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Breaking the stigma: Advocating for young people in Fife

7 May 2025

Working to support young people impacted by substance use, the team at the CluedUp Project know only too well of the harm stigma can have on children and young people. To raise awareness of the importance of challenging stigma, CluedUp Project will present a workshop at Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference promoting inclusive practice across the sector.

Here, Stevan Sutherland, Team Leader at the Fife-based charity, discusses the different ways stigma impacts young people’s lives and explores the benefits of taking a whole family approach to tackle the problem.

We support young people who are affected by substance use. These young people and their families have previously experienced and continue to experience stigma. Substance use issues alone can be stigmatising with lots of pre-conceived notions and misconceptions fuelled by mainstream media. However, we support young people who often have much more complex needs and are at risk of or already do face multiple forms of stigma.

Challenging stigma

It is important for professionals working in the children's sector to challenge stigma because it can severely impact children, young people and their families. Young people and their families have shared personal stories about their experiences of stigma which have had a range of negative consequences. It has affected their attendance at school, relationships with professionals, health and wellbeing, substance use issues and engagement with services and ultimately has affected them achieving positive outcomes. These issues left them feeling misunderstood, isolated, embarrassed and afraid.

Crucially these findings have come from young people and families who were experiencing multiple forms of stigma across various aspects of their lives. Sometimes there was just a lack of awareness that certain attitudes or words were stigmatising, so having the confidence to challenge it can help educate others and raise awareness.

How the sector can support children and young people

It is important for professionals working in the children's sector to challenge stigma because it can severely impact children, young people and their families. Young people and their families have shared personal stories about their experiences of stigma which have had a range of negative consequences. It has affected their attendance at school, relationships with professionals, health and wellbeing, substance use issues and engagement with services and ultimately has affected them achieving positive outcomes. These issues left them feeling misunderstood, isolated, embarrassed and afraid. Crucially these findings have come from young people and families who were experiencing multiple forms of stigma across various aspects of their lives. Sometimes there was just a lack of awareness that certain attitudes or words were stigmatising, so having the confidence to challenge it can help educate others and raise awareness.

A whole family approach to tackling stigma

We provide a comprehensive, youth friendly substance use support and information service to young people aged 11 to 26 years in Fife, also targeting the wider issues of general wellbeing and lifestyle. Our service provides education, prevention, early intervention and diversion for young people affected by their own or someone else’s substance use.

The Stigma toolkit that we developed with families was from our Making it Work for Families (MIWFF) partnership. MIWFF is an innovative whole family partnership approach to supporting families. We are engaging with families in the Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth area, with a young person in P7, S1 or S2 in the household, offering a range of engagement activities to meet families’ needs. We deliver this with three other third sector providers in Fife - Fife Gingerbread, Citizen and Advice Rights Fife and Fife Intensive Rehabilitation Support Team. We are continuing to develop the partnership this year with a focus on the sustainability of delivering it within current funding challenges.

Clued-up will be presenting a workshop at Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference on stigma and promoting inclusive practice. Stevan will be part of a panel discussing the impact of stigma on children and young people. Stevan said:

“I am looking forward to meeting colleagues working with children and young people, hearing about experiences from the work that they do and hopefully stories from young people themselves. I find that real stories and experiences can be very powerful and inspiring as well as networking and making new contacts”

Visit the hub for Children in Scotland's Annual Conference here

About the author

Stevan Sutherland is Team Leader at CluedUp Project

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Annual Conference 2025

Making Space for Voices: Join our Annual Conference in Glasgow on 28 and 29 May 2025

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We offer a range of services that provide support, advice and representation for children and families

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New report explores the role of our third sector participation in Children’s Services Planning

29 Apr 2025

Children in Scotland has published a new report today which explores the learning from recent activity delivered through the Supporting the Third Sector project.

This report focuses on intensive locality support delivered in three localities supporting the implementation of the ‘How good is our third sector participation in Children’s Services Planning? self-evaluation tool'.

Working across Aberdeenshire, Dumfries and Galloway and Glasgow, the project has supported Children's Services Planning Partnerships to consider the role of the third sector in children's services planning.

Learning from across the three areas has clearly demonstrated the positive impact of the self-evaluation process on relationships between the third sector and statutory partners. This has stimulated a shared understanding of children's services planning, developed relationships and created clear opportunities for engagement.

