In Part 2 of Andy Baker’s conversation with Rebekah Pierre, the discussion moves from how professionals write about children to how care-experienced people can have greater ownership over their own stories. Rebekah explores what genuinely respectful care records could look like, including transparency, the right to reply and recording the ordinary, joyful moments of childhood rather than creating a permanent “lowlight reel”. The conversation also explores Rebekah’s acclaimed anthology Free Loaves on Fridays, which brings together the voices of 100 care-experienced children and adults. Rebekah explains why meaningful participation must go much further than inviting someone with lived experience to deliver an emotional keynote and then sending them home. For social workers, foster carers, residential childcare professionals, teachers, managers and anyone commissioning lived-experience work, this episode provides practical challenges around voice, consent, power, tokenism and psychological safety. In This Episode Andy and Rebekah explore: What respectful and understandable care records should look like Why care-experienced people need to know they can access their records Writing with children instead of only writing about them Voice notes, videos and different ways children could contribute The importance of a right to reply Whether children should be able to challenge or contextualise historic records Why records should capture ordinary and positive childhood moments How Free Loaves on Fridays came about Why the anthology had a no-rejection policy Giving people control over their own stories What the title Free Loaves on Fridays really means Tokenistic versus meaningful lived-experience participation Why participation needs support before, during and after an event Trauma mining and the risks of asking people to repeatedly tell painful stories Psychological safety, power imbalance and consent Three questions every professional could ask before saving a record Three Key Messages 1. Children should be written with, not simply written about. Transparency, opportunities to contribute and a meaningful right to reply can help restore some ownership over a story that otherwise belongs entirely to professionals. 2. Childhood records need ordinary moments too. First football goals, sleepovers, certificates, jokes and everyday achievements may appear insignificant to a professional, but they can become precious pieces of personal history later in life. 3. Lived experience participation must involve power, not just presence. Inviting someone to tell a difficult story is not genuine co-production if they cannot shape the agenda, set boundaries, control how their story is stored or see what changed afterwards. Why Listen to This Episode? Listen if you: Want children to have a stronger voice in their own records Commission speakers or consultants with lived experience Work in children’s services, fostering or residential care Want to understand the difference between participation and tokenism Are designing conferences, training or consultation involving care-experienced people Want to create greater psychological safety Work with children who worry about what adults are recording about them Want services to move from “nothing about us without us” towards genuine shared power The episode asks an important question: if someone gives you part of their story, what responsibility do you have for how you hold, use and act upon it? Timestamps / Chapters 00:00 - What should professionals think about when writing care records? Writing for the child as well as managers, inspectors and services. 00:22 - Centre the child, not the inspection Why the future reader matters more than we often realise. 02:33 - Children know they are being written about The anxiety of living with an ongoing professional record. 04:07 - Writing with children instead of about them Voice notes, video, written contributions and increasing transparency. 05:20 - The right to reply Why care-experienced people should be able to challenge or add context to their records. 07:25 - Recording the ordinary moments of childhood Football goals, sleepovers, photographs and the things families usually preserve naturally. 09:54 - Free Loaves on Fridays How Rebekah created an anthology centred on care-experienced voices. 10:22 - Why the book had a no-rejection policy Creating space for seasoned writers and first-time contributors alike. 12:39 - The response to the book Why giving 100 people the pen in their own story mattered. 14:08 - Meaningful participation versus tokenism Why lived experience should not be parachuted into an organisation for inspiration and then forgotten. 16:26 - Why is it called Free Loaves on Fridays? Bread, poverty, choice and reclaiming control over how your story is told. 20:27 - Psychological safety for lived-experience contributors Power imbalance, allies, consent, boundaries and the right to leave. 22:18 - If Rebekah could change care records tomorrow Building reflection into the recording process. 23:08 - Is it kind, necessary and helpful? Three simple questions to ask before finalising what you write. 24:05 - What comes next for Rebekah? Article 39, relationship-based practice, training, writing and advocacy. Resources Mentioned Free Loaves on Fridays Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System as Told by People Who Actually Get It is an anthology edited by Rebekah Pierre featuring the voices of 100 care-experienced children and adults. The project was designed around a no-rejection policy, helping people who may never ordinarily have access to publishing tell their own stories in their own voices. Free Loaves on Fridays Rebekah Pierre Training, consultancy and keynote support are available through: Rebekah Pierre's website Contact: info@rebekahpierre.co.uk LinkedIn Rebekah Pierre on LinkedIn The Guardian Rebekah has written extensively about care experience and children’s social care. Rebekah Pierre's Guardian profile An Open Letter to the Social Worker Who Wrote My Case Files Read the open letter through BASW Article 39 Rebekah currently works as Deputy Director of Article 39, which campaigns for the rights of children living in institutional settings. A Useful Reflective Question for Professionals Before finalising a record, Rebekah suggests considering: Is it kind? Is it necessary? Is it helpful? These questions can apply beyond social work - including school records, incident reports, safeguarding notes, care records and any professional documentation that may contribute to someone else’s lasting story. About Rebekah Pierre Rebekah Pierre is a care-experienced author, registered social worker, award-winning campaigner, trainer and consultant. Her work focuses on children’s rights, care records, language, cultural competence, meaningful participation and improving how services work alongside children and adults with lived experience. Her book Free Loaves on Fridays amplifies 100 care-experienced voices and challenges a system in which children have traditionally been written about far more often than they have been invited to write for themselves. Follow Able to Care Podcast: able-training.co.uk/podcast LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/able-training-ltd-/ Instagram: instagram.com/AbleTraining TikTok: tiktok.com/@abletocarepodcast YouTube: youtube.com/@abletocarepodcast If this conversation changes the way you think about records, language or lived-experience participation, please share it with a social worker, foster carer, teacher, residential childcare professional or service leader who may benefit.
