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Keeping The Promise in 2025

Member blog

30 Jan 2025

With 2025 marking the halfway point for The Promise, our Head of Engagement and Learning, Simon Massey, highlights the activities and opportunities to help #KeepthePromise with Children in Scotland throughout this year.

Back in August 2023 I wrote a blog reflecting on how care experienced children and young people had been a thread throughout my career and personal life. I also talked about some of our plans to help #KeepThePromise, work we had been doing since the launch of the Independent Care Review.

Now, almost 18 months later, I’m really pleased (and excited!) to pull together the different strands of work happening now and in the coming months, as well as opportunities for the sector to get involved.

Pupil Support Staff learning programme

Ongoing until May

Funded by The Promise Partnership and developed in partnership with care experienced young people and pupil support staff, the learning programme launched in November 2024 with live events running until May 2025.

Aimed at pupil support staff and free to access, the learning programme consists of:

The Dundee event in November 2024 received great feedback, you can watch a video of the day here.

If you are pupil support staff, please have a look at the programme here and book your free place on one of the events or access one of the eLearning modules (once they have launched). If you know any pupil support staff – please point them in our direction!

Insight: The Promise interviews

March

The next edition of Insight, our bi-annual Member publication, will include interviews with Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Advisor of The Promise and the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, Natalie Don-Innes, as well as a lead topic discussion bringing in the views of our member organisations.

It will explore what has been achieved by The Promise so far and what are the priorities for the next five years and will set us all up for some of the discussions at Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference this May.

There will also be all the usual Insight features including sector news, member voices and key policy and practice issues. It’s free for Members, non-Members can subscribe for £10 for two issues.

More information on Insight, including subscribing and free access to back issues is here.

Member event: Online session with Declan Andrews

April

Shaping our future: Empowering those who are care experienced will provide the chance to learn more about what it’s like to be ‘looked after’ and consider ways to better support care experienced children and young people. Declan will be using his own personal and professional experiences to facilitate the learning and discussions in this online session which is free for members and low-cost for non-members.

Find out more and book on the event here

Annual Conference 2025: Making space for voices

May

This year’s Annual Conference (28 & 29 May, Glasgow) has got a Promise strand in recognition of 2025 being the halfway point of The Promise’s ten-year lifetime. This will include:

  • Fiona Duncan – Co-chair on day two
  • Fraser McKinley, The Promise CEO – keynote on day one
  • Natalie Don-Innes, Minister for Children, Young People & The Promise – keynote on day two
  • Various workshops – practice sharing from organisations at the frontline of delivering services, including the voices of children and young people; both days.
  • Exhibitors from across Scotland (and beyond). Many of them doing direct work with care experienced children, young people and families.

There will, of course, be lots of networking and other keynotes and workshops across both days, plus a panel discussion. They will cover education, UNCRC Incorporation, equality, diversity and inclusion, mental health and stigma from the perspectives of children and young people, parents, carers and families, and professionals.

Visit the conference hub to learn more

Navigate

June

Funded by The Promise Partnership, Navigate is a new project being developed by our Enquire service. It will launch in June, providing a free-to-access digital toolkit focusing on care experienced children and young people’s education rights.

To follow progress on Navigate, sign up to Enquire’s newsletter 

Reach

Ongoing

About the Author

Simon Massey is Head of Engagement and Learning at Children in Scotland

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Pupil Support Staff Learning Programme

An exciting learning opportunity for pupil support staff working across Scotland.

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The Promise

Find out more about the promise Scotland made to care experience children and young people.

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Plan 24-30

Read about Scotland's Road Map to #KeepingthePromise

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Vision & values

These guide everything we do - find out what they are

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Our services

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

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Reach, part of the Enquire service, provides advice to children and young people about their rights to education and what support is on offer. They have a great section on care experience specifically written for children and young people. You can access it here.

As you can see, there is a massive range of things happening. I really hope you can join us and access some of the advice, learning or development on offer.

Only by coming together, sharing our knowledge and skills and improving our understanding, will we be able to move forward with our commitment to #KeepThePromise to children, young people and families in Scotland.