“Use of the tool has created opportunities for focused, honest and equal dialogue between partners in improving our CS [Children’s Services] planning, engagement and participation of TSOs [Third Sector Organisations]”

If you would like to read more, the report can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dbmf85bu

For more on the Supporting the Third Sector project, please email Hannah: hpreist@childreninscotland.org.uk

How good is our third sector participation in Children's Services Planning?

Read the Learning Report on 2024-2025 Intensive Locality Support published by Children in Scotland through the Supporting the Third Sector project

Read the report

Supporting the Third Sector Project

Learn more about the Supporting the Third Sector project

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Breaking the habit: social media use among young people

Excerpt from Insight magazine

24 Apr 2025

In the spring issue of our member magazine Insight, published in March 2025, experienced voices shared their perspectives on social media use among young people and keeping children safe online. Discussions in the news this week have raised further alarm bells regarding the addictive and harmful nature of young people spending too much time online.

Here, Jordan Daly, Co-Founder and Director of Time for Inclusive Education (TIE), shares his perspective on this important issue, exploring what urgent action is needed and highlighting a new tool to help school staff to counter disinformation and online hate.

Children and young people are increasingly exposed to hate, extremism, and disinformation on social media platforms. Data from Ofcom shows that a quarter of children aged five to seven and 80% of 16- and 17-year-olds have active TikTok accounts. In 2022, Statista reported that children aged four to 18 in Britain spend an average of 114 minutes daily on the app.

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) conducted a study of TikTok, analysing 1,030 videos from 491 accounts. They found 312 videos promoting white supremacy, 90 promoting anti-LGBT content, 58 promoting misogyny, and 273 glorifying extremist ideologies. This was being amplified by algorithms designed to boost sensationalist or emotive content to increase engagement.

The effects of this are evident in Scottish schools, where teachers have expressed concerns about the role of online platforms in spreading hate. In 2024, we led focus groups with over 200 pupils between S3 and S6 across Scotland. They shared their experiences with the extreme hate they encountered online, particularly misogyny, homophobia, and racism.

Pupils were worried about the “normalisation” and “minimisation” of online hate, where harmful content is reduced to jokes or trolling. This not only desensitises young people to prejudice but also contributes to an increase in prejudice-based bullying in schools. The young people also struggled to discern what was true online and discussed encountering harmful conspiracy narratives.

This is an urgent issue. With social media platforms removing fact-checking services, schools and teachers need the right tools to help pupils navigate online spaces safely, free from information manipulation and division.

To address this, we’ve partnered with ISD to combine our expertise in anti-prejudice education and counter-extremism strategies. Together, we have launched the ‘Digital Discourse Initiative’ in Scotland. This includes a free online professional learning module to help teachers and school staff counter online hate, identify disinformation, and support the development of critical thinking and digital media literacy.

The course, developed with experts, covers social media, disinformation, and online hate. It provides evidence-based strategies for schools to address these issues and includes a case analysis on radical misogyny and the ‘Manosphere’ created by Zero Tolerance.

Online hate and disinformation are growing, increasingly targeted at marginalised communities with dehumanising narratives and dangerous rhetoric that can lead to violence, bullying, and discrimination offline.

As a user of social media platforms, I can see that they feel more divided, more extreme, and more toxic than they did just a few years ago. I can also see the real-world consequences of this. If you feel that way too, remember that children and young people are using the same platforms that we are.

Experts are warning that disinformation and polarisation threaten democracy. Education is an essential defence.

Teachers and school staff can access the Digital Discourse Initiative professional learning for free via digitaldiscourse.scot

For further information on Time for Inclusive Education’s work and to access school services, visit tie.scot

This is an excerpt from an article published in Issue 7 of Insight.

Members can access the full issue, find out more here. 

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 Sophie: sward@childreninscotland.org.uk

About the Author

Jordan Daly is Co-Founder and Director of Time for Inclusive Education

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Digital Discourse Initiative

Learn more about the work of Time for Inclusive Education and The Institute for Strategic Dialogue

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Insight magazine, Issue 7

The latest issue of our biannual member magazine, Insight, is out now

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Annual Conference 2025

Making Space for Voices: Join our Annual Conference in Glasgow on 28 and 29 May 2025

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Protecting young people from the trauma of homelessness

Member blog

24 Apr 2025

For over 35 years, Scottish charity the Rock Trust has been advising, educating and supporting young people to build the personal skills and resources required to make a positive transition to adulthood. However, with recent figures showing over 10,000 children living in temporary accommodation in Scotland, the charity’s work has never felt more urgent.

