Looked-after children: The turnaround team

Sixteen-year-old Evan doesn't suffer fools gladly. Unfortunately, he feels he's met quite a few during his six years in the care of the London Borough of Islington, whether it's care workers who forget details and meetings, or former friends now in prison. "I've had four or five social workers but all until now have had problems," says the confident teenager, who arrived in Islington with his older sister from Eritrea six years ago. "You'd tell them to do something and they'd forget."

However, over the last year, Evan has begun to notice a number of improvements in the way the council runs its children's services. He now has an allocated social worker who's been with him for a year, and has been placed in a more suitable care home where he feels staff are more supportive than previous placements. He is also part of the council-run Children's Active Involvement Service, which was set up last year to consult looked-after children on Islington's social care policy and procedure.