Children in Scotland Magazine Spring/Summer 2026

Accessing your copy

Children in Scotland Magazine is a member benefit, with copies included as part of full membership with Children in Scotland. To access your digital copy, please email membership@childreninscotland.org.uk

Alternatively, you can join our member LinkedIn group to see the latest issue.

Non-members are also invited to subscribe for just £10 per year. To find out more about a digital subscription, email Angus: adoyle@childreninscotland.org.uk

About this issue

New editor Angus Doyle takes inspiration from the dawn chorus of Spring and early Summer as he focuses minds on voice and message. This latest issue a metaphorical tree branch from which a full range of urgent communication can be broadcast; tunes to be heard in turn and in harmony.

At Children in Scotland we introduce our manifesto for the upcoming Scottish Parliament election as we set out some distilled priorities for the next government.

Career reflections

In January, Cyrenians announced that Chief Executive Ewan Aitken would step down after nearly 12 years at the helm. Following three decades in various leadership positions, he reflects on his long journey, the lessons learned and his hopes for Scotland’s young people

Arts focus: The rise of Clifftop Projects

What began as one woman’s plan to spark creativity among children and young people in the early days of the Covid-19 lockdown would become a thriving local arts company. Artistic Director Lottie Barker tells us how community became the beating heart of Clifftop Projects 

The people game

Debbi McCulloch, Chief Executive of Spartans Community Foundation, captains a passionate team committed to having real impact in North Edinburgh. Here, she speaks to us about putting sport within a bigger picture, the teamwork and strategy of outreach, and a radically improved state of play for women and girls in football

Scots, wahey!

On St Andrew’s Day 2025, the Scottish Languages Act came into force, giving Scots and Gaelic status as official languages of Scotland. Whilst some legislation previously existed for Gaelic, the Act represents the first meaningful attempt to embed Scots language education in the country’s schools. Given that the 2022 census recorded that nearly 2.5 million people in Scotland had some skills in Scots, it cannot come a moment too soon, writes Emily Hay