Dispelling the myths of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

20 Jan 2025

Estimated to impact 3-5% of the entire population and 20% of children and young people in the care experienced community, the importance of increasing awareness and education on the symptoms and impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is plain to see.

Ahead of a training session on Thursday 6 February, which will offer practical strategies for professionals working with children and young people, Barbara Ogston, FASD Services Manager as FASD Hub Scotland, shares more about the lifelong neurodevelopmental condition and how a lack of awareness has increased the challenges facing those affected.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that may affect people exposed to alcohol before they were born. It is a lifelong, often hidden, condition that can affect people in many ways across the lifespan. FASD affects around 3-5% of the population - that’s 1 in 20 people - which makes it as prevalent as ADHD, however, FASD is often unrecognised or undiagnosed. Within the care experienced community, FASD is thought to affect at least 20% of children and young people which makes it a significant issue for many adoptive, foster and kinship families.

FASD has a huge range of symptoms which can affect any aspect of day-to-day life. Common challenges include difficulty with planning, problem solving, sensory issues, sleep difficulties, emotional regulation, learning and cognition, impulse control and many more.

The importance of diagnosis

Diagnosis is important to help people with FASD access the support they need and to help them understand why and how their brain works differently. With early identification of FASD and the right supports in place, people with FASD can go on to achieve throughout life but we are still a long way from easy access to diagnosis for many people.

The challenges of FASD for children and young people

Many of the challenges children and adolescents experience come from a lack of awareness and recognition of FASD and of appropriate support. Too often the symptoms of FASD are seen as ‘bad behaviour’ instead of the results of a brain based condition. Without the right support, people with FASD are more likely to experience challenges as they grow older, including involvement with the criminal justice system, mental health difficulties, challenges in finding and keeping work, substance misuse and being vulnerable within the community.

Myths and misconceptions

There are lots of myths and misconceptions around FASD and in our training sessions we break some of these down and share the most up-to-date research. For example, it’s a myth that people with FASD are only born to women with an alcohol addiction. FASD is prevalent across all of society and there is no known safe level of alcohol exposure in pregnancy, which is why official guidance recommends alcohol-free pregnancies.  However, we do know that FASD is never a mother's fault – no one sets out to cause harm to their child. It’s the alcohol that leads to developmental differences, not a woman’s actions. There can be a lot of stigma around the condition, but by raising awareness and dispelling the myths we hope many more people with FASD and their families will be recognised and supported in a trauma informed non-judgemental way.

There is also a myth that you can tell someone has FASD by looking at them. This dates back to older diagnostic terminology when the term ‘Foetal Alcohol Syndrome’ was used, but now it is accepted that 90% of people with FASD do not have the sentinel facial features associated with the condition and the term ‘FASD’ is now used to reflect this.

Supporting children and young people with FASD

Over the past couple of years, we have noticed a huge increase in the number of  professionals coming to us seeking training as they have come across FASD in their workplace. FASD Hub Scotland has training suitable for parents, carers and professionals, and are always happy to discuss your training requirements. Our training is delivered by people with professional and lived experience of FASD and we would invite everyone working with children, young people and their families to attend.

FASD Hub Scotland provides a support service to all families affected by prenatal alcohol exposure, with or without an FASD diagnosis. Services include an adviceline, family support services, peers support, training and resources. FASD Hub Scotland is managed by Adoption UK and funded by the Scottish Government. You can find out more at www.fasdhub.scot

About the Author

Barbara Ogston is FASD Services Manager, FASD Hub Scotland – managed by Adoption UK in Scotland

Click here for more

FASD Unlocked

Join our online webinar sharing practical strategies for supporting children and young people with FASD

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FASD: Experiences of young people

The team at Reach recently spoke to young people with FASD to learn about their experiences

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Hemat Gryffe Women's Aid: Women's Domestic Abuse Community Worker

  • Full time (35 hours per week)
  • £28,500 per annum including contributory pension
  • Glasgow

Hemat Gryffe Women’s Aid supports women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse, forced marriage and honour-based abuse primarily from the  Asian, Black and Minority Ethnic community.

We are seeking to recruit a women’s worker to provide support to vulnerable women who have experienced domestic abuse.

