CELCIS Blog
Our blog is a hub for perspectives and analysis of issues that matter to the lives of children, young people and their families. You will hear from our staff and guest bloggers on many topical issues where they will be reflecting and sharing their policy, practice and research insights..
Got a burning issue you would like to blog about? Then we would love to hear from you. Contact our communications team.
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The views expressed in the posts on this blog are those of the author/s and may not represent the views or opinions of CELCIS or our funders.
Michelle McCue blogs about the 2015 SIRCC conference and its focus on how residential child care is changing.
Vicki Welch blogs on the good and bad of integrating services.
Attend, encourage and enjoy to learn - a blog by Graham Connelly
Jennifer Davidson blogs about her mission to change the world for the better.
Leaving care too early. Kenny McGhee blogs on the problems facing care leavers in Scotland.
In this blog Liz Brabender discusses how CELCIS tackles drift and delay in permanency.
A blog by Linda O'Neill discussing what children had to say in the recent Rees Centre report
Ainsley Hainey blogs about the success of the Massive Open Online Course on Caring for Vulnerable Children.
Lizzie Morton blogs on how Corporate Parents are taking ownership of their new duties.
Kenny McGhee reflects on the Scottish Care Leavers Covenant, six months after the launch.
Kenny McGhee talks about his research into implementing Staying Put for care leavers.
Linda O'Neill tells the story behind the recent education statistics.
Kenny McGhee responds to the recent STV 'Who Cares' programme by exploring the need for genuine and caring relationships and removing barriers for looked after children and young people.
Why permanence matters for looked after children, and why we must share our passion to improve.
Jennifer Davidson blogs about what 2016 has meant for the children’s sector and what the year ahead will bring.
We are now moving towards a professionalism that is defined by passion and commitment expressed through the transparent and responsible use of relationships.
Norma Brown of Falkirk Council describes their Moneywise project and the difference it's making to the lives of care leavers in the area.
We need access to data at both population and individual levels if we're to be successful in improving the attainment of looked after children.
What does relational based practice look like in reality, for a busy statutory team?
Dr Chrissie Gale, international lead for CELCIS, reflects on research which could help shape the drive for better alternative care for children in countries around the world.
Charlie Gracie tells of a new creative writing comp for looked after children
Course moderator Sarah Hume-Anthony gives a snapshot of the interactions on the CELCIS MOOC.
Dr Graham Connelly discusses the use of acronyms when talking about looked after children and children in care.
Active Implementation - what it is, what it is not, and how it could help bring about lasting change to children's services.
How the Student Support Review Group is trying to ensure care experienced students have a fair standard of living.
Introducing issue 12 of REACH, which explores stigma, language, perception and the representation of care and care experience.
Amanda Lawler explains why CELCIS really cares about training and learning.
Stephanie is a Modern Apprentice at CELCIS, and here she talks about landing her first ‘real’ job at only 16.
The importance for children in residential care to develop the ability to navigate friendships with each other.
The difficult issue of self-harm in residential care, exploring the experiences of young people and the support workers need to help.
Gordon Main talks about how commitment in the care system is not enough.
Jillian Ingram ponders how getting a train from A to B might just offer clues to how to meet children’s needs.
Gordon Main continues the conversation on commitment, discussing the emotional investment of foster carers.
Claire Burns introduces the evidence into practice theme of the new issue of our REACH publication.
This blog post explores the findings of a recent briefing from CELCIS about going to university from care.
Joe Rankin of the Nevis Group talks about whether young people should tell future employers that they're care experienced. With video of James Calder.
Dr Chrissie Gale, CELCIS international lead, argues that we need agencies to unite with one voice if we want to uphold children’s rights internationally.
To mark World Social Work Day, Janine Fraser, a Social Work Team Leader for Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership in North East Glasgow, reflects on her profession and the challenges it faces.
This article was first published by TES on the support teachers can offer unaccompanied and separated children.
Guest Joe Rankin of the Nevis Group discusses the need to stamp out stigma for those with care experience.
Iain MacRitchie is the founder of MCR Pathways, a school-based mentoring programme which supports young people in or on the edges of the care system to realise their full potential through education.
