With 4 in 10 children aged 16-17 now in care-less accommodation, the government’s assertion that it only be used in “exceptional circumstances” couldn’t be further from the truth. Read about our open letter to @JoshMacAlister ⬇️. #KeepCaringto18 www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

Children’s minister urged to end ‘care-less’ housing for older looked-after children - CYP Now

Campaigners have called on children’s minister Josh MacAlister to close a gap in the care system that leaves thousands of 16- and 17- year-olds “without day-to-day care” and vulnerable to exploitation...

cypnow.co.uk

Article 39 has sent an open letter to @JoshMacAlister, urging an end to care-less accommodation for 16-17 year olds. No loving parent would leave their GCSE aged child in a caravan alone, or in a hostel with vulnerable adults. The risks are obvious. #KeepCaringTo18

Social Work England’s policy toward maternity leave during registration renewal is at odds with social work values. Not only is it despairing to see the 33% fee hike (with no exemption) but the assumption learning isn’t being “nurtured” during mat leave is patronising & outdated.

Subject access request routes for care leavers are unfit for purpose. I’ve received bin collection letters with more warmth than the communication I had from my local authority when I requested my files.

'I’ve had bin collection letters with more warmth': Rebekah Pierre on the reality of accessing care records - Community Care

Rebekah Pierre discusses the impersonal process of receiving her care records and how councils need to better support care leavers

communitycare.co.uk

‘I’ve had bin collection letters with more warmth’ I wrote about subject access requests for care files in @CommunityCare As corporate parents, local authorities have a duty of care; they can’t control the content, but they can control the delivery: www.communitycare.co.uk/2025/08/08/c...

'I’ve had bin collection letters with more warmth': Rebekah Pierre on the reality of accessing care records - Community Care

Rebekah Pierre discusses the impersonal process of receiving her care records and how councils need to better support care leavers

communitycare.co.uk

A reflection on my care files, three years after sharing “An open letter to the social worker who wrote my case notes”, which ended up going viral at the time. Here’s how my perspective has shifted: (Original letter available at basw.co.uk/articles/ope...)

The appallingly comments made by Cllr Andy Osborn about children in care are doing the rounds. As far as I’m concerned, his words don’t deserve any airtime. Not in this context, or indeed in the context of

My childcare fell through ahead of a keynote presentation this week and I was faced with a dilemma. Here’s what happened:

My childcare fell through this week ahead of a keynote presentation. Initially I thought about joining virtually; I was concerned that my little one might cause too much disruption, and detract from my message. /1

You know that feeling when you’re at the GP, and you can see the doctor glancing to the side, clock watching whilst you’re sat there sharing painfully private information? Where the screen in front of them seems to have more pull than you, the individual beside them?

Like many care-experienced people, I am ambiguous about #careday25 - it mostly feels like a day for big orgs to gain PR opportunities/fish for likes. That being said, it would be remiss not to mention Free Loaves on Fridays, written by 100 care experienced children & adults.

Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It

Buy Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It by Rebekah Pierre, Pierre, Rebekah (ISBN: 9781800183001) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

amazon.co.uk

I used to avoid the 20th December. It marked a painful ending as a child in care whose placement broke down at Christmas. Now it marks a new beginning in a book where 100 care experienced people reclaim our past. Find your Christmas copy of Free Loaves on Fridays here: unbound.com/books/free-l...

NEW: Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill Our initial analysis of the Bill was published this morning. Sorry we cannot join the chorus of congratulations. We expect so much more for children and young people. article39.org.uk/childrenswel...

Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill | Article 39

article39.org.uk

Recommended to anyone for anyone (except those who don’t want to see the world through the eyes of others who may share complex and difficult stories).

Rebekah Pierre@bekahpierre.bsky.social · 2y ago

What Jim said 🎁 🎄Free Loaves on Fridays is the gift that keeps on giving long beyond Christmas Day, containing stories, poems & letters from 100 care-experienced children and adults. Proceeds to Article 39 & The Together Trust. unbound.com/books/free-loa…

⬇️ So this happened today! article39.org.uk/2024/12/12/a...

Article 39's Founder Director receives honorary doctorate | Article 39

article39.org.uk

In case you missed it - @article39.bsky.social response to gov's children's social care strategy, covering proposals for: 📌Children deprived of liberty 📌16-17 year olds in care-less accommodation 📌Corporate parenting 📌Tackling profiteering & much more... article39.org.uk/labour-gover...

