The educational lives of young people living in residential care in Ireland are little understood and remain a largely forgotten category in educational policy. This research offers the first inquiry into the nature and experience of post-primary education in residential care since the establishment of the contemporary Irish child welfare service in 2014. Cognisant of the neglect of young people’s voice and their situated knowledge, this research sets the analysis by young people of the education and care systems and of their experiences on an equal footing with other key stakeholder groups from policy and professional spheres. It mobilises the concepts of epistemic injustice and stigma power to offer a framework for both understanding and ensuring epistemic diversity and a holistic view of the complex relation of education and care, whilst remaining vigilant regarding the risks of epistemic exploitation. Methodologically, it develops a carefully calibrated approach to youth participatory research that defines the terms of participation in an ongoing manner in collaboration with young people both during the research process and in the dissemination of the research. The thesis is structured around three study chapters with young people living in residential care, professionals in care and education, and policy makers. It uncovers the different priorities of the groups and offers a nuanced understanding of the interpretation of key questions of care, risk, belonging, agency, trust, silencing, and identity-prejudice as well as the different emotional costs of navigating these systems for young people and professionals. Importantly, it shows the significance of the nature of the care experience for engagement in education for young people and their analysis of what would be most helpful for them in everyday life, in the institutional contexts they navigate and in the policy domain. The title of the research “Do ya get me?” captures the desire to be heard, to be listened to, and to matter. It offers an important contribution to the international literature from a methodological perspective for policymakers and researchers seeking to develop youth participatory approaches and gives an important insight into the complex landscape of education and care in Ireland, particularly the structural failings and policy gaps that have a direct impact and cost on the lives of young people and professionals. The quest for epistemic justice whereby young people’s voices are taken seriously as credible sources of knowledge in shaping policy and practice is at the heart of this research.