We Care!We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We We Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!Care!We Care!

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/cicc

Welcome to the 3rd issue of We Care! This issue is about fun, interesting stories, articles and young people doing wonderful things!CICC chairs Jasmine & Matt put some questions to Jim Graham, our Chief Executive, Paige rides and Yatisha blows a tuba. Jasmine Windsor takes us to the cinema, Barnardos talks advocacy and there is also a wordsearch, prizes and much, much more!!!

Turn to pages 10 & 11 to read more

about our ‘Achievers’.

Amazing ACHIEVEMENTS

What is the Children in Care Council (CICC)?The Children in Care Council is made up of a group of people like yourself who are there to make a difference to the lives of other looked after children.

Who are theyThey are children and young people aged between 12 & 23 who are placed with foster carers or in supported lodgings.

What is their RoleThe role of the Children in Care Council is to ensure that Warwickshire’s promise to young people, Our Pledge, is carried out.

The children and young people on the Council are there to represent the views and concerns of all of Warwickshire’s Looked After children and young people.

How do they do this?The CICC will be posting information about its work plan and activities on the Children in Care website and in a newsletter, which will be published every four months. It will also be consulting children and young people

about their experience of being in care in Warwickshire and will put on consultation events for young people where they will have the opportunity to have their say.

You are free to make contact with the CICC either by the website or by contacting Moses Reid on the telephone number opposite.

How often do they meet?The Children In Care Council meet every 6 weeks at a formal meeting with the Director of Children Services and the lead council member for Children Services in attendance and there is also a Briefing meeting each month.

Where do they meet?The CICC currently meets at Saltisford Business Park in Warwick.

How do I become a member of the CICC?You can become a member of the CICC by talking to either your social worker, foster carer, a young person on the Council or contacting Moses Reid on the number below:

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about their experience of being in care in Warwickshire and will put on

% 01926 413303

Page 3How to Join the Council?

Page 4University Life

Page 5 - 7Jim Graham Interview

Page 8 & 9Virtual School Update

Page 10 & 11Achievers

Page 12 & 13Barnardo’s Children’s Rights Service Newsletter

Page 14 & 15Film Review by Jasmine Windsor

Page 16Equality and Diversity Officer

Page 17Wordsearch

This year an OFSTED inspection will take place. It will concentrate on Safeguarding and looked after services provided to children, young people and families. Warwickshire will receive a maximum of 10 working days advance notification before the start of the inspection.

How to...JOIN THE COuNCIl?In this

ISSuE

NEWS uPdATE!

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Science has been a subject that I have been interested in since I can remember, and when my motivation in college was down it is this interest that forced me to study that bit more.

In the morning of me going to my accommodation I was extremely excited and nervous. In the car, on the way, most of this excitement turned to apprehension, I had never been that confident when it came to meeting new people. Anyways, I was determined to make a good impression and when the car pulled up to the newly built 3-year-old accommodation I was feeling a bit more confident.

The first thing I had to do was collect my flat keys. It took about ten minutes to park the car, and I headed towards the reception where I was told to collect my keys from the common room. In the common room, stools were setup with queues of people for their particular building. I found mine (Prestwold), where there was only one girl queued. I introduced myself and asked the most relevant questions to break the ice, such as, what course are you studying? She was called forward by Prestwold’s RA (resident adviser) to get her keys. Eventually I got mine and started unloading the car with my foster carers help. In my block there are 6 flats in total, 2 on each floor (I was in flat 1) and in each flat there are four rooms each En-suite and a shared kitchen. The room was actually bigger than my room back home. My foster carers left, and I finished unpacking.

I had kept my room door open, as recommendation by an ex-uni student, to be social. Introducing myself to the flatmates just seemed to happen over the next hour or so, which was a great relief and made things much easier later on. Being catered students we had our first meal at 5:30, as prearranged with my flat mates we went to dinner together with some people from the flats upstairs too. This was good opportunity to get to know them more. At dinner we planned to meet in flat 4’s kitchen at around 7 and play some drinking games.

