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The Coronavirus pandemic and its associated lockdowns and restrictions prompted a move from face-to-face interactions to remote forms of engagement that relied on telephone or online contact. This had consequences for the type and frequency of mental health and wellbeing services and interventions that were available to care-experienced children and young people and their foster and kinship carers. \ud\udThis report presents the views and experiences of online mental health and wellbeing provision among young people, carers, and health and social care professionals in Wales during the Coronavirus pandemic. Data were produced in online qualitative interviews with 23 participants, including care-experienced young people (n=3), the biological child of a foster carer (n=1), health and social care professionals (n=9), and foster and kinship carers (n=10). The participants discussed the strengths and challenges of online and in-person services and offered recommendations for future practice and interventions. \ud\udOnce the interview data was generated and analysed the project team met with three advisory groups to discuss the findings of the study and refine the recommendations for policy and practice. These meetings involved foster and kinship carers (n=10) who were members of The Fostering Network’s All Wales Foster Carers’ Advisory Forum, which is facilitated by The Fostering Network in Wales, care-experienced young people (n=4) who were part of CASCADE Voices, and young people (n=4) who were members of The Fostering Network in Wales Young People’s Care Forum. \ud\udThe findings from the study noted some benefits of online mental health and wellbeing services and interventions for care-experienced children and young people, including accessibility, privacy and being able to engage or disengage remotely without the pressures of face-to-face interactions. However, accessibility, a lack of privacy and the format of online interactions were also cited as some of the challenges of remote forms of contact. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of online versus in-person contact were complex and intertwined.\ud\udThis complexity reflects the important point that care-experienced children and young people are not a uniform group. Rather, care-experienced young people need to be seen as individuals and to be afforded a choice about the provision of health and wellbeing interventions that best support their particular needs and requirements. \udThe report offers recommendations in six key areas, research; training; awareness and access; resources; choices and flexibility; safety, and protection and risk. The findings of this report aim to support improvement of both remote and face-to-face services and interventions to support the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people as we move beyond the restrictions of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Walking Tall is a three-year project (2020 – 2023) for primary school children in foster care, enabling them to make their voices heard and develop their confidence. \udStage One of the Walking Tall Project sought to facilitate a children’s advisory group to assist with trialling and developing activities for later stages of the project. Children in foster care (n=8) aged eight to 11, and foster carers (n=5), participated in Stage One. Foster families were posted a range of arts-based materials and activities and once these were completed children and foster carers had an online conversation with one of the project team members about their engagement with the project, their evaluations of the materials and activities, and their recommendations for the later stages of the Walking Tall Project. The evaluation of Stage One of the Walking Tall Project was published in April 2021 (Boffey et al 2021). \udThe Stage One report set out details of the activities and consultation sessions, outlined the key points raised by children and foster carers, and offered a series of recommendations for the remaining stages of the Walking Tall Project (Boffey et al 2021). Stage Two of the Walking Tall Project drew on the recommendations from this evaluation (see Appendix 1) and consulted with children in foster care (n=3) aged nine, ten and eleven and foster their carers (n=2) who took part in Stage One to refine the Stage Two menu of activities. In Stage Two the project team also worked with additional children in foster care (n=2) aged 10 and their foster carers (n=2). The Stage Two report documents how this work extended the knowledge generated in the initial Stage One consultations and how it will inform the ongoing activities of the Walking Tall Project.

Walking Tall is a three-year project (2020 – 2023) for primary school children in foster care, enabling them to make their voices heard and develop their confidence. Stage One of the Walking Tall Project sought to facilitate a children’s advisory group to assist with trialing and developing activities for later stages of the project. Children in foster care (n=8) aged eight to 11, and foster carers (n=5), participated in Stage One. Foster families were posted a range of arts-based materials and activities and once these were completed children and foster carers had an online conversation with one of the project team members about their engagement with the project, their evaluations of the materials and activities, and their recommendations for the later stages of the Walking Tall Project. This report sets out details of the activities and consultation sessions, outlines the key points raised by children and foster carers, and offers a series of recommendations for the remaining stages of the Walking Tall Project.