The Care Leaders

In honour of National Care Leavers Week, we're excited to share a short film showcasing the amazing work of ‘The Family Business,’ which is creating meaningful employment opportunities for care leavers. This initiative goes beyond corporate parenting—it’s about community parenting. A special thank you to Suffolk County Council for including The Care Leaders in this incredible initiative! Please watch the film in Chris’ link below and share your comments with us 👇🏾

A really thought provoking training event yesterday with Hartlepool & Stockton on Tees Safeguarding Children Partnership. Luke Rodgers from The Care Leaders was thought provoking as always and the drama performance by Odd Arts was a great reminder about making space for someone to tell their story. Well done to the young people of Corner House who inspired this work. Well done also to the Mandale Mill participant who demonstrated just how it’s done 💚

For #NationalCareLeaversWeek, a reminder that there is no one face of a Care Leaver, just like there is no one face of a lawyer (or any other profession). Happy National Care Leavers Week to my community 🥳 I love the theme ‘All of Us, We are One’ as it fully supports the work we do at Lawyers Who Care. We are led 90% by care-experienced volunteers. The barriers to a legal career for care-experienced people are huge, but we are committed to breaking them down. I’m so proud of my team, a living testament to what we can achieve, especially together. To me, this week should be about more than just amplifying voices. It is one thing getting our voices at the table, but are we being heard? #Inclusion, to me, is making sure voices are heard. This year, I want to see an appreciation for the long-term impact care-experienced people offer the world. We should be getting involved in care-experienced-led organisations that can provide role modelling to the future generations. I am also beyond proud to be a part of such a supportive wider community. As I always say, care-experienced people light up a room differently. A few incredible lights I’d love to highlight for the week are below (follow them for the incredible things they are doing and for endless inspiration): Gemma Creamer Andy Smith Matt Smith Rebekah Pierre Sophia Alexandra Hall Luke Rodgers BEM Judith AM Denton LLB (Hons), CeMAP, Cert CII Ric Diaghe Ashleigh Searle Annie Jin Lei Bell Ashley John-Baptiste Chloe Pomfret Louisa Foyle Shimron Walters Maleekah Burden Leah Jayne Alexandra Rudman Amber Knowles Steven Russell Mary-anne Hodd Chris Wild Terry Galloway Krystal Piper Jonny Hoyle Lisa-Maria E. ❤️ ALL OF US, WE ARE ONE. I’m proud of each and every one of you. You have all touched my life in such an inspiring way. Keep leading the change you want to see in the world. #NationalCareLeaversWeek #DiversityandInclusion

Amazing to see such important coverage about leaving care and homelessness. Brilliant work from Katharine Sacks-Jones, the team and young people at Become. #EndTheCareCliff

The theme of National Care Leavers Week is 'All of Us, We are One'. Which is fitting in the wake of 'Free Loaves on Fridays, the Care System as Told by People who Actually Get It', featuring 100 authors aged <13-68. Given the glass ceiling in publishing which excludes so many (particularly care leavers, who have often missed out on education, networks and opportunities), we had a no-rejection policy in place. Which, for the record, is practically unheard of in the world of publishing. It meant we heard from the very people we needed to - those whose accounts often go under the radar. Usually, care leavers are written about (but without) in assessments & reports, where worn out stereotypes are rife. This is us in our own words, minus the professional jargon. Proceeds to Article 39 & The Together Trust: https://lnkd.in/eemZkMVa

'Turning Corporate Partnering into Community Parenting' Suffolk County Council are giving care leavers the skills to enter the workplace 👏🏽 We have proudly supported, The Family Business, a new innovative programme that creates meaningful employment opportunities for care leavers and ensures they feel prepared for the world of work. We aspire for care leavers to have bright futures and to feel adequately supported to achieve their aspirations. MASSIVE well done to Chris Wright and all of the team for brining this vision to life! Check out the trailer below for their short film 👇🏽 #LivedExperience #CareExperience #CareLeaver #CareLeader #CommunityParent #CorporarePartening #TheFamilyBusiness

'Local Authorities, Independent Providers and Placements' In this month's Conversations That Care, Luke Rodgers BEM and Karylle Phillips dive deep into the complexities of child placements in social care. As care leavers and professionals, they share personal stories and insights, challenging the status quo and exploring the pros and cons of different placement options. Listen now to discover strategies for improving the quality of care in the social care system. 📺 Watch Here: https://lnkd.in/e9DhKHaJ 🎧 Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/eRjTm8mQ #LivedExperience #CareExperience #FosterCare #SocialWork #ChidrensServices

What a powerful session with Dez Holmes on The Care Leaders Online! We explored the complexities of trauma-informed practice, going beyond the surface to understand the different types of trauma and their impact on individuals and communities. Dez challenged us to consider the role of structural and socio-economic factors in trauma, emphasising the importance of participatory practice and organisational-level change. Thanks to Dez for a thought-provoking and impactful session. You can catch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/eYtBB4kC #TraumaInformedPractice #ChildDevelopment #CareLeadersOnline #LivedExperience #CareExperience #FosterCare #SocialWork #ChildrensSocialCare

‘Me and My Education - Who Cares? The Voice of the Young Person’ Thanks to the West Midlands Virtual School CiC Foundation for inviting Luke Rodgers BEM and The Care Leaders to facilitate and exhibit at their Designated Teacher conference. It was an inspiring day focused on how we can positively impact the education experiences and outcomes for care-experienced young people. We were thrilled to hear from so many incredible young people taking ownership of their transition from care leaver to care leader. A huge thank you to all the dedicated practitioners who are passionate about making a difference in the lives of our young people and ensuring they leave services better off than when they entered. #LivedExperience #CareExperience #Education #FosterCare #School #DesignantedTeacher

Massive massive well done Abi!! You are an incredible example of a Care Leader 👏🏽