I manage a team of care-experienced voice and influence workers in Sheffield City Council. As a team we run voice youth groups for others in care, complete creative peer research, run a reverse scrutiny process where we hold Children's Social Care to account and have our own podcast. My Fellowship will focus on creating a best practice model to create paid employment for young people with care experience to do impactful voice, influence and change work.

I have worked for many years in advocacy and youth voice work. I am passionate about meaningful co-production that enables the young people involved to have a career pathway from volunteering to paid work. I have helped young people go from volunteering in their Children in Care Council to being paid to run it themselves. I would like to strengthen the model we have in Sheffield, then create a set of resources to demonstrate to other local authorities how they too can set up their own voice and influence teams. My long-term goal is to make paid routes into voice and influence employment for young people with care experience a statutory ask of all local authorities and provide the best practice model to do so.