Some news 🚨 I’m a 2023 recipient of the
#ChurchillFellowship
!
@ChurchillFship
is funding my project to create a trauma-informed toolkit for journalists to use when interviewing care experienced people.
As part of my research I’ll be travelling to the US later this year. (1/3)
One of my goals after leaving foster care was to one day have my own full size Christmas tree.
But every year they were too expensive.
This year, for the first time, I’ve been able to afford a 7.5ft Christmas tree. It may seem silly to some, but it means the world to me ❤️🎄
If you’ve seen the new John Lewis advert 🛹 - here’s some more info about what the company are doing for the care experienced (
#CEP
) community: a thread✨
1)
@JohnLewisRetail
will be making donations of Christmas decorations, food & gifts to people leaving care ❤️
(part 1/5)
6 years ago today I was taken from school in a police car to my first ever foster placement 💙 If I had a time machine, I'd go back & tell teenage Soph, "it's going to be alright. You're going to get through this. You are so much stronger than you ever imagined" 💪
#FCanniversary
10 years ago to the day, I was crying in the back of a police car on my way to my first foster placement.
& today I did my first training session to become a mentor for
#CEP
wanting to get into journalism.
It's been a *journey*, but I'm so proud of mini-Soph for getting here ❤️
2) JOBS: earlier this year
@JohnLewisRetail
announced that they are running pilot schemes to help care-experienced people to gain skills and experience to set them up in their careers. In particular, apprenticeship opportunities 💻
More info:
(part 2/5)
8 years ago today, I was crying in the back of a police car on the way to my first foster home
I knew then, things would never be the same, but I never imagined the direction my life would take...
My past doesn't define me, but it's shaped me into who I am today
#careaversary
💜
When I was a teen, I thought foster care had turned my world upside down
but in reality...it turned my world right-side up 🌍
I’m so grateful for foster care because it made me into the music maker/children’s rights advocate/Oxford graduate I am today 💪
#ThisisFostering
#FCF20
3) SANTA: Children in care and their caregivers will be invited to Santa’s Grotto experiences in John Lewis stores & the retailer will also supply communal spaces of selected residential facilities run by
@actnforchildren
with electronics, furnishings & decorations 🎅
(part 3/5)
4) CHARITY: A Giving Tree in stores will invite customers to donate to two partner charities (
@actnforchildren
&
@whocaresscot
) with a value of between £5 and £50. Also, a quarter of the value of sales of the toy bear & skateboard will go to the charities 🧸
(part 4/5)
9 years ago today I was crying in the back of a police car omw to my 1st foster placement & what a journey it’s been…
Last month I was invited to the White House, I’ve had tea @ Buckingham Palace, I’m an Oxford grad & award winning journo
but first & always, I’m a proud
#CEP
💛
Aoifa’s final tweet, before she took her own life, says so much about the current mental health system.
Another care experienced person who was let down. This is becoming a regularity on my feed and there are no words to describe how painful and heartbreaking and unfair this is.
Professional news 🚨 Today is my first day as Deputy Digital Editor of The
@BigIssue
!
I’m thrilled to have joined the editorial team at this legendary publication that sums up so many of the reasons I became a journalist ❤️
& to think 4 years ago, I was a story in the mag... 🥺
Really honoured to have received the
@DianaAward
today for my social action work
The award is in memory of
#PrincessDiana
& I'm humbled to be associated with this group of changemakers
#2021DianaAwards
A big warm hug to everyone I've met along the way of this amazing journey 🧡
Guys... someone read my piece in the
@BigIssue
this week and decided to donate £500 (£625 incl. gift aid) to their local care leaver Christmas dinner because of it!! 🎉
I was nervous writing such a personal piece, but this is the greatest outcome I could've wished for ❤️ damn 🥹
After a picture of my Christmas tree went lowkey viral 2 weeks ago, I was asked to write a column on how I felt about it for
@BigIssue
(on sale now).
