Improving Care Experience: Audit Scotland report on delivering The Promise

14 Oct 2025

Audit Scotland has released a report detailing the current status of delivery of The Promise.

The report, jointly written by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission, acknowledged that organisations and individuals remain dedicated to keeping The Promise but was critical of the progress made in improving Scotland’s care system.

The report called for greater clarity around roles and responsibilities for different organisations, including those set up by the Scottish Government to help deliver The Promise. It also called for clarity around how success would be measured, while acknowledging an initial framework has been set up for this.

The report recommends that over the next six months, the Scottish Government and The Promise Scotland should focus on identifying where resources need to be allocated, on clarifying set roles and responsibilities at a national level, and providing clearer reporting on spending and decision making.

The Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Solace, The Promise Scotland and the Independent Strategic Advisor for the Promise released a joint statement in response to the report, saying they are taking its findings ‘seriously’, and reasserting their commitment to keeping The Promise.

Auditor General Stephen Boyle, said:

“The Promise is about improving Scotland’s care system, and the lives of everyone that passes through it.

“But the pace of change now needs to increase. The Scottish Government and their partners need to set out their priorities and how these will be achieved. Roles and responsibilities need to be clarified ... and public bodies need guidance on what they should be focusing on.”

Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise, Natalie Don-Innes MSP, said:

“The Scottish Government is resolute in our commitment to Keep the Promise. We are seeing good progress, with fewer children in Scotland growing up in care since 2020, no young people under-18 being admitted to young offenders institutes, and more people with care experience going on to positive destinations nine months after leaving school.

“If passed by Parliament, the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) Scotland Bill will further accelerate progress towards ensuring all children and young people receive the compassionate and considerate care they need throughout their care journey, so that they grow up loved, safe, and respected.

“There is more to do to Keep the Promise, and we acknowledge there have been challenges to progress in the early days after the Promise was made in 2020, including the pandemic. Independent analysis published this year by the Promise Oversight Board outlined that The Promise can be kept by 2030 and we are determined to work with councils and partners including The Promise Scotland to achieve that.”

A joint statement from The Scottish Government, COSLA, Solace, The Promise Scotland and The Independent Strategic Advisor for the promise, included the following:

“We are taking today’s report from the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission seriously. Together, we remain fully committed to the shared goal of ensuring that all of Scotland’s children grow up loved, safe and respected.

“The report has a number of recommendations on how to help achieve this, many of which align with work underway. This includes continuing to develop Scotland’s delivery plan, ‘Plan 24-30’, and telling the Promise Story of Progress.”

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#KeepThePromise Learning Programme

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Grieving with a chronic illness

14 Oct 2025

Ally Lloyd, Young Voices Participation Officer & Art Therapy Project Coordinator at Teapot Trust, discusses the complex interplay of stresses for young people dealing with both bereavement and a chronic illness

“Grief is difficult for everybody, but there’s an added complexity when you’re chronically ill because, as we know, for a lot of us, stress is not the best thing for our bodies, and grief is surprisingly stressful. It’s upsetting and it’s difficult, so it can have a real impact on your physical health.”

– Ella

Sharing these thoughts with Teapot Trust’s Young Voices, Ella shows us that grief and bereavement are incredibly difficult for any children and young people to experience, and for the one in eight children and young people who live with a chronic illness experiencing both can be complex, messy, and misunderstood.

There are similarities in both experiences – they have a big effect on your body and how you feel, they can both make you feel like your world has been turned upside down, and adults often don’t know what to say to you.

A group of volunteers from Winston’s Wish Youth Team and Teapot Trust’s Young Voices who had experience of chronic illness and bereavement came together to make a difference.

The group met for the first time in February 2025, and over the next few months explored the complexities of chronic illness and bereavement and what we, as two charities, could do collaboratively. Sessions were facilitated by an art therapist and bereavement councillor, and the direction of the project was led by the group.

The group kept returning to how isolating it was to experience chronic illness and bereavement, and how transformative being in community with each other was. They wanted everyone in their shoes to have that positive experience, and so a priority for their work together was creating a resource that could help other children and young people to feel seen and understood.

Another shared experience was adults in supporting roles (for example teachers, healthcare staff, youth workers) not understanding either their chronic illness or grief and not understanding how the two interacted and affected them. This led to them often having to take the role of ‘educator’ in situations where they needed support. Creating a resource to prevent this became a second priority.

