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Sam Turner

@samtrner.bsky.social

240 followers 200 following 110 posts

Associate Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Kinship. Interested in children and families, education, policymaking, participation and politics. Geordie and thrower of frisbees. Views my own.

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Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Nov 18

Hi all. 👋

I'm Sam, and I'm interested in children, families and education policy, particularly around #KinshipCare and children's social care.

Follow for hot takes(?) on the above and other musings on policymaking, participation, and why North East England is the best place in the world.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 6d

Learn more about Kinship Care Week and how to get involved. 👇

Kinship Care Week

Kinship Care Week (6-12 October 2025) is a national week of awareness, recognition, and celebration of kinship families across England and Wales.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 6d

Happy #KinshipCareWeek! 🥳

There's loads going on this week across England and Wales, but I'd suggest you start by checking out this incredible new short film which celebrates the power of peer support and community for #KinshipCarers.

In The Same Boat | Kinship Care Week 2025

YouTube video by Kinship

www.youtube.com

Reposted by Sam Turner

Emma Lewell MP @emmalewellmp.bsky.social · 6d

The new #Kinship report is clear that much more needs to be done to ensure that all #KinshipFamilies get the support they need and deserve. I’ll continue to advocate for #KinshipCarers and their children in South Shields. #KinshipCareWeek

kinship.org.uk/our-work-and...

Handle With Care: Annual survey of kinship carers 2025

Explore key findings from our 2025 annual survey of more than 1,900 kinship carers and learn more about kinship families and the policy context in 2025.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 10d

In the new post-Strategy landscape, and with the lead architect of the Independent Review of Children's Social Care now at the helm of children and families policy in government, it's time to deliver that whole-system view of support for #KinshipFamilies and family networks.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 10d

We identify real opportunities for the government to deliver better outcomes - for families and the public purse - by accelerating plans to improve support, as well as considerable risks associated with the incorrect sequencing of reform which moves too fast in some places and too slow in others.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 10d

The rest explores key findings of relevance to the current policy context for #KinshipCare in England - particularly the forthcoming Kinship Allowance Pilot and provisions included within the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (e.g. kinship local offer, duty to offer FGDM etc).

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 10d

In the report, we examine year-on-year trends around measures of health, loneliness, financial security, family stability and more for #KinshipFamilies in England and Wales. It's a real mixed picture - some positive signals but elsewhere significant continued challenges.

Here's one example...

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · 10d

Check out our @kinshipcharity.bsky.social new report - Handle With Care - published today ahead of #KinshipCareWeek, featuring key findings from our largest ever annual survey of more than 1,900 #KinshipCarers.

#KinshipCare #ValueOurLove

Handle With Care: Annual survey of kinship carers 2025

Explore key findings from our 2025 annual survey of more than 1,900 kinship carers and learn more about kinship families and the policy context in 2025.

Reposted by Sam Turner

martinbarrow.bsky.social @martinbarrow.bsky.social · Aug 28

I feel duty-bound to share this nonsense by Mary Wakefield for
@thespectator1828.bsky.social but it does demand some sort of response

www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

The painful truth about foster care

The foster care system in this country is collapsing. There are roughly 80,000 children who’ve been removed from violent or neglectful parents and need homes, but there’s a catastrophic lack of people...

www.spectator.co.uk

Reposted by Sam Turner

Martin Robbins @mjrobbins.com · Aug 11

My latest: On the AI aesthetic, techno-millenarianism, and why the new right doesn’t understand genius.

The revenge of the nerds is upon us and it's incredibly naff.

open.substack.com

Reposted by Sam Turner

Jon Loveridge @jonloveridge.bsky.social · Aug 4

Incredible that this is all the same article. How utterly pathetic

Reposted by Sam Turner

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · Jul 23

'Too often, government is looking for one answer to a problem that it can scale; the perfect pilot that can make a difference everywhere. It still sees change as an industrial process.' Electric blog from Vidhya Alakeson, Deputy Chief of Staff to the PM www.powertochange.org.uk/evidence-and...