Ahead of the Global Implementation Conference, Scotland’s National Clinical Director, Professor Jason Leitch CBE shares some thoughts on his implementation journey, Scotland’s increasing use of change methodologies, and why learning from others makes sense
Joanne McMeeking heads up the Improving Care Experiences team at CELCIS. Here she explains why we need to put physical restraint in residential child care under the spotlight.
Laura Steckley explains how people are coming together to consider how to apply what we know about both experience and theory to address the practice of restraint in residential care.
First published by Citizens Theatre, 30 January 2020.
How the Care Experienced Bursary is making a difference in the lives of care experienced young people.
Bairnshoose Policy and Practice Lead Anna O'Reilly reflects on how far we've come towards securing a Scottish Bairnshoose, and what must still be done to give children the rights they deserve.
Elaine Adams, Learning and Development Lead at Children’s Hearings Improvement Partnership, writes about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Children’s Hearings in Scotland and what this might mean for hearings in the future
Jacqui Dunbar is the Project Lead at Our Hearings, Our Voice, an independent board for children and young people who have experience of the Children’s Hearings System in Scotland and want to help improve it. She works directly with 11 children and young people, 9 who are members of the board and 2 who are advisors for Our Hearings, Our Voice.
Elaine Hamilton, Service Manager at Nether Johnstone House describes how lockdown due to the current emergency health crisis has changed the thinking, outlooks, and actions of both the young people and the team that surround them.
Food and other essential items are something that we have always had available for our young people in the Youth Team, Aberdeen but we were aware that when COVID – 19 hit that we would need to be more creative about how we made sure food was available for young people in a safe and structured way.
Claire Burns, Director of CELCIS (Acting), takes a moment to consider how much we have learned that we didn’t know before the COVID-19; how this emergency has thrown a spotlight on so much of what we already knew and what this means as we work to make change happen to realise The Promise.
Jo Cochrane is the Children’s Services Development and Assurance Team Manager at Dumfries and Galloway Council, since retired. Since 2018, CELCIS has been working alongside local public sector partnerships in Dumfries and Galloway, Falkirk, and East and Midlothian, to develop a Minimum Dataset for use across all 30 of Scotland’s Child Protection Committees.
Claire Burns, Director (Acting), CELCIS – Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection discusses how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequalities in society.
Blog
Year: 2015
Topic: Foster care, Looked after at home, Residential care
Author: staff and guest bloggers
Topic: Foster care, Looked after at home, Residential care
Author: staff and guest bloggers
With the recent passage of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill through the Scottish Parliament, throughcare and…
Our evaluation of a foster care project in Albania.
Our response to the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee call for evidence into an Inquiry into Health Inequalities.
Summarising the debates and developments over Stage 2 of the Bill.
Covers the areas of the Bill most relevant to looked after children and young people, and care leavers.
Guide to the support available from universities and colleges in Scotland to care-experienced students.
Summarising the debates and developments over Stage 1 of the Bill.
Includes the survey analysis, the final report and the Scottish Government's response to the findings.
Book reviews
Who Cares? Scotland consulted with 87 young people to establish their experiences of living in care, their hopes for life after care and the types of support they would need to achieve this.
The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 has the ability to change the disproportionately poor outcomes of this often forgotten group of young people. It provides new rights and opportunities, ensuring the voices of care experienced children and young people are heard in any discussions or planning which affects their lives.
The views presented here are intended to help corporate parents and others involved in the implementation of the Act to get it right for every care experienced child and young person across Scotland.
Today (17 September), CELCIS joined over 100 organisations in co-signing a letter to the First Minister of Scotland calling on the Scottish Government to recommit to the Scottish Human Rights Bill.
SPRAG members considered and discussed section 11 (Restraint and seclusion) of the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill during a scheduled meeting in preparation for this letter response.
The Scottish Government has today (27 August) published the national Education Outcomes for Looked After Children for 2022-23 statistics report. The report uses the current legal definition of ‘Looked After Children’ under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, which is broadly defined as children in the care of their local authority.