That pretty much sums up my first day; from there onwards things were easier because I had mates to do stuff with. The 1st week at uni is fresher’s week. The week gives you the opportunity to socialise and not have to worry about being up early in the morning for lectures. The first day of the week I went to the fresher’s fair with some of my flat mates, at the university. This is basically where you find out what extra stuff the uni has to offer in terms of activities/societies, abroad schemes and also loads of free stuff is given out, pizza from dominos, bags of stationary and energy drinks from asda and vouchers etc.

On the Wednesday I got a timetable for my course and met my lecturer. By the weekend I was more or less settled in. On Saturday and Sunday I went out drinking with mates to the student union nightclub, the newly built o2 academy. The week went by quite quickly and was packed with things to do, and it set me up for my first term.

kitchen. The room was actually bigger than my room back home. My foster carers left, and I finished unpacking.

do, and it set me up for my first term.

I had kept my room door open, as recommendation by an ex-uni student,

uNIVERSITy lIfEHi I’m Daniel, in this article I will share my first week experience of university. I’ll start of with a brief background of why I decided to go.

Interview between

Jim Graham the Chief Executive

Matt langsford &

Jasmine Grinnell

As the Chief Executive what can you do to ensure that there will be enough funding available for children and young people in or from care to get involved with participation work?

Jim explained that the budget cuts are being debated and that it is the politicians that make the decisions. Jim went onto explain that the politicians have a desire to protect the services that are provided for the vulnerable groups within today’s society.

What are your priorities for the next 3 years?

Jim explained that over the next 3-4 years there will be cuts to the budgets that Warwickshire receive, he also explained that inevitably they will loose staff, however they are trying to minimise this by re training staff, re employing staff into different roles however there will have to be some compulsory redundancies, Jim then went on to explain that they will continue to deliver services and that he is planning ahead for better financial times, he went onto say that there is no point wailing and moaning about the cuts we have got to accept things as they are.

On Thursday 3rd March Matt and Jasmine interviewed the Chief Executive of Warwickshire County Council Jim Graham. Jim explained that he used to be a social worker back in the day, he has also been a director of social services and he is now in his 4th role of being a Chief Executive.

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Why are we not on the corporate parenting board?

Jim explained that we could look at coming onto the Corporate parenting board with Marion, or we could arrange some sort of dialog with politicians and corporate parents. He went onto say that we could be a part of the board within reason and that all safeguarding and confidentiality issues are resolved before attending.

What can you do as the Chief Executive to ensure that we as a CICC have enough funding to continue our work on behalf children and young people looked after by WCC?

Jim explained that it was the councillors who decide who gets what in terms of funding, however he advised liaising with schools and colleges could be a way forward or we could speak with Heather Timms to see if there is any way forward. Jim did state that not all children’s services are protected however they will be adequate and reasonable cuts that the service can manage.

How can you as the Chief Executive ensure that all staff know that participation is everyone’s business?

Working with other people and including those who count and make sure every one has an equal opportunity of this.

Is there any possibility of attending your Chief Executive meeting?

Jim stated that we could attend any if we wish, however he advised attending a meeting that is related to our work so we enjoy it more and gain more from it.

Would you be interested in attending our celebration event?

Yes could do.

Would you be interested in attending our meeting?

Yes could do.

As Chief Executive, what do you do in your role that is for the benefit of children and young people that are looked after by your authority?

In his role he asks senior managers awkward questions and to make sure that the services are correct and meet the needs of the service users, he also holds them to account about the service which they provide.

How important are children and young people to you and the authority?

It is one of our main priorities and we recognise the importance of these children and young people. Also Jim stated that we need to recognise that some politicians’ may not accept the importance of this group.

How much do you know about the work the CiCC are doing?

Jim stated that he knows reasonably well about the work of the CICC and that Marion informs him of our progress, Jim also mentioned that he has attended a couple of CICC events but these are sporadic.

Have you got a copy the pledge?

yes he has and Matt gave him a copy of our new young person pledge.

do you understand your role in following through with Warwickshire’s pledge?

