On Tuesday representatives from 13 charities will be talking to MPs about our nation’s “unseen teens”. Hundreds of thousands of 16- and 17-year-olds are falling through the cracks between children’s and adults’ services – left without the support they need to overcome challenges in their lives and flourish as they move into adult life.
The Children’s Society’s campaign, Seriously Awkward, has revealed that one in five 16- and 17-year-olds face five or more vulnerabilities in their lives – such as mental ill health, poverty or inadequate housing. This amounts to 240,000 older teens in England alone. These challenges can put children’s health, safety and long-term outcomes at risk.
As these young people move into adulthood, too often they are let down by universal services such as education, by targeted and specialist services such as child protection, and by the complex youth justice and immigration systems.
The issues facing this group are diverse and complex, and no single government department or agency can take on this challenge by working alone. A solution to addressing multiple disadvantage in young people’s lives will require a coordinated response. We are asking the government to form a cross-departmental taskforce to improve support and transition planning for older teens.
By joining forces for this campaign, our charities hope to create a future where young people in Britain can have the best chances to succeed. We aim to inspire the government to work with us to better support teenagers as they begin their journey into adult life.
Nick Roseveare
Interim chief executive, The Children’s Society
Kadra Abdinasir
Strategic lead, Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition
James Kenrick
Chief executive, Youth Access
Liz Maudslay
SEND policy officer, Association of Colleges
Richard Rigby
Head of policy and public affairs, Prince’s Trust
Alison Garnham
Chief executive, Child Poverty Action Group
Dr Carol Homden
Chief executive, Coram
Seyi Obakin
Chief executive, Centrepoint
Gill Gibbons
Chief executive, Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation (Pace)
Sherrylyn Peck
Chief executive, Safer London
Pippa Goodfellow
Director, Standing Committee for Youth Justice
Anna Feuchtwang
Chief executive, National Children’s Bureau
Dan Scorer
Head of policy and public affairs, Mencap
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