Ahead of presenting a workshop at Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference next month, Policy and Public Affairs Officer at the Rock Trust, Lara Balkwill, explains how a pilot project is working to prevent young people from entering the cycle of homelessness and experiencing the trauma that comes with it.

Today in Scotland we are facing a very real homelessness crisis; with over 10,000 children living in temporary accommodation, and 16–24-year-olds making up 21% of the homeless population, despite making up just 13% of the Scottish population. We can all agree that Scotland’s children and young people deserve so much better.

And at Rock Trust we are more committed than ever to achieving our mission to end youth homelessness in Scotland. We are doing all we can to ensure that young people under 25 across the country can access youth-specific services and support when they need it. And if we can do this then we can help young people to avoid, resolve and move on from homelessness. We also know that investing in prevention as early as possible is critical if we are going to prevent young people entering the cycle of homelessness and experiencing the trauma that comes with it.

Introducing Upstream Scotland

In November 2023, we launched our three-year pilot of Upstream Scotland, our schools-based prevention programme, which we believe can help to stop young people in Scotland from becoming homeless by preventing it from ever happening in the first place.

Inspired by the successes of our international Upstream partners, we are running Upstream Scotland in seven schools across four local authorities: Edinburgh, Perth & Kinross, West Lothian and now Fife.

Whilst at Rock Trust we normally support young people from 16, we know that effective prevention work needs to start even earlier - and so our Upstream pilot is currently working with children in S3-S5, aged from 13 upwards.

What is the survey showing us already?

Over 2,000 young people have completed our survey this year, with results showing;

  • Over 7% are at risk of youth homelessness
  • Over 6% are at risk of family homelessness
  • Over 25% are reporting high levels of conflict at home

We also know that many of the young people who are at risk are flying under the radar - Upstream is successfully spotting the very real support needs of young people who aren’t in touch with other services. On top of this, over half of the young people who have been offered support have accepted it - young people are keen to engage with person centred 1:1 support, recognising the benefits it can bring them.

How are we supporting young people?

Our expert project workers are delivering a broad range of emotional and practical support, as well as referrals and signposting to relevant local services. And whilst it is still early days for the pilot, our Upstream project workers and education partners are already noticing signs of improved wellbeing and are supporting young people to reach their personal goals.

One project worker shared; “Watching the young people grow in confidence and resilience has been really rewarding. From completing prelims, applying to college or getting a part time job each young person has worked really hard towards their goals.”

We look forward to sharing more evidence and case studies of Upstream Scotland enabling young people to reach their goals and improve their outcomes as the pilot goes on.

What next?

Throughout our pilot, Upstream Scotland is being independently evaluated by the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research at Heriot-Watt University, and our first-year evaluation has recently been published - check out the executive summary here

We are adapting and learning throughout the pilot, to ensure Upstream Scotland is the best prevention tool it can be. Currently we are looking at whether a whole family approach to support should be explored, as we know that family conflict is a key driver of youth homelessness.

What does the future of Upstream Scotland look like?

We believe Upstream Scotland has the real potential to be an impactful prevention tool in every school across Scotland. We believe that each evaluation will strengthen the argument as to why every school should have access to prevention programmes like Upstream Scotland- so watch this space or get in touch!

Interested in learning more or rolling out Upstream in your school or area? 

About the Author

Lara Balkwill is Policy and Public Affairs Officer at the Rock Trust

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Upstream project

Find out more about Rock Trust's project preventing youth homelessness

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Annual Conference 2025

Making Space for Voices: Join our Annual Conference in Glasgow on 28 and 29 May 2025

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The role of enrichment on improving school attendance

Rachael Powell is Public Affairs Assistant at the Centre for Young Lives

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A vision for a fully inclusive Scotland

Celine Sinclair is Chief Executive of The Yard

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Putting a spotlight on babies’ ‘voices’

David Mackay is Head of Policy, Projects and Participation at Children in Scotland

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Stories of friendship: Scottish Book Trust invites submissions to national storytelling project

Sector News

22 Apr 2025

Scottish Book Trust has called for submissions to ‘Scotland’s Stories’, their annual writing project, encouraging submissions from writers of all ages across Scotland on the theme of Friendship. The project is intended to help writers grow in confidence and to encourage enthusiasm for reading and writing. 

Stories of any form are accepted, including prose, verse, or script, and can be written in English, Scots, or Gaelic. No prior writing experience is necessary, with the only requirement being the story comes from the writer’s own experiences. 

Writers of any age can submit their work to be published on the Scottish Book Trust website; over 16’s can also submit their work with the potential to be published in a printed anthology book which will be distributed during Scottish Book Trust's Book Week Scotland in November 2025. 

