Children's services
“We have just as much potential as any other child or young person” - two of Walsall’s care leavers share their personal experiences with Cabinet
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Two of Walsall’s care leavers explained some of the everyday challenges and prejudices they face at a Cabinet meeting on 17 April 2024.
Chanelle and Luke both spent time in the care system during their childhoods, and presented to members as part of a report which asked Cabinet to treat ‘care experience’ as a local protected characteristic in Walsall.
The report outlined the local authorities statutory Corporate Parenting duties, and explained that the recommendations included in the report go above and beyond what the council is dutifully required to deliver, to best serve this vulnerable cohort of people, and enable them to live their fullest lives.
The report asked members to formally recognise and treat those with care experience in line with the other nine protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010, due to the significant barriers those with care experience face throughout their lives.
Research suggests that people with care experience often have lower educational attainment than those without care experience, are overrepresented in prison and homeless populations.
Addressing members, Chanelle said, “…We have just as much potential as any other child or young person regardless of background – we are just as able to become the doctors, scientists, programmers – and maybe even politicians! – of tomorrow.
“We haven’t had the easiest start in life though, so we may need some extra support and handholding along the journey.
“We are speaking to you today as care leavers but stand here with the confidence and ability to do so not just because we are care leavers, but also for the things that we are not:
“We are not facing homelessness, though 25% of the homeless population is care experienced,
“We are not in custody, though 25% of the prison population is care experienced,
“We are not unemployed and struggling to build skills, though care leavers are more than 3 times more likely to be out of work, education or training.”
Chanelle and Luke now live independently and shared some of their aspirations for the future. Chanelle plans to find work as a teaching assistant, with a long-term hope to become a foster carer, and Luke is currently in his first year of a social work degree. Both young people explained they want to give back to children and young people who may have similar childhood experiences to them.
“ In practice, this now allows us to provide our care experienced young people with greater opportunities in accessing support from our partners, such as work and training opportunities, and will acknowledge that the needs of our young people must be fairly recognised and supported in the same way as other protected characteristics.
Both Chanelle and Luke are truly inspiring ambassadors for our care leavers and care experienced young people and spoke so well about some of the real life experience and challenges they have faced, and continue to face still to this day.
Chanelle and Luke play a big part in the work we do with our Care Leavers forum and Corporate Parenting Board, so we can shape the services and opportunities we offer around the voices of people with firsthand experience of the care system.
Thank you to them both for their continued commitment to helping Walsall’s children and young people with care experience. “
Members approved the recommendations outlined in the report and will now treat care experience as a local protected characteristic in Walsall.
You can watch the discussion, including Chanelle and Luke’s contributions, on the Walsall Council committee management system.
Ends
Further information
A motion requesting members treat ‘care experience’ as a local protected characteristic in Walsall was first put forward at a Full Council meeting in February 2024 by Councillors, Elson, Jukes, Harrison, Waters, Hicken and Worrall.
More information about the motion can be found here: https://go.walsall.gov.uk/newsroom/council-calls-care-experience-become-local-protected-characteristic-0
More information about children and young people in care can be found on the Walsall Council website: https://go.walsall.gov.uk/children-and-young-people/children-care-and-care-leavers
