What would have improved my care and leaving care experience - with Dan, age 18

In this episode, we spoke to Dan about his experience of the care system and transition to adulthood. He gives his perspective on what being 'ambitious' for children in care should look like, reflections on use of language and practical support for young people going into adulthood. He also shares his thoughts to how professionals view supported accommodation and 'independence' and changes that he feels could make a big difference.Dan spoke too about his positive experiences of social work and what made those important for him. You will also hear his powerful take on the impact of social worker stress on young people and how he'd like to see social work championed and valued.If you have a Community Care Inform licence, you can access additional resources and a written transcript of the podcast: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/learning-tools/leaving-care-podcast-an-18-year-olds-perspective-on-independence-supported-accommodation-and-good-social-work/You can also read Laura Hanbury's guide to professional curiousity (as mentioned by Dan here) here: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/how-to-use-professional-curiosity-to-understand-social-and-emotional-responses/You might also be interested in our guide to the 2023 legislation affecting supported accommodation: https://www.ccinform.co.uk/practice-guidance/quick-guide-to-the-supported-accommodation-england-regulations-2023/Find out more about Community Care's #choosesocialwork campaign here: https://view.ceros.com/bonhill/community-care-choose-social-work/p/1 or follow the hashtag on social mediaOther sources Dan mentions:A Community Care article about the charity Become's report on 'ambitions' for children in care: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2017/07/27/children-care-urge-social-workers-ambitious/The full report (Perceptions of Care, 2017) is available here: https://becomecharity.org.uk/content/uploads/2022/01/perceptions-of-care_final-1.pdfNewsnight segment on 'Britain's hidden children homes': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LB2x-bfrDxMAn article on the Newsnight episode was also published on BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-50392297The personal advisor duties are contained in 19B and 19C of schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/schedule/2), read alongside the Care Planning regulations 2010 (as amended) (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/959/contents)This summary on Coram's Child Law Advice website sets out entitlements to personal advisors, pathway plans and needs assessments for children who fall into different categories: https://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/services-for-children-leaving-care/'Social worker took own life after stress caused by work arrangements, coroner rules', Community Care, 2018: https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2018/08/15/social-worker-took-life-stress-caused-work-arrangements-coroner-rules/

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Learn on the go is the Community Care Inform podcast where practitioners, trainers, consultants, academics and researchers discuss practice, research, and theories and what they mean for social workers. Listening to episodes is a convenient way to learn and refresh your knowledge when you don’t have much time to read or prefer other ways of getting information and reflecting on your practice. We’ve been recording Learn on the go on an ad hoc basis since 2017. Over these eight years our podcast audience has grown, and in 2025 we made the decision to start recording Learn on the go in seasons. We launched Season 1 Episode 1 in January 2025. During each season, episodes are released monthly on the last Friday of the month and all episodes appear on Inform Adults and Inform Children or you can subscribe to Learn on the go through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.