Scottish Book Trust have also put together resources to help with inspiration, including a series of free writing workshops run by professional writers, as well as some writing prompts to help potential writers get started.  

Submissions are open until Friday 6 June. To find out more about how to apply, please visit the Scottish Book Trust’s website.

 

Scotland's Stories

Find out more about the Scottish Book's Trusts national storytelling campaign

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From 'artivism' to action: projects empowering young people to protect their planet

#EarthDay2025 blog

22 Apr 2025

In celebration of #EarthDay2025, the global campaign that encourages people around the world to work together to help safeguard the planet, we are taking the opportunity to highlight some projects that are empowering children and young people across Scotland to connect with their environment and make a positive difference.

Whether its developing global citizen skills, inspiring the next generation of climate change leaders or supporting young people to explore the outdoors, these projects are working with children and young people in empowering, inclusive and exciting ways.

Art for Action: The Open University in Scotland and Highland One World

The Open University in Scotland and Highland One World are partnering on the Art for Action project which is encouraging children from Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, Nigeria, and Kenya, to think about how society should be responding to climate change and how to express their views through the medium of art. The young participants’ artivism aims to provide a new perspective on issues such as climate change and sustainability.

We are delighted to be hearing more about this fantastic project at our Annual Conference on 28-29 May in Glasgow.

Click here to learn more about the workshop

Learning through Landscapes: Climate School 180

Helping educators to inform and inspire the next generation, Learning through Landscapes’ Climate School 180 project is supporting schools to provide quality climate change education in their settings.

Schools can apply to receive training and advice directly from the Learning through Landscapes team on how to develop a whole-school approach to climate change. The final round of the project is open for applications from schools until 9 May. Click here to learn more 

Innovative toolkit supporting Learning for Sustainability

Pupils across Scotland have access to an innovative new toolkit which equips them with the ability to improve the environmental impact of their school grounds.

Developed by NatureScot in collaboration with teachers and pupils, the Nature Discovery Map Scotland toolkit enables pupils to assess their school grounds, discover what nature exists and plan how to make improvements to encourage nature to flourish in the future.

Click here to find out more about the toolkit

Inclusive community play for all Scotland’s children

A project in East Lothian is highlighting the importance of making outdoor play inclusive for all families. Supported by choose play and Thrive Outdoors, children and teenagers with additional support needs have been developing ideas to influence the design of a new play space with the aim of ensuring all Scotland’s children are able to play, learn and thrive outdoors.

Learn more about the project during Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference

Junior Rangers: Cairngorms National Park

We were delighted to feature an inspiring project led by the Cairngorms National Park in our recent issue of Insight magazine. Since 2009, the Junior Rangers project has given almost 1,000 young people the chance to experience nature and advocate for their environment while developing new skills. The project recently won the Youth Action Award at RSPB Scotland’s Nature of Scotland Awards.

Click here to learn more about the project

Read more like this

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Participation and engagement work

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New research explores the impact of children and young people's advisory groups

17 Apr 2025

Last year we were delighted when master’s student, Katie Gilmartin, chose to carry out her placement-based dissertation with Children in Scotland. Studying an MSC in Social Research at The University of Edinburgh, Katie’s dissertation explored how children and young people’s advisory groups impact the work of national organisations.

After conducting interviews, focus groups and running surveys, Katie’s final paper shared the findings and knowledge gathered with the aim of supporting third sector organisations looking to establish meaningful participation.

Here, we speak to Katie about what inspired her research and how she hopes it will help organisations working with children and young people.

What inspired your research and why did you choose to conduct it with Children in Scotland?

My interest in research and youth participation comes from my own experience as a teenager involved in peer research, where I contributed to several projects researching other young people. This made me appreciate the importance of listening to children and young people and ensuring they have a say in decisions that affect them. I wanted to contribute to this by exploring how organisations can better support young people’s participation.

I chose to work with Children in Scotland because their values closely align with mine. Their focus on collaboration particularly stood out to me, but I also appreciate their commitment to being brave, kind, open, and fair. Their work emphasises meaningful engagement with children and young people, which was central to my research.

How do you hope your research will be used by those working with children and young people?

I hope my research will provide useful guidance for organisations looking to improve how they engage with children and young people within advisory groups. By identifying key areas for improvement, the findings can help organisations create more effective and meaningful participation opportunities.

