Jim Wasswa reports on Enfield care leavers meeting minister Josh MacAlister – determined to turn lived experience into change

I am exhilarated to share that the Cook and Chill project has launched with remarkable momentum. We were invited (with the help of Lloyds Bank Foundation) to step into rooms where decisions are made. Last month in December, we were in a room where our voices have been missing for far too long. Let me set the scene.

Around the table sat care leavers from Enfield, carrying not only their own stories, but representing the countless young people whose voices could not be present. And across from us sat Minister for Children Josh MacAlister, a system-shaper confronted by the very people shaped by that system.

Jayden, George and a third care leaver spoke with courage, honesty, and unfiltered truth. Their stories laid bare a system that repeatedly fails children at the most critical moments from being looked after, moving into semi-independent living and transitioning into adulthood. At each stage, young people are left to navigate life without clarity, guidance or genuine support. And the results, as we know too well, can be devastating.

After my colleagues spoke, I asked the minister a direct question: “How do you feel after listening to these experiences?”

His reply was blunt: “I am not surprised.”

For the first time, we heard honesty from the top and in that honesty was a hard truth: the institutions surrounding children in care behave less like parents and more like corporations – corporations that protect themselves before protecting the child. It is a truth that everyone in the room recognised.

If we want real reform, we must start with something simple yet profound, something every child deserves – love. Love is the foundation of any family. So why is it absent from the structures meant to act as a parent to the most vulnerable children?

The minister said he wants to see more lifelong relationships, stronger support to keep families together, and better provisions for kinship carers. These are important steps, but love cannot exist without accountability.

Accountability begins here. Care-experienced people must become a protected characteristic nationally. This means legally safeguarding them from discrimination, similar to race and disability.

As child poverty rises, so will the discrimination, stigma, and barriers faced by care-experienced young people. Without legal protection, they remain vulnerable, not because of who they are, but because the system refuses to safeguard them.

The label ‘care experienced’ should not be a burden. But without protection, it continues to be. This is why we advocate; this is why we speak; this is why we take our seat at these tables, not for ourselves, but for every young person still unheard.

I also asked the minister what steps the government is taking to improve communication between the education and care sectors, particularly during key transition points. He told us he is progressing legislation to extend corporate parenting duties to public bodies, including schools and colleges.

This is a positive step, but it is not enough. Transformation requires that people with lived experience are not just consulted but embedded in the heart of decision-making.

So, we asked the minister directly: is there a national advisory board for care-experienced people and, if so, can we be part of it? We will see what happens. One meeting cannot change the system, but it can start a movement. And we will keep knocking on doors until those doors stay open.

In summary, this is what must change: care-experienced people must become a protected characteristic nationally; love must be the foundation of all care-giving families; and care-experienced people must be embedded at the heart of decision-making.

This article is published with support from LocalMotion Enfield, part of a UK-wide movement for community-led change

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