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Education is an important investment in ourselves and our society. In the UK our school system is designed with an expectation that all children and young people will enjoy a good education, leading them to a good job which makes them happy and which pays them enough to enjoy a safe and secure life. We also expect our education system to ensure our young people are prepared to face any challenge that may arise, personally, in our communities and in wider society.  

Young people with care experience don't always do as well in school as young people without care experience and as a result don't always get to enjoy the same exciting career options as their peers. The reasons for this are complex and have been well studied. What NNECL has learned through working with students, colleges, universities, foster carers, leaving care teams and academics is there are two challenges which must be urgently addressed by caring communities; 

1 - creating nurturing environments where young people believe their aspirations are possible

2 - giving young people and the adults closest to them the information needed to make informed decisions about the future

At NNECL, we think that when society supports a young person in care to believe their career aspirations are achievable, we enable them to plan for bringing to life what they hope to achieve for themselves in the future. In order to meet aspirations about career pathways, university and further education, evidence suggests care experienced young people need to have the curious conversations, that traditionally happen in family units, with trusted adults who can support and encourage them on their journey. 

Our Inspire pilot has two core aims: 

Firstly we will make young people in care aware of the support available to them if they want to go to college, university or into an apprenticeship so they can reach their full educational potential. 

Secondly, we will develop a suite of tools and activities giving adults an understanding of the routes to careers for the young people in care, as well as insights on the impact their support makes.

If you have any questions, please do get in touch: [email protected] or you can visit our FAQ pages using the links below: 

FAQ's for young people              FAQ's for adults

We have chosen to focus the Inspire pilot in Southwark because we work closely with the leaving care team who are committed to transforming the educational outcomes of the children in their care and because Southwark is where our charity is based. We are excited to work closely with our local community.  

In 2023, 30% of the children in Southwark's care achieved GCSE grades 9 to 4 in English, compared to 73% of the overall school student population. In 2023/24, 10% of Southwark based care leavers progressed to higher education, this is lower than the national average of 15% of care leavers going to university. This 10% figure is also significantly lower than average number of the general population who go to university, which is 45%.

We will report back on the first phase of this pilot in September 2025.

Shaunna Devine is leading this pilot, she is care experienced and a PhD researcher at Liverpool John Moores University. Shaunna has a profound commitment to improving educational opportunities for young people with care backgrounds and has worked extensively in the education and social care sectors. Through Inspire, Shaunna strives to create an inclusive and supportive programme which gives young people with care experience access to the resources and support they need to thrive through education. 

NNECL is a registered charity and we receive no public funds to deliver our work. This pilot  has been made possible by the generous support of United St Saviour's and the Allen Lane Foundation. 

If you have any questions about Inspire, you would like to get involved or contribute to our work, please use the form below to get in touch with Shaunna.