Experience of working with women and knowledge and understanding of the impact of domestic abuse, forced marriage and honour based abuse on women from minority ethnic backgrounds is required.

Find out more about this opportunity

Closing date: 5pm, Monday 3 February 2025

Vacancy details

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

Further details

Job vacancies with Children in Scotland

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Scottish Football Association: Independent Wellbeing and Protection Advisory Board Member

  • Approximately 4 days per year
  • This is a voluntary post. Successful applicants will be entitled to claim travel expenses as well as a complimentary ticket to Scotland Men's and Women's International matches.
  • Hampden Park, Glasgow

The role of the Independent Wellbeing and Protection Advisory Board is to provide independent advice, guidance and recommendations on all wellbeing and protection matters to the Scottish FA Board and the Wellbeing and Protection Department of the Scottish FA.

The Independent Advisory Board aims to support the continuous development of wellbeing and protection strategies, policies, procedures and practices across the breadth of Scottish Football.

The ideal candidate will therefore be a strategic thinker who is capable of guiding practical implementation, have previous or current Board experience and knowledge or experience of sport and/or Scottish football and the current challenges within the sector. If successful, your availability will be required for a minimum of four meetings a year (in person).

Find out more about this opportunity

Closing date: 10 February 2025

Vacancy details

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

Further details

Job vacancies with Children in Scotland

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Barnardo’s issue a plea for new adopters in Scotland

Sector News

13 Jan 2025

Barnardo’s has recently issued a plea for more people to consider adoption after figures revealed that the number of adopters on the national register had dropped by almost 20% in the space of a year.

Ahead of last month’s Adoption Week, Barnardo’s Scotland pointed to Scottish Adoption Register figures (click here for more) that show the number of registered adopters has fallen from 209 at the end of March 2023 to 169 on the corresponding date this year. That is a decrease of 19%.

What’s more, in the 2022/23 time period, 135 prospective adoptive families were added to the register, but, in 2023/24, this number stood at 105 – a drop of 22%. According to the most recent SAR Annual Report: “Should the pattern of lower numbers of families continue, Scotland could begin to experience similar concerns currently evident in the remaining nations of the UK, where there are higher numbers of children than families.”

Anne Whyte, Assistant Head of Business for Family Placement Scotland at Barnardo’s, said: “We are currently seeking more applications from prospective adopters that can consider those children that wait the longest to be adopted. For example, there is what we would term ‘older children’ – i.e. those aged four years old and above. We’d also love to hear from those who would consider adopting brothers and sisters who live together or are being reunited, and/or those with complex needs.

“These children wait the longest for their ‘Forever Families’, and we are keen to close that gap. Where it isn’t possible for brothers and sisters to live together, it’s important that adopters can support ongoing family time, where appropriate, enabling these important relationships to remain in place throughout their lives.”

One couple who have adopted through Barnardo’s had this to say: “Adopted siblings are the whole world to one another and we must keep that bond strong.” Another couple added: “Our child might not be genetically ours, but every day we see our influence in his developing personality. He’s got his dad’s sense of humour and he’s adventurous with food like mum – and it’s like he has always been home.”

For those worried about embarking on the adoption journey, Anne Whyte has the following advice: “Don’t be afraid to reach out to agencies and ask as many questions as you need to. Do your research to develop your understanding of the needs of the children waiting for their forever family. Make links with other adopters because hearing about the process from someone who has been through it – with all the hopes, fears, highs, and lows – is so incredibly valuable.

“Ask yourself if you are ready to learn, reflect on your own life experiences and develop new perspectives and ways of thinking. We don’t expect people to come to this process with all the answers – we want them to come with the openness to learn and develop.”

A social worker who supports adopting families had this to say: “As a social worker with many years’ experience of supporting individuals and couples through the adoption process, I can think of no greater work-related pleasure than witnessing first-hand the joy in the hearts and faces of children and their new parents brought together through adoption.”

Click here to visit Barnardo's Scotland website

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Enquire

Find out more about Enquire, the national advice and information service for additional support for learning

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Reach

The website for young people offers advice and support on accessing their rights

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A new framework tracks progress towards keeping the promise

Sector News

7 Jan 2025

A new framework, which marks the first step in telling the story of progress around the promise, was launched last month.

