Amplifying the voices of children in care – a film by young people & The Virtual School
Amplifying the voice of children in care…
In 2019, as a commitment to amplifying the voice of children in care, the Virtual School commissioned the production of a short film to be used to support our training and development programme for schools and services. We gave the production company and the young people free rein – we simply asked ‘what would you like to say?’
Created by and with young people…
The young people spent time mapping that out, working with the producer, and coming up with creative ideas. A day was set for filming and then we hit the first covid lockdown. Fast forward to November 2023 and we finally had one of our care leavers available to be filmed in person. What you are listening to is him giving voice to the words and the experiences of around 20 young people the production company worked with over the last 4 years.
We must challenge ourselves to think about how we deliver services in response to the voices of our young people…
We have to be open to hearing those voices, even when it’s a hard listen. It’s also complex: our young people are unique and their experiences and perceptions are different and diverse, which is to be celebrated, and something that must challenge us to think about what that means for how we deliver our services in response. We would ask you to be mindful that given that freedom to express themselves, it’s not wholly unexpected they first wanted to share the things that were most difficult and challenging for them because they want those things to change. This film is their invitation to you bring about that change.
Sharing the film…
The young people have asked that the film is shared far and wide and the Virtual School are committed to doing this – you said, we did. Since we finished the film it’s been shared at our annual Virtual School Conference to around 180 delegates from schools, with the Corporate Parenting Board, with the Learning leadership team and other Learning Inclusion and learning/education support teams like admissions, SENIT and Learning Improvement. The film is available on YouTube Leeds Have a Voice Council – Film for Schools and Services (youtube.com) and we would ask anyone who wants to share the film in their own services to use this narrative as an introduction and to use the film’s narratives and stories as a driver for action.
We want to talk to our Have a Voice Council about our next project very soon – something that will let our young people shine and inspire us.
In the meantime, we’d like to invite you to view this film with an attitude of acceptance, curiosity and empathy and to hold our young people’s voices in mind in how you think and what positive action you might take in response to what you’ve heard.
One Response
[…] being seen as a protected characteristic (find out more here). Another highlighted creating a film aimed at designated teachers. For plenty of the young people, attending and hosting the STARS awards was a stand-out moment. […]
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