Open Forum Events is a major producer of national conferences focusing on improving the lives of children and young people. We are pleased to announce the 6th Children Looked After 2024 conference which aims to address the needs and challenges faced by children in care.
This highly regarded conference provides a platform for professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders to come together and discuss strategies for improving the lives of looked after children and care leavers. With a focus on promoting positive outcomes and ensuring well-being, this event has an important role in shaping policies and upholding child welfare.
Compared to their counterparts, children in care face a plethora of added issues. This vulnerable group are more likely to suffer abuse, become homeless, be teenage parents, not go on to access further and higher education, be a young person not in employment or training, have mental health issues and be victims of exploitation. The challenge, regardless of the added risks and possible problems, is that these children and young people are offered the same opportunities to succeed in life as their peers.
This meeting will serve as a forum for sharing knowledge and expertise, enabling participants to gain valuable insights into the issues faced by children in care. By bringing together both professional and personal experience, the conference content encourages collaboration and the exchange of best practices to create a more positive approach towards supporting looked after children and enabling improved outcomes.
If you have a role in advocating for the rights and well-being of children in care and care leavers book your place today at the Children Looked After 2024 conference as numbers are limited.
This conference is designed to induce change with knowledge, innovation, and inspiration.
Any transformation of a process or service requires the input of products and services devised to make improvements such as digital technologies; training provision; workforce planning; outsourced services; data and analytics etc.
If your organisation supports change through your products and services, our delegates and conference participants will be ready to engage with you.
Olivia Wilson, Care Experienced Speaker (confirmed)
From tackling mental health issues to forging paths towards
independence, we explore the resilience and strength cultivated
in the face of adversity. Practical insights and strategies for
professionals and caregivers are shared, emphasising the
importance of support networks in shaping positive outcomes
Dr Lucy Peake, Chief Executive at Kinship (invited)
Independent Review of Children’s Social Care‘s report ‘The case for change’ is a step forward in kinship carers getting the recognition they deserve and shows a clear commitment to improving support.
How youth information, advice and counselling services (YIACS) work to support the mental health and wellbeing of care leavers.
Allocated planned time for speakers to receive questions from the audience and induce further discussion.
Care experienced children are disproportionately likely to be reported missing and can face a range of serious harms while they are away. This session will be centred around the voice of the child, looking at why children go missing from care, what good practice looks like in reporting, and how professionals can best provide support to children upon their return.
A hot, two-course lunch consisting of multiple options will be provided for delegates. We cater for all dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten/dairy-free; just notify us ahead of time should you have any allergens or requirements.
During her presentation, Debbie will delve into the intricacies of the supported lodgings model. With her extensive support experience in working with vulnerable young people and her role as CEO of step by step, she will provide valuable insights and expertise on how this model can be transformative and an effective solution in addressing the needs of young individuals in challenging circumstances. Debbie’s talk promises to shed light on the benefits, the different types of Supported Lodgings models, the challenges, and the potential for positive impact that the supported lodgings model can have on the lives of those it serves.
In this session Denise will draw on the NNECL quality mark and share tested strategies for;
• Providing with access to specialist services and professional advice on education, training and employment
• Upskilling staff in local schools, colleges and universities to better support care experienced children during their education
• Supporting carers with skills and confidence to inspire and support the vocational aspirations of care experienced young people so they can transition successfully into further and higher education
Speaker TBC, The Fostering Network (invited)
Foster carers provide children and young people with stability, security, attachment and often their first positive experience of family life. However, the fostering system does not always support foster carers to deliver this stable environment. This can be due to poor matching, an ongoing need to recruit a larger and more diverse group of foster carers, the high turnover of social workers, unnecessary placement moves.
The presentation will bring together cutting edge findings about the important but under-researched topic of Black care-experienced young people in the criminal justice system. It will bring together insights from analyses of linked Ministry of Justice and Department for Education administrative data (ADR UK Fellowship project at Manchester Metropolitan University) and in-depth qualitative research on the lived-experience of justice system involvement (led by Barnardo’s). By bringing together quantitative (ADR UK Fellowship project) and qualitative (Barnardo’s Project) data, the audience will gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues facing Black care-experienced young people in justice systems in general, and in the prison system in particular. The goal of this presentation is to raise awareness of disproportionalities, with a view to reducing over-representation and improving support for those already involved with justice systems.
Having difficulty paying through Eventbrite? If you would like assistance registering your place please contact me on 0161 376 9007 and i'll be happy to assist. If you are awaiting funding you can request us to hold your place today to ensure you do not miss out.
Discounts for 3 or more delegates are available.Want to pay by invoice? If you select your tickets and click on the green Register button. Once you’re through to the registration page, you can switch payment method from Credit/ Debit Card to Pay by Invoice
Pendulum Hotel & Manchester Conference Centre is the ideal solution when searching for conference venues in Manchester. Top-of-the-range conference suites, 3 star value hotel accommodation, delicious dining and friendly service are the ideal components for a successful conference or event in the heart of the city centre.
The 18 conference rooms are decked out with all the mod cons including state-of-the-art AV technology, projectors and screens, free Wi-Fi and flip charts. Our clients cover the whole spectrum and include government organisations, trade unions, large corporate companies, non-profit organisations, health and education sectors and small to medium-sized businesses.
From the get-go we strive for excellence in everything we do and our dedicated team of conference professionals go all out to make sure your conference, event or exhibition runs like clockwork.
