ACTION PACK Five things you can do to change the care system

Counsel your councillors In a town hall near you, local councillors are making decisions about what happens in your area. They are corporate parents and make lots of decisions about the care system. They can make change happen. In each area there is a “Lead Member” responsible for the care system. There are also local councillors – there will be one for the street in which you live. Check your council’s website for details Why not: Invite the lead member along to your children in care council Write to your local councillor telling them what you want to change in your local area Use these helpful tips on what to ask your lead member -

Get to know your MP MPs make the laws that say what should happen in the care system. But not many of them know anything about being in care – you could change that! There are 650 MPs in the country. You can find out who yours is here: s-lords-and-offices/ Type your postcode into a box a find out who represents you in Parliament Why not: Visit a surgery so you can tell them the issues you talked about at P2P Write them a letter telling them what you think is important – there’s some ideas at the back of the pack Invite them to an event or meeting Tweet them – loads of MPs are on Twitter and it’s a good way to get a powerful, short point across

Get your group on The All Party Parliamentary Group for Looked- After Children and Care Leavers (APPG) is a chance for people who care about the care system to tell parliamentarians what is good, what is bad and what needs to change. The Who Cares? Trust organises the APPG. If you have any questions, or want to get involved, then talk to Jack. You can reach him on: Why not: Come along to a meeting in Parliament – more details here Sign up to get the minutes Get something in the newsletter about what you’ve done to change things in your area.

Get creative It’s not all about writing letters and going to meetings. Some of the most effective campaigns are ones that don’t use words. Did you know? For National Care Leavers Week 2012 a group of young people working with NCAS thought that there were too many negative stories about care leavers so decided to get photos from care leavers with positive messages on them. They posted them all on Flickr for the world to see. Check it out: bit.ly/YdKvm7bit.ly/YdKvm7 Why not: Make a film showing a day in the life of someone in care Put on a play for local politicians Do some creative campaigning – some people even sew their messages

Go to the top The Government are ultimately in charge of the care system. The two people in Government who lead on the care system are Michael Gove and Edward Timpson. Did you know? Michael Gove was adopted when he was a baby Edward Timpson’s family fostered over 90 children Why not: Write to a Minister telling them about what you discussed at P2P Respond to Government consultations Put something in the Department for Education’s Children in Care Council newsletter – contact to get something included

YOUR TOOLKIT

Useful websites Parliament Everything you need to know about who’s who in Parliament and what happens there The education tab has resources and games Contact Clare Mullin for sessions in the Don’t Write Us Off - pages/community-centre.html pages/community-centre.html The headquarters for The Who Cares? Trust young people’s led campaigning Department for Education The Government department with responsibility for the care system Search for consultations for the latest documents asking for views Children’s Commissioner – ov.uk ov.uk They promote the views and best interests of children and young people in England Children’s Rights Director – Has young people’s guides and reports on the views of other young people in care

Writing to your MP – the basics MPs can only deal with people who live in their constituency. So check who’s yours is here: mps-lords-and- offices/ Make sure your letter includes your name and address so they know you live in their constituency. Make it personal Letters to MPs work really well when you ask for something specific – whether that’s a tour of Parliament or to raise a question with the Government. Remember to give them something in return – telling them what you think or sharing some work you’ve done Get the right MP MPs can get hundreds of letters and s every week, so make sure yours stands out. Use examples from your area and things which you think are important It might seem old- fashioned, but with so many s every day, writing a letter might work best. Ask for something

Writing to your MP – some ideas Things you’ve done MPs want to know about things that are happening in their constituency. Include some photos and maybe invite them see for themselves. What you think If your children in care council has discussed an issue that you think is really important, then why not tell your MP what you think. Asking questions MPs can ask Ministers questions in Parliament. If you have a question about Government policy you could get your MP to find out the answer. Going on tour If you’ve never been to Parliament and want to know what it’s like, your MP can arrange a tour.

Struggling to get started? [The name of your MP] House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Dear [name of your MP] There are around 88,000 looked-after children in the United Kingdom. They need to be looked-after by local authorities for a wide range of reasons, but they all some things in common. They need a warm, loving home, good support for their education and health and the right to have a say in how they are cared for. They also need to have the right help to succeed once they leave care. Not all looked-after children and care leavers get this support. A group of looked-after children in [your area] meet to try and change the care system. We are known as [name of your children in care council]. We wanted to [tell you/ask you] about [your event/questions/ideas]. If you are interested in knowing more about looked-after children in [your area] you could [come to meet you/visit your local authority/go to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Looked-After Children and Care Leavers]. Yours sincerely, [Your name] Don’t know where to start? Why not use our template letter as a starting point. Don’t forget that letters work best if your own ideas in. So fill in the [purple boxes] with things that matter to you.

Regional networks National Children’s Bureau and A National Voice have got funding from the Department for Education to promote children in care councils. The Children’s Rights Director holds events all over the country for young people to give their views on particular issues Catch 22’s NCAS run a Young People's Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum is a group for care leavers (your local authority has to be a member) Passport to Parliament is only once a year. So if you want to keep meeting with other people looking to change the care system there are several different places where you can go.