Emotional connection and recognition for looked after children
T
HIS year’s winner of the Carnegie Medal for writing, Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald, brings
to life the story of Banjo and Finlay who have different care- experiences.
The portrayal is strikingly fresh and emotionally real. The characters grew partly out of Margaret’s experiences during lockdown. “I was shielding because I was high-risk. This had a massive impact on my mental health. I went about five weeks without any human touch, which I didn’t think would be in any way life-changing, but it legitimately was. It completely changed my understanding of how vital touch is. I learned about touch starvation, a condition that disproportionately affects children in care. It broke my heart. Humans need about four hugs a day just for
maintenance, and children need twelve.”
Alongside the physical connection that Margaret outlines, emotional and social connections are also key. Libraries and the collections they hold can offer important services and insights into the life situations young people might be facing. The Children Act 1989 defines a child looked- after by a local authority if they are provided with accommodation for a continuous period of more than 24 hours; are subject to either a care order; or a placement order. There are currently over 100,000 children who are looked after in the United Kingdom. Despite this number, representation in children’s books remains relatively low. J. P. Rose, author of Birdie describes how “we all need to be seen, but perhaps these young people above all others do. They’ve already been looked over for whatever reason at an early age, so to champion their stories, to shout about them is vital because then something powerful may just happen. They start to feel valued. Seen. And they begin to believe that their story matters. And with that recognition, with that value comes hope, not the kind that ignores their truth, but the kind that grows from it. Hope that shows healing is possible. That love can be found. That their future is not defined by their past but shaped by their strength and their dreams.”
Recognising the importance of stories as part of hope and healing, Lancashire County Council’s Library Service ran a scheme called NE1 4 Reading. The project was devised in collaboration with the virtual school team, a group of specialists with
Autumn-Winter 2025
Jake Hope (@Jake_Hope) is a freelance development and children’s book consultant, and former chair of CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group (YLG) and editor of Our Rights!.
www.jakehope.org.
responsibility to promote the education of looked after children. A dedicated staff member was specially appointed by the library service to be responsible for liaising with residential care homes, providing access to peripatetic collections of specially selected book, opportunities to engage in projects
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