This time last year, eight Virtual Schools across the West Midlands approached me to work with care experienced young people to make a film exploring school exclusion from the young person's point of view. I nearly said no. With three kids in school myself, I know how stretched the education system already is, and honestly? I was nervous. But the drive to hear these voices and share their lived experiences got the better of me. 

After a series of heart-wrenching conversations with Designated Teacher Leads, social workers and headteachers, we got down to the nitty gritty. Me, Gav Maxwell and Elevate Alumni 2025, Mai Worth, found ourselves turning up on very grey days to community settings across the West Midlands - some of them as grey as the sky outside - to run in-person workshops with 27 young people aged 12–19, all living in or recently leaving the care system. A vast majority had been excluded from at least one school, some from many more. Every single one of them laid their stories bare and floored us with their honesty and sensitivity. 

These are whole people. They have passions - boxing, wildlife photography, drawing, playing bass. They have humour and wisdom in buckets. Yes, there was anger and resentment towards school, but there was also, particularly from older young people, genuine reflection on their own part in things. That stuck with me. 

But here's what I'd ask anyone reading this to sit with for a moment. Imagine you're fifteen and you want to go to a sleepover at your mate's house. Simple, right? Except your mates’ parents need police checking, a risk assessment has to happen, your social worker needs to sign it off - and your social worker is on holiday. All you want is a sleepover. There is no blaming the social worker for being on holiday, we all need a break; but imagine every part of your life looks like that - total adult involvement, and yet somehow, complete loneliness. Imagine not seeing your siblings for six months, and when the supervised contact session finally comes around, they don't show up. Suddenly, not having the right PE socks feels pretty small fry.

As one young person put it, "I know rules are important, but when life is so noisy and disjointed outside of school, the rules just feel a bit pointless in that moment." I think that's one of the wisest things I've heard in a long time. 

During half term, we spent a week filming with nine of the young people we'd met along the way. Intense. Special. One young person told me, "This gave me a reason to get up this morning; I'd honestly still be in bed." That was all I needed to hear, we had given her purpose. 

We're now deep in editing, and the finished film will be shared with teachers, social workers and anyone who works with care experienced young people. But this morning, I arrived at my desk to an email that absolutely made my day. A 19-year-old we've been working with has decided to audition for their local theatre group. If you've ever put yourself forward for something that made your stomach flip, you'll know exactly what that takes. The fact that our work gave them the confidence to walk into that room - I can't tell you how much that means. 

I am so, so proud. Go smash it. We're all rooting for you. 

Thank you to Coventry, Dudley, Solihull, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Walsall, Warwickshire and Wolverhampton Virtual Schools for commissioning this project. 

Honor Hoskins