looked after children

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 - parts 10 and 11 (Aftercare and Continuing Care)

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.

Survival of the fittest? Improving life chances for care leavers

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.

Food for Thought 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:

Staying put Scotland: providing care leavers with connectedness and belonging

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.

Understanding suicide and self-harm amongst children in care and care leavers (IRISS Insights, No. 21)

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.

Young people creating belonging: spaces, sounds and sights

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.

Principles of Good Transitions 3 - Scottish Transitions Forum

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.