The Promise Progress Framework, created by The Promise Scotland, The Scottish Government and COSLA, brings together nearly 50 different streams of national data into one place, to start to answer the question of how Scotland is doing as it works towards keeping the promise for care experienced children, young people and their families.

Collecting input from relevant Scottish Government analytical divisions, nine local authorities and members of the Promise Collective, The Promise Story of Progress, which the framework is part of, aims to answer three questions:

  • How is Scotland doing in its progress to keep the promise?
  • How are organisations doing in their work to keep the promise?
  • Does the care community feel the impact of the promise being kept?

The framework represents the first time that this national level data relating to care experienced children and young people has been brought together in one place. It consists of an initial ten vision statements, taken directly from the promise, with an associated set of outcomes attached to each.

The national indicator set in The Promise Progress Framework at launch also provides organisations with a structure to aid their own reporting on how they are feeding into Scotland’s overall aims.

Claire Stuart, Head of Insights at The Promise Scotland, said: “The Promise Progress Framework is a way to better understand and organise national level data that relates to care experienced children and young people. It allows any individual or organisation to use it in a way that works for them, or to highlight where more work and evidence is needed.

“However, national data can’t tell the whole story. The most important next step is knowing if care experienced children and young people are feeling the impact of the promise being kept. For example, the indicator on the number and rate of children in the ‘care system’ in Scotland during the year cannot tell you what life is like for the children who are in care, or those who are on the edges of care.

“The Framework also highlights where there are gaps in the data specifically relating to care experienced children and young people. But by bringing the data together in one place for the first time, there is now a clearer national picture than ever before on what we know, what we don't know and what we need to know.

“It means that all those who care about creating change, and those have the power to act in making change happen, can look in one place and get an idea of where action is needed most urgently.”

The Framework sits on the Plan 24-30 website, which sets out Scotland’s route map to keeping the promise. Click here to for more

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Scared but ready – our approach to generative AI

7 Jan 2025

Like many organisations in the charity sector, Children in Scotland has been cautiously exploring generative AI and developing an approach to help staff working across the organisation to assess the costs and benefits of using AI tools.

Here, our Chief Executive, Dr Judith Turbyne, discusses how the organisation - while remaining vigilant to potential risks - is ‘cautiously embracing’ the opportunities of AI. 

AI is causing a bit of perturbation in the charity sector. Many of the feelings I see expressed are those of trepidation and fear. There is a lot of worry about what it might mean for jobs, for society, for fairness and equality. However, in a few pockets there is a level of interest in the power it has and how it might help us in our work.   

As an organisation we started by listening to one of our members of staff who was actively curious about the subject. Robert, who works with our Enquire service, came to an all-staff meeting. He shared some learning he had received and his reflections on the same. It was a positive start to a bit of a journey for us. We did some collective reflection with all the staff, with the leadership team and with the board. We also leaned heavily on the work of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations who have been doing a lot of leadership in this area.  

As a result, I have drafted an initial policy for us. It was actually quite difficult to do. Everything is moving so fast, and we don’t have a great deal of organisational experience on the subject. And so, the decision was made to do a very high-level policy that we would develop over time as we started to implement our approach and to learn from that experience.  

What is fundamental to us is the understanding that it is our skilled and committed workforce that sit at the heart of our organisation. The use of AI needs to enhance their experience, and lighten their load, not undermine them and the important way they contribute to the creativity and development of the organisation as a whole. 

So, we will cautiously embrace it but ensure that we are bearing in mind all the potential risks that come with it.  

Perhaps one of the most important of these is the way that it could potentially further embed bias that is knitted into data sets. It is also crucial that we take into account the almost ‘hidden’ climate impacts that are inherent in AI use. And as the creators of content, we need to be constantly questioning the issues of copyright and ownership of original images and text. 

Whenever an individual in Children in Scotland is thinking about using an AI tool, then we are asking them to consider the potential costs against the benefits for their work. Where they consider, for instance, that the potential risk of bias is too high because of the subject area, then we would suggest not using the tool. When there is a clear benefit for the work, then to go ahead.  

