Leon’s Care Crew: helping children understand care at home
When a child experiences a life-changing injury, so much of the focus quite rightly sits around clinical care, rehabilitation plans and outcomes. But alongside that sits something just as important and often much harder to explain: what day-to-day life looks like at home.
For many families, care in the home means new people, new routines and new conversations — including conversations with children about why someone is there to help, what their role is, and how that fits alongside parents, siblings and school.
That’s where our second children’s book, Leon’s Care Crew, comes in.
Why this book matters
Leon’s Care Crew was written to help children understand the role of a support worker when they need care in the home following a life-changing injury. It gently answers the questions children often ask — sometimes out loud, sometimes silently — about why Mum or Dad aren’t doing everything anymore, why someone else helps with school, routines or medication, and whether that means something has changed about the love and care around them.
Through Leon’s story, we see a typical school day unfold: getting ready in the morning, travelling to school, lunchtime, learning, play, and returning home. Along the way, Jill — Leon’s support worker — is simply there. Supporting, encouraging independence, keeping Leon safe, helping him take his medication, and making space for fun, confidence and normal childhood moments.
Care that supports the whole family
One of the themes that runs throughout the book is reassurance. Leon’s parents still care for him deeply; the presence of a support worker doesn’t replace that. Instead, it creates breathing space, calm mornings, and the ability for family life to feel more settled again.
This reflects exactly how we view care at Bush & Co Care Solutions.
Support workers are not “extras” brought in to take over — they are part of a wider care crew, working alongside families, schools, case managers and clinicians to scaffold everyday life. Their role is practical, yes, but also relational: building trust, preserving dignity, supporting independence and helping children feel safe and confident in their own homes and communities.
A book rooted in real practice
Leon’s Care Crew is based on real experiences of children, families and care teams. It shows support workers helping with routines, liaising with school, managing medication safely, encouraging independence through the right equipment, and making space for joy — whether that’s poetry at lunchtime or spotting insects in the garden after school.
Importantly, it also reflects the wider team around a child, including case management, without overwhelming young readers. Children don’t need the detail; they need reassurance that the grown-ups are talking to each other and that they are safe.
Why we created it
This is our second children’s book, and our first published under Bush & Co Care Solutions. We created it because we know that children understand far more than we sometimes give them credit for — and because when we explain things well, fear reduces and confidence grows.
Care in the home can feel emotional, intrusive or confusing, especially at the beginning. A simple, friendly story can help open conversations, reduce anxiety and give children language to describe their own experiences.
That’s what Leon’s Care Crew is designed to do. And if it helps even one child feel less worried, less different, or more secure in their world — then it’s doing exactly what it was created for.
Do you know a child or family who needs a copy?
Copies of Ursa Joins the Team and Leon's Care Crew are available to buy from our website at www.bushco.co.uk/storytime. Books are £6 each + P&P and the money we raise is being donated to Harry's Pals.
We do have a few copies set aside for those working in the legal sector who are supporting clients needing a case manager or care in the home. Please get in touch to discuss your needs.
We've also recorded a storytelling video of both Ursa Joins the Team and Leon's Care Crew which you can view online too.