The Reflection and Learning Forum (RALF) is a model for supporting the development of reflection at depth. The aim of RALF is to provide a practical and evidence-based approach that supports members of the residential child care workforce to develop the necessary habits and skills associated with genuinely reflective practice, even when some behaviour exhibited by children, young people or colleagues can feel challenging.
The guidance to support the implementation of Continuing Care has been revised, updated and published by the Scottish Government (30 July).
A new report published on 8 July 2024, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
The research and report was undertaken by Aberdeen City Council, the Champions Board of West Dunbartonshire Council, The City of Edinburgh Council, Future Pathways, Social Work Scotland and Who Cares? Scotland, is designed to provide the foundation for a Gold Standard Best Practice Guide in supporting access to care records by providing a baseline for the creation of a consistent, trauma-informed, rights-based framework for responses to Right of Access requests.
A new report published 8 July, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
Sarah Jayne Morris, a Consultant with lived experience at CELCIS, offers her thoughts on the UNCRC being enshrined in law in Scotland and why, for her, this further step in recognising the rights of children matters so much. She also considers what the difference might have made to her while growing up, and what needs to happen for it to make a difference for children and young people with care experience in the future.
From today (16 July) children’s rights must become central to decision-making in Scotland as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 comes into effect.
The Promise Scotland has taken the next step towards realising the ambitions of The Promise for children, young people and families in Scotland by launching (on 20 June) a new website to plan, record and share progress on delivery.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) has published (20 June) official statistics collected about the Children’s Hearing System’s support for 18,237 children in Scotland between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
At this Education Forum, attendees heard from Emma Mcginlay and Tony Mitchell, from the National Engagement and Partnership Team of Social Security Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government that delivers social security payments, about what payments may be available to young people and families with children.
In this blog post for Foster Carer Fortnight 2024, Seany, a lived experienced Consultant wanted to share some thoughts, from her experience of foster care, on navigating the unknown, getting to know and be cared for by new people, and how new loving relationships can be built.
CELCIS’s Data Lead, Micky Anderson, takes a look at the latest social work statistics in Scotland for clues about what is happening in the support for children in need of care and protection and their families.
Welcome to the spring 2024 issue of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care (SJRCC). It is a very full issue, with the usual mix of long-form original research papers, short articles, and book reviews. We also publish the text of the 21st Kilbrandon Lecture and a response to the lecture.
This analysis assesses the quality of the disabled children’s statistical data this is reported across Scotland’s children’s services, bringing it together for the first time, and compares this to UK and international data. It examines how disability is defined and recorded, and how visible disabled children are in Scotland’s children’s care and protection data.
Different sources of information have for the first time been brought together in a new analysis by CELCIS, published today (8 May 2024), to better understand what is known about disabled children across Scotland’s statistical collections.
Rebekah Pierre is a care experienced writer, author, social worker, and editor of a new anthology, ‘Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It’, which brings together stories, essays, poems and letters by 100 care experienced children and adults. In this conversation with CELCIS, she discusses the process of developing this anthology and how she hopes the book will help shift the narrative of care experience.
For over five years, the role of Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHTs) in Scotland has been evolving and in 2024 is established as a key part of the support for school-aged care experienced learners in 19 local authorities. In this blog post, Michael Bettencourt, Education Consultant at CELCIS and Dr Leanne McIver, Research Associate at CELCIS, discuss the research they have undertaken into how the role and remit of VSHTs in Scotland have developed, and how these compare to Virtual School Heads (VSHs) in England.
The Scottish Government has today (30 April) published the latest official annual Children's Social Work Statistics for Scotland.
The information was collected from all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities about children and young people who were formally ‘Looked After’, young people who were in continuing care, and young people who were eligible for aftercare services.
Scotland’s Children (Care and Justice) Bill has been passed in the Scottish Parliament (25 April 2024) and is set to become law.
The Drawing Together project explored how 53 young refugees experience integration through rebuilding their everyday lives in Scotland, Finland and Norway. This policy briefing focuses on the findings from Scotland. It provides insights for Scottish policy makers and practitioners to better equip them in promoting the wellbeing of young refugees.
