a Whitbread 81 7. Recommendations for the DfE The Missing Chapters project team is making the following recommendations for the Department for Education: 1. Develop guidance which provides clear information to children in care and to care leavers about what they can access, as well as when and how they can access this, and sets out clear expectations of what records look like and the legislation which shapes this 2. Children in care and care leavers should have the same legislative rights to access support as adopted children and adults, and emotional support should be provided to care leavers throughout their journey of accessing records, regardless of their age 3. Local authorities should engage with care leavers to develop an idea of what records should look like; it is important to consider whether records should be structured in chronological order 4. Ensure that Article 17 of the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child), ‘Rights to Information’ are raised in every child’s plan 5. Local authorities should develop writing principles for social workers and all professionals who contribute to records 6. Children in care and care leavers should have access to case management systems and be able to add to their records; no providers in the UK offer this and the government should address the current monopoly which is stifling innovation and technology in the field 7. Implement mandatory trauma-informed training which educates whole school professionals in the needs and behaviours of children in care 82 Next steps in Essex Essex will be utilising the insight from this valuable Missing Chapters project to inform its ongoing journey of improvement and excellence and is exploring the following next steps: 1. Agree an Essex Position Statement clearly commu