After all, for some decades now, we have heard nothing but bad news and blame in relation to the public care system and its alleged lack of care for so-called looked-after children. There have, of course, been horror stories that are etched in the mind: Pindown in Staffordshire, the Waterhouse Inquiry into child abuse in homes in north Wales, and the recent police investigation in Jersey.
Some other very different things come into my mind. My dad was a childcare officer and I spent a great deal of my own childhood in various sorts of children's homes - admittedly visiting rather than living there, but observing and soaking up the atmosphere nonetheless. Later I worked in residential childcare for a short while and then, as a researcher, I did various studies that involved looked-after children. I gained a range of perspectives through this experience, some not so good but many that were very positive.
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