from the ciCC

Summer FUN...The magazine for children in care Summer 2017

Illustration by Marcia

Children in Care Council’s are set up to make sure that children and young people who are living away from their families have a real say about how they are cared for and to make sure their views are heard.

Welcome to our Summer newsletter!We hope everyone enjoyed the Xmas newsletter, but that was a while ago when it was cold and yukky outside, so to celebrate the sunshine and school holidays we have written another one for you just to let you know that the Children in Care Council (CICC) are still here.

There are still 16 of us who meet once a month in Eastbourne to look at what needs to change to make the care system better. We hope you enjoy reading what we have been up to lately to help make things better for you.

Summer Work ExperienceHi, I’m David and as a member of the CICC after finishing my GCSEs, I have been given the opportunity for work experience with Placement Support. I will be going to the activities throughout the summer, as well as learning about working in an office.

This is a great way to learn about the world of work, as it involves working in the office, as well as going out to see

how the activities and the CICC are all organised.

I would definitely recommend you

to take up a work experience offer if you get the chance.

Things that make a great social worker?This is a question the CICC often get asked. Here’s what we think makes a really good social worker.Get to know us as people – TOP PRIORITY! Be interested in what we like to do, we want to know you care about us, spend time talking with us about our day to day lives when you visit us and not just about whether we are being looked after properly etc.Be where you say you will be and ON TIME This means we would be able to trust you to be there for us when we need you most. Be kind and friendly If we don’t relate to you, we are never going to open up to you.Treat us age appropriately We do not want to be treated like children; this is especially frustrating for older children.

Be around for us for a long time We have lost enough; we don’t want to lose someone else.Tell us the truth We can probably take it, after all we have lived through it.Listen to our views and take them seriously We need to believe what we think matters. If things can’t always be done then we want to be kept informed.Take us out so we can talk away from our houses Sometimes it is difficult to talk freely at home, and also you can get to know us better if we are doing something less formal.

FINALLYAll of the above points will mean you will have our trust.

Without trust, we won’t feel you are doing your best for us throughout our lives.

the ciCC says: ‘stay cool!’

Contact CardsThe CICC been handing out contact cards again this summer. These cards have your social worker and independent reviewing officer’s numbers on so it is easier for you to contact them when you need to. These are small enough that they will fit in a purse, a wallet or a back pocket and don’t contain any words that would scream ‘foster care’ for the young people that don’t want other people to know they are in foster care. This way, if they get lost, no one will be able to tell what they are. If you have lost yours, or would like one – No problem just get in touch (Our details are on the back page).

Sibling DayOne of the most common issues you talk to the CICC about is your siblings and contact. Lots of you are living separately so you may not get to see each other as much as you would like. We thought it would be nice to organise a special Sibling Day for everyone to meet up and celebrate being siblings, have fun and take away good memories.

On the day we all had lots of fun with each other and it was great to meet up and have a laugh.

We got to try out lots of sports and had fun in the photo booth. The grand finale was a relay race in which all of us took part and ran through a ribbon at the end.

‘It was great’

‘I loved just being with my brother again’

‘I actually feel lucky to live with my siblings’

‘It was fun and awesome’

It was good to see I’m not the only one who lives in a

different house to my sister’

UNIVERSITY LIFE My name is Marcia and I’ve just finished my first year at Kingston University which I thoroughly enjoyed. University offers a range of new experiences, such as meeting new people and learning more about various cultures as well as improving my knowledge in my chosen subjects.

The support given by the university has been incredible as they have a specific team dedicated to supporting care leavers. They even have a bursary to help with general costs.

I’ve met loads of new people who I know are going to be life-long friends and have developed my independence skills enormously.

To any care leaver considering university I definitely recommend it.

MY DREAM HOLIDAY. CICC members Reece and Kai asked different staff what their dream holidays would be and their reasons why...

RP age 9 – I would love to go to Disney land to see all the princess towers and costumes.

KHS age 11 – I would love to go to Centreparcs it looks fun and there’s so much to do.

My Volunteering Job – St Johns Ambulance

Hi, my name is Reece and I am a member of the CICC. Outside of the CICC I volunteer with St Johns Ambulance where the volunteers are trained to deal with a variety of First Aid from small cuts and bruises to advance life support. I got my inspiration to join St Johns Ambulance from the first aid course we did through the CICC. Volunteering gives me great pride and I like to help anyone that comes my way to the best of my ability.

Hi I am Katie and I am 16. I live with my 2 sisters. I have recently done my GCSEs and I like hanging out with my friends, listening to music and shopping.

Hi I’m Ashleigh and I’m 14. I like Shaun Mendes, dancing and getting pampered.

Hi I’m Ace and I’m 14. I like

drama and sports.

Hi Guys, I’m Leah, I’m nearly 16 and been in

care for 12 years. I love being in CICC as I get lots of opportunities and have made great friends.

Hi I’m Jordan and I’m 15. I live in residential care which I really love. I like pop music and getting my hair and nails done.

Hi I am Tom and I am 15. I love BMXing, music and hanging out with my friends.

Hi my name is Kai and I am nearly 13. I am really into drama and am often busy rehearsing for shows. I am also keen to work on the CICC website.

Hello, I’m Louise & I’m 16. I have been in care for 7 years. I love dancing, singing & hanging out with mates. Being in the CICC is one of the best things I have done. I get loads of support and I love it.

profiles

Hi I’m Lee and I’m 15. I have 8 siblings. I love badminton and I am a junior scout leader.

Hi I’m Morgan and

I’m 16. I like to play Rugby and listen to music. I go to college and am a keen CICC member as I like to make changes for the best wherever I can.

Hi I’m Angos I am 16. I like gaming on my Xbox and have just got a part time job.

