112 Young Lives: Are you really on your own?

A Government-commissioned review into the deaths of 112 care leavers aged 18–24 has exposed a devastating reality about life after care. At Auntie’s Cookery Academy, many of its findings reflect the very concerns that led to our creation. But this is much bigger than ACA.

On 25 August 2026, the Department for Education published “You really are on your own”: A study of the early deaths of young people who were in care, an independent review by Ashley John-Baptiste and Clare Chamberlain.

It examined the deaths of care-experienced young people aged between 18 and 24 that were notified to the Department for Education during 2025.

112 young people had died.

Twenty-two were just 18 years old.

The estimated mortality rate was approximately 130 deaths per 100,000 – around three to four times that of the general population.

Forty of the 112 young people were considered likely to have died by suicide.

And the authors warn that 112 may not represent the full picture, because notification of care leaver deaths is not mandatory and local authorities may have lost contact with some older care leavers.

These are difficult statistics to read.

But we cannot allow them to remain statistics.

What happens after care?

Perhaps the most important part of this review is not simply what it tells us about how these young people died.

It is what it tells us about how some of them were living.

Three themes emerged repeatedly:

• Being alone and readiness for adulthood.

• The drop in levels of support.

• The workforce available to support young people through that transition.

The report describes an “overwhelming picture” of young people who were very much alone.

It also makes an observation that should be obvious, but which our systems do not always appear to recognise:

Think about your own life at 18.

Did you know how to manage every household bill? Could you budget properly? Plan affordable meals for an entire week? Understand a tenancy agreement? Navigate benefits? Deal with an unexpected expense? Look after yourself when you were ill? Know what to do when something went badly wrong?

Probably not.

And for many of us, that didn't matter.

There was someone to call.

A parent. A grandparent. A sibling. A family friend.

Someone who could lend you £20, explain the letter you didn't understand, show you how to cook something, pick you up when everything went wrong or simply tell you that you weren't facing it alone.

Turning 18 didn't mean they stopped being there.

For a young person leaving care, adulthood can look very different.

One care-experienced young person quoted in the review puts it perfectly:

Independence is about more than having somewhere to live

This question is at the heart of why Auntie's Cookery Academy exists.

Before ACA was created, our founder Emily-Jane Dale researched food literacy, nutrition and practical cooking skills among people experiencing transitional living as part of her university dissertation.

The research demonstrated something important.

Access to food does not necessarily equal food security.

Someone can have money available for food but lack the knowledge, confidence or practical skills to budget for it, plan meals, shop effectively and turn affordable ingredients into nutritious food.

Following structured cookery education, participants showed improvements in food literacy, nutritional understanding and practical cooking ability.

Particularly significant improvements were seen in meal planning and the ability to cook independently.

But the research also found that more complex skills need continued practice and reinforcement.

In other words, independence has to be learned – and learning takes time and support.

That matters enormously when considered alongside a national review now describing young people experiencing a significant reduction in support as they enter adulthood.

This is why ACA teaches life skills, not simply cooking

Food is our vehicle, but independence is our destination.

ACA's programme has been designed around the everyday knowledge many young people gradually pick up at home.

Alongside learning to cook, young people develop skills around nutrition, budgeting, shopping, meal planning, household management, employability, CV writing and preparing for work.

Learners also have the opportunity to achieve a recognised Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification through NCFE/Learn Plus Us, giving them an accredited achievement they can take forward into education and employment.

These things matter.

But we need to be very clear about something.

ACA is not the solution to this crisis.

We are part of a much bigger picture.

Cooking lessons cannot provide safe housing.

A qualification cannot replace appropriate mental health support.

Knowing how to budget cannot help if somebody simply doesn't have enough money.

And no life-skills programme can replace the security of knowing that there is somebody in your life who will still be there when things go wrong.

Young people leaving care need stable housing, financial security, healthcare, mental health provision, education, employment opportunities, practical skills, community and enduring relationships with trusted adults.

Those things cannot be delivered by one organisation.

They require Government, local authorities, health services, educators, employers, charities and communities to work together.

Who is there when something goes wrong?

One of the most important findings in the review concerns relationships.

It identifies having at least one trusted adult to provide support and guidance through the transition into adulthood as an important factor in helping care-experienced young people progress.

That shouldn't surprise us.

Independence doesn't mean never needing anybody.

In fact, perhaps one of the greatest privileges many of us have is knowing that however independent we become, there is still somebody we can call.

The question we should be asking isn't simply:

“Does this young person have somewhere to live?”

We should also be asking:

Can they manage living there?

Can they feed themselves?

Do they have enough money to live?

Are they physically and emotionally safe?

Do they know how to ask for help?

And perhaps most importantly:

Who notices when they don't?

We cannot allow 112 to become just another number

The Government review does not conclude that inadequate support after care caused every one of these deaths. Their lives and circumstances were complex, and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise.

But the patterns identified by the review cannot be ignored.

Isolation.

Loneliness.

Mental health difficulties.

Housing instability.

Readiness for adulthood.

A dramatic change in support.

The report itself asks:

That may be the most uncomfortable question of all.

Because we have known.

Research has been telling us.

Care-experienced young people have been telling us.

Professionals working alongside them have been telling us.

And now we have a Government-commissioned review examining 112 young lives that ended before the age of 25.

The question is no longer simply whether there is a problem.

It is what we are prepared to do about it.

At Auntie's Cookery Academy, we will continue doing our small part: giving young people practical skills, qualifications, confidence, community and preparation for independent adulthood.

But we also want to use our voice to keep this conversation alive.

Because this cannot be a story that dominates the headlines for a few days and then disappears.

These were 112 young people.

They had names. They had personalities. They had ambitions. They had futures that should have stretched decades beyond their 18th birthdays.

As Ashley John-Baptiste and Clare Chamberlain conclude:

We owe it to them — and to every young person preparing to leave care today — to ask what needs to change.

Turning 18 should be the beginning of adulthood.

It should never mean: “You really are on your own.”