Ultimately, we are asking staff at every stage to be vigilant. If someone uses an AI tool in even a minimal way to help create content, then there needs to be a really good checking of the outputs, making sure that the author is confident that the tool has not materially affected the output in a negative way. The individual needs to always remain in the control of their work. 

We will set up a real time learning channel in Teams to allow us to capture the thoughts and experiences of those using any tools. Six months into the implementation of the policy, we will have a review session in order to think through how it is going, and to see if there are more specific areas of guidance we can develop for our staff. 

We also want to be very transparent about our use of AI, so where there has been a significant input from an AI tool into a public facing piece of work, we will reference that. 

After our first six months review, I will report back on where we are up to.  

Deep breath, here we go.  

About the Author

Judith Turbyne is the Chief Executive of Children in Scotland.

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'Peeling back the lid' on hybrid working

17 Dec 2024

Despite hybrid working becoming the new norm for so many over the past four years, how often have we had the opportunity to reflect on the ways it has impacted daily life? As part of a recent Children in Scotland webinar, our Head of Services, Billy Anderson, invited other individuals working in the children’s sector to join him in exploring hybrid working and whether it was really working for them. Here, Billy shares some interesting observations from the session.

I always found that when talking to individual people about their journey through the pandemic to where we are now, everyone had a different story to tell with, what I have termed as, similar positives, frustrations, barriers, worries and wins. I didn’t think that we, as a sector, have had the chance to talk about all of this in a collective way so I set about creating the session by telling my own story.

When I opened up the blank PowerPoint presentation, I felt that my story had to start right at the beginning. For my own reflections it was necessary to remember what working life was like in the sector when I joined almost 25 years ago. This was a time when the office I worked in had one computer to share between eight of us and case notes were mostly handwritten. However, around that time technology was becoming more prominent as organisations were investing in new buildings with new I.T infrastructures where the move to going ‘paperless’ was felt like a real 21st century advancement.

Throughout my reflections on my early years in the sector, it was astounding how much driving and travelling was involved on a weekly basis. Travelling almost 100 miles to get to work, driving 50% of the day once at work, and then travelling home. There was a distinct split between home and work. I was also with people in offices, meeting rooms, homes, schools, police stations, hospitals, sports centres, forests, fields, zoos, stadiums, cars and colleges.

It wasn’t really until I started writing out my story that when it came to 2020 - with the news of COVID-19 burbling away in the background in some far away land - that I realised what a jolt my life had taken. It was a surreal jolt. An acceleration of technology and new working protocols coupled with a deceleration of life itself. The psychologically imposed G-force of this simultaneous acceleration and deceleration created a destabilisation of reality that I don’t feel we have fully come to terms with. Even the process of reflecting back on all of this stuff was quite an emotional experience as it had, to some degree, been locked up and placed on a shelf in my mind with a do not disturb label hurriedly slapped on its lid.

Removing these experiences from the shelf and peeling back the lid on it was kind of my aim. To look back on things from the position that we find ourselves in now and engage others in discussion about how they feel now, what’s working and not working and try to get a grip on whether or not we are still largely in a place of destabilisation.

Finding a balance

So, with my story told to the participants in the session, it was now a space for sharing stories and finding out about those positives, frustrations, barriers, worries and wins. On the positives side of things, flexibility came out on top. This was flexibility in a variety of ways from managing workload, to introducing hybrid working options for staff. “We wanted a set pattern. Our full-time staff have a minimum of two days in the office and our part time staff have a minimum of one”, shared one participant. It was interesting to learn from this participant that those office days were, where possible, focused on being together with each other and staff were encouraged to not set any meetings during that time.

The creation of a good work-life balance was high on the agenda where that separation between the two appeared to be a common frustration/worry for participants. As one person said, “I can shut my laptop at five o’clock and be in the kitchen at five past making the tea and still thinking about work.”  For all of the positives that the rise of technology has brought, it was felt to be a frustration too in terms of how our work has seeped into our homes and home life, an individual reflecting, “I now have access to emails 24/7. I need to be really self-disciplined to switch off notifications when on leave because the temptation to check them is always there.”