Hello. I’m David & I’m 16. I have been a CICC member for 4 years ad I really enjoy it. I am in Year 12 and doing my A Levels. I am hoping to go to university in the future.

Hey! I’m Faraday. I’m nearly 17 and can’t wait to learn to drive, I go to boarding school. I am currently writing my second book. I am also a junior army cadet leader.

Hi I’m Reece & I’m 15. I have been in foster care for 10 years. I volunteer for the St Johns Ambulance and I am the head boy at my school.

Hey I’m Marcia, I’m 19 and an CICC ambassador. I have been a member for over 5 years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve just finished my 1st year at university studying Creative

Writing with Psychology and I can’t wait for my 2nd year.

what we’ve been up to

May Social Worker TrainingFour CICC members went to the University of Brighton to speak to 35 Social work students. The aim was to tell them how it is for children when we first come into care.

We also had a question and answer session, which gave them an insight to four different experiences of coming into care.

It was a great experience for both sides, hopefully it will help them become really good social workers.

june Digital Safety ExpertsJohn Kahn met with us and spoke about Digital Safety and how to stay safe online. This will help with the cyber-connected world we live in, where we are all using technology more. This course

was helpful because as teenagers, we are more likely to be at risk form cyberbullying than any other generation so far. We were taught about staying safe online and keeping your password and personal information safe.

Some of us are going to become digital leaders which means that we will be trained to deliver short presentations and workshops to children and young people, so to look out for us at your schools in the future.

MY DREAM HOLIDAY. Tim ( Holiday Coordinator) I love India because of the lovely scenery and food.BK age 9 – I would love to climb the Eiffel Tower!

what we’ve been up to National CICC ConferenceNine CICC members went to Oxford for a national conference to meet with other CICC’s from all over the South.

The Children’s Commissioner who is called Anne Longfield was there, and we spent the day with her discussing ideas for tackling issues that we face in our everyday lives just from being in

care like mental health, stigma and making sure we get what we are entitled to.

We shared our ‘this is us’ film, our playing cards and Pledges and got lots of positive comments. We were told how powerful the video was, and how our contribution to the day was valued.

“Great new experience and had a brilliant time” - Marcia“Very good to see what others are doing” - Reece“Brilliant to meet up together!” - David“Such a good opportunity to show our work off” - Louise

Are you 14 anD over?Do you want to improve your CVs for FREE then contact us!Food Hygiene TrainingWe have bought online Food Hygiene Course for a Level 2 qualification that will look brilliant on your CV and really help with part time job hunting. It’s pretty easy to do and takes about two hours.First AidWe are hoping to run another Basic First Aid course. This is a four hour course where you get a qualification that lasts for three years. If you would like to come along to the next course get in touch.

MY DREAM HOLIDAY. Sally Carnie (Head of LAC): My dream holiday would be to go on a road trip across America from top to bottom.Marcia ( CICC Member) : My dream holiday would be to Iceland because of the beautiful scenes all around and the amazing culture inside the country itself.

Through Care (Used to be called leaving care) Hi, it’s Marcia here and I wanted to share my experience of the Through Care process. When I turned 16 I moved into the care leavers team and my social worker changed to a personal advisor (PA). PAs are less involved in your day-to-day life and are mainly just there if you need advice on an issue you are having. (There is also the option to possibly keep your social worker if you want to).

The advantage of having a PA is they have specific knowledge in areas affecting older young people; e.g who to talk to if you want to go to university, and issues with housing and benefits. One thing that helped me with my future plans was my Pathway Plan.I did this together with my PA so we all knew what my goals for the future were and there was no confusion.

Who’s who?!Adrian Sewell, known as Ade, is the Operations Manager for the Fostering Team. He came along to a CICC meeting and we got to ask him questions to get to know him better.

Q. What do you like best about your job? A. This is dead easy, without a doubt it’s working and speaking with young people like you. Actually, watching you all grow in confidence and being able to see the contributions that you have made to Looked after Children like yourselves, has made a massive amount of difference to me and made me proud to work for East Sussex.

Q. What sort of teenager were you? A. I must admit, that I wasn’t a brilliant teenager. I was always slightly rebellious and when my Mum re-married, I went off to Boarding School, which was a real experience! I was a little different than the other pupils but that did work in my favour.

Q. Did you ever get a detention at school? A. Yes, lots of which were mainly for not doing my homework.

Q. Do you have any strange habits or weird OCD like obsessions? A. Yes, whenever I become stressed, I hoover my entire house and tidy everything up. This leads to a very tidy house and does oddly make me less stressed.

Q. What is your favourite food? A. Lemon meringue pie made by my auntie is delicious and always takes me right back to my childhood every single time.

Q. Have you ever bullied anyone? A. I was sometimes unkind

to my younger sister sometimes giving her a hard time when we were young.

Q. What are your hobbies? A. I enjoy going cycling as

well as attending the gym and I used to drive rally cars

(many years ago).

Q. If you could have any other job what would that be? A. I would have been an actor as I used to love acting when I was young. Looking back, I know my current career choice was the right one as it has brought me so much satisfaction. My step-father, who was a fairly wise bloke who encouraged me away from acting as I think he knew my potential as an actor (or lack of it).

We need you to get involved with our next newsletter?We would love to put your drawings in the our winter newsletter. You never know, you might even make it onto the front cover. Please ask an adult to either scan and email it or post us your artwork. Also if you have an idea for the next newsletter or want to write us a short article then email us as we would love to hear from you.There will be a small prize for the winners! August 2017-18 094

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Children in Care Councilcicc@eastsussex.gov.uk

0792 059 1138

CGL Advocacy Service0300 303 9649

Everyone at CICC hopes you have a great Summer!