Jim said that he does understand the role of it and he does it through Marion and her team of staff.

do you do anything outside your role that benefits young people in or from care?

No however my wife does more than me, I look help look after my 2 kids though.

do you do anything outside your role to learn about young people in care?

Not really, however a lot of other Local Authority Chief Executives come from all walks of life but I have a working life within social services, Jim also said that things have come a long way from when he was a social worker.

Are you aware of the stigma surrounding young people from care?

I am, however I think things are getting better , one of the big things to help this is by getting rid of the children’s homes and investing in foster carers instead, he went on to say that there are still issues that have not been cracked yet.

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n following through with

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Interview continued...

8 9

As I sit here, I have just finished the planning for the two Awards Evenings held at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College and Warwickshire College this year. We had a record number of nominations for awards – over 180 in total and whilst attendance at both events was greater than for last years event at the University of Warwick, we still only persuaded about half of you to come and celebrate with us. Those who have attended really enjoyed the evening and were proud to receive their star awards and the guests from the local authority were also very proud to present those awards. Hopefully even more of you will come to the event next year.

There are other activities we are hoping to run between now and the summer.

We wish to take you on visits to Northampton University (this is especially for 15-16 year olds but places may be available for others) and University of Aston (this is for post 16). These visits are for those who may like to think about university in the future. If you are interested in these visits, please contact me if you are in year 11 or lower and Susan Holden if you are post 16. ( susanholden@warwickshire.gov.uk)

The FunKey Skills was so successful last year that we are considering running this for one final year for those year 11 students who didn’t take part last year and also some year 10 students. This comprises of 12 days of enterprise activity, with a great deal of fun, rewards and makeovers included, leading to the achievement of the equivalent of 2 grade Bs at GCSE if you complete the full course. Please contact us if you would like to take part in this.

Susan Holden is also working with the leaving care teams to hold another course for those of you who are not currently in education, employment or training. This will be similar to the FunKey Skills course but is much more biased towards employment. Again if you are interested, please contact Susan.

Finally, I need to tell you that, as from April1st, there will no longer be access to personal education allowances.

There will be money in schools for those pupils and students aged 5- 16 but regrettably, at the moment there will not be funding for extra tuition, equipment,

extra support or even funding for this publication financed through the Virtual School. Many of you have benefitted from these funds in the past and we will be looking to find other ways of securing funding for these in the future.

This will probably be the last time I write to you before the public examination season starts and therefore good luck to those of you taking exams and assessments this

year, whether at KS1, JKS2, GCSE,A level, degree level or for vocational qualifications. All are equally important and you richly deserve your success. Let’s look forward to a summer of good weather, fun activity and celebration of achievement and attainment at every level.

Best wishes

Anne HawkerHeadteacher, Virtual School for Children in Care.

Virtual School uPdATE

10 11

I have loved horses as far back as l can remember I now want to be a jockey. AP (Tony) McCoy is my idol.

I started riding when I was about 6. As l have grown up l have worked at a stables where l learnt to stay on a horse, I also broke them in, first learnt how to clean the stables out and many other jobs. I went to lots of gymkhana shows and won many rosettes.

I have since started work at a racing stables and I ride race horses… I go at 6am on a Saturday morning. All the hard work is worth it when you ride a race horse along the gallops!

I also go to another lady who is an eventor she has 40 horses. She judges dressage and teaches me a lot of different things.

When I am 16 I am going to Newmarket or Doncaster Racing School to train some more for 9 weeks and get a jockey license. I will then be able to ride at point to point and then go into the bigger racing.

It can be very hard work, cleaning out stables, and Grooming It has to be done in all types of weather. You can get very cold and wet in winter.

I was told ‘if you want something bad enough you have to work for it’ I also got told that ‘Quitters are never Winners and Winners are never Quitters and that is what l am going to do… I WILL be a jockey, Watch this space!!

On one Thursday during form on September in year 7 a note came to me saying go to music after form so I did.