The research highlights practical steps that organisations can take, including:

  • Strengthening communication between advisory groups and the organisation to ensure young people feel informed and involved.
  • Creating a more flexible and adaptable environment that allows young people to engage in ways that suit them.
  • Recognising that participation should be an ongoing process rather than a one-off event, ensuring young people have a consistent and valued role.

By applying these recommendations, organisations can improve the way they involve children and young people in decision-making, making their work more inclusive and responsive to their needs.

Can you tell us about your experience working with Children in Scotland?

My time with Children in Scotland was really positive. From the start, the team was welcoming, and the environment was supportive. This was my first experience working in an office setting, and it gave me a great insight into a positive professional workplace.

A highlight of my time with the organisation was attending Children in Scotland’s 2024 Annual Conference at Murrayfield Stadium. It was a great opportunity to meet professionals from different sectors and hear about the work being done to improve outcomes for children and young people. It was valuable to see how research, policy, and practice come together in this space.

Now that your dissertation is complete, what's next for you?

After finishing my dissertation, I moved from Edinburgh to Manchester for a job as a researcher at AQA, an awarding body for GCSEs and A-Levels in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. My work involves engaging with schools, teachers, and students, applying my research skills in an educational context.

While my research with Children in Scotland focused on youth participation, my current role is giving me a broader perspective on how research informs education policy and assessment.

This experience is helping me develop new skills, and I’m excited to see how I can apply them in the future.

Read Katie’s full research paper 'Empowering young voices: the impact of children and young people’s advisory groups on national organisations'

About the Author

Katie Gilmartin spent six-weeks with Children in Scotland carrying out her placement-based dissertation on the impact of children and young people's advisory groups.

Empowering young voices

Read the full research paper 'Empowering young voices: the impact of children and young people’s advisory groups on national organisations' written by Katie Gilmartin and developed with Parisa Shirazi.

Read now

Participation and engagement work

Find out more about how we embed the inclusion and participation of children and young people in our work

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Annual Conference 2025

Making Space for Voices: Join our Annual Conference in Glasgow on 28 and 29 May 2025

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Bold voices breaking new ground: Our Spring issue of Insight is out now

31 Mar 2025

The Spring issue of our bi-annual magazine Insight is now available in print and online for all Children in Scotland members.

This issue brings together bold voices from across the sector who are breaking new ground, whether it’s creating a better future for care experienced children and young people, supporting a group of young Afghan women to have a second chance at an education or changing policy so that all children have an equal chance to flourish.

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

Scotland’s ‘promise’

With 2025 marking the midpoint of the promise, different perspectives unpack the progress and priorities as we look ahead to 2030.

In a four-page interview, we speak to Independent Strategic Advisor on the promise, Fiona Duncan, on the importance of listening and breaking down barriers.

We also hear from our members about their work to #KeepThePromise in our lead discussion piece.

A remarkable journey

In 2024, media across the world captured the moment a group of young Afghan women flew into Edinburgh airport ready to continue their medical studies after they were suspended by the Taliban. We hear the story of how the students were supported to study on Scottish soil, told by the charity that made it happen.

Addressing the key issues

From education reform and the child maintenance system to campaigning for alcohol-free childhoods, this issue brings together leading voices hoping to galvanise policy change.

With rising concern over online safety and social media use, two experts explore the importance of keeping young people safe online.

Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise Natalie Don-Innes MSP also discusses the importance of diverse lived experience in government and tackling child poverty in our profile interview.

Insight editor, Sophie Ward said: “What we hear clearly from the voices that ring through the pages of this issue is that the path to progress is rarely linear. But what the people, policy and projects in this issue also demonstrate is that with bravery, dedication and shared commitment, even the most challenging of roads can be navigated and positive progress can be made for children and young people.

“We hope this issue provides inspiration to all our members working for children and young people across Scotland.”

Providing a space to share knowledge and best practice, print and digital editions of Insight are published twice a year, with all Children in Scotland members receiving a free copy.

Click here to find out more about joining us in membership

Non-members can subscribe to Insight for just £10 per year, gaining access to two issues – click here to find out more about subscribing.

Insight Issue 7

Find out what's inside the latest issue. Illustration by Juliana Isaza-Correa.

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Ambitious investment needed to meet child poverty targets, says Children in Scotland

27 Mar 2025

New data released today (27 March) revealed whether the Scottish Government is on track to meet the 2030 child poverty targets, as set out by the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act.

The statistics published today show that although interim child poverty targets have been missed, child poverty in Scotland has fallen four percentage points over the past year with relative poverty reduced from 26% to 22%, whilst across the rest of the UK levels of child poverty have risen.

