Young Persons Organising & Campaigning (YPOC) Group [/fusion_title][fusion_text]The Young People’s Organising and Campaigning (YPOC) Group is a group of young people – aged 14 and over – who are, or have been, looked after away from home. The group gives young people the opportunity to share their views and experiences of being looked after so we, and our partner agencies, can improve our services.
The group also looks for ways to help more young people have a voice, campaigning and highlighting the issues that affect young people who are looked after away from home.
What is Corporate Parenting?
This is what we think that corporate parenting means
“When Aberdeenshire Council and partner agencies like the NHS, and all the people who work there, act as our parents and take responsibility for doing everything that a good parent should do for looked after children and care leavers” (from We are the Bairns Guide, by the YPOC group)”
10 key things that all corporate parents should do
This is what we think that everyone who is our corporate parent should do.
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Make sure that you know what promises Aberdeenshire Council has made to us and that you know what your responsibilities are as a corporate parent.
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Do all you can to make sure that we are well looked after wherever we live.
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Get to know us and understand our situations. Know the kind of challenges that we face whether we are looked after at home or away from home, and as care leavers. Remember it will be different for each of us.
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Always treat us with respect.
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Speak to us.
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Listen to us.
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Advocate for us.
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Support us in everything we do and celebrate our successes.
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Help us to move on from care and to become successful and independent adults. Do what you can to provide employment for us as a family friendly firm.
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Respect our confidentiality. Think carefully about how you share information and what information you share, and if possible ask for our consent. (YPOC Group, ‘We are the Bairns’ guide, 2014)
For more information and videos visit the YPOC pages on Aberdeenshire Council website
The YPOC Group’s most recent campaign builds from “We are the Bairns” and aims to improve the experience of looked after children in school. It is aimed at corporate parents in education and schools management. Called, “Don’t Judge – We’re no different from you” there is a Guide for teaching and support staff in schools and a DVD for use in staff training and with 1st – 3rd year pupils in PSE.
The YPOC Group said, “School is important for looked after children and young people. If we can do well in school we can do well in life. In “We are the Bairns” we said that, ‘teachers and support staff have a very important role in helping looked after children make the most of their education.’
“We realised that it’s important for teachers and support staff to know the challenges we might be facing and how that will affect our ability to learn. We also thought that it was important for other pupils to understand what it’s like to be in care and that most of the time, we are not in care because we have done something bad.”