The group landed on creating two sets of resources: a podcast and PDF for young people, and for those supporting them – for example healthcare staff, teachers, and youth workers. The conversations in the podcasts are warm, open, and generous. Across the podcasts and resources the group cover:

Community grief
Grief impacting your body and illness
Complicated timelines
Medical spaces
Supporting us (for the adults in our lives)
Understanding our experiences
Listen to us
Acknowledgement goes a long way
Your words matter
It is okay if you are not the right person to help.

The work of this incredible group, and the resources they created are just the beginning. Please listen, read, share, and think about what you can do to support bereaved children and young people with chronic illness.

“If you are a young person reading this, it might feel like you are the only person who is experiencing this. We promise you are not alone, and we hope that reading and listening to our experiences is helpful and makes you feel seen and heard”

– Ella

Click here to access Teapot Trust’s Chronic Illness and Bereavement resources.

Teapot Trust will be working with Enquire on a webinar to support professionals to understand how long-term health conditions can impact on children and young people’s education. Sign up or find out more here!

About the author

Ally Lloyd is Young Voices Participation Officer & Art Therapy Project Coordinator at Teapot Trust

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Play Scotland: Play and Wellbeing Practitioner

15 hours per week
£23,565 - £24,813 pro rata (35 hour FTE)
Midlothian

Play Midlothian is seeking a playful, adaptable and confident individual for this post, to deliver high quality services, enabling children to thrive through play.

Play Midlothian uses a range of service delivery models, but all services have playwork practice and self-directed play at their core, in particular use of loose parts and play with natural materials.

The sessions take place in a variety of community settings. Some are indoors, though a high proportion of our current services are exclusively outdoors (all year round), therefore the role will particularly suit applicants with a fondness for the outdoors.

Play Midlothian works with children and young people aged 0-13 (and at times older), with their parents/carers at some sessions, and often with specific needs (including disability and emerging mental health challenges).

For the right candidate, this will be a highly rewarding and stimulating role, offering plenty of variety in their work, while enabling their passion for children’s play to shine though.

Find out more about this opportunity

Closing date: Monday 20 October 2025

Interviews: Wednesday 29 October 2025

Vacancy details

Please visit the vacancy section on our member's website.

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UK Government to focus on childcare, education, welfare and health

6 Oct 2025

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer used his keynote speech at the 2025 Labour Conference to outline the UK Government's priorities, with a focus on childcare, education, welfare and health. The address set out both UK-wide ambitions and policies that will have a direct or indirect impact in Scotland.

Starmer highlighted Labour’s plan to expand free childcare in England, offering 30 hours for all children aged nine months to four years. He described this as a way to reduce early inequality. While childcare is devolved in Scotland, additional funding through the Barnett formula could increase the resources available to the Scottish Government if Westminster directs more money into childcare in England.

On education, Starmer announced the replacement of Tony Blair’s 50% university target with a broader ambition. Labour’s new goal is that two-thirds of young people will, by the age of 25, be in higher education, further education or an apprenticeship. To support this, £800 million will be invested in England’s education budget in 2026-27, generating a proportional uplift in Scotland’s block grant.

On welfare, Starmer drew attention to free school meals expansion and signalled a review to the two-child benefit cap. You can read Children in Scotland’s response to the cap here.

On health, Starmer announced plans for a new ‘NHS Online’ system in England, designed to expand access to services digitally. With the NHS devolved in Scotland, this would not directly alter services here, although funding consequentials may follow.

For Scotland, the most immediate effects of the speech relate to welfare policy, where Westminster has direct control. Childcare, education and health remain devolved, though Scottish budgets could be influenced by new commitments in England.

You can watch the full speech here

CiS responds to two-child cap Bill

Chief Executive Dr Judith Turbyne sets out Children in Scotland’s reponse

https://childreninscotland.org.uk/children-in-scot

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Interview with Alan Fleming, Partners in Advocacy

6 Oct 2025

Innes Burns meets Alan Fleming of Partners in Advocacy to talk about children’s rights, career highlights and what advocacy means to him.

Innes Burns:
So hello, Alan. How are we? Tell us a bit about Partners in Advocacy and about your role as well.

Alan Fleming:
Hello.

