Young people in care in Cambridgeshire worked with professional film makers and University of Cambridge health researchers to produce a four-minute animation about how it feels to enter the care system.
Young people in care in Cambridgeshire worked with professional film makers and University of Cambridge health researchers to produce a four-minute animation about how it feels to enter the care system.
The young people have given us a unique and personal insight into the emotional impact of entering the care system.
Valerie Dunn
The film, which forms part of a new training course for foster carers, is now available to watch online, together with a short “behind the scenes” feature on its making.
The film was put together at a 4-day animation workshop and is part of a research project being carried out by the adolescent theme of the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (CLAHRC CP) and its research partners, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridgeshire County Council Children’s Services and NHS Cambridgeshire.
“Young people in care are vulnerable to emotional and behavioural difficulties which can develop into mental health problems,” explains Valerie Dunn, who is responsible for the foster carer training project. “Foster carers are well-placed to recognise emotional problems, if they know what to look for.
“Training foster carers to identify and record the early signs of emotional distress should lead to timely intervention. This should reduce placement breakdown and help young people to make a successful transition from leaving care to living independently.
“The film is an important part of the pilot training package for foster carers. The young people have given us a unique and personal insight into the emotional impact of entering the care system.”
The young film-makers worked with Lizzy Hobbs from Spellbound Animation, James Rogers from Sonic Sound Studios, Tom Mellor from Cambs Youth Offending Service, Trish Sheil from the Cambridgeshire Film Consortium, Mary Ogden from Cambs County Council’s Children’s Participation Service and Valerie Dunn from the University of Cambridge and CLAHRC-CP.
The film was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough: a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with a wide range of Cambridgeshire and East Anglian Health and Service Providers.
- Watch My Name is Joe (Please note: this film contains one use of strong language).
- Watch Behind the Scenes (Please note: this film contains one use of strong language).
- Contact for more information: Valerie Dunn, vjd20@cam.ac.uk
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