Care Day 2025

Care Day 2025 is set to take place on the 21st February. This year’s event is extra special since it marks the tenth ever Care Day, with the first having taken place back in 2015.

What Is Care Day?

Care Day is the largest celebration of care-experienced children and young people worldwide, and takes place in February each year.

Since its inception a decade ago, the campaign has been led by the UK charity for children in care and care-leavers, Become, and is now a joint initiative between five charities known as the 5 Nations 1 Voice (5N1V) Alliance.

Why Is Care Day Important?

The aim of Care Day is to celebrate children and young people in or leaving care, to raise awareness of the issues affecting them, and to uplift their voices.

It’s also a time to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of care-experienced children and young people, and reduce the stigma associated with being a looked-after child.

In March 2024, there were 83,630 children in care in England alone, and it’s estimated that there are currently over 100,000 children in care in the UK.

Children in care deserve the same protection, support and opportunities as their peers, and it’s vital that as a society we understand how we can better support care-experienced children and young people to reach their potential and go on to lead fulfilling lives.

That’s why initiatives such as Care Day are so important, as they raise awareness of issues affecting children taken into care, and give children and young people who have experienced marginalisation and powerlessness a voice so they can highlight what matters most to them.

Care Day runs alongside specific campaigns such as #GoneTooFar and #EndTheCareCliff, which aim to draw attention to problems with the current care system. For example, children being moved miles away from their schools and existing support systems or young adults being expected to achieve independence by their 18th birthday, and having support withdrawn too soon.

What Is This Year’s Theme For Care Day?

The theme for Care Day 2025 is ‘Voices That Care’. This was voted for by Become the Movement - a group of care-experienced young people up to the age of 27. The idea is to show the world just how many people really do care about the voices of children and young people who are in or leaving care.

How to Get Involved in Care Day 2025

There are lots of ways you can get involved in Care Day 2025. It could be something as simple as writing ‘I Care’ on your hand and posting a selfie on social media, to raise awareness of the campaign. Or you might take time to read about the experiences of children and young people in or leaving care, and to improve your knowledge of the care system and the issues they face.

You could even do some fundraising, by signing up for an organised event such as a run or holding an event of your own.

Celebrating Our Care Experienced Children and Young People at Olive Branch

Here at Olive Branch we recognise how vital events such as Care Day are in raising awareness of the issues faced by many children in care, and how important it is that we celebrate care-experienced children and young people.

We take immense pride in the achievements of our children and young people and love celebrating each and every milestone with them.

As well as our day-to-day, round-the-clock support, we also run regular events throughout the year to celebrate our wonderful foster families, and the children and young people in our care. Recent events have included our special half-term fun day for unaccompanied asylum seeking children, our hugely successful Diversity Day, and our annual Winter Wonderland.

If you’d like to find out more about the support Olive Branch offers our families, children and young people, or you want to learn more about fostering with us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.