The Virtual School Head Teachers' Network, which CELCIS has facilitated since 2019, has published the findings of a survey of local authorities in Scotland on the formal school exclusion of care experienced learners. The survey collected information on local authority policies, consulting with care experienced children and young people, recording and data, challenging and support, and return to school interviews.
In this blog post, Dr Alex McTier, Evidence and Evaluation Specialist at CELCIS, takes a closer look at Scotland’s Child Protection 2022-2023 Statistics to consider what the statistics and statistical trends might, and might not, tell us about the needs of children in Scotland.
Today (17 September), CELCIS joined over 100 organisations in co-signing a letter to the First Minister of Scotland calling on the Scottish Government to recommit to the Scottish Human Rights Bill.
SPRAG members considered and discussed section 11 (Restraint and seclusion) of the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill during a scheduled meeting in preparation for this letter response.
The Scottish Government has today (27 August) published the national Education Outcomes for Looked After Children for 2022-23 statistics report. The report uses the current legal definition of ‘Looked After Children’ under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, which is broadly defined as children in the care of their local authority.
The Reflection and Learning Forum (RALF) is a model for supporting the development of reflection at depth. The aim of RALF is to provide a practical and evidence-based approach that supports members of the residential child care workforce to develop the necessary habits and skills associated with genuinely reflective practice, even when some behaviour exhibited by children, young people or colleagues can feel challenging.
The guidance to support the implementation of Continuing Care has been revised, updated and published by the Scottish Government (30 July).
A new report published on 8 July 2024, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
The research and report was undertaken by Aberdeen City Council, the Champions Board of West Dunbartonshire Council, The City of Edinburgh Council, Future Pathways, Social Work Scotland and Who Cares? Scotland, is designed to provide the foundation for a Gold Standard Best Practice Guide in supporting access to care records by providing a baseline for the creation of a consistent, trauma-informed, rights-based framework for responses to Right of Access requests.
A new report published 8 July, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
Sarah Jayne Morris, a Consultant with lived experience at CELCIS, offers her thoughts on the UNCRC being enshrined in law in Scotland and why, for her, this further step in recognising the rights of children matters so much. She also considers what the difference might have made to her while growing up, and what needs to happen for it to make a difference for children and young people with care experience in the future.
From today (16 July) children’s rights must become central to decision-making in Scotland as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 comes into effect.
The Promise Scotland has taken the next step towards realising the ambitions of The Promise for children, young people and families in Scotland by launching (on 20 June) a new website to plan, record and share progress on delivery.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) has published (20 June) official statistics collected about the Children’s Hearing System’s support for 18,237 children in Scotland between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
At this Education Forum, attendees heard from Emma Mcginlay and Tony Mitchell, from the National Engagement and Partnership Team of Social Security Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government that delivers social security payments, about what payments may be available to young people and families with children.
In this blog post for Foster Carer Fortnight 2024, Seany, a lived experienced Consultant wanted to share some thoughts, from her experience of foster care, on navigating the unknown, getting to know and be cared for by new people, and how new loving relationships can be built.
CELCIS’s Data Lead, Micky Anderson, takes a look at the latest social work statistics in Scotland for clues about what is happening in the support for children in need of care and protection and their families.
Welcome to the spring 2024 issue of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care (SJRCC). It is a very full issue, with the usual mix of long-form original research papers, short articles, and book reviews. We also publish the text of the 21st Kilbrandon Lecture and a response to the lecture.
This analysis assesses the quality of the disabled children’s statistical data this is reported across Scotland’s children’s services, bringing it together for the first time, and compares this to UK and international data. It examines how disability is defined and recorded, and how visible disabled children are in Scotland’s children’s care and protection data.
Different sources of information have for the first time been brought together in a new analysis by CELCIS, published today (8 May 2024), to better understand what is known about disabled children across Scotland’s statistical collections.
Rebekah Pierre is a care experienced writer, author, social worker, and editor of a new anthology, ‘Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It’, which brings together stories, essays, poems and letters by 100 care experienced children and adults. In this conversation with CELCIS, she discusses the process of developing this anthology and how she hopes the book will help shift the narrative of care experience.
