Participation in Action: Deck of cards deals rights message to children in care
Adam Offord
Monday, July 6, 2015
A Children In Care Council is reminding looked-after children of their rights through packs of playing cards that detail pledges made by the county council.
Provider: East Sussex Children In Care Council
Name: Your rights are on the cards
Children in care have many rights designed to promote and protect their wellbeing and ensure that being separated from their birth family does not prevent them from taking part in opportunities any other child would expect to have.
However, all too often these entitlements can be overlooked or not be fulfilled by local authorities and carers, and it is for this reason that the children in care council (CICC) in East Sussex has devised a novel way of reminding looked-after children of their rights so that they have the information to challenge decisions.
In April, they created sets of playing cards that bear drawings designed by members and these cards were distributed to children and young people in care across the county at Easter.
The cards also detail the pledges made to children and young people in care by East Sussex County Council, which is the authority responsible for their welfare, and they remind looked-after children of their rights in easy-to-understand language and in a user-friendly format.
"There are probably about 50 promises altogether, so on a lot of the cards they've got a couple of pledges - the ones they think are quite important," says East Sussex CICC co-ordinator Meshelle Dale.
Some of the promises made by the county council cover a range of topics such as a pledge to help keep children in care in touch with family and friends when it is safe to do so, and to ensure every child has their own social worker and an independent reviewing officer who will get to know them, keep in touch and listen.
The council also promises to give their looked-after children the best places to live and the best education, training and jobs, as well as encourage hobbies and interests.
Set up in 2008 under the Care Matters reforms, CICCs are groups of looked-after children and young people who aim to give their peers a say on the local care system and about things that matter in their lives. There are 16 members in the East Sussex CICC, all aged between 11 and 18.
Members who serve a three-year term provide support to other young people in care and regularly meet with councillors and senior council officers, as well as attend national events to share their concerns and issues.
Dale says about 160 packs of cards have been given out so far to children and young people aged between nine and 14. They were devised by 14-year-old CICC member David, who helped Dale in applying for grant funding to get the packs printed.
David says he wanted to make a pack of cards because they're versatile, even though he thought the idea a "little far-fetched" originally.
"I never actually thought that my card idea would become reality. But now when I see the cards, I am proud that people's lives can be made better by something I designed," he says. "We got many other looked-after children involved by asking them to draw pictures to go on the cards and we met with a group of young people with disabilities to get their involvement too."
Councillor Sylvia Tidy, lead member for children and families at East Sussex County Council, says that sometimes children can understand their peers better than staff.
"Sometimes only another child in care can really understand what one of their peers is going through," says Tidy.
"The CICC is all about looked-after children helping each other and ensuring their voice is heard, and they have a real say in how they are cared for."
Now due to a cash shortage, East Sussex CICC is looking for new funders to back the cards, which cost £10 a pack to print.
David also says that the CICC has a few more ideas for the future, but they also depend on finding funding.
"We would like to produce a credit card-sized card with names and numbers on for all looked-after children in the county, which has social workers, support workers and someone from the school's name and contact number on," he adds.