It took decades after leaving care to get the mental health help I needed

an article by Jolene Campbell published in the Guardian

It took a crisis for me to get the specialist support that children in care should receive from the start


‘Adverse childhood experiences can have long-term effects on psychological health and wellbeing.’ Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Almost 30 years later, my heart still pounds when I think about the night before I was taken into care at the age of 10. Left alone in the house and sleeping with a knife under my pillow. To this day I have nightmares about it.

Trauma in childhood creates physical changes in the body; it makes us more likely to develop serious illnesses and increases the odds of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder later in life.

Looked-after children and young people have much poorer mental health than others; at least half have a mental health condition. About a quarter have had a mental health crisis since leaving care. According to charities such as Barnardo’s, most do not get specialist support.

Such systemic failure is brought into sharp focus when we consider that, in Scotland, the vast majority are referred to the children’s reporter for care and protection reasons. Neglect and lack of parental care is the most common reason for a child in Scotland to be on the child protection register.

Adverse childhood experiences like neglect can have complex, long-term effects on psychological health and wellbeing. My own experience bears out the growing evidence.

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Supporting the educational transitions of looked after children at Key Stage 4: the role of virtual schools and designated teachers

an article by Jennifer Driscoll (Programme Director at the Department of Education and Professional Studies, King's College London, UK) published in Journal of Children’s Services Volume 8 Issue 2 (2013)

Abstract

Purpose
There has been little research on the education of looked after children over the current school leaving age of 16, although the underperformance of this cohort at Key Stage 4 (age 14-16) has been the subject of considerable academic commentary. This paper aims to contribute to understanding of the ways in which looked after young people nearing the end of compulsory education can be supported and encouraged to continue in education and training.

Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were undertaken with 12 designated teachers for looked after children and four virtual school heads, as part of the first stage of a three-year longitudinal study following 20 looked after children in England from years 11-13 (ages 15-18).

Findings
Participants identified particular challenges in ensuring a successful educational transition for looked after young people in year 11 and expressed concern at the cumulative effect of multiple transitions at this stage on young people’s lives. There appears, however, to be an increasing focus on and commitment to giving young people a “second chance” to acquire qualifications commensurate with their potential post-16. The comparative advantages and disadvantages of school and further education colleges for this cohort at Key Stage 5 are considered.

Practical implications
The implications of the forthcoming extension of the school leaving age for professionals supporting looked after young people post-16 are discussed.

Originality/value
The designated teacher for looked after children became a statutory role in 2009, and to date there has been little research on the role of these professionals, or the work of virtual schools.

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Supporting Care Leavers to Fulfil their Educational Aspirations: Resilience, Relationships and Resistance to Help

an article by Jenny Driscoll (King’s College London, London, UK) published in Children & Society Volume 27 Issue 2 (March 2013)

Abstract

Most children in state care do not do as well in school as their peers, but the period of leaving care and transition to adulthood may offer a ‘turning point’ for positive change.

Based on a small study of care leavers in England, this article employs the concept of resilience to explore the significance of supportive relationships in enabling this group of young people to make decisions about their future and encouraging them to overcome setbacks in educational attainment.

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Evaluation of the Staying Put: 18 Plus Family Placement Programme – Final report

a research report (Reference: DFE-RB191) by Emily R Munro, Clare Lushey, Debi Maskell-Graham, and Harriet Ward (Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University) and National Care Advisory Service
Published: February 2012

Summary

The Staying Put: 18 Plus Family Placement Programme was a pilot that ran from July 2008 to March 2011 in 11 local authorities across England. It aimed to improve outcomes for young people making the transition from care to adulthood and was targeted at young people who had ‘established familial relationships’ with their foster carers and offered them the opportunity to remain in their placement until the age of 21.

The pilot looked to enable young people to build on and nurture their attachments to their foster carers, so that they can move to independence at their own pace and be supported to make the transition to adulthood in a more gradual way just like other young people who can rely on their own families for this support.

Includes:

• Introduction
• Key findings
• Aims
• Methodology
• Findings
• Implications for policy for practice

Full text (final report) (PDF 126pp)
Full text (brief) (PDF 9pp)

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