National Care Leavers Month: Leading the Way, From Experience to Empowerment

Posted 30th October 2026

November marks National Care Leavers Month (NCLM), a time to celebrate care-experienced young people, recognise their achievements and highlight the importance of providing the right support as they move towards adulthood. 

This year’s theme, Leading the Way: From Experience to Empowerment, celebrates the leadership, resilience and potential of care-experienced people, while recognising the importance of listening to their voices and creating opportunities for meaningful change. 

At The National House Project (NHP), we believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to build a future where they feel safe, supported and empowered to achieve their ambitions. National Care Leavers Month is an opportunity to celebrate the progress being made, raise awareness of the challenges care leavers can face and encourage organisations and communities to work together to make a lasting difference. 

Sharing learning with our partners 

Throughout November, NHP will be running 'Lunch and Learn' sessions for our partners, creating opportunities for colleagues across partner organisations to find out more about our work and the difference the House Project approach can make for care-experienced young people. 

These sessions will offer an introduction to what we do, how we work alongside young people as they move towards independent living, and how partnership working can help create positive outcomes. We recognise that every partner organisation has different priorities and areas of interest, so sessions can be tailored to meet individual partners’ needs. 

By sharing knowledge, building understanding and strengthening relationships across the sector, we hope to support more colleagues to understand how they can contribute to better experiences and outcomes for young people leaving care. 

If your organisation would like to find out more or explore a tailored lunch and learn session, get in touch with Amber at amber@thehouseproject.org to discuss your needs. 

Getting involved this November 

National Care Leavers Month is also an opportunity for individuals, organisations and communities to come together, celebrate care-experienced people and take action to improve their experiences. 

One event to look out for is United for Change for Care Leavers, taking place on Tuesday 17th November 2026 at The Vox in Birmingham. Co-hosted by The National House Project, the Care Leavers National Movement, National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum and Young People’s Benchmarking Forum, the event will bring together care-experienced young people, professionals, charities, businesses and public bodies. The day will focus on hearing directly from care-experienced people, sharing good practice and committing to meaningful change. 

You can find out more about the event and how to attend here.

There are also opportunities to take part in activities and events happening across the country throughout November. You can find a list here.

Wear your support with Madlug 

Finally, you can show your support for National Care Leavers Month this year by purchasing official NCLM merchandise from Madlug, including limited-edition button badges and official 2026 hoodies. 

Madlug’s mission is to help children and young people in care carry their belongings with dignity. Profits from NCLM merchandise sales support this mission, making every purchase an opportunity to show solidarity with care-experienced young people and support a more positive experience of care. You can shop here: https://www.madlug.com/collections/nclm-merch 

Working together to make a difference 

National Care Leavers Month is about more than a single month of awareness. It is a reminder of the importance of listening to care-experienced young people, recognising their strengths and ensuring they have the relationships, opportunities and support they need to thrive. 

At NHP, we will continue working alongside young people and our partners to help make the transition to independent living a positive and empowering experience. By sharing learning, celebrating achievements and working together, we can help turn the message of Leading the Way: From Experience to Empowerment into meaningful, lasting change.