The best foster care is transformational but that’s not always the case. How do we transform the system so it can transform the life chances of children who need it? Before writing this blog for foster care fortnight I did the usual thing of looking though all the things people are saying about foster care. […]

Evidence shows there is an intrinsic link between children engaging in leisure activities and improvements in their mental health and educational attainment (Department for Education and Skills, 2006). Care to Dance is a social enterprise with a mission to pioneer new ways of using dance to improve the wellbeing and educational achievements of young people […]

Care to Dance gives young people and children with experience in care the opportunity to express themselves through dance in a safe and inclusive environment. Young people are brought together as a community to share their love of dance and to make lasting friendships.  Beth Vecchione is the director of Care to Dance and a […]

The Care Leaders are Leaders with Lived Experience who provide training, keynotes and consultancy that look to enhance the experiences of children in care and care leavers. We are a mix of employees and associates who have a wide range of disciplines from marketing, branding, graphic design, human resources, legal, transformation, finance and more. Although […]

Last week we raised the awareness of Care Leavers across the UK. We heard advice, messages and powerful testimonials from those with care experience. Whilst this is a campaign that dominates social media Mary Anne-Hodd, care experienced trainer and consultant, wrote a post reminding us that there are ‘so many care experienced young people out […]

Dear Future You, I need you to know you are more than what you have been through. Yes, there are significant parts of your past that you’ve come through. I know you have had it harder than most young people your age & what I do know is, it wasn’t your fault. I know at […]

It’s National Care Leavers’ Week, a time to have meaningful conversations about care leavers, the services they receive and the people who support them. At The Care Leaders we are focused on providing a week of meaningful content that shares positive stories, advice for care leavers and adults who support them as well as being […]

I was one of these young people who wanted to leave care as soon as possible. I was adamant that I was ready. I didn’t let anyone tell me any different and if you had tried to explain to me the reality of what it would be like, I would have just ignored you because […]

We are leaders with lived experience who have developed both empathy and authority to young people and the services they receive. We know that lived experience provides a lens to understand what it feels like to be in the shoes of a child experiencing children’s services. As professionals we have built authority through our 10 […]

My name is Luke Rodgers and I am a lived experience leader who is passionate about changing the narrative for care experienced young people.  For the last 10 years I have been working in system transformation for children’s services with the primary focus to engage leaders, staff and young people with co-designed services based on […]