ARU Final Report

16 Care leavers’ experiences of support during the Covid-19 pandemic information sheet andwere required to indicate their informed consent before being able to participate in the questionnaire. In addition to the questionnaire, it was also important to capture the experiences of the care leavers who formed the research team and their engagement in the research sessions allowed more in-depth qualitative data collection using focus groups. The research team appreciated hearing the experiences of care leavers in other LAs and it was therefore decided that the focus groups would be conducted over two sessions with pairs of LAs: Essex and Medway, Cornwall and Hertfordshire, and South Tyneside and Stockport. This reflected the wider project where local authorities shadowed each other to learn about good practice. Focus groups were facilitated and notes taken byARU researchers, while support workers encouraged participation from, and provided support to, the care leavers in their LA where needed. The questions were adapted from the priority areas discussion in session one and the questionnaire questions developed and designed by the care leavers themselves. After the focus groups, care leavers had the opportunity to share additional experiences and perspectives by email if they wished. 3.4 Data analysis and reflection on initial findings Following an approach that had been used in previous research with young people (O’Brien and Dadswell, 2020), ARU researchers conducted data analysis using the themes identified by the research team as priorities for supporting care leavers during the pandemic. In the sixth research session, the ARU researchers gave a brief outline of the initial emerging findings to the research team, and shared some ideas about different and creative ways of sharing research findings such as using a short animated film, cartoon/comic strip, research poster, and narrated presentation. In LA breakout rooms, care leavers discussed how best to share the findings for our three intended audiences: central government, local government, and other care leavers. The ideas from each LA were fed back to the main group and combined into a plan for developing and sharing resources. The research team decided they wanted something formal for central government so that their experiences were presented and taken seriously, but they alsowanted something personal to care leavers themselves. They liked the idea of the film. They felt it was important that any findings specific to LAs were shared with local government. Finally, they pointed out that the wider care leaver population already know about the experiences demonstrated in the findings as they are living it. Instead, they wanted to know about what action would be taken to ensure they are better supported during the pandemic and beyond. There was a break in sessions before phase four to allow the ARU researchers to finish data analysis and write this up to inform the development of the recommendations and resources. 3.5 Developing and sharing resources Based on the data analysis and discussions in the previous phase, the research team developed the recommendations from the research and a set of resources. This happened over the two final sessions, plus additional work by the ARU researchers, Essex County Council leads, and other members of the research team between sessions. The resources included: • A formal report with an executive summary as well as a shorter, accessible summary for care leavers. • A short filmwith the voices of the research team sharing the key messages and quotes from the findings.