Read our recommendations from young people with lived experience of the care system for the Independent Review of Children's Social Care.
In 2019, the Conservative Party manifesto committed to reviewing the children’s social care system to make sure children can access the support they need. On 15 January 2021, the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care was announced.
However, at Barnardo’s we believe that to be truly effective a review of the care system must hear directly from those people who know the system best – the children and young people who have direct experience of it.
A group of care-experienced young people supported by Barnardo’s developed the recommendations in this report. This group (known as the ‘Care Review Collaborative’) includes young people with a wide range of experience of the care system, including those who came into care as young children and later on, those who have lived in foster care and those who have lived in residential care. They are all passionate about their desire to achieve a better system of children’s social care in England. This report is the result of the joint work of that group, and as Barnardo’s we are extremely grateful to the commitment of the young people who shared their stories, experiences, and ideas to make this report possible.
To them it is just a job you know, just something that they are doing to earn a living, it might be called the care system, but it doesn’t seem that they always care.
Young person with experience of the care system
What change young people want to the care system
The Care Review Collaborative of young people have come up with eight recommendations:
- There should be better support for families in trouble
- Children in care should be listened to and should be able to have their say in decisions made about them
- There should be activities to tackle loneliness and isolation for care-experienced young people in every local authority
- Children in care should be able to participate in the same activities as those not in care
- Children and young people should be protected from discrimination related to their care status
- Children in care and care-experienced young people need workers who can build stable relationships and want to spend time with them
- Children in care and care-experienced young people need better access to mental health services
- Young people leaving care need more support as they become adults, particularly in finding the right place to live
It often feels likes there is no communication, social workers who talk to the child don’t always know what parents are actually going through
Young person with experience of the care system
For more on these recommendations and the lived experiences of the Care Review Collaborative, read the full report.
More on our work around the care system
From pillar to post
Read our latest report on the care system (2022) and what the government need to do to ensure children in and leaving care have more stability.
Towards a better care system
Find out our latest work on campaigning for change in the care system, to ensure every child can reach their full potential.
What needs to change in the care system according to young people
Read our blog, written by a young person with lived experience of the care system, to find out what else needs to change.