A session for participation workers in children’s social care to engage with the Department for Education.
Amplify and A National Voice Award’s winners announced!
26 Oct 23
As part of National Care Leavers’ week, Coram Voice was delighted to host care-experienced young people from around the country at Amplify on 25th October 2023. Amplify was organised by A National Voice, the national children in care council, to provide an opportunity for children in care councils to come together, share experiences and celebrate the amazing work that they do.
75 children and young people from 20 children in care councils and care leaver groups joined us at the Coram Campus. Our care experienced ANV ambassadors helped facilitate the day that included consultation on the Government’s plans for children’s social care, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, a question and answer session with David Johnston, Minister for Children, Families and wellbeing and the launch of ANV’s Grand Campaign.
ANV also celebrated the amazing ways children and young people are transforming care in their local areas through the A National Voice awards. The A National Voice Awards champion and recognise the work of children in care councils and care leaver forums in England. Nominations for junior children in care councils, children in care councils and care leaver forums and any participation group within Children’s Social Care.
Please join us in recognising all the 42 nominees, 17 shortlisted entries and the 6 amazing winners, chosen by our ANV ambassadors. They all showcased the great things that young people can achieve when they come together. We hope this will inspire other great projects over the coming year.
ANV Awards 2023 Winners
- Campaign Award: Hull Young Voices Influencing Care
The group created an animation called “Just ask Us’ which is about understanding what it means to be care experienced. The animation will be shared with all staff and added to Total respect Training.
- Participation Award: Care 2 Listen (Reading)
Since January 2023 the group have been working to establish an open space for children and young people to share their views and work on projects that interest them.
- The Collaboration Award: Somerset In Care (SiCC) and Somerset Leaving Care (SLCC) Councils
SiCC and SLCC worked together with the council and service provider to develop a contract to provide 10 children’s homes, 2 therapeutic schools and a therapeutic fostering service.
- The Community Award: Young Inspectors Peterborough
A group aged 13-18 who inspected a children’s home for young people with severe disabilities, making recommendations for improvements to improve the quality of life of those living there.
- The Digital Award: Cambridgeshire CiCC, Peterborough CiCC & Peterborough Care Leaders Group
The groups worked together on a project about language, sharing their own experiences and suggesting words that are more youth friendly. They created a podcast that was made into an animated film.
- The Voice Award: Lincc (living in care council) and CFCL Change for Care Leavers (Bromley)
After completing a survey called Bright Spots the group came together with senior leaders, elected members and staff to consider the results. The group have created some brilliant videos used for staff training.
Shortlist announced for A National Voice Awards 2023
11 Oct 23
We’re delighted to share the shortlisted nominations for ANV Awards 2023.
Congratulations to:
Campaign Award
- The Care Leaver Group (Oldham)
- Hull Young Voices Influencing Care
- Voices Making Choices (VMC) (Northumberland)
Participation Award
- East Sussex Children in Care Council
- Care 2 Listen (Reading)
- York’s Children in Care council and Care Leavers Forum
The Voice Award
- Lincc (living in care council) and CFCL Change for Care Leavers (Bromley)
- Norfolk In Care Council/ Change Maker Forum
- Promise Ambassadors 2023 (Cumbria)
The Community Award
- Click Together (Wandsworth)
- Young Inspectors Peterborough
The Collaboration Award
- Somerset In Care (SiCC) and Somerset Leaving Care (SLCC) Councils
- Pass the Parcel (Devon)
- North East Regional Children in Care Council
The Digital Award
- EaCES (UK)
- Click (Wandsworth)
- Cambridgeshire CiCC, Peterborough CiCC & Peterborough Care Leaders Group
Winners will be announced at our Amplify 2023 event in London on Wednesday, 25 October.
Find out more and get your tickets to join us.
National Care Leavers’ Week 2023
Amplify 2023 and Voices 2024 are both highlighted in The Alliance for Looked After Children & Care Leavers’ calendar of events taking place during or around National Care Leavers’ Week (25th October-1st November 2023).
Amplify aims to bring care-experienced children and young people together from across the country to consult, network, celebrate and more! A National Voice ambassadors help to run and co-host the day.
Voices is a creative writing competition for care-experienced children and young people aged up to 25 years, to express and celebrate creativity and tell their stories.
The Alliance have come up with a theme for the National Care Leavers’ Week. They are calling on the public, professionals, carers, decision makes and the media to CARE:
Celebrate care leavers/ care-experienced individuals
Amplify their voices
Raise awareness of challenges
Encourage change in policy and practice
See the calendar of all events taking place in and around National Care Leavers’ Week here.
Care leavers’ experiences of health inequalities
10 Oct 23
Coram Voice have collaborated with AYPH on a small-scale engagement project focused on understanding the health risks faced by young people who have been in care.
Young people who have been in the care of a local authority are, on average, at greater risk of poorer health outcomes than their peers.
This project involved the setting up of a youth panel for discussions co-facilitated by young people themselves. This was a chance to hear the views and experiences of care leavers about health, accessing healthcare services and health inequalities in order to understand the challenges better.
Many of the challenges relate to general issues young people in care face which made everything – including healthcare – more difficult. In addition, they spoke about issues that might contribute specifically to health outcomes. This included a lack of health literacy, the impact of mental health problems, experiences of healthcare, finance as a barrier to accessing healthcare services and bureaucracy within the healthcare system.
The young people made a series of recommendations specifically in relation to reducing health inequalities for care experienced young people.
Recommendations
- Offer financial help with prescriptions.
- Make care leavers more aware of the support that is available.
- Consider ways to alert healthcare systems to the needs of care-experienced young people.
- Improve training and education for healthcare providers.
- Improved targeted mental health support offer for care leavers.