The organisations teamed up to create a free short film which highlights the challenges children in care face at school.
As well as the film, Five Rivers and Become have produced a free INSET training pack designed to help teachers better support such children. Clare Bracey, interim CEO of Become, explained that school can sometimes be the only consistent thing for children in care, but ‘instability in the care system means far too many are unable to succeed academically.’
To give context, research from the Children’s Commissioner shows children in care are more likely to drop out of school than their peers. In 2023 the commissioner revealed 10.1% of looked after children who had attended alternative provisions were not in school. As such, a study from the University of Oxford outlined ‘children in need’ are between two and three times less likely to enter higher education by age 22, compared with the general population.
‘Teachers are often the one consistent adult we have in the mdidst of chaos, which means they have the opportunity, and responsibility, to better understand our experiences,’ Roisa McCusker, a young person who features in the film, said. ‘When they have this understanding, they can then motivate their students the right way, by showing empathy rather than sympathy. That can make a huge difference.
‘Teachers can show they care by simply having a listening ear and realising all behaviour is communication.’
The film can be viewed in full within this article or accessed via Fiver Rivers’ YouTube channel.
Nicci Willock, CEO of Five Rivers, added: ‘At Five Rivers, we never lose sight of the fact that behind every statistic is a child with a story. As a social enterprise, our mission is rooted in creating meaningful change for children in care – and that includes helping the professionals around them understand their world.
‘Teachers Who Care is a powerful tool for everyone who works in a school, offering insight into the lived experiences of care-experienced children and showing how empathy and consistency can make a lasting difference in their lives.’
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