Information

Two-part series which traces the way care of disowned and disabled children chan
ged in the decades after World War II.
Part 1: Nowhere Else to Go
Sixty years ago, the care of children who were orphaned or abandoned by their pa
rents was based on the Victorian poor laws. Some kids were sent to orphanages, o
thers to former colonies or farmed out to unregulated foster carers. However, af
ter the war a national scandal and rise of the welfare state led to a new commit
ment to put the interests of the child first. Many orphanages were closed, foste
r care was regulated and child welfare services were improved. But, as the film
shows through interviews and case studies, the process of change was fraught wit
h difficulty and disaster. Although care homes closed, many of those that remain
ed were in meltdown as their staff grappled with troubled teenagers. Shocking me
thods ensued such as isolation, lock-up and even drugs, and child abuse came int
o the public consciousness.
Part 2: Breaking Free
The second part tells the largely unknown story of disabled people's battle for
equality, led by those who as children had found themselves rejected by society;
stigmatised and traumatised by years of patronising care and forced segregation
. Before the 1940s, care for physically disabled children was largely based on t
rying to make them appear 'normal', but in the late 1960s the first generation o
f post-war disabled children came of age and founded a new movement to fight for
equal rights. Change was slow, but in the 80s and 90s a huge shift in policy an
d attitudes began to take place. Using the stories of individuals such as Kevin
Donnellon and Anne Rae, the film sheds light on the often harsh reality faced by
disabled children in the late 20th century. It is also a story of empowerment a
bout how one of the most vulnerable groups in society fought to be accepted.
Further Information
BBC Site
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click on the thumbnails below to get full-size images
Technical Spec
Video Codec: x264 CABAC Main@L3.1
Video Bitrate: CRF 21 (~1466Kbps)
Video Resolution: 832x468
Video Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Frame Rate: 25 FPS
Audio Codec: AAC-LC
Audio Bitrate: 128 Kbps ABR 48KHz
Audio Channels: 2
Run-Time: 59 mins
Number of Parts: 2
Part Size: 687 MB (average)
Source: PDTV
Encoded by: JungleBoy