First in a series of briefings from CELCIS that help to explain specific parts of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. Each briefing will set out clearly the new rights and responsibilities of looked after children, care leavers and carers, and the new duties, powers and expectations placed on public bodies.
Report based on a survey of 100 care leavers and consultation with those who work with them that identifies where progress still needs to be made to improve outcomes. The overwhelming response from our consultation, and the message of this report, is that whilst there has been real progress for care leavers in England in recent years, the vast majority of spending and support has been focussed on the better-off care leavers, predominantly those with a stable foster care placement and who are able to remain in education.
Final report of Scotland's Foster Care Review, which ran from December 2012 to November 2013. The review was established by the Scottish Government to assess a range of potential reforms, and provide direction on a number of policy questions.
A series of videos which document care leavers telling their stories about being in care, as well as the making of the care leavers stories project.
The Food for Thought project was an ESRC funded project to explore the ways in which food is used symbolically by children, foster carers and residential staff. It looks at how food may stand for thoughts, beliefs and feelings and how these can be better understood and harnessed in the care of children.
The website contains training materials and tools for reflecting on food practices. The resources will:
Guidance for local authorities and other corporate parents: supporting looked after children and young people to remain in care, as part of a staged transition towards adulthood and greater independence.
It has been developed in response to concerns about consistently poor outcomes for care leavers, with high rates of homelessness and low levels of engagement in education, training or employment.
Self-harm and suicide are complex issues which arouse difficult and distressing emotions both within people who hurt themselves and those who love and care for them. When children hurt or try to kill themselves, adults responsible for them often feel confused, powerless and overwhelmed.
Funded by the Department for Education, the National Children's Bureau (NCB) has developed a resource, available for free download, to support local authorities working to narrow the gap between the outcomes of looked after children and their peers.
The 'Sight and Sound Project' used creative sensory methods to explore how young people who are looked after feel that they belong, or do not belong, in the places that they live.
This briefing focuses primarily on the relationship between the senses (visual, audial and touch) and participants' feelings of belonging (or not) while looked after and leaving care. It also outlines other key issues raised by the young people, including their relationships with various agencies, notably the police as well as further detail on the creative and sensory methods employed.
Document that has been developed with the aim of informing policy and to fundamentally change the way things are done in Scotland in the area of youth transitions, from the top down and the bottom up.
Young people and their carers need help to achieve positive outcomes through greater personalisation, independence, choice and control of the transitions process.