The more we implement our apps the clearer it becomes that care leavers and care councils must be at the heart of your Mind Of My Own implementation.

Almost half of the organisations we work with have asked for help from their young people in one form or another to embed Mind Of My Own across their services. Unsurprisingly to us, these are the organisations who have the most success evidencing the voice of the child in their practices.

We’ve seen care councils that have made videos, while others have created leaflets and posters to help promote Mind Of My Own.

Mostly, though, we see care leavers becoming ‘Mind Of My Own Champions’. They deliver training to workers and talk to children one-on-one and in groups about the benefits of using our apps.

When it comes to care councils encouraging the use of Mind Of My Own, Somerset are currently leading the way. Somerset Leaving Care Council (SLCC) and Somerset In Care Council (SICC) have played a crucial role in their recent implementation.

They have not only created an encouraging and informative Mind Of My Own page on their site – check it out here, we love it! – but have also included a huge link to it on their home page. This means there’s no way a child or young person in care in Somerset can miss it.

The team also deliver training sessions and floor-walk with workers to make sure frontline staff are comfortable using their new tools.

What we love about the SCC Mind Of My Own page

It tells you clearly what Mind Of My Own can be used for and why it is valuable to young people.
They’ve included links to the Mind of My Own help page.
It shows you how to download OneApp.
There are quotes from children and young people in Somerset about how they value the apps.

Some of the quotes they’ve included are:

“I thought it was easy to use. Liked it, would help me decide what I want to say”

“It got me thinking for myself, very good app easy to use”

“I’ve had a little play around with it and I think it would help a lot of young people if they feel they can’t express their views through talking they could use the app”

It’s working!

The best part of this implementation strategy is that it’s working. Somerset are in the top 10% of organisations who have received the most Mind Of My Own Docs expressing children’s views and feelings.

The Mind Of My Own team would like to say a huge well done to Somerset Children’s Services and, in particular, SICC and SLCC. Keep up the great work.