Bristol Council have worked very closely with children in care, care leavers and the Children in Care Council to develop the city’s Pledge to Children in Care and Care Leavers. We hope that by taking a long look at the pledge that we have helped create something that is easy to understand whatever age you are.
'It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?" - Winnie The Pooh
Its a set of promises that Bristol City Council and other people are making to you about what you can expect them to do to help you whilst you are in care. Lots of different sections of Bristol City Council have all signed up to make sure that you are healthy, feel safe, have a good time in school and be as happy as you can be. Bristol City Council aren't the only people either there are lots of other groups from all over Bristol who have pledged their support.
Bristol have published three version of the pledge. There is a poster version (A2 size), a pocket sized version and a full A4 sized version. Click on the links above to take a look!
The pledge is available in several formats - poster, A4 and pocket size. If you would like a copy of any of these, email James (james@reconstruct.co.uk) and we'll send you a copy.
Loads of different things. There was plenty that we felt was important enough to go in there and the Children in Care Council, care leavers and other young people will start training all Bristol workers about the pledge. We can tell you now though that there are five main sections that are based on the 'Every Child Matters' guidelines and the five main sections are;
Each section has different promises; and you can see the whole pledge by clicking 'Download the Pledge'
If you are under 10 years old you might want to 'Download the pledgelet' (a simpler to read version)
All the workers in your life should be sticking to the pledge, that's why we helped Bristol City Council write it. If you think that you're missing out on something that is in the pledge then you should talk to your social worker and see if you can get them to change things for you. Over time you may find bits of the pledge appearing in your care plan and you might agree with your social worker which bits are most important to you.
If things don't change even when you've spoken to your social worker then you might want to think about...
All of these things may help you and your social worker get back on track and help you be as happy, healthy and safe as you can be.
