Anna and her team at the princes trust are working on a national initiative in Scotland Home – The Promise focussed on establishing the importance and impact of loving relationships within the care sector. It is great to hear about such a quick response to the clear evidence highlighted within the review that the current care system wasn’t working.
A refreshing conversation with an individual and initiative passionate about making changes to the current system
Aidan Croughwell -Burton - Powering Up Project Development Manager
Here at Leicestershire cares are approach to supporting young people and the community is embedded within our Power to Change model. This is also the case when supporting care experienced young people.
Our approach
Anna was keen to hear about our work with care experienced young people and discussed some of the outcomes relating to higher numbers of care experienced young people disengaging from services in comparison to other groups of young people. We discussed the importance of Relationship Based Practice and some of the key qualities needed to make these relationships sustainable. Consistency, Building Trust, and a Willingness to be Flexible in your approach to support, is something that has been highly effective on the Powering up Project. Here is a video created by one of our young people highlighting the key qualities they expect from a mentor:
Aidan Croughwell – Burton, Powering Up Project Manager reflected on his learning and shared that not all young people will want to be part of a large group. As a result, the Powering Up Project focuses our work on supporting young people individually developing relationships and building trust. Aidan also discussed his awareness and the importance of understanding where young people are at.
What does he mean by this?
If we are to think of our Power to Change model and the different stages you will find that many young people either approaching the care cliff or post transition after leaving care will generally be focussed on addressing some of their immediate issues such as preparing for or experiencing independence, organising and managing finances, finding appropriate housing and accommodation, or tackling concerns related to their wellbeing.
When it comes to developing groups and focussing on participation activities this is maybe not the right time for these young people. From our campaigns work we have been able to identify that young people that have moved through the stages of the Power to Change model towards Power With are now more equipped to engage with this type of activity.
Our learning is that through engaging closely with local partners across the care sector and especially those across both further and higher education we have been able to identify care experienced young people looking for a platform to raise awareness and impact change for other young people experiencing the care system.
It was great to have a chat with Aidan about his experience of working on The Powering up Project. He talked me through various different techniques and ways of working that he has found particularly effective. I look forward to incorporating these practices into the co-production group that I am working on in the future
Anna Sturzaker, Princes Trust - The Promise
For further information about our project and our work with care experienced young people please contact aidan@leicestershirecares.co.uk
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Joining Up Joining In | Leicestershire Cares
Mental Health and the lived experiences of care experienced young people | Leicestershire Cares