It was a surprisingly tough task, but here’s what I came up with 👇 big hugs to every
#CEP
this season ❤️
Driving back from Wales & stopped off at a services to grab a copy of today’s
@guardian
@ObsNewReview
@ObserverUK
which features the faces of 59 care experienced people (incl. me) in ‘A historic portrait of care system success’ - an 8-page focus dedicated to our
#CEP
community 💛
7 years ago I began my care journey. These last 7 years have sucked.
They’ve made me cry.
AND they’ve made me smile. And laugh.
And most importantly, they’ve taught me how to love the life which I, and I alone, am in charge of.
THIS is what a care leaver looks like
#Careaversary
I’ve been working with the
@GoodLawProject
on their new ground-breaking legal action to prevent children in care being put at risk by being separated from their support networks.
Watch the video below to learn more ⬇️⬇️
"These kids are being written off for reasons beyond their control...we believe the Education Secretary's failure to act, whilst children in care suffer, is unlawful" -
@sophiassocials
This starts next Tuesday
@BBCOne
and I’m very interested to watch 🧐
Joe Swash’s mum has been a foster carer for over 15 years, and Joe & his wife
@StaceySolomon
have also been considering fostering.
His 60-min doc will focus on teens in the system ⬇️
Happy Mother’s Day to all those who’ve stepped into a ‘mum’ role because it needed to be filled.
To the kids who have to be their own parent. The older siblings who look out for the youngest. The relatives, friends, & foster carers who go above & beyond.
This is your day too ❤️🩹
After a picture of my Christmas tree went lowkey viral 2 weeks ago, I was asked to write a column on how I felt about it for
@BigIssue
(on sale now).
It was a surprisingly tough task, but here’s what I came up with 👇 big hugs to every
#CEP
this season ❤️
One of my goals after leaving foster care was to one day have my own full size Christmas tree.
But every year they were too expensive.
This year, for the first time, I’ve been able to afford a 7.5ft Christmas tree. It may seem silly to some, but it means the world to me ❤️🎄
Anyone else struggling with all the “Going home for Christmas” posts?
I don’t know how many people realise how lucky they are to have a home to go to home to...
This short ‘Silent Night’ is dedicated to my care experienced brothers & sisters at this time of year 💚❤️
#CEP
I’ve had a few mates tell me their PAs aren’t allowed to travel to see them right now 🚂
so, if there are any care leavers at Uni in London who are missing that in person dynamic, I can’t be your PA, but I can buy you a coffee; hmu if you fancy a socially distanced drink & chat!
Maybe one day I’ll write a book (that nobody asked for ✌️) about all the bizarre experiences I had as a
#CEP
studying at Oxford Uni
but now, I thought I’d share one story of how I almost didn’t graduate from the university… because I didn’t have any socks 🧦
A thread 🧵⬇️ 1/17
Happy National Care Leavers Week! 🥰
#NCLW21
I feel so lucky to know so many amazing care leavers, and I’m proud to support & platform care experienced people all year round 🤸♀️
Here’s to all the organisations, charities & wonderful people who look out for us 365 days a year 🎉
Leah Glenday; first pupil from her school to receive an offer from Cambridge & she’s a care leaver
Cambridge rejected her 😡
“I want to be a barrister specialising in family law to help people going through [experiences like] I had when I was younger.”
Thank you everyone for the very kind words ❤️
If my Christmas tree got you in the festive spirit, please share the entry details for the
@BigIssue
’s Kids Christmas Cover Competition, open to children aged 13 and under 🎄 Entries close Monday 4th December:
This article demonstrates exactly why we need representation in the newsroom.
Please correct me if I'm wrong - but I don't believe a care experienced person would have written the line “those taken into care face a loveless loneliness and a bleak future”.
Today the Paperchase story was in Metro & the Sun
I’m glad to see this situation has drawn media attention, but overall, I’m not surprised I found this kind of card in a shop
Removing this card is a first step, but removing unconscious stereotyping of
#CEP
needs to be the next.
