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In this guest blog Juno Schwarz, Director of Fundraising, Policy and Communications at The Drive Forward Foundation, addresses the changes needed to make England the best place to be a child.  

The Drive Forward Foundation works hard to helping young adults leaving foster or residential care to achieve their full potential with exciting and sustainable employment opportunities. We wanted to shine a light on their hopes and ambitions for young people for 2025 and beyond.  

Transforming Futures 

Care-experienced young people face significant barriers to building fulfilling lives. The statistics are stark: nearly 40% of care leavers aged 19-21 are not in education, employment, or training, compared to 13% of all young people the same age. Only 22% of care leavers are in employment by age 27. Even in opportunity-rich London, systemic discrimination, high living costs, and insufficient mental health services create substantial obstacles.

Creating Pathways to Opportunity 

At Drive Forward Foundation, we’re turning these challenges into opportunities through targeted action and policy reform. Our approach combines practical support with systemic change, delivering tangible results for care-experienced young people. We provide long-term, one-to-one guidance, skills development, professional mentoring, and counselling. Together with our network of local employer partners, we create exclusive opportunities that open doors often closed to care leavers. 

Our collaboration with Camden Council exemplifies this approach. Building on the Civil Service Care Leaver Internship Scheme, which Drive Forward initially piloted almost a decade ago, we’ve developed a bespoke 18-month programme within the council. Spanning departments like HR and refugee support, the initiative provides progression routes and tailored support. Its success highlights the invaluable contributions of care-experienced individuals and sets a blueprint for other boroughs to follow. 

Youth voice 

Central to our advocacy work is the Care Experienced Policy Forum, a youth-led initiative empowering care-experienced individuals to campaign for change. 

This forum has already made a significant impact, from launching the Dare to Care guide for legal professionals to shaping a London-wide protocol to reduce unnecessary criminalisation. Its recently unveiled Care Experienced Manifesto outlines six priorities for reform which are grounded in the lived experiences of our members and developed in collaboration with professionals, practitioners, and like-minded organisations, ensuring both practicality and shared vision. 

Paving the way for change 

Looking ahead, 2025 presents significant opportunities to turn barriers into pathways for success: 

• Children’s Social Care Reforms: These reforms should extend local authority duties and corporate parenting responsibilities across public bodies, addressing critical gaps in transition support. 
• Renters Reform Bill: This bill must prioritise affordable, stable housing for care leavers, including rent caps for supported accommodation and clear pathways to independent living. 
• Universal Credit Bill: Raising Universal Credit rates for care leavers will address their unique financial challenges and acknowledge the accelerated independence they face. 
• Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill: This bill could include specific provisions for care leavers’ education, training, and economic opportunities. 
• Schools Bill: Targeted responsibilities for local authorities could help integrate care leavers into the workforce and support their educational aspirations. 

Policymaking in 2025 must be informed by the lived experiences of care-experienced young people to ensure that proposed changes address their real-world challenges effectively. 

Building Brighter Futures 

Care-experienced young people deserve more than just survival – they deserve the opportunity to thrive. Achieving this requires a collective effort from policymakers, employers, and communities. By combining practical support with bold advocacy, we can ensure that every care-experienced young person has the tools, opportunities, and support needed to build meaningful careers and brighter futures.