LONG THREAD – DfE-led care review.
I am writing this to sector leaders, charities and their CEOs, and other professionals who are uncritically supporting the DfE-led care review. All those saying versions of “hey, we all have the same goals here guys, let’s work together” 1/

or “Hey, don’t be so negative, don’t prejudge, let’s make it work”. What you are asking for is trust, for people to take a leap of faith. What audience is it you imagine you are addressing? Is it those who are, or have been, in care? Because if it is – how dare you? 2/

How many times do you think children in care are let down, betrayed, abused by people they have been expected to trust? By people with power over them? How many times do you think they have been asked to take a leap of faith as they are, say, moved placement one more time? 3/

Told to be positive, asked to trust even more strange adults? How many times? Please forgive that some of us are a tad cagey. And it is worse than that isn’t it? 4/

Every time you refer to the review as “independent” when you are fully aware of @JoshMacAlister close ties to the DfE, when you are aware he has an existing “blueprint” for children’s social care which has won favour at the DfE and you say nothing – 5/

– you are deliberately betraying the trust of care experienced people once again. This morning @JoshMacAlister has tweeted a thread in which he deliberately attempts to mislead. Not mislead you, or lefty social work academics, or jaded activists like me, 6/

he knows we know the score, but thousands of care experienced people and their families. If you stay silent, or worse support and amplify this, you are betraying the trust of those who are, or have been, in care – yet you ask us to take a leap of faith. Again, how dare you? 7/

If this makes you uncomfortable, if you find it difficult to think about, if you consider me too aggressive, too adversarial, too disrespectful, not collegiate enough, then you should know this – I could not give a flying fuck 8/

Because if you are unable to hear anger, rage, pain and respond thoughtfully, honestly, with empathy and integrity – well then you shouldn’t be anywhere near children in care, much less the review. 9/9