Partners in Advocacy, as the name says, is an advocacy service where we advocate on behalf of both adults and young people. I work for the young people's service, which is the My Rights, My Say service within Partners.

We work mainly with 12 to 15-year-olds who are having issues at school, mainly if they have an additional support need. So they might have an issue at school because of that need, and then they would contact us at Partners in Advocacy to advocate on their behalf.

IB:
So take us through what advocacy actually is. What’s a typical day like for you, Alan? What kind of situation does a child find themselves in when they contact you, and how do you act on that?

AF:
There are loads of reasons why a young person might contact us - not going to school at all, going intermittently, suddenly leaving school during the day because they’re overwhelmed, or even sitting in school feeling overwhelmed and hiding – in a corner, in an empty classroom, or in the toilets, which is quite common.

They’re just trying to hide because school is overwhelming. They don’t understand what’s happening, they don’t understand the work, and they’re not getting fully supported.

So they contact us. Usually, a parent contacts us, or sometimes a school or another professional like a social worker. But more than half the referrals come from parents who say, “My young person is having a problem. Can you support them?”

We’ll then contact the parent first, ask what the issue is - we usually have a bit of information from the referral form – then go and meet the young person. That could be online, like we are today, or face-to-face, or in whatever way the young person prefers – WhatsApp, messaging, email – whatever works for them.

IB:
Sure. And once you’ve identified the problem, what do you then do? Do you go to the school? Is it often a phone call? How do you actually advocate for the young person?

AF:
We take the young person’s views first – because they’re my boss. They instruct me on what they want me to do.

I can’t go to the school and say, “I don’t think you’re doing this right, this is what you should do.” That’s not advocacy. My job is to listen to the young person, take their views, and then contact the education authority first to inform them the young person is seeking advocacy support.

After that, we contact the school and arrange a meeting – that could be with a teacher or a larger group, depending on the issue. Ideally, it’s a smaller meeting with one or two teachers, the young person, myself, and the parent.

We talk about the issues, which have been written down, and then it’s up to the school to come up with a solution - not the young person, not me. I’m just advocating.

If the school offers a solution, we review it, go back and see if the young person is willing to try it, then see how it works. If it doesn’t work, we can try something else. If it does work, that’s usually the end of the advocacy partnership.

IB:
Do you need to remind schools it's a legal obligation to meet those needs? Do you ever get pushback?

AF:
Yeah.

Usually, in the letter we send, the legal obligations are clearly laid out. Everything’s written down – this is the law, this is what needs to happen.

In terms of schools, I’ve worked with some fantastic teachers over the years. But, as everyone knows, there are some teachers – and some schools – that maybe haven’t moved with the times.

The easiest way to explain it is: some of them are still reading the 1970s teacher training manual. I try to remind them - this is the 21st century, and we need to look at other ways of supporting young people.

A recent example: a young person loved their workshop class - using their hands, doing practical work. But they hated maths and would leave maths class and go sit in another classroom.

Eventually, the school found out and banned him from the workshop class because he hadn’t followed protocol. That’s a 1970s approach – punishing a child by taking away something they love, instead of addressing the real issue.

He was showing with his feet that he had a problem with maths and needed support. So it’s up to us to go in and ask the school, “Do you think what you did was right?” and then take it from there.

IB:
What’s your favourite part of the job? Is there a moment that stands out, where you’ve ended your day and thought, “Wow, I’ve made a huge difference”?

AF:
My favourite part is meeting new people - especially young people. It’s a partnership – that’s why it’s called Partners in Advocacy.
Technically, they’re my boss, but we work together. And I meet people from all walks of life – from really affluent backgrounds to working class. You never know who you’re going to meet, and that’s a great part of the job.

Previously, I worked in social work and drug support – mostly in working class areas – which was still great, but here I meet a much broader range of people.

I’m not someone who needs praise or trophies, but I do appreciate when young people or parents recognise the difference we’ve made.

Recently, a young person who’d been out of school for over a year managed to return. It was mainly the mum I’d been working with, but the dad phoned me specifically to say thanks – that we’d made a huge difference and he didn’t think it would have been possible without us.
That meant a lot, especially since I’d never even met him.

IB:
That’s amazing. I can see a lot of emotion in you when you speak about that. Just briefly, what does Partners in Advocacy and My Rights, My Say mean to you personally?

