Pioneering a new type of children’s home: Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang
Pioneering a new type of children’s home: Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang
Author
Introduction
Children in care face huge disadvantages. At GCSE only 17.5% of children in care achieve five pass grades compared to 60% of all children, and this drops to 4% if they live in a children's home. Children in residential care are also three times more likely to be criminalised than children in other types of care, and almost 15 times more likely than other young people of their age.
"The Fellowship has been critical in providing the basis for our model." - Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang, Fellow
To help give children in children’s homes a better start in life, social entrepreneur Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang (CF 2018) is pioneering a new model for these homes in the UK via his social enterprise, the Lighthouse Pedagogy Trust. Based on principles of social pedagogy, the new model will put the wellbeing of the child at the centre of its activities, focusing on creating community, stability and lasting relationships. Working with a team of advisors and an architect, Emmanuel has designed a building which feels like a family home, with highly trained staff recruited to provide the support these children need. This first home opened in 2022 in south London, and Emmanuel plans to open two more over the next four years.
Emmanuel was inspired to action whilst working as a secondary school teacher in Birmingham, where he witnessed the poorer educational outcomes of children in residential care. His Fellowship explored the social pedagogy practices of children’s homes in Denmark and Germany, which informed his new model.
Emmanuel says, “My Churchill Fellowship gave me the opportunity to visit Germany and Denmark and see social pedagogy practice in action. Lighthouse is based on much of what I observed and so the Fellowship has been critical in providing the basis for our model.”
"The Fellowship has been critical in providing the basis for our model." - Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang, Fellow
To help give children in children’s homes a better start in life, social entrepreneur Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang (CF 2018) is pioneering a new model for these homes in the UK via his social enterprise, the Lighthouse Pedagogy Trust. Based on principles of social pedagogy, the new model will put the wellbeing of the child at the centre of its activities, focusing on creating community, stability and lasting relationships. Working with a team of advisors and an architect, Emmanuel has designed a building which feels like a family home, with highly trained staff recruited to provide the support these children need. This first home opened in 2022 in south London, and Emmanuel plans to open two more over the next four years.
Emmanuel was inspired to action whilst working as a secondary school teacher in Birmingham, where he witnessed the poorer educational outcomes of children in residential care. His Fellowship explored the social pedagogy practices of children’s homes in Denmark and Germany, which informed his new model.
Emmanuel says, “My Churchill Fellowship gave me the opportunity to visit Germany and Denmark and see social pedagogy practice in action. Lighthouse is based on much of what I observed and so the Fellowship has been critical in providing the basis for our model.”