Care leavers from Yorkshire speak up for Social Work Week

Now 26, and despite the trauma she went through, she says the kindness, encouragement and support she received from one of her children’s social workers, helped her come to terms with her past and find her way in life.

Rae, Ryan Branson, Sam (not his real name) and TJ Austin have all come forward to share their first-hand experiences of the care system during Social Work Week (March18-22) and World Social Work Day (today).

By doing so they are hoping to raise awareness about the profession and encourage others to take up the role, while challenging some of the “misconceptions” towards children’s social workers and towards those who, like them, have been in need of their help.

In Rae’s case, her mother struggled with mental health issues and she was eventually placed in temporary foster care, but by 14 was with an “amazing” long-term foster family.

Rae says: “It took what felt like an eternity of having nobody and a lot of trust-building, to realise that people were there to help me if I’d let them.

"There was one children’s social worker in particular who was pivotal in this. As someone who had been through the care system herself, she really understood what I was going though, never tried to distract from my emotions or tell me what to do, and she took the time to explain things to me.”

Rae is now a Voice and Influence worker for Sheffield City Council, ensuring that young residents in the city are heard and says that life could not be better – despite the prejudice she has faced in the past.

“I’ve come across many care leavers like me, who despite having been supported through the care system to overcome past traumas and who are ready to contribute to society, have faced some level of discrimination, which can be extremely disheartening.

"I was once told by a prospective employer that I wouldn’t be getting the job because I was a care leaver and at another interview the atmosphere completely changed as soon as I mentioned it. I hope that sharing my experiences can help to reduce any stigma towards children in care and care-leavers until one day it becomes a thing of the past.

“Similarly we often talk about nurses, police officers and firefighters, who put their lives in danger to save lives. But so do children’s social workers. They are good people who just want to help yet this isn’t always recognised because there is also some stigma towards the profession.

"For me, going into care was the best thing that could have happened and I feel thankful and lucky for the support, without which I know my life would have spiralled. My social worker was kind, even if I wasn’t always kind and she made me realise that kindness isn’t a weakness. This is something I still often think about and it only makes me want to do better by those I try to help in my job.”

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Meanwhile, Sam fled to the UK 10 years ago from Afghanistan aged just 13, alone and in fear for his life, after witnessing his father being killed in an unprovoked attack.

After being placed under the care of Kirklees Council’s Children’s Services, Sam met children’s social worker, John (not his real name) who, for the next five years, took him under his wing and supported him in moving forward with his life.

Sam says: “I met John on the first night I arrived in the UK. It was the middle of the night and I’d voluntarily made my way to a police station in Huddersfield, having just spent the past seven months making the gruelling journey, mostly on foot. I was scared, confused, starving and almost sick with exhaustion. It was John who came to assess me at the station that night and through a translator, he asked me about what had happened to me and then about my father. For the first time in a very long time, I cried because I knew I was finally safe.”

Ryan Branson was placed into foster care with Wakefield Council at the age of 10. Now 23, he’s turning the positive experiences he had with his children’s social workers – who he says played a pivotal role in his life - towards a career in children’s social work.

"I had a few foster placements and moving around was always tough, but the one constant that remained throughout my childhood, was my social workers. Whatever else was going on in my life they would always be there for me, a calming presence to steady the course and help me through... And now as I train to be a children’s social worker, I apply these core values to my own practice."

And TJ, 21, is looking forward to starting a new chapter in his life following a recent move to Pickering with his girlfriend. As a trained barista, his love of coffee and his customers have led to aspirations of one day owning his own coffee shop.

At the age of two, however, he was placed under the care of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Children’s Services. He was later adopted by a local couple but then faced the break-up of their marriage, the untimely death of his dad and attachment issues with his mum, before he went back into the care system at the age of 17.

He says: "My social workers were like a massive safety net because I knew that if I had any problems I could pick up the phone and someone could be there the next day, and this was something I felt very grateful for. "

The week-long, national social worker campaign is being backed by all 15 of the region’s Local Authority children’s services departments. For the past 12 years, they have been working collaboratively as part of the Children’s Social Work Matters (CSWM ) programme.