AF:
To me, it means making things right. I hate power imbalances – people using their power to make others’ lives miserable.
We speak to young people hiding in toilets, not going to school, because they’re miserable – and sometimes schools just haven’t looked at the issue the right way.

Advocacy gives us a chance to go in, help teachers hear the child's voice, and raise it properly. That’s probably the most important thing for me.

Even if we don’t always get a perfect result, at least the young person had a chance to be heard.

One thing parents often say to me is that when an advocate is in a school meeting, the tone is different. The action points are different. The results are different – compared to when they were doing it alone.

Alan Fleming is an Advocacy Worker at Partners in Advocacy. Visit their website to find out more about their work.

Related news

My Right's, My Say’s Children’s Views has now overseen 400 referrals since it began in 2018

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My Rights, My Say

A support service providing advice and information for 12-15 yr olds on their rights to additional support

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Children’s Views reaches colossal milestone

6 Oct 2025

The Children’s Views Service has been an integral part of Children in Scotland since 2018. It is a part of the My Rights, My Say network helps children with additional support needs in Scotland to understand and exercise their rights under the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004. In partnership with My Rights My Say Partners, the Children’s Views Service has been championing Children’s rights to be listened to in matters that affect them both at a national level by engaging with policy makers and locally through the development of positive relationships with local authorities, schools, parents/carers and most importantly children themselves.

What is My Rights, My Say?

The Children’s Views Service specifically supports children to share their views in formal education disputes such as tribunals, appeals or mediation processes. The service can also support schools to seek out children’s views prior to planning, review or transition meetings. The majority of children are referred to the service by the ASN tribunal or education practitioners, though parents are able to make referrals themselves.

A Children’s Views worker helps the child share their views in their own way. This could be through talking, drawing, writing or other communication tools. The Children’s Views Workers are highly skilled and have a deep understanding of the barriers that might make it difficult for children with additional support needs to convey their views. They are flexible and empathetic and will never tell the child what to do or not to do – the child is in control at every stage of the way. Once the child’s views have been gathered the children’s views worker writes a report that can be shared with the referrer to ensure the child’s views are considered when decisions are being made about a child’s education.

Since the service started in 2018, it has now overseen 400 referrals, representing a colossal milestone.

Marie Harrison, Manager of Children’s Views, had this to say:

“The Children's Views Service has supported children and professionals through the My Rights My Say Project since 2018 - it has been an absolute privilege to support our incredible young people to share their views in adult-led, formal education disputes and support professionals to develop good participation frameworks to ensure children with additional support needs are listened to.

To cross the 400 mark is a huge milestone for us - from being a tiny service expected to work only with a limited number of children every year, we have gone from strength to strength and used creative and innovative approaches to ensure we have been able to respond to an ever-increasing demand.

We want to thank Scottish Government for their continued faith in us and all their support; our MRMS partners (Partners in Advocacy, Enquire and Cairn Legal) for being incredible collaborators; and all the professionals, parents/carers and children we have had the pleasure of working with over the past seven years.

Here's to the next 400!”

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A support service providing advice and information for 12-15 yr olds on their rights to additional support

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Autumn/Winter 2025

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.

Not a member? Click here for more information about membership

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

About this issue

New editor Calum Rosie sees past the gathering clouds and looks towards the many reasons for people working with children and young people in Scotland to feel inspired and optimistic. This edition of our refreshed Magazine recognises that small acts of kindness and bravery can make the biggest differences, and that any pebble could be the one to cause the avalanche.

Here's a look at the in-depth interviews, wide ranging features and opinion pieces that make up our latest issue:

Interview: Daniel Johnson MSP

We talk to the Labour MSP about a Members’ Bill introduced to create statutory guidance for Scottish schools on the use of restraint and seclusion, which primarily impacts on children with additional support needs. He discusses why he felt moved to act on this issue, and the challenges that come with pursuing legislative change in Parliament.

Children’s rights and language rights

Article 30 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that all children who are part of a linguistic minority have the right to use their own language and enjoy their own culture and customs with other members of their community. In this bilingual article, Ellen Morton considers what this looks like for Scotland’s population of 21,500 young Gaelic speakers.

(Un)Seen, (Un)Heard

Chloe Gardner from LGBT Youth Scotland tells us about (Un)Seen, (Un)Heard, a three-year social history project documenting and celebrating the lives of young LGBTQ+ people in Scotland. Its collected oral history interviews, videos and artworks record the lived realities of young LGBTQ+ people, as well as some intergenerational queer experiences through the decades.