Hey
@cbbc
&
@BBCiPlayer
, will there be a group of care experienced people working/advising on
#MyMumTracyBeaker
to make sure the revival doesn’t add to the negative narrative surrounding those who have experienced care?
If not, let’s work together to make sure this happens? 🙋♀️🤝
Just checking… we all cried
@samthesparrow
’s speech, right?
#CEP
“I dedicate this award to EVERY child in care today, or who’s been in care, or is suffering, or who didn’t survive. ❤️🩹 And as the amazing actress Chrissy Rock once told me; “Don’t let the bastards grind you down”.
Was humbled (& delighted) to have been invited to the Queen's Garden Party yesterday. Thank you so much
@imo_latest
for the nomination in recognition of my advocacy work 🙏
So, life has taken me from Foster Care to
@UniofOxford
to Buckingham Palace....where to next I wonder? 🤔🚀
This Christmas, sadly not everyone will be where they might’ve expected.
I get it. I’ve done Xmas in emergency foster placements, & on my own.
It’s hard.
This is ‘Home for Christmas (but only in my dreams)’ & it’s dedicated to anyone having an ‘unconventional’ Christmas ❤️🎄
I had no idea
@JamesArthur23
was in foster care as a kid. He talks about it in his
@bbcthree
doc which aired tonight.
This part really got to me (all credit to
@BBC
) ⬇️ I know the feeling you described will resonate with so many
#CEP
. So many of us ‘know what you mean’ 💔
NON-FAMILY-CENTRIC CHRISTMAS FILMS a thread:
I know due to tier-4, more people are spending Christmas alone
I love Xmas films, but so many are about nuclear families, which can be rough if watching alone, so I’ve made a list of ‘safe’ films which don’t focus on that subject ⬇️
Looking to speak to Afghans who came to the UK as unaccompanied asylum seekers under 18 in the last 20 years to understand their experiences of dealing with the UK Home Office for an article
DMs open - retweets appreciated 🔃
One year ago today....
when I became the first
#CEP
(care experienced person), to graduate from my college at the University of Oxford 👩🎓
#onwardsandupwards
As National Care Leavers Week
#NCLW
rolls to a close, I give my opinion on why people with care experience
#CEP
can be the ultimate asset in the workplace, if given the chance.
My first piece as dep digital editor for
@BigIssue
below 👇
Today's celebrations - signing the contract for my new job as Content Editor
@ClassicFM
🎶
Very excited for this new chapter 🥂
(& no, I don’t own champagne flutes, sorry 😢 !!)
I am so honoured to have been named as a ‘Top Talent under 25’ (2020) by Gen*ZEO 🎉
It is beyond humbling to be listed amongst so many incredible Gen Z leaders and to have been given this opportunity to bring my advocacy work to an international audience 🌍
#CareLeaversCan
💪🥺
A brief clip from my speech today with
@ChildrensComm
about why multiple care experienced voices must be heard, not just a select few, in the upcoming Care Review.
And also, why I choose to liken those with this experience, to highly knowledgeable consultants.
Watch below ⬇️
This evening I had the absolute pleasure of hosting
@CoramVoice
’s Award Ceremony alongside
#PeterCapaldi
🏆 to every care experienced child & young person I met; YOU ARE POWERFUL. To every
#CEP
judge; you’re all role models & I was beyond honoured to be in the same room as you ❤️
A really thoughtful piece by
@FloellaBenjamin
, a care experienced member of the House of Lords, about the potential to increase the number of care leavers going to university.
“Care leavers are not less clever than other people; they are just less lucky.”
Today’s change in English law allows those making decisions on where children in care will live to *discriminate on the basis of their age*.