For over five years, the role of Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHTs) in Scotland has been evolving and in 2024 is established as a key part of the support for school-aged care experienced learners in 19 local authorities. In this blog post, Michael Bettencourt, Education Consultant at CELCIS and Dr Leanne McIver, Research Associate at CELCIS, discuss the research they have undertaken into how the role and remit of VSHTs in Scotland have developed, and how these compare to Virtual School Heads (VSHs) in England.
The Scottish Government has today (30 April) published the latest official annual Children's Social Work Statistics for Scotland.
The information was collected from all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities about children and young people who were formally ‘Looked After’, young people who were in continuing care, and young people who were eligible for aftercare services.
Scotland’s Children (Care and Justice) Bill has been passed in the Scottish Parliament (25 April 2024) and is set to become law.
The Drawing Together project explored how 53 young refugees experience integration through rebuilding their everyday lives in Scotland, Finland and Norway. This policy briefing focuses on the findings from Scotland. It provides insights for Scottish policy makers and practitioners to better equip them in promoting the wellbeing of young refugees.
The Virtual School Head Teachers' Network, which CELCIS has facilitated since 2019, has published the findings of a survey of local authorities in Scotland on the formal school exclusion of care experienced learners. The survey collected information on local authority policies, consulting with care experienced children and young people, recording and data, challenging and support, and return to school interviews.
In this blog post, Dr Alex McTier, Evidence and Evaluation Specialist at CELCIS, takes a closer look at Scotland’s Child Protection 2022-2023 Statistics to consider what the statistics and statistical trends might, and might not, tell us about the needs of children in Scotland.
Today (17 September), CELCIS joined over 100 organisations in co-signing a letter to the First Minister of Scotland calling on the Scottish Government to recommit to the Scottish Human Rights Bill.
SPRAG members considered and discussed section 11 (Restraint and seclusion) of the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill during a scheduled meeting in preparation for this letter response.
The Scottish Government has today (27 August) published the national Education Outcomes for Looked After Children for 2022-23 statistics report. The report uses the current legal definition of ‘Looked After Children’ under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, which is broadly defined as children in the care of their local authority.
The Reflection and Learning Forum (RALF) is a model for supporting the development of reflection at depth. The aim of RALF is to provide a practical and evidence-based approach that supports members of the residential child care workforce to develop the necessary habits and skills associated with genuinely reflective practice, even when some behaviour exhibited by children, young people or colleagues can feel challenging.
The guidance to support the implementation of Continuing Care has been revised, updated and published by the Scottish Government (30 July).
A new report published on 8 July 2024, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
The research and report was undertaken by Aberdeen City Council, the Champions Board of West Dunbartonshire Council, The City of Edinburgh Council, Future Pathways, Social Work Scotland and Who Cares? Scotland, is designed to provide the foundation for a Gold Standard Best Practice Guide in supporting access to care records by providing a baseline for the creation of a consistent, trauma-informed, rights-based framework for responses to Right of Access requests.
A new report published 8 July, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
Sarah Jayne Morris, a Consultant with lived experience at CELCIS, offers her thoughts on the UNCRC being enshrined in law in Scotland and why, for her, this further step in recognising the rights of children matters so much. She also considers what the difference might have made to her while growing up, and what needs to happen for it to make a difference for children and young people with care experience in the future.
From today (16 July) children’s rights must become central to decision-making in Scotland as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 comes into effect.
The Promise Scotland has taken the next step towards realising the ambitions of The Promise for children, young people and families in Scotland by launching (on 20 June) a new website to plan, record and share progress on delivery.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) has published (20 June) official statistics collected about the Children’s Hearing System’s support for 18,237 children in Scotland between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
At this Education Forum, attendees heard from Emma Mcginlay and Tony Mitchell, from the National Engagement and Partnership Team of Social Security Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government that delivers social security payments, about what payments may be available to young people and families with children.
In this blog post for Foster Carer Fortnight 2024, Seany, a lived experienced Consultant wanted to share some thoughts, from her experience of foster care, on navigating the unknown, getting to know and be cared for by new people, and how new loving relationships can be built.