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What does it really take to make Scotland the best place to grow up?

25 Sep 2025

That, writes Morgan Moore, is the question at the heart of the Planet Youth pilot, recently evaluated across Scottish communities. The findings are already pointing to new ways we can work together for upstream prevention.

Across Scotland, communities and services are working hard to support children and young people the best the best they can. But too often, much of the work has to focus on responding to crises, rather than preventing them.

Planet Youth is an evidence-based prevention model, first developed in Iceland, that helps communities take an upstream approach. Focusing on the protective factors such as the environments that support young people to thrive, rather than on individual behaviours. Over the past two years, Winning Scotland has been supporting a pilot of this approach in six local authorities.

The pilot aimed to look at whether this approach could work within our Scottish context. So the areas involved took the approach and have spent the last few years working through the model of gathering the right people, listening to young people’s voices, sharing insights with the communities and creating preventative actions.

An independent evaluation was commissioned to answer the question; can this work in Scotland? And if so, what are the conditions for success?

The evaluation shows strong potential for Planet Youth in Scotland.

Rich local data – The survey gives communities clear, up-to-date insights into the beliefs, behaviours and attitudes of today’s young people. Allowing us to correlate the risk and protective factors in young people’s lives. From family relationships and leisure opportunities to wellbeing and substance use.

Partnership in action – The Planet Youth approach brings people together at all stages of the model, supporting and strengthening local partnerships.

True Prevention – The process encourages thinking beyond immediate reactions, towards addressing root causes and strengthening the environments where young people grow up.

At the same time, the evaluation highlighted some real risks which we must not shy away from; from a lack of accountability to short term funding.

For us, the key learning includes the importance of dedicated coordination, capacity within local systems, and the need to communicate clearly with schools and families about how the approach works. It can only work with a shared understanding of prevention, and the evaluation shows the key lessons and recommendations for the next steps in Scotland.

Scotland faces real challenges in improving outcomes for children and young people. The Planet Youth pilot reminds us that upstream prevention is possible, and that communities can come together to create the conditions for healthier, happier lives.

On Monday 6 October, 11am–12pm, we’re hosting a free webinar to share the evaluation findings in more detail, alongside reflections from the Planet Youth global team and the independent evaluators. It’s a chance to ask questions and discuss what this learning means for prevention in Scotland.

Together, we can explore how to make prevention a reality, and how to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up.

Morgan Moore is Planet Youth’s National Delivery Manager

Planet Youth

Morgan Moore is National Delivery Manager for Planet Youth

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“You are welcome here”

22 Sep 2025

The First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, has written a heartfelt open letter addressed to the children, families and students arriving from Gaza, many of whom are critically ill.

In the letter, Swinney said he was “horrified by the catastrophic situation that has unfolded in Gaza over the past two years,” acknowledging the deep trauma and suffering experienced by those affected.

He assured newcomers that Scotland would do its best to help them settle and feel at home, emphasising the “proud history” of welcoming people from around the world.

The Scottish Government has committed to supporting a number of critically ill Palestinian children, providing NHS treatment and ensuring their families have access to accommodation and services.

You can read the letter in full here

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Sector news – September 2025

Scottish Government announces support for Palestinian children

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I wish I knew about participation work when I was a kid

15 Sep 2025

Innes Burns, Participation and Communications Officer for My Rights, My Say, discusses the importance of participation and youth work, and how it provides a space where young people can channel their energy into something positive.

Not to sound like I’m 29 going on 79, but I guess simpler life in the early 2000s meant I was occupied enough. You went to school, you did everything to avoid doing homework when you got home, and then you were out playing football until dark or training with your local boys club.

…but summer months were short lived and football training was only twice a week. I was never a gamer, so besides the scheduled 7 o’clock MSN or Bebo chat with the girl I’d then avoid in the playground the next day, there was always a missing slot in my week which could’ve fulfilled a passion of mine.

I didn’t really know what that passion was, to be fair. Part of me wishes there was an out-of-school debating club I could get involved in, but the risk of what I perceived to be cool at that age would’ve shunned any meaningful action towards exploring the idea.

It’s hard to explain where that came from emotionally. I loved to organise, be part of something, be heard and recognised, have a sense of community for something that actually mattered.

