Connecting old and young
By Lorraine George,
Launch of new Fellowships in children and young people in care
The number of children and young people in care has hit an all-time high. This year we are offering a new Fellowship category to find innovative solutions for this growing challenge.
In 2018 some 99,672 children and young people were in care in the UK - more than ever before. Whilst many will go on to lead happy, successful lives, others will encounter difficulties such as homelessness, mental ill-health, criminalisation and early death - for all of which rates amongst care-experienced people are higher than the general population.
We are launching a new category of Churchill Fellows to find new ideas in other countries’ care systems for addressing this issue. We know that other countries are doing things differently, but there is little UK research into global best practice in this area - and little sharing of ideas.
“Many organisations and individuals are working tirelessly to help improve life for children and young people who have experience of care, and there have been some brilliant initiatives. At the Churchill Fellowship, we want to join this effort to seek solutions and ideas that might further improve the UK’s care system.” – Naomi French, Research and Engagement Manager
Our new Fellowship category will enable dedicated individuals to explore international solutions in this field and bring them back to benefit the UK care system. We believe this has the potential to contribute significant change and improvement to the life and outcomes of children and young people in care.
Some of our Fellows have already done research in this field and are making positive changes in the UK. For example, Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang (2018) travelled to Denmark and Germany, where a different approach to care homes is proving a huge success. Returning home inspired, Emmanuel is now championing a new model of children’s homes which will provide educational support, a family-style environment and a stable place to live and feel safe and secure.
This category is in partnership with The Hadley Trust and will be open for applications from 30 April to 15 September 2020, for travels in 2021. It will run for three years, funding 10 Fellows each year to gather international solutions.
Applications for our other Fellowship award categories will also open on 30 April.
Find out about the children and young people in care category
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