Labour government unveils its plans for children’s social care

Government this week (18 November 2024) unveiled its plans for children’s social care through two key documents – a document presented to parliament called ‘Keeping children safe, helping fami…

article39.org.uk

What Jim said 🎁 🎄Free Loaves on Fridays is the gift that keeps on giving long beyond Christmas Day, containing stories, poems & letters from 100 care-experienced children and adults. Proceeds to Article 39 & The Together Trust. unbound.com/books/free-loa…

Great to see a book review of Free Loaves on Fridays amongst excellent company in this journal. "A book with such a diversity of written experiences and formats that it’s possibly the closest thing we’ll ever have to an encyclopaedia of the care experience" Open access.

CELCIS@celcis.org · 2y ago

The latest issue of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care covers topical issues in residential child care across research, policy and practice, locally, nationally and internationally. Read the new issue online now: https://buff.ly/3CBACwo #SJRCC

A few months back, Lemn Sissay & I spoke to Pod Save the UK about the gross privatisation of the care system. The government’s new children’s social care strategy could have halted this. Yet it treats providers with kid-gloves, asking them to ‘voluntarily limit profit’ before legislative🧵

For anyone interested in the children's social care strategy launched yesterday, this is a really useful and comprehensive breakdown from @basw-uk.bsky.social Definitely worth bookmarking in case you haven't already seen it🔖 basw.co.uk/about-social...

Crackdown on profiteering from children's social care in reforms hailed as biggest in a generation

But is it the reset needed? A breakdown of government announcement with sector reaction and analysis

basw.co.uk

Bitterly disappointing to see this soft-touch approach to ending profiteering in care system. Asking providers to 'voluntarily limit' profits (when cost of a child in care can exceed £1m p/a) assumes a level of trust never earned. Tougher measures are needed now; gentle negotiations won’t work.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2y ago

Overhaul of children’s social care in England will crack down on firms’ profiteering

NEW: Government urged to end the wilful neglect of teenagers in care. Timeline showing how last government reversed the strong, cross-party political consensus that children in care aged 16 and 17 should not have to fend for themselves. #KeepCaringTo18 article39.org.uk/2024/11/18/g...

Government urged to end the wilful neglect of teenagers in care

As the new government promises (18 November 2024) “a more secure life for children across the country”, and legislation that will transform the children’s care system, children&#8…

article39.org.uk

There’s a lot of tokenism in lived experience participation. Whether it’s requests for unpaid keynotes “for the exposure!”, or politicians stopping by for a photo opp before disappearing, much needs to change. Pleased to be 1 of 15 care experienced people to contribute to this paper. Open access 👇🏼

Robin Sen রবীণ সেন (he/him)@robin2399.bsky.social · 2y ago

New paper led by @DrKatieEllis based on interviews with 15 prominent care experienced activists regarding their activism to achieve change in care systems. Thank you to all the participants for their insights. Available: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

NEW: Hundreds of children are being deprived of their liberty - and placed in illegal/unregulated care. AirBnBs, security guards, restraints - and often costing the state £1m+ Ministers want to act on this shocking failure of our welfare state: www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Fears grow over UK children at risk placed in illegal care homes

Rising number of vulnerable youngsters are being forced into unsuitable accommodation including Airbnbs, bedsits and caravans

theguardian.com

We are thinking of Amir Safi, and his grieving family and friends. Another young person failed by the immigration system, with social work complicity. We are sorry on behalf of the profession. 1/ tinyurl.com/y4xam3ts

Young Afghan asylum seeker run over on M1 ‘upset’ after being ruled an adult

Amir Safi, who said he was 16, was ‘quiet and withdrawn’ following social worker’s assessment, inquest hears

tinyurl.com

A book review so brilliant it’s worth bleeting (is this the Bluesky equivalent of tweeting?) twice. Open access - Free Loaves on Fridays review in the Scottish Journal of Residential Care: www.celcis.org/application/...

Our first post in our new online home 😀 With our friends at Mind, we have been granted permission to intervene in the upcoming appeal concerning the power of local authorities to deprive children in care of their liberty. More here: article39.org.uk/2024/11/15/c...

Charities join forces to defend the human rights of children in care

Article 39 and Mind charities have been granted permission to intervene jointly in the upcoming appeal of the High Court decision in J: Local Authority consent to Deprivation of Liberty, Re [2024] …

article39.org.uk

A PSA to organisations asking for lived experience training: If you ask to record a session for attendees who can’t make it, that’s just about acceptable. But asking to replay it indefinitely is exploitative. Not least because you wouldn’t ask that of other professionals. But

A PSA to organisations asking for lived experience training: If you ask to record a session for attendees who can’t make it, that’s just about acceptable. But asking to replay it indefinitely is exploitative. Not least because you wouldn’t ask that of other professionals. But claiming access to a

Truly delighted with this review of Free Loaves on Fridays, by the inimitable Jim Goddard. . With 100 authors and a no-rejection policy, this book really could have been an editorial nightmare. But it turned out inspired. Open access. Link below: www.celcis.org/application/...