When I got to music I saw Mrs Davenport and she told me to go to practice room three. Then I saw a teacher who I didn’t know. He introduced himself as Mr Burnip and asked if I was Yatisha Ganatra.

I said Yes. He said I had a choice of three instruments, a tennor horn, a trombone or a tuba. He taught me how to blow into them. I had a try at all three of them but the only one I could blow into was the tuba and so Mr Burnip said that the tuba suited me. I learned a couple of notes and I got them really quickly and Mr Burnip said that I was a natural and my tone was good. So Mr Burnip was really pleased with me and then a couple of weeks later I went to the county Music Service on Wednesday after school. I started off in junior. My first concert I did was at the Warwick Arts University which was amazing! When we had the grand finale we played Stars War which sounded really good with everyone playing.

Then I still carried on playing at County Music Service and with my lessons at school every Thursdays.

I was very nervous when I started practising for my grade 2 in Nuneaton. I played Gouvote as my study and Hallelujah and the Blackadder theme tune and do a lot more stuff. Then about two weeks later I got my results to say that I had passed my grade two exam. A couple of weeks later we had our Summer concert at school and Mrs Davenport wanted me to do a solo on my tuba and I said okay. So I chose the Black adder theme tune because I was very good at that one. Then the next time I went to County music service they said that I can move up to intermediate. In junior they needed a tuba player. So I played in the junior to help and in intermediate. Then Seb goes to Area Orchestra so I wait for him to finish and Julie or Salv comes and pick us up. Then one day they said why didn’t you come and join us, you don’t have to wait. So now I am in the Junior and Intermediate and Area Orchestra. Then we all got a letter about going on a trip for the weekend to Dunfield House, where they had there own swimming baths.

We practice lots of music that was very hard but I stuck to it and then eventually got it. Then we had a concern at the Civic Hall. Then we had another Warwick University Arts concert. That was also really good. I was literally in everything because Mr Burnip did his back in so he wasn’t at the concert and I had to fill in for him. So I had a lot of sight reading to do.

At one point of the concert I had to do a quick change. So now I am rehearsing for the Summer concert at the Civic Hall. Now I also help Mr Burnip with the wider option so my tuba life is very successful.

I have loved horses as far I have loved horses as far I have since started work at a racing On one Thursday during On one Thursday during

ACHIEVERS

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CONTACT ARRANGEMENTSPlacement difficulties

(wanting to move/wanting to stay)

Relationship with social worker

Understanding the care plan

Making a complaint

We can help by talking to the people

who are making the decisions about

your care, or by attending meetings with you or for you.

If you think that we can help, call us on 0800 0272 118

Welcome Coventry & Warwickshire Children’s Rights Project is contracted by the two Local Authorities to provide an advocacy and/or independent visitor service to young people who are either in care or have contact with children’s services for other reasons.

AdvocacyWe have a team of advocates who can help you to speak up for yourself or who can speak on your behalf. We are not part of children’s services and so we are in a good position to help, especially if you think that you have not been treated fairly or that you are not getting your opinions heard. We offer a confidential service, only sharing information that you want us to, or if we feel that you, or someone else, may be at risk of harm. We can work on a number of issues including:

Independent VisitorsBeing looked after can often be a very lonely experience, especially for young people who don’t have regular or good quality contact with their birth parents. For these young people Barnardo’s offers its own dedicated Independent Visitors Service to offer young people a helping hand and help give them some of the time, space and special attention that they can miss out on by not having their folks around.

An independent visitor is a volunteer from outside the care system who visits and acts as a friend to a looked after young person and who takes them out and spends time with them on a one to one basis to support their interests, have fun and help them to find cool things to do near where they live.

Independent Visiting is all about having a trusted adult from outside the care system who visits regularly, has fun and can offer ongoing support, advice, encouragement, and genuine friendship.

An Independent Visitor isn’t just there for the short term but will stay with the young person as much as possible as they grow and develop, helping them throughout their time in care and into independence and adulthood offering them the support they need to make the most of their lives and their futures.

