Foreword
When I was at school I found it very difficult to make new friends and fit in. This was due to being in foster care and moving schools a lot. When starting a new school I always had to make the teachers aware I was in foster care...
‘In Care, In School’ was a project jointly led in 2011 and 2012 by Bath Spa University (BSU) and Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES). Partners included the PSHE Association, the Who Cares? Trust (now ‘Become’) and most important the B&NES In Care Council. Its aim was to empower young people in care, and care leavers to tell schools and other students how they felt, and the barriers which they faced. As a matter of principle the young people decided on the direction and details of the project at every stage.
The young people present their scenarios to the Minister for Children, October 2012
The pack that was produced, containing brief scenarios, based on the young people’s school life, lesson plans, care leavers talking about their experiences and training materials for staff It was launched at the House of Lords in October 2012 by the then Children’s Minister, Edward Timpson and in November that year it was shortlisted for the Children and Young People Now National Awards. A BBC report outlining the project can be found on the BBC website
Naina and Kelvin at the Children and Young People Now Awards, November 2012
In Care, In School has featured in a number of publications about the education of children in care, most notably Sonia Jackson’s ‘Pathways through education for young people in care’ (2013) and Claire Cameron, Graham Connelly and Sonia Jackson’s ‘Educating children and young people in care’ (2015). The materials have been widely used across the country, in a number of ways. Discussions with schools as to how best to respond to the issues raised were an important factor in the development of the original BSU/B&NES attachment aware schools programme, and the eventual creation of ARC.
The pack was originally sold as a DVD, but since 2016 it has been openly available via the Internet. Following the de-commissioning of our original website we are delighted that ARC has agreed to host these materials, which we feel are as relevant today as when they were originally produced.
(Kelvin, talking to Bath Spa University students)
(Naina – Introduction to ‘In Care, In School’)
Richard Parker and Michael Gorman, August 2020
