A National Voice

BASIC INFORMATION

Case study date: February 2006

Local authority in which project based: England wide

Date started: Summer 1999 (relaunched in 2003)

Type of organisation: Other sector - looked after and care-leaving young people

Brief description

A National Voice (ANV) is an organisation run by and for care experienced young people, with staff who have themselves been in care. Set up in 1999, its main aim is to create positive changes to the care system in England and provide a national platform for approximately 60,000 looked after children and young people, plus a further approx 50,000 care leavers. Its work includes consultation with young people, organising regional and national events for young people and promoting a positive image of young people from care. It works alongside voluntary organisations and local authorities to improve the care system, and raise awareness and promote the rights of young people in and leaving care. Its work is guided by a management committee consisting of young people aged 14 to 24.

Collaboration

ANV is currently hosted, managed and mentored by the Prince's Trust, but aims to become an independent young people-led organisation (as a company limited by guarantee - and then a charity) from April 2006.

Funding

ANV is currently funded through a Department For Education and Skills (previously DoH) Section 64 Grant, with annual grant of £170,000 a year until March 2007. Grant is paid via the Prince's Trust.

Staffing

National coordinator; officer manager; two regional development staff (until April 2006); youth involvement worker - all full-time.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work with and why?

ANV works with young people aged 5 to 25 in England. All 60,000 young people involved in the care system, plus approximately 50,000 care leavers, are entitled to join ANV. Between 1999 and 2005 over 1,000 young people had made direct contact with the organisation.

How was the need for the project identified, and by whom?

A feasibility study carried out by First Key national leaving care advisory service - with young people undertaking the research - identified the need for an organisation providing a voice for young people in and leaving care.

How do young people become involved? What, if any, commitment do you ask for?

Young people can become involved in a range of ways, including joining ANV; attending local meetings or starting a local group; campaigning and lobbying parliament or other decision-makers; contributing to the newsletter or website; and becoming a member of the regional forums or national management group. Levels of involvement vary, but national committee members make a substantial time commitment..

What are the main approaches used and activities offered?

ANV campaigns at national, regional and local levels to help young people change the care system for the better. Current and recent campaigns include:

'There's No Place Like Home': research planned and carried out by young people from care which highlighted the poor state of local authorities' housing provision for care leavers. Some 600 responses were received, approximately half from young people from care, and half from professionals working with young care-leavers.
Education campaign, intended to raise awareness of the barriers young people in and from care face in getting a good education, in order to influence policy makers and corporate parents (local authorities). The campaign was based on a survey of young people, which identified education as the most important issue for them. It aims to highlight the gap in achievement between children from care and their peers, building on the Social Exclusion Unit's 2003 report on 'a better education for children in care'.
'This is not a suitcase' campaign, launched by young people from ANV in 2003, seeks to end the practice of 'binbagging' (moving young people with their possessions in bin bags). It encourages local authorities to sign its charter committing them to providing suitcases for young people in care. As part of the campaign, ANV organised the 'Refuse Collection' fashion show hosted by Tate Britain and supported by the London College of Fashion, Barnardos and the Social Care Institute of Excellence. Outfits, which were all made from bin bags, were designed by leading professionals and modelled by care leavers, chief executives of large charities, TV celebrities and local authority social services directors. The 2006 show will be the fourth annual event.
Foster care campaign: based on young people's feedback, ANV has identified a range of ways in which social services can improve foster placements, including action before, during and after a placement.

ANV encourages and supports the involvement of young people in local care groups. It is seeking to create an online information network through developing a network of 150 micro websites run by teams of young people and their chosen worker. The sites will be a place to find out about local news, events and services for young people, and download documents such as the Pathway Plan and overnight stay policies. ANV will provide the teams with guidance about writing, editing and publishing to their site.

How are young people involved in shaping the project?

The experiences of young people from care shape the work of ANV at all levels. A young person from the North Yorkshire care system is currently seconded to the ANV staff team. Young people of all ages can become involved in ANV's campaigns, which are based on the views and concerns of young people in or leaving care. ANV's work is guided by a management committee representing the nine regions of England. This is made up of care experienced young people aged between 14 and 24, who meet four times a year for a weekend residential meeting. Committee members are selected and recruited from a list of applicants by other young people. The committee has recently invited three adult non-voting members to join the committee to provide additional stability and expert advice.

There is also currently a regional forum in the South East of England, which steers the direction of the organisation in the region, supported by a regional development worker.