If you’d like to find out about how an Independent Visitor may be able to help your young person please give us a call on 02476372596

Barnardo’s Children’s Rights Service

NEWSlETTER

on 02476372596on 02476372596

CONTACT

We can work on a number of issues We can work on a number of issues including:including:

BARNARdO’S COVENTRy & WARWICkSHIRE CHIdREN’S RIGHTS SERVICE

42 Lutterworth RoadNuneatonCV11 4LF

024 76 372596

SHIRE

Education AdvocacyIt is just like advocacy but with an education twist.

We aim to support you to make sure your voice is heard when decisions are being made about your education.

We can advocate on a variety of things including:

If you think that we can help, call us on 0800 0272 118

Bullying issues

Disagreements in schoolDisagreements in school

Attendance and school refusal issues

Bullying issues

If you are going through exclusion procedures

Wanting to make a complaint about your educationWanting to make a complaint about your education

Curriculum concerns

Coventry&WarwickshireCRS@Barnardos.org.uk

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The film was about...The film opens in 1947, with a dog scratching to be let outside, where the sky is covered in eerie lights. When his owner, a young girl lets it out, the dog, named Paul, is crushed by a crash landing spaceship. The girl pulls an alien from the wreckage, whom she names Paul, and he is taken away by the Government and held prisoner for 60 years. He eventually decides to escape from his holding place.

Two British comic book nerds named Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings have travelled to America for a huge comic book convention and to visit all the sites of major extra terrestrial importance. On the way to their second site, they stop off at a café, where two hunters confront them. As they hurriedly leave, they reverse into the hunters’ car, leaving a dent. At the next site, they see a car blasting towards them and, believing it to be the hunters, they speed off in their RV. Eventually, the car catches up, and they realize that it is not the hunters. As it overtakes, it speeds off the road, rolls several times, and comes to a halt in a field. The two shocked men get out to investigate. When they realize that the vehicle is empty and begin phoning the emergency services, they hear a voice telling them not to. They turn around, and a little green alien comes into view, smoking a cigar, and introduces himself as Paul. Clive faints, and Paul explains to Graeme that he is on the run and needs their help. Graeme agrees to let him come. When Clive wakes up, he is not happy about the idea, but is eventually brought around.

Along the way, they are forced to take with them a Christian named Ruth who, until Paul shows her his memories, believes that there is nothing outside Earth and that God created humans. When he shatters her faith in Christianity, she suddenly becomes eager to ‘sin’, which she was not allowed to do before by her controlling father, who pursues them. She initially doesn’t trust Paul, but to prove himself trustworthy, he heals her eye, as she has been blind in it since the age of four. The whole way, three secret agents, apparently eager to kill Paul under orders from a woman over the radio, have tailed them.

After a while, Paul decides to return to the girl whose dog he crashed his ship on, who is now an old woman, Tara Walton. She turns her gas cooker on but never gets round to doing anything with it, because they are interrupted by the agents. As the motley crew drives off with Paul, one of the agents shoots at them, and the gas ignites, destroying the house. Another agent catches up with them but drives off a bridge and is apparently killed.

By this time, Paul has revealed that his people are ready to pick him up, and he is heading to the rendezvous. When they get there, they set off a signal and wait. Eventually, eerie orange lights show up over the surrounding trees, and everyone believes that it is Paul’s race. However, it is an army helicopter, with the ‘Big Guy’ on board, who is actually the woman commanding the three agents. As she and three troops backing her up move to shoot Paul, the third agent, Lorenzo Zoil, who turns out to be working for Paul, bursts out of the trees and takes out the men, but is shot in the shoulder. Tara knocks out the ‘big guy’, but Ruth’s father appears with a shotgun and shoots Graeme dead. Paul heals him, but inflicts the damage to himself. Paul then heals himself whilst dead. The ‘big guy’ wakes up, but is crushed by an alien ship. Paul leaves in the ship, and takes Tara with him.

Jasmine Windsor fIlM REVIEW

The film was about...The film was about...The film was about...The film was about...

