In recent years, the importance of listening to the voices of children and young people has gained significant recognition. The UK Children’s Commissioner has launched an initiative known as "The Big Conversation" aimed at engaging with children and young people across the country. This initiative seeks to understand their views, experiences, and aspirations, ensuring that their voices are heard in discussions that affect their lives. The Big Conversation is not just a one-o

Our Independent Visiting service had a busy summer and autumn of visits and activities! asphaleia delivers the Independent Visiting Service for East Sussex County Council and it's a service that provides a volunteer befriender to children and young people in care. The Independent Visitors are matched to their YP and they arrange monthly visits to take the young person out into the community to do something fun and spend time together. The service enables the child to have an

The State of the Nation 2025 report from the Centre for Young Lives has now been published. It provides a detailed and sobering overview of the challenges facing children and young people in England today, with millions growing up in poverty, homelessness, poor health, or struggling with mental health difficulties.   Key findings include:   4.5 million children living in relative poverty – nearly a third of all children 165,000 children in temporary accommodation, a 33% inc

Last week, asphaleia held its annual Learning and Development Week (L&D) for staff across the organisation. It is an opportunity for staff to examine a particular theme related to our work as an organisation and gain new knowledge, skills, and insight to apply to current practices. This year’s theme was -   Policy with Purpose: Driving Culture, Compliance & Capability   learning & development week; allowing policies to shape practices Policies aren’t just rules, they’re refle

Neurodiversity is the notion that differences in the makeup of the brain are a natural part of the human condition. Many people may be of the understanding that ADHD or autism should or could be ‘fixed’. However, this cannot be the case since these variations of the brain are a natural part of diversity and it's important to embrace neurodiversity. Some people’s brains may process bits of information very differently to others and therefore they may socialise and communicate

At asphaleia this month, we'll be exploring the importance of Black history and celebrating the achievements of Black individuals who...

Th 19th of September is Youth Mental Health Day. T his year's theme, Share Support , encourages young people and those around them to...

We are excited to share that earlier this year our supported accommodation services officially received registration from OFSTED. This...

In July 2025, the UK government amended its legislation to grant voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds. This groundbreaking decision...

Earlier this year, asphaleia's HR Director delivered supervision training to our service coordinators, who lead our supported...

Recently, asphaleia care held development days for staff working across our West Sussex and Brighton services. The first was for...

At asphaleia, we are proud to hold several respected accreditations that reflect our dedication to quality, people, ethical standards,...

Across 2025, we’re celebrating 25 years of asphaleia through many activities and through stories on our blog. This story features an...

Thursday 30th July marks World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Trafficking is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights....

On the 13-14th May, we welcomed our Matrix Assessor to meet and talk with some of our staff, students and young people and some of our...

The Exceptional People in Care Awards are a chance to recognise the talents, achievements and skills of the young people in care,...

As we continue with our yearlong celebration, we are launching  asphaleia celebration recipe book .   Cooking and eating are activities...

The UK Government has created a new website for care leavers to enable them to access support and understand what is available to them...

Early this year, one of asphaleia’s Service Manager’s undertook a Level 4 Trauma-Informed Practice training course. what is...

Hi all, I wanted this month’s blog to focus on low moods. I know that it’s lovely and sunny and that we see everyone around us having fun...