Check out my
@BylineTimes
article ⬇️ to further understand this problematic change
Learn more ➡️
#KeepCaringTo18
This seems almost insignificant after the reporting I’ve been doing over the last 24 hours, but today I got the letter confirming I’ve achieved industry gold standard in my
@NCTJ_news
.
The world needs journos right now & I’m grateful to have had the best training for the job.
Happy Mother’s Day to every kid who learned to give themselves hugs & say “I’m proud of you” to the mirror.
To those bereaved, estranged, or missing what they never had.
Yes, today is about mums, but let’s also celebrate the strong kids who have to navigate life without them 💛
Anyone else struggling with all the “Going home for Christmas” posts?
I don’t know how many people realise how lucky they are to have a home to go to home to...
This short ‘Silent Night’ is dedicated to my care experienced brothers & sisters at this time of year 💚❤️
#CEP
Looking back on a wonderful weekend at the
@CoramVoice
awards; I felt very lucky to be there, listening to brilliant pieces of writing by super talented young care experienced people aged 6-24 years old 👏 thanks
@Coram
for having
#PeterCapaldi
& I as hosts for the evening 💕
👋 Hi
#CEP
Twitter! I'm looking for care experienced people who were placed outside of their local authority during care for a news story I'm writing 📰
Responses CAN be anonymous 🤐
I'm care experienced myself & am dedicated to platforming this and other
#cep
related issues 💚
Absolutely shocked to have been named 'PPA Student of the year' on the
@PPA_Live
Journalism 30 under 30 list
Shoutouts to my
@The_JDF
mentor
@LukePowell88
for the nomination & support, and
@NewsAssociates
for helping me learn to love journalism 📰✨
➡️
Today is
#CareDay23
It’s a day which has historically been overtaken by charities and those without direct care experience.
So, to celebrate our community, I’ve made a short thread ⬇️ featuring just some of the great new CEP-led projects I’ve seen on my TL over the last year 💛
Today is hard, but I‘m lucky enough to have had quite a few people in my life who I would regard as ‘mother’ type figures
From tutors, to mentors, to friends, to partner’s mums, to foster carers, & even social workers
Today I choose to celebrate MY definition of
#MothersDay
💜
For anyone struggling with the
@reviewCSC
Case for Change doc which just came out, (for me, reading through 103 pages is 🥴 all at once) there is also a “simplified version” which summaries the “key themes” & “is suitable for both children and adults”.
➡️
“Tonight isn't just about me, its about every care experienced person who has faced adversity & overcome something.”
This might've been
@AshleyJBaptiste
’s book launch, but this evening he humbly used his platform to champion our wider
#CEP
community, as well as his own story. 💙
Yesterday I launched 'Care Leaver Sophia'. 💻 I started the channel because when I first went into care, I searched for advice videos online, but found none. I want to show that even though the care system can be really scary, it doesn't always have to be.
This time last year I wouldn't have even considered telling my friends I was in foster care, and now there's a big picture of my face on a Guardian article about the subject. Damn, life is crazy. Thank you
@DaniLavelle
for the interview 👊
I am delighted & humbled to be co-hosting the
@CoramVoice
Writing Competition 2021, alongside the brilliant, Peter Capaldi! ✨
💻 You can watch the ceremony live on July 14th 💻
I am so excited to introduce you all to this year's talented entrants 🚀
Happy
#CareDay20
I’m sharing my palm selfie, and choosing to
#reimagine
a care system where ‘Tracy Beaker’ isn’t the first (& only) thing my mates think of when I mention being in foster care 🤔
More positive care experienced representations in the mainstream media please !! 🥰
“My perception was that only like middle-class people or people from certain racial backgrounds are able to get in.”
Dorcas is one of the 6 percent of care leavers in the UK to go to University. She found out today she's going to Oxford University to study Law.
Thrilled to have been shortlisted for two awards at the
@NCTJ_news
Excellence in Journalism Awards 🥺
A huge thanks to
@NewsAssociates
&
@The_JDF
for the best training and my brilliant JDF mentor
@LukePowell88
for the support & nominations.