There was also what was described as a ‘tension’ between people who worked predominantly from home and those who worked predominantly from an office or base/in the field. There was a felt pressure to “justify that you are actually working”. From what was described as an increase in trust and flexibility over managing workload from home, it appears that some mistrust (or perceived) has slipped in again. “Why do I feel the need to ask others to check my calendar to prove that I’m working? I know that I am working hard but still feel the need to prove it”, noted a participant. This has potentially led to feelings of guilt where home workers are always available and fill their calendars with appointments and back-to-back meetings. In turn, workloads have felt significantly higher and more pressurised since hybrid working began which impacts on the value of contracts where doing more with less is the prevailing narrative.

The positives of the accelerated use of technology were also prominent. Described by one participant as “the turnkey that unlocked a new culture”,  this very sharp and quick change has allowed us to reduce costs and do some previously expensive and logistically impossible work in the virtual arena. There was a feeling within the group that we can’t go back now noting that, "young people are comfortable within the virtual world so it is very much a case of what’s next and what’s best”.

The value of a virtual meeting place

There were also reflections on engagement with children and young people virtually where the anxiety inducing spectre of a ‘professional’ coming to see you at your own home could be nullified. The rituals and routines of this where you arrange a home visit, you knock at the door, you go in and talk with a parent or carer over a cup of tea and a biscuit and then you talk to the child. In a virtual space you can get direct access to a child where, for some, this allowed communication on a more relaxed and impersonal level that really worked for them. We seriously need to think who a home visit is benefitting. Is it a staff member’s preference at the expense of the child’s experience?

The same principle applies to the workforce who are made up of a range of personality types largely located within the two distinct camps of introverted and extroverted. Home working has been a blessing for some especially where childcare is involved. However, the working from home element with all of its flexibility and methods of communication to cater for all personality types needs some reflection and scrutiny from a wellbeing perspective when people all come together at events or large-scale meetings. We don’t inhabit those spaces as frequently now and I for one, can find the experience draining. Even though these experiences can be draining there is definite benefits and a need to be with other people.

Connections at the virtual 'watercooler'

‘Watercooler’ chat was mentioned alongside building and developing relationships with others as something that needs to be worked at and created now. From minimum working days in office, to quarterly all staff in-person meetings, there were various iterations of the importance of being together, seeing each other in three dimensions - we observed how we quite often work with people over long periods of time on a screen without having met each other in the physical world. Using Microsoft Teams channels to open up more informal watercooler style spaces was discussed where having a laugh with colleagues was encouraged. In these less formal spaces, it also brings about opportunity to share and discuss wellbeing topics in a natural way. There was a concern, however, that relationship building using this mode of communication “is almost verging on being overly friendly for a workspace”.

Hybrid working - an ongoing journey

During the session we looked at the ‘Fisher Personal Transition Curve’ and posed the question of where we thought we all were in terms of our own journey. There was a general feeling that we were on the ‘Gradual acceptance’ of the upside of the curve…but we’d not quite got it right yet. The curve tool itself is a helpful way of plotting yourself across recent years and understanding the behaviours and choices of others too. We also briefly discussed how we feel that we are best supported by looking at a person-centred thinking tool, ‘The one-page profile’. People found this question quite hard to answer and for me this was symptomatic of how much time we spend on supporting others and not on thinking about our own needs. As one participant said, “We are always thinking of others. This can add to the guilt of working from home and feeling the need to justify it. We are all role models for each other…we need trust in each other.”

How much we share our support needs with our supervisors came up in discussion where it was found to be quite difficult to “go there”. This has potentially led to greater use of external ‘mentors’ in similar roles or positions where some of the complexities of working life can be talked about in a more open and honest way without fear of any supervisory power dynamics coming into play. Building internal and external relationships was discussed as being an altogether different concept and task in the hybrid working world.

So, anyway, I felt that the session kind of did what I was hoping in that we shared stories and experiences in an open and honest way. I hope that people will continue to have these conversations and continue to reflect on how things are working for them. More importantly, people can spend some time reflecting on how they are and who they are in the hybrid world and consider how they are best supported. I want to extend my thanks to the participants on the day for their time and their reflections as we continue our journeys along our individualised transition curves. I’ll put my thoughts back up on their shelf for now, but think I’ll leave the lock off and bin the do not disturb sticker.

