Child Friendly Warwickshire

This annual campaign celebrates the successes of care leavers across the UK, aiming to showcase the positives of the care system and help young people in or leaving care reach their potential and achieve their goals.     

Commenting on this year's Care Leavers’ Week, Councillor Jeff Morgan, portfolio holder for Children's Services at Warwickshire County Council, said: “We are proud to have joined the celebrations for #NCLW22. It is always an excellent opportunity to help raise awareness of care leavers and to encourage our care experienced children and young people to take advantage of the support, activities and opportunities we can offer. As a local authority we do everything we can to support vulnerable children and young adults who are in care, but it is vital that we continue this support when they leave.”    

“We are committed to providing an inclusive, encouraging environment for all children and young people across the county and we are working closely with the Care Leaver Covenant to ensure we continue to fulfil this promise for those who are in or leaving care. We are also here to offer advice and support to all people involved with the care system as their needs and circumstances change over time."    

Liss Phillips is a Family Support Worker at Warwickshire County Council and is care-experienced herself, so knows first hand the challenges that can face care leavers. Liss said: “I didn’t have the easiest start in life, so I am determined to make a difference for other care experienced children and young people in Warwickshire.”  

“As part of the Care Leavers Covenant and Child Friendly Warwickshire we are working in partnership with businesses across Warwickshire to provide more opportunities to care leavers and help them make the transition into work or higher education. I am excited to be part of the council, which offers career development opportunities for care experienced young people like me and provides opportunities for them to achieve more. Amplifying their voices can make a huge difference.”   

One way in which she is doing this is by helping to organise an annual Care Experienced Celebration Day along with a passionate group of colleagues from teams across the council's Children and Families service. This year, over 80 children and young people attended a fantastic day filled with fun and laughter.  

Her role is vital in supporting care experienced children and young people in Warwickshire and surrounding areas. As well as providing information about the Care Leaver Covenant’s services, signposting individuals to the most relevant support team and helping care leavers enter the world of work, Liss has won a number of awards, notably for the Baby Box Project and at the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum. The council as a whole is committed to nurturing and sustaining a positive future for all care experienced children and young people - for more information, visit warwickshire.gov.uk/leavingcare or follow @WeCare_Warks on Twitter for regular updates.   

This National Care Leavers’ Week, Become Charity called on the Government to #EndTheCareCliff, sharing the experiences of young care leavers, amplifying their voices, and asking them what needs to change to make the system better. Become, together with young care leavers, coined the term ‘Care Cliff’ to describe how placements and support abruptly stop at a crucial time in a young person’s life when they need stability the most. The effects of care can last a lifetime, which is why the term care experienced is preferred over care leaver. Become Charity states that, “Care doesn’t truly ‘leave’ you and transitioning out of the care system should not feel like falling off a cliff edge. ‘Leaving’ care should make care-experienced young people feel safe, supported, confident, and ready for the future. But, all too often, this isn’t the case. Many young care leavers face a ‘care cliff’ where they are forced to leave their placement and start to live independently before they feel ready. Turning 18, 21 or 25 can feel incredibly scary, abrupt and disruptive, as the feeling of ‘care’ stops at a time in life when you need stability the most.”  

For the Care Leaver Covenant, this week is a brilliant opportunity to celebrate the fourth anniversary of its launch, and to reflect on the ongoing challenges faced by care experienced young people as they begin their independent lives, as well as showcasing their success stories and the generous support provided by the private, public and voluntary sectors.   

The children's commissioner for England marked National Care Leavers week with the publication of the Vision for Care Leavers report, which sets out a number of recommendations to support care leavers across seven key areas: a better world, children’s social care, community, family, health, jobs and skills and schools. The report also pledges that the children's commissioner will be launching a care experienced advisory board, to harness the voices of care-experienced young people in the commissioner's future work. 

Publicising their support for two charities, John Lewis Partnership has set up a programme called Building Happier Futures to recruit more care leavers to roles within the partnership. Young people in care are three times less likely to be in work, education, or training than their peers by the time they reach 19, added John Lewis, as it announced its plans. “We hugely admire what Timpson has done in their employment of ex-offenders and ultimately, we want to have the same impact in time with care-experienced young people,” said the Partnership.  

If you are a care experienced young person aged up to 27, visit the Become Charity’s website to get involved with their campaigns. Visit the Care Leaver Covenant website to take a look at over 2,000 opportunities available for care leavers and for more information on roles for care leavers with John Lewis Partnership, visit the website.