The leaders who make things happen: lessons in governing from community business - Power to Change

Community businesses drive change where it matters most—locally. From leading Power to Change to advising Number 10, Vidhya Alakeson knows more than most th ...

www.powertochange.org.uk

Reposted by Sam Turner

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · Jul 24

The Independent Group For Change (UK) is up for grabs again, for what it's worth

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 24

Really lovely shout out from former children's minister David Johnston MP highlighting @kinshipcharity.bsky.social's #ValueOurLove campaigning tactics and the impact this had on MPs and colleagues in government.

From this week's Policy Unstuck: policyunstuck.castfromclay.co.uk.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 22

Thanks I hate it.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 22

Please make it stop.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 16

I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 14

Bloody loved reading this.

Jonathan Liew @jonathanliew.bsky.social · Jul 13

keep falling

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/j...

Sinner cried like a little boy who had reached for the sweets but came away with the whole jar | Jonathan Liew

The Italian enjoyed an emotional celebration with his family after his pasta-and-cheese style proved enough to defeat Carlos Alcaraz

www.theguardian.com

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 10

Great to see two images of the Minister meeting with kinship carers and @kinshipcharity.bsky.social in this roundup of the last year!

Janet Daby MP @janetdaby.bsky.social · Jul 9

It’s been an honour to serve as the MP for Lewisham East and a Government Minister in the last year. I've visited children’s services nationwide and spoken to stakeholders.
It is clear that much more work still needs to be done.

a collage of photos of Janet at ministerial events

Reposted by Sam Turner

Sam Tims @sam-tims.bsky.social · Jul 10

Over 1.6m children are now impacted by the Two-Child Limit - 11.6% of all children

This is a cruel policy that unnecessarily drags children into deeper levels of hardship

It needs to go, and the longer it is kept, the greater the scarring effects on children's health and education will be

A graph showing the increase in the number of children impacted by the Two-Child Limit since April 2018

Reposted by Sam Turner

Foundations – What Works Centre for Children & Families @foundationsww.bsky.social · Jul 10

Minoritised ethnic #kinship families face heightened challenges, shaped by inequalities & experiences of racism. To understand how to support these children, we need to understand their views & needs.

Our new funding call aims to fill this evidence gap 👉 foundations.org.uk/launch-of-ca...

A Foundations branded quote card from Director of Evidence, Dr Aoife O'Higgins: "There’s an urgent need to address the evidence gap about the experiences of minoritised ethnic children and young people in kinship care. We know the carers of these children face barriers when they try to access support, and that they can have negative experiences of the system. Despite this, there simply isn’t enough research on the perspectives of minoritised ethnic children. Our call aims to fill this gap, to help inform more equitable, culturally responsive services.”

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 10

Very grateful to @helenhayes.bsky.social and all other Committee members present and past for inviting me and @lucypeake.bsky.social along to give evidence to support the inquiry, and for the report's extensive use of our @kinshipcharity.bsky.social wider evidence and key arguments.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 10

Particularly pleased to see this clear conclusion which is crucial in the context of the govt's current reforms. The focus is welcome but they must get the *sequencing* right - that means enhancing support for all kinship families and arrangements *before* incentivising greater use of kinship care.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 10

Very welcome contribution from the Education Committee today with its children's social care inquiry report, including strong recommendations around #KinshipCare which echo our #ValueOurLove campaign calls.

Kinship welcomes Education Committee children's social care inquiry report

Kinship welcomes today’s Education Committee report on children's social care which calls on the government to do more to support kinship families.

Sam Turner @samtrner.bsky.social · Jul 10

We've delivered an annual survey of kinship carers since 2016 and they're the largest of their kind, securing vital evidence which has helped us improve our services and make the case for greater investment and policy change.