Writing competition gives children in care a voice to express their hopes

Provider Coram

Name Coram Voices

Coram Voice is continually inspired by the resilience and maturity of children in care and care leavers. Their experiences and emotions are not always easy for them to express but channels such as writing can be extremely effective in enabling them to harness their creative skills.

This was the motivation for the creation of "Voices", the charity's national writing competition for care-experienced young people. With stories about children in care so often focusing on the negative, we wanted to provide a positive platform to celebrate their talents and get their voices heard.

First launched in 2016, the creative writing competition is grouped into three age categories: primary school, secondary school and care leavers, and in 2017 included a special award for migrant children. The theme for this year's competition was writing about a new beginning. The entries are judged by a panel of leading authors, writers and journalists with personal experience of the care system, which in 2017 included Alex Wheatle, Paolo Hewitt and Jenny Molloy. Members of Coram's new Young Citizens programme for migrant young people helped judge and present the special award.