Jasmine Windsor REVIEW

I went to the cinema for my 16th birthday and watched the new f ilm called ‘Paul’ it was a really good experience and I’m glad I spent the day out with my friends to go see it. There were 5 of us that went to see it me, Calum, Sam, Laura and K irsten.

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WORdSEARCH

first 5 entries win £20 gift voucher!Send answers to Moses Reid, Fawsley House, 25 Hillmorton Road, Rugby CV22 5BX

or email: mosesreid@warwickshire.gov.uk

cambridgemanagerreviewdecideobamavirtual

schoolwarwickshiremobiletextingtwittingcatnap

orangecareplanstablehorsemusicalteddybear

elvismarleyoliverteam leaderbarnardos

WIN A PRIZE!!

In December last year, CiCC members attended a two part consultation event with Social Work Students at Warwick University.

The purpose of the event was to help give the students an introduction to working with young people from care, and to help prepare them for working within the community the following year. It also gave them the opportunity to have a more hands on approach to research, rather than relying on class work alone.

Jasmine, Matt and John attended Warwick Uni to answer questions about their experiences of being in care.

The discussion was informal and the atmosphere was relaxed. Members were then given a tour of the university.

A few weeks later, the CiCC were invited back to the presentation given, based on the research.

Working alongside the university has been hugely beneficial to both the CiCC and the students. It has given us the opportunity to build communication networks between us and some of our future social workers. It has also given us insight into their hopes for the future and vice versa, dispelling some of the stereotypical views some young people from care feel they are judged by.

We look forward to working more closely with the university this way in the future.

G M T I C O L E R T O E N E D

N M M T B A D A E N R T O H T

I N U A T I R A U I I T R O T

T O M S C E M E H T H E T I F

T A O E I L G S P H R E H B T

I Y D R E C K D R L R I A E E

W W E A A C A A I E A R V L X

T M D L I N E L G R N N O I T

S E T W R B G A E A B O D B I

R I R G Y A N E R P H M E O N

F A V D O A M D E C T E A M G

W T D L M H O R S E O E E C S

D E S O E S A C A T N A P K N

T E L B A T S O L I V E R R U

A S E T I S Y H R E V I E W L

Hello my name is Shearon Williams and I am the Equality and diversity Officer for CyPf.

I have a very busy job which takes me all across Warwickshire, where I visit schools, pupils and parents. Let me tell you about my job.

My main role is to ensure that all young people are not discriminated against because of their, race, disability, gender, religion, sexual orientation or age. Discrimination means being treated less favourably.

As well as not being discriminated against I work proactively to ensure that all young people also have equality of opportunity. This means that they are given the same life chances as their peers.

I also work very hard to ensure young people respect other people’s cultures and life styles and that we all understand the diverse communities in which we live.

I do these things by running workshops, organising events and generally by raising awareness of Equality and Diversity.

I enjoy my job especially when I can see that it has made a difference to young people who otherwise would have been treated unfairly or not given the same chances as others.Discrimination means being treated less

favourably.

As well as not being discriminated against I work proactively to ensure that all young people also have equality of opportunity.

Hello my name As well as not being discriminated against As well as not being discriminated against

EquAlITy ANd dIVERSITy OffICER for Children young People and families.

CICC CONSulTATION WITH WARWICk uNIVERSITy SOCIAl WORk STudENTS

SSCHL658APR 2011

For Further InformationIf you require further information about our services please contact Warwickshire County Council on 01926 410410 in the first instance.

Compliments, Comments and ComplaintsIf you have any comments or complaints about our services, please let us know. Any member of staff will be pleased to help you, or you can contact the Customer Relations Team at:

P.O. Box 9Shire HallWarwick

CV34 4RR.Tel. 01926 414102Fax. 01926 736374

Are we getting it right?We are interested to know what you think of our leaflets. For any feedback you may have in relation to the content, design or readability of this leaflet, produced by Adult, Health and Community Services, please contact:

Email: ac-promotions&publication@warwickshire.gov.uk

or write to: AHCS Promotions & Publications Building 2, Saltisford Office Park Ansell Way Warwick CV34 4UL.

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/cicc