A National Voice

ANV News

More Volume: Amplify 2008 - Crank it up!

This summer A National Voice will be hosting the most significant consultation event for young people in 2008.

We'd like you to come along!

The AMPLIFY event will last for two days (August 5th/6th) and allow young people aged from 14 to 17 from across England to come together, make friends, learn new skills and share their views with us on how they feel about the Care System and the impact of "Care Matters".

They will choose from a wide selection of entertaining and valuable workshops, take part in consultation using modern media, be offered information and advice on a range of issues and get the opportunity to win an amazing selection of prizes including laptops, digital cameras, i-pods and more!

Everybody gets their own room. Special food requirements and abilities are catered for and there will even be a series of workshops available for workers. Attendance at this conference will also count towards PRTL requirements for social workers.

For more info including booking info and form downloads go to the AMPLIFY Page

Read about the last AMPLIFY event

Did You Miss Us?

Our news pages have been neglected for a while as we just haven't had the time. We've got loads to report but with the changes of some months back and the workload increase we haven't had even a moment to update the website. There are quite a few things to be done here at anationalvoice.org, a general tidy-up is in order.

So we've moved the news stuff to the archive and posted some updates on some of our projects here with a couple of news stories.

We'll be back on the website thing soon.

ANV and Samantha Morton Make A World of Difference

Oscar nominated actress Samantha Morton dedicated a day recently to pay a visit to ANV’s office in London to volunteer and meet some of the young people.

Samantha, who also launched (with ANV) Vodafone's 'World of Difference campaign', is a care-experienced actor who starred most recently in the film ‘Control’ and has been Oscar nominated twice for her roles in previous films. She approached A National Voice two years ago and decided she would like to get involved and meet some of the young members.

Fiona, one of the young people present said

“It was great, I have never met a famous star before and I have seen lots of her films. We got to interview her to be an Ambassador for ANV and she was so lovely; really cares about young people and making a difference. She talked to us about her experiences being in Care, she was really passionate about our work and trying to make a difference to the Care system. It was a fantastic day and an amazing experience to meet her ”

A World of Difference

Samantha also recently spent a day working for A National Voice to launch 'A World of Difference', a campaign started by Vodafone that enables people to work for a charity for a year.

She said of ANV and the campaign

“I feel really passionate about helping children and young people who are in the Care system. I support A National Voice as it aims to make positive changes to the Care system in the UK and gives a voice to those being cared for. The World of Difference project gives people the opportunity to work with their own favourite charity - I've seen first hand what a difference an extra pair of hands can make. ”

The Campaign

Vodafone (The Vodafone Group Foundation) has been looking for four people to take a year out from their jobs to work for their favourite charities. They will be paid, via the 'World of Difference' programme, up to £25,000 towards outgoings and £20,000 for expenses.

The foundation have commissioned research which found that:

• six million workers experience low points in their jobs on a daily basis
• 41% feel there is more to life than what they are doing now
• many believe that taking a break from work to pursue other interests or offer their time to charity would boost their job and life satisfaction

but 70% of people didn’t feel that they could financially give up their jobs to do charitable work which is where the WOD programme's salary and expenses comes in.

More about the World of difference Campaign

More about The Vodafone Group Foundation

Backing Vocalists Wanted (Must be able to harmonize.
No ego's. Must have soul. Team players only)

You don't have to be young to be a part of A National Voice. You also don't need to have spent any time in Care. You can join our group by becoming a supporter of ANV.

Just go to our supporters page for the info and to download the form, fill it in and send it to us. There's a small fee for companies/organisations and local authorities but individual and user group membership is free.

You can also make a donation using the same form or by going to our Just Giving page  and doing it online. There you can make a single or regular monthly donation of however much you want.

The Just Giving site also gives you the opportunity to do some fundraising for ANV. You could, for instance, have a sponsored chocolate eating marathon (or something?) make a page on our Just Giving site and tell everyone you can to go to that page and start sponsoring you. After that the page is all automagically updated with total donations, progress meter, list of sponsors etc. and all the money raised is automatically transferred into ANV's bank account ready to be put to good use.

Give it a go, it's easy. Join our big band, become part of the chorus, support our voice.

Go to the Support ANV page

Go to the Just Giving page 

View our Supporters List

Update: SuperSonicalization

SuperSonic is progressing well, we are continuing to research and compile neccessary data for SuperSonic Profiles. It's another big job and the list of potential candidates is growing all the time.