About the Author

Billy Anderson is Head of Services at Children in Scotland

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Open Kindergarten project - the importance of holistic, person-centred support for parents and carers

Member blog

27 Nov 2024

Earlier this month, the third phase of the Open Kindergarten project was launched in Scotland. In this new phase of the project, the Open Kindergarten model – which offers parents and carers the opportunity to develop parenting skills, confidence and knowledge – will be tested in different settings in central Scotland. As the new phase begins, Amy Woodhouse, Chief Executive of Parenting across Scotland, discusses how the project has evolved over the past six years and shares her hopes as the project partners begin work on the next stage.  

I’ve been involved in quite a few projects over the years that had great potential but couldn’t continue after their initial funding period ended. I’m sure I’m not alone in that experience. It can be a frustrating and demoralising business to feel like you need to keep reinventing the wheel.

How nice therefore to be able to share with Children in Scotland members that our new Open Kindergarten project has just entered its third phase of funding and its sixth year of activity in Scotland!

In essence Open Kindergarten is a model of parenting support where groups of parents, carers and their young children meet regularly in family centres and are supported by highly-qualified early years staff who work alongside specialists to develop parents’ skills, confidence and knowledge. The origins of Open Kindergartens go back much further than six years of course. Widespread in Nordic countries, they’ve been in operation for 50 years or more and are very well known and understood there.

Scotland’s journey with Open Kindergartens began in 2015 when Clare Simpson, then Manager of Parenting across Scotland, visited Sweden, Norway and Denmark to explore those countries approaches to supporting families in the early years. A key feature of the study visit was understanding how they used the Open Kindergarten approach.

In 2018 Children in Scotland, Parenting across Scotland and the University of Stirling were able to secure funding for a feasibility study to explore whether the Open Kindergarten model could be adapted to Scotland to improve outcomes for children in the early years. It concluded that Open Kindergartens had lots of potential and would be worth exploring further.

Between 2019 and 2020 the project partnership began piloting Open Kindergartens in Midlothian and Edinburgh, bringing in Midlothian Sure Start and Granton Early Years Centre as delivery partners. Fifty-one families took part in Open Kindergarten sessions. The evaluation identified the key components that defined the Open Kindergarten approach in Scotland:

  • It is person-centred, relaxed and informal.
  • It is parent-led.
  • The open-door policy means that you can drop in without a referral.
  • It is free.
  • The practitioner’s approach focuses on warmth, authenticity and receptiveness.

The report concluded that Open Kindergartens filled a gap in early years services and had a positive impact for both parents and children. Parents were very positive about their experiences – for some it was their only source of support.

“I feel like when I come here, I can just feel relaxed and be normal and she can just play away and I can talk to other mums about how I feel, what’s went on, and it’s like we share different things, different techniques, and it’s like, okay, I’ll give that a try. Yes, and it’s good to have other support other than my partner, which is nice.” — Parent

After the pilot project finished, Midlothian Sure Start mainstreamed the Open Kindergarten approach within their services, offering Open Kindergarten sessions to parents across multiple sites in the area. Five years after they started delivering, they are still convinced that the approach offers something distinct and valuable to families.

Now the partners are back together with funding from the Scottish Government’s Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. We’re going to be testing the Open Kindergarten model further to see how it works in different settings, times and venues. We want to be able to get the model to a stage where it is defined enough to be rolled out across Scotland. Parenting across Scotland will be leading the project this time and Children in Scotland will be focused on developing the elearning resource, to support wider uptake. Midlothian Sure Start will be working with delivery partners to extend the model across East Lothian, West Lothian and Edinburgh. The Open University will evaluate this expansion.

We’re excited for this new phase and regularly reminded of how important holistic, non stigmatising parent-led support is. It should be something that is freely available to every family and embedded within local service infrastructures – not subject to the whims of short-term funding. We are proud to help Open Kindergartens become part of the mainstream support system.

Please click here to find out more about the Open Kindergarten project

 

About the Author

Amy Woodhouse is Chief Executive of Parenting across Scotland, a project partner of the Open Kindergarten project

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New campaign raises awareness of Violence Against Women and Girls among young women in Glasgow

26 Nov 2024

Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Girls Club, a social good media agency and youth service provider, announced a new campaign yesterday.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of Violence Against Women and Girls among young women aged 16-21 in Glasgow as well as highlight information about the available support services.

