Under normal circumstances, I do my best to ignore the 20th Dec. Its the anniversary of when, as a 16-year-old in care, I was kicked out by my foster carer via a note on the kitchen table. I never really got over it. But in the wake of yesterday's shocking judgement depriving Children aged 16/17 of the right to care in the "care system" (putting them at risk of being dumped in caravans/bedsits), I cannot help but reflect. Words cannot express how vulnerable & terrified I felt on that day. And how terribly ill-equipped I was to
article39.org.uk/2022/12/19/per…

Shame on all who contributed to the toxic narrative that it is OK to abandon children in care in hostels & caravan parks in one of the world's wealthiest countries. Your name is all over this. We shall not forget interim reports, gloating twitter statuses or your craven silence.

https://twitter.com/article_39/status/1604904147215650823

As the year comes to a close, there could've been so much to celebrate in the wake a 'once in a generation review' into the care system. Instead, there are now 7,000+ children are in hostels, caravans or tents without care. Easy prey for gangs & predators. What victory is that?

Before Twitter gets taken over with Christmas-spam, let it be known that if a child in Year 11 with a Sept-Nov birthday goes into care tonight, there’s now a 50/50 chance they’ll end up in unregulated accommodation. That’s because according to this gov, 16 & 17 year olds don’t Deserve loving, caring homes the same way a child 15 & under does. Instead - to placate private providers who are making £££s off this dangerous loophole - they can be sent off to caravans, adult hostels & even tents with no adult supervision. Ask any social worker and they will

11 years ago today I was a care-leaver receiving my A level results, having spent almost 2 years in unregulated accommodation. No additional marks were given for having written coursework with no electricity, having done exams on 3 hrs sleep given the raves, police incidents &... Noise until all hours in the morning, or for simply having got through the school day despite knowing I'd be going 'home' to a hostel with grown men who were known to police. Whilst friends had parents call UCAS/clearing operators for advice when grades weren't as expected,

THREAD: Received care files from my local authority today - wasn’t sure what to expect, but didn’t expect this. If you write records for children, please take note: To begin, my first name isn’t even spelt correctly. Just take a second to check. And yes, it matters. Next, please don’t put allegations in inverted commas. It is cruel and unnecessary - our experiences, whether or not you believe them, do not need to be subject to what comes across as sarcastic/undermining punctuation. That stuff hurts.