Every year, the third Friday in February marks Care Day – a day to celebrate and help share support for children and young people who grow up in care. Maybe you know someone in care, or you work in that sector?

According to the Children’s Commissioner, at the end of March 2023, the total of children looked after stood at 83,840, or about one child in every 140. But there are still children who are missing out – a similar report on homeless 16 and 17 year olds found that 61% of homeless 16- and 17-year-olds accommodated by local authorities are not coming into care as they should be. There are other difficulties, too, such as the nearly 20,000 children who are separated from their siblings. Raising awareness is one way to help people who need caring for get the attention they deserve.

How can you get involved in Care Day 2024? 

There are a multitude of ways to show your support for this good cause. First up, why not raise awareness by telling people both online and offline about the day using the hashtag #careday2024? You could take a selfie photo and write your location on the pam of your hand. There’s a special comms pack for Care Day that contains useful suggestions and graphics. 

But the day is also about learning about some of the stereotypes and stigmas that sadly still attach to children in care. The system can be complicated, and it often isn’t easy to know what you’re entitled to. Care Day is for anyone on that journey – whether just starting out or moving on to the next chapter in life. 

What is a….?

One of the barriers to understanding the issues young people in care face is the amount of jargon. The Become Charity has a very helpful Care Dictionary here which explains terms like Local Offer and Pathway Plan. 

Sharing is Caring

The Become Charity also offer an advice line for children in care or those leaving care. It’s important that children feel they have a right to talk about the problems they want help with, and that they have someone who will listen. That’s the idea of the care advice line, and it’s not just a phone number – you can also email them or WhatsApp, and you’ll find all the details here.  

FPM and the Care Sector

If you work in the care sector or you know someone who does, you might be interested to know that FPM provide the following areas of support for care organisations and their staff:

• Compliance Software - Whether you operate in a residential, nursing or domiciliary care setting, FPM Core keeps all your policies and procedures in one place, easily distributable with read-reports and automated reminders. Everything you need to be compliant and inspection-ready.
• Recruitment consultancy - We offer a first-class recruitment service to care providers, so you can appoint the best candidates for your key management roles. Our recruitment consultants are experts in their fields, and are based throughout the UK
• HR support - The FPM HR Helpline is open to customers to answer their questions on employment and operational issues – anything from holiday calculations to disciplinary procedures. We know it can be difficult to navigate your way through certain employment-related situations - so our HR Consultants are here to help.
• Training - Through our respected Thornfields Training business, we provide training, qualifications and workforce development for your support team as well as management consultancy for your care organisation.