Our plan is to get as much info on to the SuperSonic website as we can before it goes live and from then on profiles can be added by individuals themselves or on behalf of others through the website itself.

In the meantime we have made a video for you to watch about the concepts behind the campaign. This short documentary looks at the ideas behind SuperSonic. Football player and TV presenter Mark Bright, poet Lemn Sissay and other mortals discuss their experiences and thoughts about Care and life after it. The film asks questions about the barriers that being in Care can bring, how can they be broken, what success really means and whether a man can really fly.

You can see it at our video page or you can watch it at google video

Update: Re:RE:verbverb

We have been having problems with the system that powers RE:verb and have been getting it changed to something more reliable and usable.

RE:verb is a huge online project that requires a rugged and stable system that can cope with a potentially heavy usage, both on the publishing side and at the public/visitor side. To that end we have been researching and implimenting an appropriate software solution. We have also been updating the user interface and overall look and feel of the websites.

So we can only apologise to those that have been frustrated by this work and to ask for a little more patience while we endeavour to get the best tools for what is a worthy and valuable project.

Update: ULTRALILAC

We are continuing to test, pilot and streamline the LILAC evaluation process. We are still seeking more funding as, again, it is another large project that we need to develop to a mature state.

We believe this an important project for our young people and the people that take care of them and we are working hard to get it right.

In case you are unaware of LILAC and what it is we'll let the Guardian explain:

This is the Lilac (Lifelong Improvement for Looked-After Children) project, a groundbreaking initiative in which young people who spent a large part of their own lives in care are training to become inspectors of local authorities' care services. Pioneered by the care-leavers [sic] group A National Voice (ANV), Lilac inspections will concentrate on how well local authorities involve looked-after children in their own care, in the planning and evaluation of care services generally, and on how effectively authorities handle complaints.(The Guardian, Wednesday February 28 2007)

You can read the whole article here

and here is another article from the Guardian (Society Guardian, Wednesday June 6 2007)

Other Stuff

We are still committed to representing our young people with regard to Care Matters and we are letting the government know what we think is right and wrong with their plans for the young people in their care. We really want to get the best from this opportunity to influence the changes that are going to take place in the Care system. We are using every means at our disposal.

Our CEO, Maxine, was recently awarded an honorary masters degree by Salford University. We won't say too much about it in case we embarrass her...

Clare, one of our Regional Development Workers, took a trip to Dallas, Texas in the US of A in April as part of a Rotary International Program.

You can download and read Clare's 'letter from America' ( pdf)

Feeling Supersonic?

What do Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon and Malcolm X have in common? Well, yes they're famous people but that's not the interesting thing. The answer is that they are people who experienced some type of Care, as were many comic book superheroes like Superman and Spiderman. This elite list also contains the names of fictional characters such as Tracy Beaker and Harry Potter as well as some mythological/religious figures. It would seem that these are individuals who are able to break through any barriers that may come with that Care experience and pursue goals and achieve success. This has become the inspiration for ANV's Supersonic campaign.

Marilyn – Supersonic – BOOM!

Of course some of these folks just got lucky. Kal–El (Clark Kent) for instance was indeed separated from his family, his home and his …erm planet but he also happened to develop the power of flight, x–ray vision and many more handy abilities. That kind of stuff's got to help if you're intending to become Superman and right the wrongs of the world.

While it's true that some of the achievements are superhuman or fantastical, there are others which are very ‘real world’. Although many of these people are not living, the echoes of their voices still reach our ears and the effects of their actions are still changing the world. They positively affect the way we think and the way we perceive the world, other people and ourselves. There are many more who we will probably never know. The ‘ordinary heroes’; the doctors and nurses and ambulance workers who have saved lives, the political activists who have caused changes which reduce poverty, lessen injustice, establish human rights etc.

Other members of this ‘special’ group have pursued more personal goals sometimes against great odds. They may not be in a position to help others directly but they can show others that they have the power to help themselves. They show us that we can go beyond individual limitations and achieve whatever we want to achieve. We can all go supersonic.

There are many categories of achievement and success and many different measures of it. There is also a vast array of ‘achievers’ and ‘succeeders’ but we believe there is a special category reserved for those select few who have the ‘Malcom X–Factor’. These are people who, in their youth had to deal with the extra complications, disturbances and negative attention that often comes with being ‘looked after’/going through the ‘Care system’ even for a short time. This on top of the unfortunate circumstances (always beyond their control) that led to them to being in that situation, a situation that only those who have experienced it can know the truth of. These are the people who, despite any of this, are/were not deterred from achieving their goals. They were separated from family/home/planet were not endowed with super powers but nonetheless broke through the barrier—were not held back—and achieved what they set out to achieve.

