‘‘In loco parentis’ refers to a relationship in which a person puts him/herself in the situation of a parent by assuming and discharging the obligations of a parent to a child..’
UK Government definition
There are 105,000 young people throughout the United Kingdom for whom local authorities act ‘in loco parentis’, according to the NSPCC; 84,000 of whom are in England. These under-18-year-olds have suffered from a wide range of family breakdown and other situations; in a society in which more than half of children are born out of wedlock and where migrating refugees and unaccompanied asylum seekers compensate for our falling birth rates, we must expect the number of ‘looked-after’ children and young people to remain high.
Their childhood and adolescence is seriously disrupted as a result; not just in educational terms, but also in the devastating experience of insecurity — just at the time when firm foundations are most required. Each year about 13,000 young people leave the care system on reaching adulthood; many local authorities work hard to keep in touch with them, but this experience of leaving care at 18 is frequently described as a ‘cliff-edge’. No wonder the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) rate for adult care leavers averages as high as 39%.
In a stable family setting, parents will provide both resources and life skills — including everyday financial awareness — in order to help their children make a successful journey through adolescence. This involves a gradual transformation of responsibilities from dependence to independence, but good parents will continue to provide a backstop as their transition into adulthood continues, as the Sunday Times reported on 10th August ('Rise of the stay-at-home student').
It's very different for young people in care, as the traditional welfare approach is to provide funding and resources as and when they are required; a gradual ‘attitudinal transformation’ process isn't part of the formal structure, although many foster carers do their best to provide for a successful preparation for adulthood.
Attitudinal transformation takes time, and it involves the realisation of a complete change in perspective. It enables young people to look forward with a constructive approach towards achieving their potential in our fast-changing world.
For example, an appreciation of ownership and earned achievement leads to a real sense of responsibility — so evident with home ownership — which builds over time. Micro-finance uses this approach: it’s because microfinance is based on loan-funding rather than grant-giving that it embeds a process of continuing accountability, allowing that appreciation of ownership to build. This enables the attitudinal transformation process which in turn allows its beneficiaries to plan their way forward.
It’s particularly important for young people in care, whose natural focus is to dwell on the problems they have suffered in the past, and the insecurity and isolation which they will currently be experiencing. In this respect, it’s not just economic participation which calls for attitudinal transformation. In order to give these young people a chance of stable family formation themselves in which they can break the cycle of deprivation, it’s necessary to develop a forward-looking determination to break out of that depression.
The founding purpose of education is not simply to share knowledge but also to transform attitudes. However, because young people in care experience such disruption in their schooling, the opportunity to benefit from its attitudinal transformation is limited. Also, we have to bear in mind that the educational focus is on rewarding higher achievers; across society as a whole, its main achievement is in preparing young people for the workplace.
Even in key areas such as financial awareness the impact of traditional schooling is very limited: only 25% of young people in the United Kingdom consider themselves properly prepared for adult life in terms of financial education on leaving school.
At The Share Foundation we have learnt how to achieve attitudinal transformation for young people in care over the past decade: in particular, the linking of life skills development to incentivised learning is central to making it work. The process starts with enabling young people to earn additional money by completing individual learning stages, but this turns into a deep appreciation of the content of those stages. As a result, the experience of learning achieves a significant reduction in their NEET rates when these young people reach adulthood, proving the effectiveness of attitudinal transformation.
The stage in The Share Foundation’s Stepladder Plus programme when this is most evident is Step 4, when young people are invited to write 250-500 words about their plans for the future. With the encouragement of ‘earn as you learn’ incentives, nearly two-thirds of all participants reach this stage.
This is what we say to young people as we introduce them to this step: ‘Let’s be honest — thinking about the future isn’t always easy, especially if you've been in care and already have a lot going on. But this step is all about you and what you want from life. It’s your chance to make a plan that puts your goals into action. Whether you're at school, college, working, volunteering, or figuring things out, start by jotting down what's important to you right now. Then think about where you’d like to go next — big dreams, small steps — it all counts’.
Of course, the experience is only transformative if it’s individual and self-created by that person. This is why The Share Foundation has to warn against young people using AI to write the plan: Step 4 is about using their own voice. This is their chance to build real-life skills — like planning, decision-making, and writing in a professional way. Using their own words shows how they’re thinking and where they want to go: that’s what the Stepladder Plus programme is all about, and these are the kinds of skills they will use when applying for jobs, college, or training in the future: so it’s great practice.
Transferable skills for young people in care is also a key aim for Stepping Forward, The Share Foundation’s ‘Introduction to the Performing Arts’ course. It doesn’t involve much in the way of literacy or numeracy, but it does provide confidence in building communication skills and a good preparation for working with other people. David Ricardo Pearce, who stars as the adult Harry Potter in the West End show, explains this key aspect about transferable skills in a video clip.
The Share Foundation is considering the development of an additional video for those leaving the care system who might be budding entrepreneurs of the future: again, looking to develop a forward-looking mindset in order to help by-pass the handicaps of the disrupted education and insecurity that can hold adult care leavers back from achieving their potential.
In summary, we should continue to supplement the ‘in loco parentis’ role of the welfare state by providing the stepping stones necessary for attitudinal transformation. Every young person born into this world has the same mix of potential, no matter what their upbringing: we just need to make sure that they have the resources, the life skills and the determination to achieve it.
Gavin Oldham OBE
Share Radio