Well done to all those shortlisted 🙌
Thrilled 🫠 to see nothing has changed in 2023 re: attitudes towards children in care.
People are really trying to stop a proposed children’s home which would house TWO CHILDREN age 10-18, citing supposed distress it would cause pets and the elderly 😶
Just put this offer out on Instagram, but wanted to echo it on here.
To all
#CEP
, I’d like to offer free help with University applications (UG & Masters)/UCAS/CUKAS/personal statement/job application advice/cover letter editing, & general proof reading, during lockdown & beyond.
Never in a million years did I think my first Washington D.C. trip would include a White House invite 🇺🇸
An honour to spend the afternoon at the
@WhiteHouse
, meeting with senior staff, and attending a press briefing; feeling very grateful for this huge career moment. (1/2)
Can’t believe I missed this… an advert for social housing in Feb banned care leavers from applying! 😡
‘No Care leavers’ was the exact wording used by Guinness Partnership, one of the UK’s largest providers. 🏠
It’s since been taken down… but how (& WHY) did this happen?
#CEP
In 2019 I wrote my masters thesis on the problem with an FT article referring to the care system as a “£1.7bn market”.
2020 & now it’s “a sizeable market, [with] increasing demand and a lack of supply“ 🙃
So, I think it’s time to publish that thesis...👀
Another
#ClassicFMlive
tonight with my wonderful
@ClassicFM
team (ft.
@annalapwood
) ✨
Always a joy to be back at the
@RoyalAlbertHall
and especially to see it packed to the rafters with an attentive audience; something which since the pandemic, I no longer take for granted 💛🎶
It’s Foster Care Fortnight from 15th-28th May.
During this time, journalists may be looking for
#CEP
with foster care experience to interview.
Here are my tips (I’m care experienced & a journalist) for how to protect yourself if you do decide to share your story in the media 🤝
Profesh news 🚨 After 2 really fun years as Classic FM’s Content Editor, I’m leaving to jump back into mainstream journalism (more soon… 👀)
I have a lot of thanks to give; to my interviewees, colleagues, PRs, & our 4.5 mil weekly listeners ❤️
Now, I’m off for a recharge 😎🇬🇷
After just two days back in the UK, it was great to be invited on Sky News this morning to do the paper review with Gareth Barlow & Mhari Aurora.
Front pages include a story on Kellogg’s CEO saying struggling families should eat cereal for dinner due to the
#CostOfLivingCrisis
.
For
#FosterCareFortnight
, I spoke to the
@JSchofieldTrust
who are launching a mentorship scheme for
#CEP
aspiring journalists 🙌
I spoke about what led me to become a journalist & how newsrooms have at times been damaging to the care experienced community
As Christmas is just a few weeks away, I wanted to post my yearly ✨don’t assume✨ reminder when asking colleagues/acquaintances about holiday plans🎄
For some, this season is v hard; due to bereavement/estrangement/etc
So, here are some alternatives to asking about xmas plans ⬇️
After 31 days of travelling America for my
@ChurchillFship
(in rain, snow & sun) I am finally back home! 💛
I interviewed 50+ people across Boston, New York & LA as part of my research to create a trauma-informed toolkit for journalists &
#CEP
. 👩💻
⬇️ some highlights below 🧵
For any adoptees/care experienced people wanting to write to Women’s Hour about this recent on-air story, their email is womanshour.yourviews
@bbc
.co.uk
& if anyone writing to them wants a second pair of eyes before sending, I’m more than happy to help - I speak ‘journo’ language
We don’t often hear about adoptions that break down, but last week former BBC journalist Eleanor Bradford wrote about her "heart-breaking" decision to return her adopted son to the care system. She joins us along with Sue Armstrong Brown from
@AdoptionUK
.
