f emotional and mental health support • The files being overwhelming with too much information and too little structure • Finding out information they didn’t know • Incorrect information and difficult language Professionals feel the experience could be improved if workers: • Use more positive language • Reduce jargon • Write directly to the child • Organise files to make sense • Challenge incorrect files 6.11 Talking to Fatima Whitbread, MBE Our care-experienced project workers were fortunate to meet and talk with Fatima Whitbread MBE during the It’s My Life Festival. Fatima told us that it wasn’t until her 20s that she tried to access her care records. Before that, she felt that it wouldn’t have been helpful as she thought it might have a negative impact on her family life. Fatima described her hand being forced by the press, who published a story about her early life and making contact with her birth mum. She felt she needed to tell her own story, in her own words, and to do that she needed to see her files. Fatima described having to pay for her social care files. Our researchers were shocked by this as this isn’t practice in Essex. The team has since learnt that some authorities continue to charge for access to records. Fatima found her files to be very factual, describing placement moves, and with none of her views and thoughts. She described how much social work has changed over the years. Fatima wants to make a difference to the lives of children in care and care leavers and she is challenging the negative stereotypes of care. “Sport saved me. Every child in care should have something or someone to save them.” Fatima Whitbread 81 7. Recommendations for the DfE The Missing Chapters project team is making the following recommendations for the Department for Educati