Power to the people: being part of the change for care experienced children and their brothers and sisters

A Consultants Working Group was instrumental on helping to shape the content, tone and language of Scotland’s new National Practice Guidance to support the rights of care experienced children and their brothers and sisters in Scotland. Here, one of the consultants Saffron Rohan, discusses the process of contributing to the development of the guidance, and the importance of listening to and embedding lived experience in changes to policy and practice.

Putting children’s views at the heart of decision making: learning from the Bright Spots programme

As CELCIS, in partnership with Coram Voice, launches the Bright Spots programme pilot in Scotland, this blog post reflects on the experience of one local authority's participation in the programme in England.

Holding / Holding on: Experiencing care in contemporary Scotland

Ahead of the screening of Holding / Holding On, part of a project investigating the impact that the arts can make within a care context across Scotland, we asked two of the project's community collaborators to write about their work on the project and their direct experiences of the care system in Scotland.

Finding the confidence to be creative

Ahead of 'Voice & Vision', a celebration of the creative work of young people with care experience, Laura Graham, Senior Evidence and Influencing Officer, Life Changes Trust, reflects on the role creativity plays in working with young people.

The cost of the implementation gap for young people

Megan Sutherland is Vice Chair of Who Cares? Scotland. She recently moved home and found it wasn’t easy to register as exempt from paying Council Tax as a care leaver. Here she discusses what she feels needs to change for care experienced young people in Scotland.

Our Stories Matter: Telling Truths and Countering Stereotypes this World Book Day

This World Book Day UK, Callen James Martin, a writer and Submissions Coordinator at The Good Literacy Agency, discusses why it’s important for care experienced people to own their stories and how they can be better represented in books.

My journey from care leaver to author

On World Book Day UK, Kirsty Capes, author of the upcoming novel, ‘Careless’, and marketer at HarperCollins, discusses how her childhood experience in care led to a career in writing.

How Life Story Work can help care experienced children

In National Storytelling Week, Jennifer Bell, a social worker in a fostering team at North Ayrshire Council, with a special interest in Life Story Work, discusses why it’s vital for care experienced children to know about and understand their life journey.

Digital inclusion as a right leaves me hopeful

Olivia Khan is a Rural Business graduate who worked at the Champions Board in South Ayrshire before moving to Berlin. Olivia stays connected to her care roots with a freelance role and in 2021 launched a creative project with a group of five young people. She makes the case for new tech friendly and tech literate care world.

Children 'get animated' in lockdown

Nikki Hepburn, Art teacher at Harmeny Education Trust, is a residential school providing care and education to children aged 5-14 who have experienced early years trauma, describes an animation project, funded by Creative Scotland, which created an innovative and accessible way for young people with complex social, emotional and behavioural needs to tell their own stories.