Thinking about the paper I wrote for my master's at business school last year; if I edited & posted it online, would people be interested in reading it? I didn't study social work/policy, but I have lived experience & approached the topic from a pretty unique 'business' angle 🤔
@lissyfaye1
@MaryCarter33
Wrote my masters thesis on this exact topic - the language used to describe young people in care can be really dehumanising, and can give off some pretty problematic connotations 😕
Introducing
@BigIssue
’s Top 100 Changemakers, our annual list of those making things better ✨
We’ve been working on this issue since last Nov, so I’m VERY excited to see it out in the world today 📰
Buy a copy to meet some of the best of humanity ❤️⬇️
Hi! I’m a care experienced journalist & I’m just finishing my NCTJ at
@NewsAssociates
✏️
I’d like to be a broadcast journalist but I’m struggling to find entry points in Radio/TV 👀
If there are any Twitter people out there who have any tips/insights, please get in touch 🤝✨
“Before I was ever a journalist, I was an interviewee. Before I wrote my first story, I was written about.”
Yesterday I was given the opportunity to speak at
#MediaStrong
conference in front of 200 newsroom leaders about my
@ChurchillFship
research on
#CEP
.
Introducing…🧵(1/3)
Today I turned down a scholarship offer for a Masters of Law (lol I know) & instead accepted my Multimedia Journalism place
@newsassociates
, supported by
@the_JDF
🙌
I’m excited to develop my media skills so I can continue supporting & advocating for Care Experienced People 🌟
I don’t have a mum in my life, but I’ve been blessed with many maternal figures who’ve filled that gap.
From teachers to carers, friends, mentors & everything in between.
Today let’s celebrate all the mum-like figures out there, not just the biological ones. 💛
#HappyMothersDay
Ah yes, the fact I lived in poverty...
~even though I was working 3 jobs to put myself through business school so I could try & better my life chances which are statistically worse due to having been in foster care~
...was definitely because I 'didn't know how to budget' 🙄😬🤦♀️
Yesterday, we sent a response to
@vickyford
raising our concerns about her letter to Directors of Children’s Services, which stated
#CareLeavers
face issues with debt “often due to a lack of understanding of how to maintain a tenancy, pay bills and budget effectively.”
From 24 Oct, it's national
#careleavers
week in the UK
As someone who has been on both sides of the fence, I thought I'd put together a short guide for
#CEP
who plan on sharing their stories with journalists for
#nclw22
(+ some self-care advice 💛)
➡️
It's so important to talk about the journey from Foster Care to University & I'm proud that my story is featured
@OxMusicFaculty
.
The support
@OxOutreach
gives is incomparable & I encourage any Care Leavers considering applying
@UniofOxford
to go for it!
As a journalist living with arthritis myself, when I stumbled across William’s story on
@VersusArthritis
last month I knew I had to chat to him for
@ClassicFM
🎶
Thank you to my youngest ever interviewee for this heartwarming conversation ❤️⬇️
Freaking out at my desk at work because I just found out I got an A in my
@NCTJ_news
portfolio 😭😭😭
What a way to end my time at
@NewsAssociates
- I'm absolutely over. the. moon. 🌕🐄
As it’s
#BackToSchool
time, I’m putting out my yearly offer to look over any personal statements written by
#CEP
for both undergrad & masters uni applications
Can also advise on CV formatting & interview prep
DMs are open; below is all free of charge for
#CEP
& estranged YP ⬇️
2 years ago, I found a card in a Paperchase and posted about it on Twitter.
This then led to national headlines for me & the legendary
@lemnsissay
after the card was removed from Paperchase’s shelves.
Looking back on these events that took place, I have some thoughts… (🧵1/10)
As Christmas is just 52 days away; I wanted to do my yearly reminder RE:✨not assuming✨ when asking colleagues/acquaintances about holiday plans🎄
For some, this season is rly hard. Maybe cause of bereavement, estrangement, or something else...
So, here are some alternatives! ⬇️