At the heart of the campaign, is the short film, ‘Where We Stop’ written by actor, writer, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate and Glasgow Girls Club alumni, Molly Geddes. The compelling 6-minute film aims to raise awareness about Violence Against Women and Girls amongst young women and direct them to information, support, and services available in Glasgow.

The campaign was brought to Glasgow by the Lord Provost Cllr Jacqueline McLaren, as part of The Carter Center’s Inform Women, Transform Lives initiative, a global effort by the renowned non-governmental organisation to increase the number of women accessing critical information about City services available so they can find the support they need (click here for more).

The short film, written by Geddes was created in partnership through a series of focus groups, and script writing workshops with girls and young women from across Glasgow to ensure its impact and sensitivity. The film tackles themes relating to Violence Against Women and Girls head-on, highlighting the real experiences of those affected by the issue, including the theme of coercive control and domestic abuse for young women.

‘Where We Stop’ follows main character Sophie and her friends on their usual bus route, in their usual seats. It begins with them excitedly discussing Sophie’s upcoming date with Jack. It then cuts to Sophie and Jack on the bus, presumably on their first date, with the pair awkwardly interacting but ultimately sharing a laugh together. The film takes the viewer on an intense, glitching timelapse of their relationship, gradually revealing that not everything is as it seems as Jack’s behaviour becomes increasingly coercive, controlling and abusive. The final scene features a call-to-action signposting viewers to Sophie’s Stop an app built in partnership with Glasgow Girls Club and Glasgow City Council – with guidance and information on available services.

By exploring often-overlooked early warning signs of abuse and relationship coercion and challenging the misconception that these issues primarily affect older women, the film's powerful storytelling aims to resonate with young women, challenging harmful stereotypes and encouraging them to take action.

Longtime Glasgow Girls Club member Geddes, who has drawn from her own experiences and insights gathered from recent focus groups, has been developing the film concept over several years through her work with the Club. Bringing it to life alongside young women, with the support of local government and a respected NGO like the Carter Center, has exceeded her initial vision for the project, underscoring the power of community collaboration.

Molly said, “I'm incredibly grateful to have been part of this project. My main drive for creating this film was the lack of media around domestic abuse, that specifically centred young women. I hope that 'Where We Stop' can shed light on the issue of violence against women and girls and help people find support. This is a massive full circle moment for me, both personally and professionally, and to see the impact this process has already had on young women is magic.”

The city’s Lord Provost Cllr Jacqueline McLaren said: “As Lord Provost of Glasgow, I’m extremely proud to have led on the Carter Initiative – Inform Women, Transform Lives. Standing in solidarity with a wider international network of cities with the common purpose of empowering women.”

She continued: “Glasgow’s glad to have been able to work collaboratively with a series of committed stakeholders alongside young women across the city keen to inform, shape and take ownership of this campaign. It’s been an inspiring, energising and positive journey. We’re thrilled to have made such progress and proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with women across the globe.”

She concluded: “I know this exciting, dynamic and imaginative campaign has the potential to be a powerful liberating and educational resource for all our young women. It’s been an amazing creative and learning process that I’m confident will prove a leading legacy programme. A catalyst for real change, enlightenment and engagement surrounding how we all address Violence Against Women.”

Glasgow Girls Club Founder & Director, Amy Rew, who was a producer on the film and has also coordinated the communications media planning on behalf of Glasgow City Council said, “We're incredibly proud to launch this powerful campaign raising awareness about Violence Against Women and Girls. By providing essential information about City Services and resources, we aim to better equip young women to recognise forms and signs of the issue, seek appropriate support, and know they're not alone. Our goal is to give young women access to information that can help them live better lives.”

The film is part of a wider campaign designed to inform as many young women as possible and transcend barriers to accessibility. This includes leveraging social media platforms, utilising community radio stations, billboards, posters, promotional merchandise, and engaging local champions.

Click here to learn more about the launch of Sophie’s Stop

Click here to learn more about the Glasgow Girl’s club

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