What about failure? What if we didn't achieve? Well, for one thing, if you fall into the Supersonic category you cannot fail. By the very act of being true to yourself and not being defined or controlled by your past and not being limited by it you have succeeded. More importantly though, you are probably underestimating your achievements

‘You need to be yourself
You can't be no one else’

Us lot at ANV want to celebrate, document and present this unique group of individuals so that young people who are having or have had that Care experience can see what's possible. So we're making a dedicated website and David Akinsanya (a successful film maker who is Care–experienced) is making a short film for us with interviews from people who are willing to be involved. So far we have heard from people who are now a barrister, a lecturer, an Oscar-nominated actress, a poet, a broadcaster, an author, a businessman, a printer, a joiner and a librarian.

Some famous british Supersonics:

• Kriss Akabusi (Athlete)
• Leo Blair (Prime Ministers Father)
• Mark Bright (Footballer/TV presenter)
• Kathy Burke (Actress)
• Richard Burton (Actor)
• Michael Caines MBE (Chef)
• Charlie Chaplin (Actor)
• Goldie (DJ/Producer)
• Colin Jackson (Athlete)
• Neil Morrissey (Actor)
• Samantha Morton (Actress)
• Seal (Singer)
• Lemm Sissay (Poet)
• Fatima Whitbread (athlete)

Some other famous Supersonics:

• Ingrid Bergman (Actress)
• Nat King Cole (Singer)
• Marilyn Monroe (Actress)
• Eddie Murphy (Comedian/Actor)
• Malcolm X (Civil Rights Activist)

Care Matters White Paper: Time for Change

Time for change–Young person Callum talks with Alan Johnson

ANV have been involved in several stages of the new White Paper and were invited to the official launch event with the Secretary Of State Alan Johnson and Childrens Minister Beverly Hughes.

ANV's vice chair Jonny Hoyle spoke to Alan Johnson about children and young people's ideas about the government proposals to improve the care system. ANV submitted the views of 200 children and young people to government.

Plans developed in the White Paper include making schools give places to children in Care, even if they are full, and providing bursaries of a minimum of £2,000 for those who go on to university. The government will also pilot a scheme in 11 local authorities for children to receive help from a ‘virtual head teacher’, who would check on the progress of all children in care in their area.

The paper also says that children should not be moved too often, and that no one should be moved in the crucial GCSE years of 10 and 11. Furthermore it says that they should have ‘personalised learning’ plus £500 a year to support their education and development if they are at risk of not reaching expected standards.

Education Secretary Alan Johnson said:

“For too long society has failed children in Care and it is nothing less than a scandal. We should have the same aspirations for these children as we do our own. ”

Proposals in the Care Matters White Paper include:

• Access to the best schools
• £500 to help pupils catch up
• £2,000 bursary for university
• Fewer placements
• Stay in foster care until at least 18
• ‘Virtual head teacher’ to track progress
• No school moves for children in Years 10 and 11
• ‘Councils’ formed for children in care
• Exclusion made last absolute last resort

The White Paper says every local authority must set up a ‘children in care council’, where looked–after children can give their views and influence service provision. Also councils would be told to do more to try to keep children with their families, for example by offering more support including short breaks.

Children in care should have more one-to-one time with social workers.

The quality of placements should be improved, with better training for foster carers and the statutory framework strengthened so that local authorities can only move children out of their areas if it is in the best interests of the child.

Children should also be encouraged to stay in care for longer. Mr Johnson said:

“The average child leaves their parental home at the age of 24, yet a quarter of children in care will leave at the age of 16. We will support young people for longer - well into their twenties if necessary. ”

David Holmes, of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, said:

“This White Paper is of vital importance. It is honest about failures with the current system and the fact that too many children are still moving around too often. Professionals and carers are already working incredibly hard, but the government has also recognised that local authorities need more support and resources to deliver the very best service to all children in care. ”

LILAC Event at House of Commons

The LILAC team

The 10 young people who were recruited to become the LILAC team members a year ago have now set some pilot standards to measure standards of ‘participation’ within service providers.

Recently 2 pilot LILAC inspections were carried out by these young care–experienced people in local authorities across England.

We held an event at the House of Commons hosted by David Kidney MP to launch the report on the LILAC pilots.

We are currently seeking extra funding to develop the LILAC pilots further.