A short-lived stint in ‘Eco Club’ touched the sides, only for the brutal name-calling that followed to shame me into resigning my membership. It wasn’t the most forgiving generation of playground dynamics.

This is why, to me, participation and youth work more broadly is so important. Providing a space where young people can channel their energy into something positive, trying new things and develop social skills with others.

All contributing to this sense of ‘belonging’ which I can’t understate the importance of.

I’m currently serving as the Participation Officer for My Rights, My Say (MRMS) at Children in Scotland. MRMS helps children exercise their right to be involved in the decisions that affect their education, protected under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

I co-run the ‘Young Advisors,’ which ensures a service that champions the voice of children and young people is also guided by them. You can read more about them here.

I’ve always worked with children and young people, from volunteering at the mutli-sports summer camps in Gracemount to working professionally at the Citadel Centre or Mckenzie School of English in Leith, Edinburgh. There’s something about working with young people that gives me so much fulfillment.

...and yet it’s not my professional credentials that I lean into on this subject. I grew up in Scotland and I’ve seen around me what boredom does to young people firsthand. Hanging about parks and ‘Oor Wullie’ style mischief paints a picture of a harmless childhood… but when you add violence, underage drinking, drugs, smoking and serious crime into the mix, that same picture starts to look a wee bit bleaker.

All facets of Scottish society we ought to have more honest conversations about.

In many ways, we only need to look at ourselves as adults to find out a lot about what kids need. We know what the spiral of, for instance, unemployment to society does to a person. That level of detachment is damaging on so many levels.

We see the problems that addiction causes. We bemoan the inequality in access to services, and what that means for correlations in criminal activity and poor mental health.

These patterns are not anything new. We’re all big bairns, to coin an East Coast phrase.

I wish society as a whole would look at its biggest societal problems through a different lens. One that recognises how the challenges we face in adulthood often echo the struggles we experience as children.

Scotland has the highest rates of drug deaths in Europe, we have a mental health crises on our hands and our public services are straining under the weight of demand. These issues don’t appear out of nowhere.

We have to ask ourselves… are we, in part, creating these problems ourselves by failing to properly understand and meet the needs of children and young people? If we neglect those early years, is it any surprise that patterns of isolation, boredom and lack of belonging can later resurface in more destructive forms?

Maybe it isn’t a coincidence. Maybe it isn’t some largely unexplainable ‘Scottish culture’ that leaves us here… Maybe we just don’t invest enough in our foundations.

I guess what I’m really getting at is that if we address the root causes of society’s problems, we could ease the pressure on the supply side of our public services. Right now, our systems are overwhelmed with relentless demand. Is it not about time we ask why that demand exists in the first place? Could it be that our children are holding up a mirror to us, reflecting our behaviours, our values and priorities? If we choose to act on it, to invest in prevention, the strain our services will begin to ease down the line.

Part of that investment is about the kind of relationship young people have with authority. If young people’s main encounters with institutions are ones where they feel ignored, judged or let down, how can we expect them to grow up with trust in society? Authority has to show up for them, because when it doesn’t, young people learn scepticism instead of confidence.

That’s why participation matters. It’s not just about giving young people something to do, it’s about making meaningful interventions at the development stage and giving them support to break a harmful cycle.

...and more broadly, it’s about encouraging society to learn from mistakes that are right in front of us.

Of course, every sector calls for more resources. I’m not saying for a second, despite significant financial pressures in a tough economic backdrop, that Scotland does not already have a wealth of initiatives trying to encourage early years intervention and an incredibly skilled workforce to put this into practice. Like doctors calling for more NHS spending or army officers calling for bigger defence budgets, a third sector worker like myself will always cry out for greater investment in my field.

This wasn’t a call for more funding, more an explanation why I care so much about the sector I work in. It matters.

When we think critically about youth and participation work, we start to see how much it connects to the bigger picture. We shine a light on answers to a whole host of our problems in wider society. I like how my contribution to society does so.

Adult life shouldn’t be about cleaning up mistakes of your past, it should be about fulfilling the potential set by solid foundations in your early years.

That’s why I’m in participation work. I want Scots before me to realise their potential, or encourage the Innes’ of tomorrow to ignore the haters and carry on with Eco Club.

Innes Burns is Participation and Communications Officer for My Rights, My Say