacted on their lives.