NEWS & EVENTS
A Conference on Care Experience and Covid-19 I and two other National Representative Body members flew south to Luton to attend the Care Leavers’ Transitions to Adulthood in the Context of Covid-19 conference. I did not know what to expect as I had little knowledge of the care landscape in England but I was eager to go as I thought some of the content would be useful for my upcoming motion at the Scottish Youth Parliament. The research was about the effect that Covid-19 had had on the lives of Care Experienced young people leaving a formal care setting as they progressed into adult life. This work was presented by researchers from the University of Bedfordshire and the Tilda Goldberg Centre. The conference took place in one day with an array of talks, presentations and an insightful Q&A session. The research took place across Councils areas in England and many Care Experienced people (care leavers) took part in the research. The study concluded that there were five pathways that care leavers would take when transitioning into adulthood. I found the pathways interesting but also a very summarised version of the different routes leaving care. During the Q&A I noticed a lot of similarities between the Care Hubs set up by Durham County Council to the Champion’s Boards set up by Scottish Councils. The passion of the Care Experienced people that were working with the council and community was impressive. We then worked in a small groups to discuss the research and share our thoughts within our tables. I really enjoyed talking to professionals across the corporate parenting
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Charles Fernando, NRB Member & MSYP
spectrum on their experiences and they were equally interested in hearing about mine. At lunch the NRB had the chance to network with other Care Experienced organisations from across UK and Ireland. It was insightful to learn the varying degrees of progress made across the different countries, in terms of the Care Experienced movement. Scotland does appear to be taking the lead with The Promise, but England have just published their own report on their care system, so it will be interesting to see what their next steps are. I wondered at the power collaborative networking events such as this conference, could have within the care landscape. I was also reminded of how different it is to be Care Experienced across the UK and Ireland and the different issues that each nation faces. The day after the conference we were given a tour of the Houses of Parliament by the MP Alison Thewlis. I used this time as an opportunity to reflect on the conference as a whole and the obstacles and barriers that Care Experienced people face all over the UK. I hope there will be future opportunities to network and collaborate with the people I met.
