The Weekly News Roundup

Care Experienced news stories from 14th - 21st of November. This week the John Lewis ad is still trending, and the spotlight is on Foster Carers.

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Lovely story about a girl in foster care whose life was changed by the relationship she made through a mentorship scheme.

‘I was taken into foster care as a young girl – then I met a woman who completely changed my life’ (telegraph.co.uk)

Care Experienced poet, Ty’rone Haughton hope to help others through his poetry and community arts projects. His book, Hoods is out now and can be purchased here.

Leicester poet who grew up in care on a mission to make life better for looked-after children – Leicestershire Live (leicestermercury.co.uk)

A new animated film on Apple Tv, Luck is about a young woman in foster care. This article interviews the director of the film.

‘Luck’ Director Peggy Holmes Drew Inspiration From Real Foster-Care Stories: “They’re Kind Of The Heroes Of Their Lives” – Contenders L.A. (yahoo.com)

Here’s the rest of your news from across the UK:

A little boy and girl have tragically been left without their mum and dad after their parents died just weeks apart from each other.

Heartbreak as parents die just weeks apart leaving young children behind – Plymouth Live (plymouthherald.co.uk)

A woman who regularly fosters children alongside having two biological kids has been left outraged after her own mother said she wouldn’t be buying any Christmas presents for her current foster placement – as she doesn’t consider them family.

‘My mum won’t buy Christmas presents for my foster child – I find it so cruel’ – Mirror Online

The MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport has supported appeals for care leavers to be given support with first deposits to enable them to have better access to accommodation in the private rented sector.

Plymouth care leavers’ request is taken to the Commons (themoorlander.co.uk)

A Shetland-based social worker has been awarded fostering commendation.

www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2022/11/12/social-worker-awarded-fostering-commendation

Young LGBTQ+ people are finding it difficult to be accepted into foster homes in the US.

Foster care agencies report struggles when placing LGBT+ youth (wect.com)

A new children’s book has been written by a foster parent who has dedicated it to her foster children.

Somerset woman dedicates her first book to children she fostered – BBC News

A Welsh foster carer shares his experiences of looking after refugees.

Mike Foster of Newport helping care for young refugees | South Wales Argus

Foster carer says she does it for the love, not the money.

‘I’ve fostered 92 children – I get paid 50p an hour but that won’t stop me’ – Mirror Online

Along with 27 other local authorities across the UK, Bury and Bolton Councils have formed a virtual team with the aim of achieving just one goal, to recruit more foster carers.

Bury Council in national World Cup foster care campaign | Bury Times

A nice opinion piece about the John Lewis ad.

John Lewis Christmas advert should make us think about all those who grow up in care – Karyn McCluskey | The Scotsman

And another!

What the John Lewis Christmas advert has to teach professionals in international education (thepienews.com)

Marketing news page, The Drum has featured the JL advert as their ad of the week!

Ads Of The Week: John Lewis Spotlights Foster Care And Aldi Channels A Christmas Classic | The Drum

Not all of the John Lewis advert reviews are positive…

Why the John Lewis Christmas advert makes me angry (theconversation.com)

A nice piece that talks about the movement to make Care Experience a protected characteristic.

Lewis Silkin – John Lewis ad spotlights children in care and a potential gap in diversity initiatives

Council officials are arguing over who is “a child” to avoid liability for the care of vulnerable young people.

Officials argue over who is ‘a child’ as fears grow over Scotland’s national care service funding | Scotland | The Times

Foster Carers are becoming increasingly worried about the cost-of-living crisis.

Cost of living crisis could force many foster carers to quit, exclusive survey finds | ITV News

A boy that came to the UK as an asylum-seeker has been given £15,000 by Surrey County Council after years of failings in his care which led to him sleeping on the floor of a restaurant where his friend worked.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking child slept on restaurant’s floor and hospitalised due to council failings – Surrey Live (getsurrey.co.uk)

Stats show the Care Experienced children living in Glasgow are having more positive educational outcomes. This has risen over the last 5 years.

Glasgow care experienced children ‘outperforming’ national average | HeraldScotland

A charity called Mind of My Own has developed an app that will allow children to record their own notes which will then be added to their case file.

Scottish Government ‘failing’ children in care amid cost of living crisis, The Fostering Network claims | STV News

Twenty-six local authorities from across the UK have joined ‘Local Councils United’ – a new virtual team – to share clips for each day of the World Cup and provide reasons why people should foster with their local council.

17/11/22 – It’s a goal! Cheshire East Council joins UK wide campaign to recruit more foster carers during the World Cup

Care Experienced young people in Falkirk praise the John Lewis advert.

Falkirk foster care kids hope John Lewis’ Christmas advert will inspire help – Daily Record

A new documentary called Teens in Care has been commissioned by the BBC.

Swash makes BBC, Firecracker Teen Care doc – Televisual

Here’s your news from the rest of the world:

Foster Carers and Kindship Carers in Australia say they don’t receive enough support when looking after new-borns and infants.

‘We had to Google a lot’: what foster and kinship carers looking after babies told us about the lack of support (theconversation.com)

Since 1990, a New York charity has been encouraging people to adopt older children in care to make sure they are supported over the age of 18. They have coined the term “moral adoption”.

Foster care: Aging out of system can lead to crime, homelessness (goerie.com)

This article talks about the need for reform in Ghana’s care system. They want to abolish orphanages, similar to the story earlier in the week about Kenya.

Children belong in families, not orphanages – Acclaimed orphans and vulnerable children’s advocate – MyJoyOnline.com

Check back next Monday for your next weekly news update!