Members of the national committee and regional forums undertake a wide range of activities including:

Networking with other young people and professional agencies;
Attending and speaking at conferences, launches, seminars and other events;
Training for professionals;
Working with a range of agencies (social services, housing, voluntary organisations etc.) to promote the views and rights of young people from care);
Promoting and publicising ANV and the rights of young people from care;
Giving media interviews (with appropriate training);
Involvement in parliamentary bills and briefings;
Helping to recruit ANV staff; and
Contributing to the ANV website and newsletters.

How does the project respond to the needs of different young people, particularly the most marginalised?

ANV ensures that the national committee is representative. It also works with front-line workers to ensure that ANV events and activities reach specific groups, such as minority ethnic young people or those living in rural areas.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

How do young people benefit from their involvement?

Feedback from young people has indicated they gain a range of soft skills, including increased confidence, teamwork and communication skills. Media training and involvement in the all-party parliamentary group on children from care also helps develop public speaking and presentation skills. They also benefit from meeting and networking with other young people from care.

How do others (young people, organisations or the wider community) benefit from the project?

So far over half of the 150 local authorities in England have signed ANV's 'No Bin Bag Charter' promising to stop the practice of using bin bags instead of appropriate luggage. Several national charities and independent providers, as well as the Association of Directors of Social Services and the Children's Rights Director had also signed up to the campaign. ANV had a donation of almost 400 suitcases from Safeways in 2004 and ensured these were delivered to Leaving Care Teams across England.
Following campaigning by ANV and others, the DfES issued guidance on overnight stays, which stated that looked after children should as far as possible be able to take part in the same activities as their peers.
ANV has carried out a range of research for the DfES which has informed policy approaches, for instance stressing the need for work with the birth children of foster families.
ANV also provides information signposting services to young people, frontline workers and members of the public, including those thinking of adoption or fostering.

Does the project contribute to community cohesion?

ANV's links with the Careleavers' Association provides a means for older and younger people from care to meet and share their experiences.

How are young people's progress and achievements measured and recorded?

ANV carries out skills audits to match its training programme to members' needs. No accreditation is currently offered - but ANV hopes to develop this.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated?

The DfES commissioned a government review report in 2003. The management committee also undertakes regular monitoring and reviews.

What are the findings of any evaluations to date?

The DfES review highlighted the need for a national organisation owned and directed by young people in care, open to all young people in care.

What changes/developments have occurred - or are planned - as a result of evaluation?

Findings from the government review formed the basis for developing ANV's constitution and business plan.

What factors help the work?

All ANV's work is informed by young people's real experiences;
A skilled and committed staff team with personal experience of care;
Support from local authority front-line workers in promoting ANV with young people from care;
Advisers from other agencies.

What factors hinder the work?

Limited resources and time restraints;
Geographical location in Manchester and London limits ANV's reach;
As a young people-led organisation, the demands facing young people in their lives may mean they are sometimes unable to deliver their planned activities - contingency plans are needed;
Bureaucracy resulting from being hosted by a large organisation (due to change).

PARTNERSHIP/MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WORKING

What other agencies do you work with?

The Prince's Trust, YouthBank UK and The National Youth Agency are supporting ANV's move towards independence. Other partners include Who Cares?, Rainer, Voice of Children in Care, National Leaving Care Advisory Service, BAAF, independent fostering agencies, National Children's Bureau, NCH, Barnardos, Social Care Institution for Excellence, Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and the Fostering Network.

When working in partnership, what is the distinctive contribution of your project?

Credibility from being a young people-led service users' organisation.

Has this partnership resulted in greater collaboration or increased understanding between partners?

Yes - joint campaigns and have increased ANV's profile and allowed it to organise events that it could not otherwise afford, such as the fashion show at Tate Britain.

STRATEGIC IMPACT

Do you consider this project to be innovative?

ANV is the only national organisation run by and for children and young people from care, providing a national platform for their voices.

How do you disseminate the learning from the project?

Through reports on research projects and campaigns.

Has the learning from this work influenced wider organisational/service strategies?

ANV is involved in setting up a new project with Social Care Institute for Excellence, CSCI & WMTD (What Makes The Difference project funded by Equal) which will draw on the experiences and expertise of care experienced young people to develop a quality framework/kitemark for services targeting young people in and leaving care. This will be used to audit local authority or agency provision, influence the wider policy agenda on the involvement of young people, and develop a programme supporting young people as trainers on issues affecting looked after children and care leavers. ANV also hopes to develop some national standards for user involvement.

What plans do you have to sustain/develop this work?

As an independent organisation, to continue to work with existing partner organisations and develop new partnerships as appropriate.

CONTACT DETAILS:

Maxine Wrigley, Central Hall, Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ. Tel: 0161 237 5577. E-mail: info@anationalvoice.org. Website: http://www.anationalvoice.org/