The interim targets measure the Scottish Government’s progress in four key areas: fewer than 10% of children are living in relative poverty, fewer than 5% of children are living in absolute poverty, fewer than 5% are living in low income and material deprivation, fewer than 5% are living in persistent poverty.

Since the introduction of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act in 2017, the Scottish Government has taken significant steps to improve policy, most notably through the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment which is expected to lift 40,000 to 60,000 children out of poverty.

In the 2025/26 Scottish Budget, the First Minister described the eradication of child poverty as his government’s “top priority” while announcing the scrapping of the two-child limit, a move that was welcomed by Children in Scotland.

Despite this progress, there continues to be agreement across the children’s sector that more ambitious action is needed to meet the 2030 targets. New analysis published by the Institute for Public Policy Research Scotland (IPPR Scotland) earlier this week showed that the Scottish Government must commit to more spending, recommending increased social security payments to families in or at risk of poverty as the most “direct and targeted route”.

The Children’s Sector Strategic and Policy Forum which brings together senior members from across the children’s sector, has continued to call on the Scottish Government to strengthen policies and resources with forum members meeting the First Minister in December to discuss what progressive action was needed.

Responding to today’s official government statistics on child poverty, Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive Dr Judith Turbyne said:

“The data released today leaves me with two key reflections. The first is that I am disappointed that the interim targets have not been met and that many of our babies, children and young people continue to experience unconscionable levels of poverty.

“My second reflection is, however, a more positive one. Some key policies, in particular the Scottish Child Payment, are working and moving things in the right direction.

“The question then has to be, is it feasible that we will be able to reach the statutory poverty targets? And the answer is that it is, but it would require more ambitious investment in the Scottish Child Payment as well as looking at how to boost earnings from work and reducing the housing and childcare costs faced by parents.

“So it can be done, it should be done, and indeed it must be done if we are really to build the Scotland that our children and young people have a right to.

“In my role as Chair of the Children’s Sector Strategic and Policy Forum and through our membership of both the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland and the End Child Poverty Coalition, we will continue to emphasise the need for urgent action and prioritisation so that all children have the opportunity to flourish.”

In a statement on the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland's website,  Director John Dickie said;

“These latest statistics show that Holyrood polices, especially the Scottish Child Payment, are working to shift the dial for children in Scotland in the face of poverty rising to record highs across the rest of the UK. It is obviously disappointing that progress falls short of the interim targets, but the statistics show that when government invests to support families then child poverty will fall.

“The message from the statistics, from the independent experts and from parents themselves is clear. The Scottish Child Payment is working to reduce poverty but a step change is needed in investment to meet child poverty targets. At the same time action is needed to boost earnings from work and reduce the housing and childcare costs that parents face.”

To view the full statistics, please click here 

Latest news

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Insight logo

Issue 7, Spring 2025

Published March 2025

Accessing your copy

Insight 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 Sophie: sward@childreninscotland.org.uk

About this issue

This issue brings together bold voices from across the sector who are breaking new ground, whether it’s creating a better future for care experienced children and young people, supporting a group of young Afghan women to have a second chance at an education or changing policy so that all children have an equal chance to flourish.

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

Scotland's 'promise'

With 2025 marking the midpoint of the promise, different perspectives unpack the progress and priorities as we look ahead to 2030.

In a four-page interview, we speak to Independent Strategic Advisor on the promise, Fiona Duncan, on the importance of listening and breaking down barriers.

We also hear from our members about their work to #KeepThePromise in our lead discussion piece.

A remarkable journey

In 2024, media across the world captured the moment a group of young Afghan women flew into Edinburgh airport ready to continue their medical studies after they were suspended by the Taliban. We hear the story of how the students were supported to study on Scottish soil, told by the charity that made it happen.

Addressing the key issues

From education reform and the child maintenance system to campaigning for alcohol-free childhoods, this issue brings together leading voices hoping to galvanise policy change.

With rising concern over online safety and social media use, two experts explore the importance of keeping young people safe online.

Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise Natalie Don-Innes MSP also discusses the importance of diverse lived experience in government and tackling child poverty in our profile interview.

Continuing a long-term collaboration with Edinburgh College of Art, MA students brought Insight Issue 7 to life with creativity and passion once again, providing beautiful illustrations for the cover and two articles.  

Insight 7_Out now

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Making Space for Voices: Join our Annual Conference in Glasgow on 28 and 29 May 2025

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Browse our range of training and events

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