It’s great to be here today – particularly during care leavers week – to talk to a group of people which I know has worked hard to champion the cause of children in care.

I want to thank all those involved in the What Makes the Difference project for hosting today’s conference, and for all the work that you do.

The only point in getting involved in politics is to effect change for the better, and that’s what the What Makes the Difference project is all about. I want to talk to you today about that change in the coming months and years.

I’m particularly delighted to see the young people here, who are contributing their experiences to this conference. 

I’m very lucky to have been given responsibility in government as the minister responsible for children in care in the new Department for Children, Schools and Families.

But I’m not particularly proud of the fact that the state – government, and at different levels – can sometimes be a poor parent when it comes to looking after some of the most disadvantaged children in our society.

I very much come at this with the belief that every child has the right to a good education; loving care and support; and an equal opportunity to succeed. And for too long, that has not been the case for all children in care.

But it does give us a great opportunity at this time to do something about it.

Our white paper – Care Matters – set out our vision for transforming services for children in care. And next month we will introduce a bill in parliament to help us deliver that vision.

I hope you will agree that the fact that we are legislating – and not just amending current practice – shows that there is a serious commitment to do things better.

But legislation alone isn’t enough. Complex, individual problems will only be tackled with the commitment and expertise of the professionals working in the care system, and who have an insight into the experiences of children in care themselves.

So today I want to set out the four basic areas where I think that we can set about improving things for children in care, and they are very much part of the architecture of the white paper: good parenting, creating stability, raising our ambitions for children in care, and listening to the voice of the child or young person.

Let me say a few words about parenting first of all.

We need to recognise that, where the state is responsible for a child’s welfare, it has a moral obligation to care for that child as any other good parent would.

And that moral obligation extends to me as a minister, and to all those working with children in care.

And it’s not just about caring for a child, but caring about them. And not because it’s our job, but because we care about the outcomes of any one of the 60,000 children in care as individuals.

We know that good parenting is the single most important factor in raising a child’s outcomes. And it facilitates the other three outcomes I talked about earlier: stability, high ambitions, and making sure the child’s voice is listened to as well as heard.

But the most important thing any parent does for their child is create stability, and that comes in many guises – from emotional stability, so a child always has someone to turn to; to the physical stability of living in one place for a period of time.

Without those things, no child can be expected to achieve their full potential.

But if you look at the journeys of some of the children in our care system, it’s a very different story, with frequent and unsettling changes in where they live and in the significant adults in their lives.

And I know that children in care can then feel abandoned suddenly at the age of 16, or at the age of 18.

Growing up is tough at the best of times, and the teenage years can be tough.

But on top of what most teenagers are worrying about, including important exams in their GCSE years, 25% of young people in care are leaving the system at the age of 16.

Firstly, they shouldn’t have to do that if they don’t want to. And secondly, they shouldn’t have to go through the upheaval of all that on their own.

The white paper set out measures to reduce the disruption to young people’s lives in those important years.

And in the legislation we will ensure that a looked after child cannot be moved from a school at Key Stage 4, as a result of a care placement move, unless it is for exceptional reasons.

And we are focusing on the transition out of care. The Right to be Cared For pilot will give young people a greater say in when they leave care, and what support they will require when they do.

We will ensure that young people get personalised support also, beyond the age of 21. For young people in care who are in, or returning to, education, the Bill will extend their entitlement to a personal advisor up to the age of 25.

We’ll also run a pilot scheme which will allow young people to stay with their foster carers up to the age of 21, so that they can move out of care when ­they feel ready, and not be pushed off the cliff edge at 18 and then be expected to cope wherever they happen to land.

The transition to adulthood should not feel like a terrifying leap of faith, but a natural progression along the road to responsibility, success, and fulfilment in adult life.

On average, young people leave home at 24. Young people in the care system should not have to fend for themselves at an earlier age if they don’t feel ready.

Local authorities have a responsibility to help them.

Local authorities currently keep in contact with 92% of care leavers. But we also want to improve the support to young people during their time in care.

We will make explicit the duty for social workers to visit all looked after children, and ensure appropriate and continuing supervision of children in long term residential placements. And we will strengthen the role of the Independent Reviewing Officer, to ensure that the care planning process is fair and gives proper weight to the young person’s wishes and feelings.

And that last point is very important, and I will come back to it. We cannot expect young people to take responsibility as adults if we do not help them to make their own decisions about the future.

It is from the firm foundation of stability and a stable home-life that a child can build their ambitions, set their sights high, and set out on the road to achievement.

I want to increase the educational opportunities for young people in care:

The broader 14-19 reforms are providing children in care with more choice and opportunity by opening up new career routes, identified through their Care Pathway Plan, and guided by pastoral support that we are developing with further education providers.

But not enough children in care make it to university. With all the other obstacles they face, I don’t think finance should be a bigger barrier for them than for others.

So we are requiring local authorities to provide a minimum £2,000 bursary for all children in care who go on to university.

But that will not have any currency if we can’t help children in care to do better in school.

So, from 2008, we are requiring local authorities to provide a personal education allowance of £500 per year to support the development needs of those children who need a bit of extra educational support and are falling behind in school.

The happier, healthier, more supported a child is the more likely they are to succeed. And the more they succeed, the greater chance a child has in the future for happiness and fulfilment, and the more positive the contribution they can make to society.

So good parenting, creating stability around a child, and providing opportunities to raise their ambitions – and fulfil them – will make sure that the future is bright for all children, not just the most advantaged in our society.

But as we are working to do that, we must listen to what those children and young people in our care are telling us.

After all, they are the ones experiencing our care first hand. And they are the ones in the best position to tell us what we need to do better, and these proposals have very much been developed by listening to your voices.

The Pledge that we have asked local authorities to develop sets out what every child has a right to expect from their local authority. Young people must be consulted as that Pledge is drawn up.

Children in Care Councils are vitally important also in this process. They are an opportunity for senior council managers – and political leaders – to listen to the views and experiences of young people who are in, or have left, the care system. And they are a chance for young people to shape the future of that system for other young people.

There are good examples of local authorities around the country, who do this really well.

In Hull, for example, a Young People’s Support Service was set up in response to a report that detailed the difficulties young people were having in moving on from care. The service was a ‘one-stop-shop’, providing a Supported Lodgings Service – a source of practical and financial support for care leavers who need it. The service works closely with foster carers and helps young people to continue placements with them until they are 21.

That is a good example of a local authority listening to young people’s needs, and developing their services around them, and I want to see more examples of that right across the country.

So I want to conclude by reflecting on the title of this conference. What really does make the difference for the 60,000 children in care? I do believe that the answer is based around those four things I’ve talked about today – better parenting, greater stability, more ambition and higher aspirations, and listening to and hearing the voice of the child.

They’re telling us that they want us to listen, they want to have a say in the decisions that affect them, and they want us to learn from their experiences so that other young people their age will get the benefit of that experience, and their journey will be that bit easier.

I’m very proud to have the opportunity to make a difference in government. I do believe it’s possible if we all work together in a meaningful way. And I hope you believe it’s possible too, through the work that you do.

It will take time, but with determination we will succeed. Our success will show when they graduate from university, get their first job, or become loving parents themselves. Slowly, the balance will shift. 60,000 futures depend on it.

Thank you.