CELCIS’s Data Lead, Micky Anderson, takes a look at the latest social work statistics in Scotland for clues about what is happening in the support for children in need of care and protection and their families.
Welcome to the spring 2024 issue of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care (SJRCC). It is a very full issue, with the usual mix of long-form original research papers, short articles, and book reviews. We also publish the text of the 21st Kilbrandon Lecture and a response to the lecture.
This analysis assesses the quality of the disabled children’s statistical data this is reported across Scotland’s children’s services, bringing it together for the first time, and compares this to UK and international data. It examines how disability is defined and recorded, and how visible disabled children are in Scotland’s children’s care and protection data.
Different sources of information have for the first time been brought together in a new analysis by CELCIS, published today (8 May 2024), to better understand what is known about disabled children across Scotland’s statistical collections.
Rebekah Pierre is a care experienced writer, author, social worker, and editor of a new anthology, ‘Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It’, which brings together stories, essays, poems and letters by 100 care experienced children and adults. In this conversation with CELCIS, she discusses the process of developing this anthology and how she hopes the book will help shift the narrative of care experience.
For over five years, the role of Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHTs) in Scotland has been evolving and in 2024 is established as a key part of the support for school-aged care experienced learners in 19 local authorities. In this blog post, Michael Bettencourt, Education Consultant at CELCIS and Dr Leanne McIver, Research Associate at CELCIS, discuss the research they have undertaken into how the role and remit of VSHTs in Scotland have developed, and how these compare to Virtual School Heads (VSHs) in England.
The Scottish Government has today (30 April) published the latest official annual Children's Social Work Statistics for Scotland.
The information was collected from all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities about children and young people who were formally ‘Looked After’, young people who were in continuing care, and young people who were eligible for aftercare services.
Scotland’s Children (Care and Justice) Bill has been passed in the Scottish Parliament (25 April 2024) and is set to become law.
The Drawing Together project explored how 53 young refugees experience integration through rebuilding their everyday lives in Scotland, Finland and Norway. This policy briefing focuses on the findings from Scotland. It provides insights for Scottish policy makers and practitioners to better equip them in promoting the wellbeing of young refugees.
The Virtual School Head Teachers' Network, which CELCIS has facilitated since 2019, has published the findings of a survey of local authorities in Scotland on the formal school exclusion of care experienced learners. The survey collected information on local authority policies, consulting with care experienced children and young people, recording and data, challenging and support, and return to school interviews.
In this blog post, Dr Alex McTier, Evidence and Evaluation Specialist at CELCIS, takes a closer look at Scotland’s Child Protection 2022-2023 Statistics to consider what the statistics and statistical trends might, and might not, tell us about the needs of children in Scotland.
Today (17 September), CELCIS joined over 100 organisations in co-signing a letter to the First Minister of Scotland calling on the Scottish Government to recommit to the Scottish Human Rights Bill.
SPRAG members considered and discussed section 11 (Restraint and seclusion) of the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill during a scheduled meeting in preparation for this letter response.
The Scottish Government has today (27 August) published the national Education Outcomes for Looked After Children for 2022-23 statistics report. The report uses the current legal definition of ‘Looked After Children’ under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, which is broadly defined as children in the care of their local authority.
The Reflection and Learning Forum (RALF) is a model for supporting the development of reflection at depth. The aim of RALF is to provide a practical and evidence-based approach that supports members of the residential child care workforce to develop the necessary habits and skills associated with genuinely reflective practice, even when some behaviour exhibited by children, young people or colleagues can feel challenging.
The guidance to support the implementation of Continuing Care has been revised, updated and published by the Scottish Government (30 July).
A new report published on 8 July 2024, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
The research and report was undertaken by Aberdeen City Council, the Champions Board of West Dunbartonshire Council, The City of Edinburgh Council, Future Pathways, Social Work Scotland and Who Cares? Scotland, is designed to provide the foundation for a Gold Standard Best Practice Guide in supporting access to care records by providing a baseline for the creation of a consistent, trauma-informed, rights-based framework for responses to Right of Access requests.
