Priority theme: The Promise – Corporate Parenting
Priority – Aberdeenshire’s Care Experienced Young People will have a good loving childhood, where their needs are met, and outcomes are improved for them through ensuring The Promise is kept.
Introduction
Corporate Parenting means the responsibility that Aberdeenshire Council and its partners has for children and young people who Looked After or Care Experienced. Representatives from many services with corporate parenting responsibility meet monthly.
Membership
We currently have representation from the following services and organisations:
| Children’s Homes | Adoption Service | Children’s Hearings Scotland | Early Years Education |
| Schools | Child Health | Virtual Head Teacher | Nurse for care experienced children & young people |
| University of Aberdeen | Our Family Firm | North East Scotland College | Housing Service |
| Throughcare and Aftercare | Police Scotland | Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service | Social Security Scotland |
| Fostering Service | Kinship Care Service | Children & Families social work | Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration |
| Children’s Rights Service | Scottish Fire & Rescue | Robert Gordon University | Educational Psychology Service |
Aims and Goals
The Corporate Parenting Plan has seven key priorities with a number of multi agency actions within. The key priorities for our children and young people are:
- Your voice will be heard. Your views will be listened to you and your rights upheld. You will have access to services including advocacy to ensure this happens.
- You will belong to a loving home, staying there for as long as you need to. Where you cannot live with your family, you will have high quality alternative care. You will receive all the support you need during periods of change.
- When you are ready to move on to independence you will be fully supported to do this at a pace that is right for you, receiving all the support you need to thrive and succeed.
- When living with your family is not possible, you will stay with your brothers and sisters. If it is not safe for you to stay together, your relationships will be cherished and protected.
- Where you are safe in your family and feel loved, you will receive all the support you need to stay together.
- You will share trusting relationships with people that are there to support you, who understand your story.
- You will have access to the support you need to thrive educationally, physically, and emotionally.
Current Work
The work currently ongoing within the group can be seen in the Corporate Parenting plan. Each individual service or organisation will also have their own action plan which will outline what they need to achieve to meet the expectations of The Promise.
The Corporate Parenting Annual Report looks at each action in more detail and outlines the work that has taken place.
Regular updates are shared within the Promise Champions newsletter and previous newsletters can be found under About GIRFEC > Newsletters .
The Corporate Parenting Plan is a live document and is regularly updated by the group as project change and develop.
Resources
Aberdeenshire Young Persons Organising and Campaigning Group (YPOC): guide_we_are_the_bairns.pdf (aberdeenshire.gov.uk)
Scottish Government: Corporate parenting – Looked after children – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Who Cares? Scotland: Corporate Parents – Who Cares? Scotland (whocaresscotland.org)