Looked-after children call for care leaver support groups
Joe Lepper
Monday, April 20, 2009
Care leavers should be mobilised into support groups to help children in care, according to a consultation of 400 young people.
The opportunity to talk to those who have experienced similar issues was among a number of recommendations put forward by those young people in care surveyed by Bradford Youth Services.
They suggest that these support groups could be made up of 18- to 25-year-old care leavers, who could offer group as well as one-to-one support.
The consultation, involving focus groups and a survey, was carried out through the youth service's Get the Life You Want group, which is led by young people in care.
Other themes to emerge were a need to ensure placements are longer and more stable, that brothers and sisters are not split up and that there is better support at school.
Four out of 10 children in care said they did not enjoy education, half said they did not even know if they had a personal education plan, and seven out of 10 said their situation stopped them doing well at school.
Lack of placement stability and poor support for care leavers were among concerns also raised by the House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee this week in a damning report into the care system.