A new report published 8 July, provides more information on what people with care experience in Scotland have experienced regarding their right of access to records from the time they were in care and recommendations to improve practice.
Sarah Jayne Morris, a Consultant with lived experience at CELCIS, offers her thoughts on the UNCRC being enshrined in law in Scotland and why, for her, this further step in recognising the rights of children matters so much. She also considers what the difference might have made to her while growing up, and what needs to happen for it to make a difference for children and young people with care experience in the future.
From today (16 July) children’s rights must become central to decision-making in Scotland as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 comes into effect.
The Promise Scotland has taken the next step towards realising the ambitions of The Promise for children, young people and families in Scotland by launching (on 20 June) a new website to plan, record and share progress on delivery.
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) has published (20 June) official statistics collected about the Children’s Hearing System’s support for 18,237 children in Scotland between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
At this Education Forum, attendees heard from Emma Mcginlay and Tony Mitchell, from the National Engagement and Partnership Team of Social Security Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government that delivers social security payments, about what payments may be available to young people and families with children.
In this blog post for Foster Carer Fortnight 2024, Seany, a lived experienced Consultant wanted to share some thoughts, from her experience of foster care, on navigating the unknown, getting to know and be cared for by new people, and how new loving relationships can be built.
CELCIS’s Data Lead, Micky Anderson, takes a look at the latest social work statistics in Scotland for clues about what is happening in the support for children in need of care and protection and their families.
Welcome to the spring 2024 issue of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care (SJRCC). It is a very full issue, with the usual mix of long-form original research papers, short articles, and book reviews. We also publish the text of the 21st Kilbrandon Lecture and a response to the lecture.
This analysis assesses the quality of the disabled children’s statistical data this is reported across Scotland’s children’s services, bringing it together for the first time, and compares this to UK and international data. It examines how disability is defined and recorded, and how visible disabled children are in Scotland’s children’s care and protection data.
Different sources of information have for the first time been brought together in a new analysis by CELCIS, published today (8 May 2024), to better understand what is known about disabled children across Scotland’s statistical collections.
Rebekah Pierre is a care experienced writer, author, social worker, and editor of a new anthology, ‘Free Loaves on Fridays: The Care System As Told By People Who Actually Get It’, which brings together stories, essays, poems and letters by 100 care experienced children and adults. In this conversation with CELCIS, she discusses the process of developing this anthology and how she hopes the book will help shift the narrative of care experience.
For over five years, the role of Virtual School Head Teachers (VSHTs) in Scotland has been evolving and in 2024 is established as a key part of the support for school-aged care experienced learners in 19 local authorities. In this blog post, Michael Bettencourt, Education Consultant at CELCIS and Dr Leanne McIver, Research Associate at CELCIS, discuss the research they have undertaken into how the role and remit of VSHTs in Scotland have developed, and how these compare to Virtual School Heads (VSHs) in England.
The Scottish Government has today (30 April) published the latest official annual Children's Social Work Statistics for Scotland.
The information was collected from all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities about children and young people who were formally ‘Looked After’, young people who were in continuing care, and young people who were eligible for aftercare services.
Scotland’s Children (Care and Justice) Bill has been passed in the Scottish Parliament (25 April 2024) and is set to become law.
The Drawing Together project explored how 53 young refugees experience integration through rebuilding their everyday lives in Scotland, Finland and Norway. This policy briefing focuses on the findings from Scotland. It provides insights for Scottish policy makers and practitioners to better equip them in promoting the wellbeing of young refugees.
The Virtual School Head Teachers' Network, which CELCIS has facilitated since 2019, has published the findings of a survey of local authorities in Scotland on the formal school exclusion of care experienced learners. The survey collected information on local authority policies, consulting with care experienced children and young people, recording and data, challenging and support, and return to school interviews.
In this blog post, Dr Alex McTier, Evidence and Evaluation Specialist at CELCIS, takes a closer look at Scotland’s Child Protection 2022-2023 Statistics to consider what the statistics and statistical trends might, and might not, tell us about the needs of children in Scotland.