The Discovered Heritage of Care Experienced Young People

Louise is the coproduction coordinator for Boingboing. She has lived experienced of being in care, so is particularly passionate regarding the emotional wellbeing of CYP in and leaving care. Here, Louise talks about ‘Taking Hold of our Heritage’, the current statistics for the care system in the UK, and potential disruptions to changing the system.

This was the closing sentence at the launch of, ‘Taking Hold of our Heritage’, a short book written by care experienced individuals. The book aims to highlight the lack of heritage many care experienced individuals have, as a direct result of being in the care system.

When I highlighted this on my own social media, I had messages thanking me for raising this awareness. Many people told me they had never considered that for a person in care, they would not have heritage. 

Heritage can mean a number of different things, ranging from the history of a town, to family ancestry. In relation to care experienced individuals, heritage can be a difficult subject, and one that is rarely talked about. Why would someone want to constantly think about the pain of their past? Ironically, this is exactly what is asked of care experienced individuals, but only when in a setting deemed appropriate by another person (such as a professional). Outside of those setting, care experienced individuals are expected to ‘move on’, or only think about the ‘here and now’. This expectation furthers fulfils the belief that being in care was an entirely terrible experience, and conversation shuts further down.  

Family anecdotes, memories from past celebrations such as birthdays, or even photographs, are often missing from the lives of care experienced individuals. This can be because of a number of different factors: moving a child or young person (CYP) to a ‘place of safety’ in an emergency; CYP having frequent moves between foster and residential homes; the sudden death of a parent or caregiver, meaning a CYP has to suddenly go into care. In these sudden, quick moves, belongings, possessions, and memories are not on the agendas of the responsible adults. Their aim is to ensure a CYP has a bed for that night at the very least; often, that task is difficult, and it can be understandable why other things get forgotten.  Whilst it is understandable, however, should it be deemed as acceptable, that CYP have so very little that is ultimately a part of their developing identity and sense of self is left behind? Furthermore, CYP are increasingly being moved out of area, away from family, friends and loved ones. This perpetuates the cycle of loss and grief, yet that cycle is not addressed. 

‘when you have nothing, you don’t know what you’re missing’.

It can be incredibly painful for care experienced individuals to acknowledge the losses they have had. Not only have they lost their family, they have perhaps lost items of comfort. Whilst we say possessions and material items are not important, that notion stems from a society that do have ‘things’. Those ‘things’ may be as a simple as a polka dot dress that one will grow out of, or it may be a teddy bear that one has had from when they were a baby. When thinking about heritage and creating ones own heritage, we are not saying that losses should be forgotten, but that what has been gained can be acknowledged alongside those losses.

Taking Hold of our Heritage does exactly that – the book is filled with heritage created by care experienced individuals. This heritage includes colours, arts, music, and nature. Care experienced individuals have taken what is important to them – a part of their journey – and framed it so it is now a part of their heritage, their history, and their identity.  

The entire project was led and controlled by the very individuals creating the book. Whilst they had help and support from Leicestershire Cares, the project belonged entirely to the people it was about. The book itself is now a part of their heritage, which is something truly magical.

During the launch of the book, individuals spoke of their experiences, not only of their history, but also the inspiration and process of creating the book. It was widely agreed that there was a priority for care experienced voices to be heard; as mentioned earlier, it’s often only the negative experiences that are talked about. It was acknowledged that this constant negativity is ‘bad’ for you and can constantly re-traumatise an individual; there is an agreed difference between therapeutic reflection and unhelpful rumination. 

A theme that came through when the authors were speaking was how difficult it is financially for care experienced individuals. This can make things attending college and university difficult, as people need money to fund those things. Statistics show that care experienced individuals have poorer academic outcomes than their peers, and are less likely to attend HEI. When a care experienced individual does enter further or higher education, tutors often fail to acknowledge the difficulties that individual is facing. A 16-year-old care experienced college student may have the responsibilities of a fully grown adult – bills to pay, food to buy and a house or flat to keep. Simply managing to find the bus fare to attend college can be a huge accomplishment for that day, and not enough consideration is given to this.

In reading the book, what is apparent is how different each experience in care can be. A question was asked during the launch, and the answer was clear – we are all different. All too often, individuals in care, along with care leavers, are stereotyped. Whilst they share the fact that they did not live with their parents, the similarity stops there. As one individual stated: ‘we might have had the same experience, but our feelings about that experience will be different, because we are all different’.

When looking at the statistics for CYP in care, it makes for unhappy reading. CYP going into care in the UK has risen by 28% over the last 10 years, with 75,370 CYP in care in 2018. Looked after children are less likely to achieve GCSEs, and have higher rates of mental and emotional distress. Current practices and polices view these as distinct issues, but it is a cyclic problem. CYP with mental and emotional difficulties are going to struggle in school and education, and the perceived lack of academic achievement is going to compound mental and emotional distress. Not enough consideration is given to the topic of academic resilience, yet the National Curriculum does not cater for the needs of CYP living in difficult circumstances. Furthermore, care experienced individuals currently make up 25% of the prison population, but they are also more likely to experience unnecessary criminalisation. Whilst this is acknowledged by governing bodies, there has been little improvement regarding this life altering issue. Current systems do not work, they have not been effective for a long time, so a new approach is required.

Blackpool is currently embedding a resilience and preventative approach, with initiatives such as Blackpool Families Rock (BFR). BPR is a co-produced set of guiding principles, currently being embedded across the whole town that ensures individuals from the community are key partners in facilitating positive change. BPR is built on the social pedagogy of head, heart and hands, alongside utilising the resilience framework as a tool to build and sustain resilience across systems. Blackpool Families Rock work in collaboration with Boingboing, implementing the resilience framework, which looks at CYP, their families and carers as whole. By taking a preventative and resilient stance, alongside working with families as a whole, the likelihood of going into care is decreased, and the likelihood of a CYP returning home are increased. Whilst numbers across the UK are increasing, the number of children going into care in Blackpool is decreasing, and this needs to be recognised; perhaps the approach Blackpool is adopting is a contributing factor, and those approaches should be considered on a wider scale.

Reading Taking Hold of our Heritage and attending the launch was a moving and inspirational experience.  It was humbling to listen to the self-made stories of a group of individuals who have built upon existing resilience and who are in the process of beating the odds, whilst changing the odds.