What a Michael Sheen headline tells us about childcare

The Welsh actor features in a BBC documentary revealing teenagers are still being placed in unsafe hostels and B&Bs, six years after the Welsh government pledged to eliminate such practices.

Now, Sheen is one of the good guys. An active patron of countless charities, he puts his shining star to good use. He wears his heart on his sleeve, even returning his OBE to ‘avoid being a hypocrite’ in the debate over Welsh independence.

And he listens to young people, something we at Mind Of My Own put at the centre of all we do.

Michael Sheen is, very definitely, not the problem here.

The BBC headline reads ‘Michael Sheen: I broke down hearing kids’ care stories’.

It’s a cracking headline. It’s got a star, emotion, kids and then – right at the end – care.

The headline writer is not the problem here either, because they’ve got the order of importance right – for higher audience figures, if not for higher moral ground.

No, the problem here is us, the public, and our priorities as a group.

If you take Sheen out of the headline, you’re left with ‘I broke down hearing kids’ care stories’ – and the first question you’ll ask is: who broke down? Someone famous? Anyone I know?

If you then strip the emotion from the headline, you’re left with something about kids’ care, which will, sadly, appeal to still fewer people.

And, of course, taking kids out of the headline leaves us with ‘care’ – at that point, even the specialist press is going to want more information before they’re interested.

There are some lessons to be learned from this.

Firstly, don’t blame the journalists – they’re part of a system that must attract an audience. Sheen, it’s worth noting, is at pains not to blame social workers for the problems he uncovers, highlighting instead a ‘system in crisis’.

Secondly, what’s interesting to us in the care sector is not necessarily of interest to those who exist in blissful ignorance of the world we inhabit. Tough, but true.

And, thirdly, that BBC headline is a useful way of reminding us of the tricks we can use when we’re trying to get our own messages heard, when we’re dealing with the world as it is rather than the world as we believe it should be.

Often, the film star is the story, whether we like it or not. They are a point of familiarity for readers and listeners, someone with whom we can associate.

If you don’t have an A-lister (in a BBC production) to call upon, what else?

There’s the emotion. The BBC headline and story has plenty of that – tears, fears, anger and desperation.

It’s not just telling us what happened, it’s describing the human impact of what happened, in a way that bald statistics never could.

Finally, the BBC headline drops kids into the picture. Obviously, readers of CYPN are not unfamiliar with stories about young people but it’s worth remembering that, elsewhere, children tend to be more headline-worthy than adults.

What that headline tells us about childcare is not something we want to hear – that it’s of less interest to the public than an actor, and an actor’s emotions.

But that does not mean childcare is of less importance. The trick, as this story illustrates so well, is to include the important and the interesting.

Now, does anyone have Michael Sheen’s contact details?

Jill Thorburn is a founder of Mind Of My Own, the family of apps which help young people communicate with carers when and where they want to. As well as being a director of Mind Of My Own, Jill has more than 25 years of experience in social work leadership and management, in all areas of children’s services.