By Graham Clews
4 August 2009
More children in care believe they have been treated better than other children than feel they have suffered from being in care, a report by the children’s rights director for England has found.
The report, Care and prejudice, published on August 4, found that most children in care said the fact that they were in care had no effect on the way other people treated them. However, half surveyed believed the general public thought that children in care were ‘bad and uncontrollable’, and around one quarter thought they were ‘troublemakers’.
The longer the youngsters had been in care, the more they were likely to think this, according to the survey of 276 youngsters children living in children’s homes or in foster care.
Almost half of the children questioned worried about other people knowing they were living in care because they feared being judged, bullied or treated differently.
They were most worried about how potential employers would react when they found out that the youngsters lived in care.
More than 60% of the children who were worried about prejudice were concerned about how potential landlords would view them, and almost half the children expressed concern at how teachers viewed them.
Roger Morgan, the children’s rights director for England, said guidance was needed, particularly in schools, to support children in care, but it would have to ensure that they were not treated differently from other children. ‘What is also needed is a more informed attitude by the general public,’ he said.
4 August 2009
More children in care believe they have been treated better than other children than feel they have suffered from being in care, a report by the children’s rights director for England has found.
The report, Care and prejudice, published on August 4, found that most children in care said the fact that they were in care had no effect on the way other people treated them. However, half surveyed believed the general public thought that children in care were ‘bad and uncontrollable’, and around one quarter thought they were ‘troublemakers’.
The longer the youngsters had been in care, the more they were likely to think this, according to the survey of 276 youngsters children living in children’s homes or in foster care.
Almost half of the children questioned worried about other people knowing they were living in care because they feared being judged, bullied or treated differently.
They were most worried about how potential employers would react when they found out that the youngsters lived in care.
More than 60% of the children who were worried about prejudice were concerned about how potential landlords would view them, and almost half the children expressed concern at how teachers viewed them.
Roger Morgan, the children’s rights director for England, said guidance was needed, particularly in schools, to support children in care, but it would have to ensure that they were not treated differently from other children. ‘What is also needed is a more informed attitude by the general public,’ he said.
