The value of cultural and creative engagement: Understanding the experiences and opinions of care-experienced young people and foster carers in Wales

Confidence in Care is a five-year funded programme by The Big Lottery. Led by The Fostering Network Wales, the programme will be delivered in partnership with Action for Children, Barnardo’s and The Adolescent and Children’s Trust. The programme will be independently evaluated by The Children’s Social Research and Development Centre at Cardiff University (CASCADE) and will work closely with Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru and Children in Wales. A strand of this programme aims to provide an experience for foster children that improves confidence, develops friendships, self-achievement, and trust and is engaging and fun; and involves their siblings and families in the process. In relation to this wider project, the Wales Millennium Centre ran an arts based programme which was funded and supported by the Confidence in Care Consortium led by The Fostering Network in Wales. The arts based programme was delivered between May and July 2018 and involved eight care-experienced young people and their foster families. The Wales Millennium Centre commissioned Cardiff University to conduct research with care-experienced young people and their foster carers, and facilitators involved with the delivery of the arts project. The research explored the views of facilitators, young people, and their carers about their experiences of being involved, the possible value and benefits of being engaged with the arts, and the potential barriers to participation with the arts and culture.