There are over 60,000 children and young people under the care of local authorities in England at any one time, with over half experiencing emotional and mental health problems.
While many children and young people have positive experiences in care, many do not and are unable to stay in the same place with the same carers, or attend the same school for extended periods of time.
This film looks at the lives and experiences of a group of young people from the North East of England who are, or have experienced being, in care. The group explore why each of the quality statements is important to them and how they relate to them in the context of their personal experience of being in care.
The film demonstrates to young people the standard and quality of care they deserve and should expect to receive, and provides practical advice on how the quality standard can be used and who to contact to help them put the quality standard into practice to improve their lives.
Published in April 2014, the quality standard contains eight statements that will improve the health and social, educational and emotional wellbeing of looked after children and young people in care.
The NCCSC was established in preparation for NICE's move into social care from 1 April 2014. The NCCSC uses NICE's methods and processes to develop social care guidelines. NICE then uses these as a basis for its quality standards for social care. The NCCSC also provides NICE with support for adoption and dissemination of social care guidelines and quality standards by developing innovative tools for social care audiences, with involvement of service users, carers and practitioners.
Jane Silvester, Associate Director for Social Care at NICE, said: "Looked after children and young people deserve the best quality care and support to achieve their full potential. This film illustrates why the NICE quality standard on the health and wellbeing of looked after children and young people is so important, and what the statements mean - in the words of young people themselves.
"This is the first film produced for NICE by the NICE collaborating centre for social care, and is aimed at looked after children and young people themselves. It can also be used by children's practitioners and managers to think about and improve the quality of care and support they are providing."
