Looked After Children Speak Out At National Conference
October 20, 2006
The joining together of 100 looked after children and young people from across the country provided the platform for lively debate and discussion at the fourth annual FCA Young People’s Conference.
Entitled ‘Care Speaks’, the 2006 conference took place on Friday, September 29, at Centre Parks in Nottingham. Designed and implemented by looked after young people, the conference included a series of workshops and presentations which demonstrated the importance of keeping children and young people’s views at the core of social care. Key issues such as bullying, realising & achieving, advocacy and leaving care were high on the agenda.
Conference organiser and FCA national co-ordinator for children’s services, Jeanne Wilson, explained: “By promoting the voices of looked after children and young people we are able to make positive steps forward to bring about change and shape services in a way that they understand.
“All too often the needs and desires of these children are misinterpreted. Our annual conference offers an ideal environment to listen and act positively on what is said.”
The FCA Young People’s Conference was underpinned by ‘Charter for Choice’ devised by young people and launched last year within FCA. The charter represents young people’s interpretation of the ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda in terms of what they want from the care system.
FCA hosts a number of young people’s forums across its operating areas. These forums exist to promote the views of young people and are integral to the work undertaken by the organisation.
