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I don't talk much about my time in care because over a decade since I left care and it just hurts to. But the last few days I've seen a bunch of stuff about the review and this thread attempts to answers some of the questions...this is my response to Josh's answers https://twitter.com/JoshMacAlister/status/1351065936141443072
1) you call this review "exciting". The care experienced community have been waiting for a review of this scale for a very long time, we've been misled, fobbed off, and had reviews that went nowhere before. we are scared, worried and hurting...not excited!
This isn't exciting for us. We fear this will become a tick boxing exercise and an echo chamber. The way this has been handled so far has only led to more fear and concerns. For the review to work at all, you have to listen to the CEP community. And I really mean Listen!
2) your answer here shows just how much you underestimate the pain some within the CEP community feel. Your experts by experience panel won't have the very voices it needs because they don't trust the process or, sadly, the people heading this up
The people selecting this panel have really concerned many people. You appointed your friend to help pick out the voices that will be on the panel. While you may say that's not what has happened, that is how it has been viewed. Your EbE needs a rethink if it's to be credible
3) The fact that people have to apply is a major red flag. You say it makes it fair and while that may be true it also gives weight to the argument that some key voices will not be heard or represented as they can simply just not be chosen.
The process for selecting the EbE (interviews & references) also suggests you are going to vet people to check that you are comfortable & happy with what they may bring to the panel. This whole process doesn't feel transparent at all.
4)I have no issues with your answer here. I agree that anyone who has experience with the system should be represented on the panel. it needs to cover the positive just as much as the negative and you need all voices around the table!
5) The advice form is pretty solid, but please make a promise to respond to everyone who tells you they were in care. If you are promising to listen to what we have to say then prove it by engaging with our responses to your own questionnaire! This is the minimum you could do!
6) I don't think you're independent from the DfE, The work that frontline created a blueprint for social work that the DfE has backed. That doesn't mean the review couldn't be independent with a bit of transparency, but it does require you to be open about any links with the DfE
Who is independent? I think that's a hard question to answer as there's not a blanket rule to it. It's much more about perceptions of independence than anything else. I would say that the chair of the review needs the CEP communities backing and I fear you are losing that.
In my view if the government were serious about a review then the chair would be someone with experience on both sides of the table. A qualified social worker who is also Care experienced who has a track record of backing campaigns by CEP to improve the system.
You want us to share our stories with you, but it feels like you want it on your terms. I like many within the CEP community are fed up & hurting from being asked to share our story with professionals who can't do anything with that information.
Every time I share my story a part of my heart breaks, a bit of my soul shatters and my pain only grows. You hold the power to be a force for healing and change but it requires you to be very humble and listen to us on terms that we can live & cope with.
for me, I need to know that if the review says that the leaving care age should be 21 for every looked child or that private companies shouldn't be making a huge profit from children's home then the government will change things. This review needs teeth that it just doesn't have
If your review holds no teeth - It fails
If your review can't create change - It fails
If your review doesn't listen to all parts of the CEP community - If fails
If the CEP community doesn't trust the review - it Fails
You have many hurdles to overcome and a near-impossible task.
If your review can't create change - It fails
If your review doesn't listen to all parts of the CEP community - If fails
If the CEP community doesn't trust the review - it Fails
You have many hurdles to overcome and a near-impossible task.
My advice would be to engage, talk and listen to people like @IanGould5, @EdNixon2, @MartinBarrow, @IDickson258, @AshcroftBen. Not only will they lead you to other voices but they all have a great understanding of different parts of the system. They are wiser and kinder than me!
I've tried to write this in the kindest way I can. I hope you can see that in what I have written I want the review to work but I have major doubts. I hope that in all of this you will remember that lived experienced is by far the most important voice you need to listen to!
