Janet Daby, the Minister for Children and Families, visited the Liverpool City Region-based social enterprise We Are Juno CIC recently to learn more about the work Juno is doing with Liverpool City Region local authorities to increase the number of not-for-profit homes available for children in the area.
During the visit to Juno Oxton, the Minister met with the Juno team, Sherrie Austin, Juno’s Expert by Experience (care-experienced advisor), Cllr. Paul Stuart, Leader of Wirral Council and Elizabeth Hartley, Director for Children, Families and Education to find out more about Juno’s partnership approach to developing high-quality children’s residential care homes.
Sophie Clarke, Managing Director at We Are Juno CIC, said, “We are delighted to have hosted the Minister and her team today, and to have shared our journey from an idea, created with care-experienced young people, to creating safe, loving and local homes.
We’ve learnt a lot about what’s required to make a positive difference in the lives of children in our care, and we were delighted to show the Minister our work and discuss the challenges faced by small-scale, non-profit organisations.”
Janet Daby, the Minister for Children and Families, said,
“I was hugely impressed by what I heard from the Juno team about the excellent work they are doing in the Liverpool City region to create loving homes for the children in their care. You could feel the warmth and care in the home. I was very interested to hear about the journey ‘We Are Juno CIC’ has been on over the past five years as we want to see more of this type of provision and encourage similar joined up working across the country.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “At a time when there is an urgent need for more high-quality, local care options for children, Juno is leading the way and putting the needs of young people first.
“This is a national crisis but I'm proud that the Liverpool City Region is leading the way in helping to tackle it Large private operators in children’s residential care are pulling in huge profits across the country, costing councils over £1 billion every year.
“Juno is an antidote to that system. It is community-based, which means that more children can be kept closer to their local communities in safe, nurturing environments. It’s great to see them getting the chance to showcase their pioneering work to the Minister.
It was the Minister’s first residential care visit since the recently announced government reforms. The team at We Are Juno CIC shared their story of establishing Juno Oxton, Juno’s first residential care home, ensuring that the needs of children and young people remain at the heart of Juno’s work, and the challenges of operating in the sector as a social enterprise.
We Are Juno CIC is a not-for-profit social enterprise, supported by investment from the Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and The Postcode Innovation Trust. A close working relationship with Wirral Council has been a major contributor to the success of We Are Juno CIC, with the first three of Juno homes based in Wirral.
Interested in being a part of the Juno team? Find all vacancies here.
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