The Promise to Parkrun: children’s sector conference to deliver diverse programme

11 March 2025

Scotland’s children’s sector is gearing up for a major conference in Glasgow, which will see organisations from The Promise to Parkrun outline how they are improving children and young people’s lives across Scotland.

Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference takes place 28-29 May at the Doubletree Hilton in Glasgow, with confirmed speakers including Fraser McKinlay, Chief Executive Officer of The Promise Scotland, broadcaster, writer & coach Dr. Vanessa Collingridge, author and creative practitioner Nadine Aisha Jassat, as well as Natalie Don-Innes MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise.

Meanwhile, a diverse range of organisations will deliver 28 workshops over the two-day programme – including Parkrun, Cyrenians, Forces Children Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group, Rock Trust, and No Knives, Better Lives, to name a few.

The event is co-chaired by members of Children in Scotland’s ‘Changing our World’ youth advisory group. The group have also been involved in some significant aspects of event planning; from workshop selection, to menu planning and event marketing. Changing our World’s involvement ensures that the programme and event meet their expectations of inclusivity, impact and sustainability.

Shaun, a member of the Changing our World youth advisory group who will co-chair Day One of Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference, said:

"Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference is a chance to learn about what work is currently being done in the children and young people's sector, the issues that children and young people currently face and network with other professionals who work with children and young people.

“I think people should buy tickets because it is a great event. I have been to the past two, and I have enjoyed every single one. During the conference, I have been able to develop my understanding of what issues children and young people face through amazing workshops, so I would definitely recommend buying a ticket!”

Natalie Don-Innes MSP, who returns for a second year to Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference, said

“I'm honoured to be invited back to speak at Children in Scotland’s Annual Conference this year. When I attended last year, I was struck by the drive and determination of those at the conference to really make a difference.

“The conference is an opportunity to share experiences and celebrate successes, and it is hugely important for our work to keep the promise to have a place to come together, share best practice and think about different ways of doing things.

"Personally, I find it extremely helpful to be in a room with different people working for children and young people, being able to listen to each other and work with different opinions.”

Some event highlights include:

Keynote: Reflections on five years of The Promise and look ahead to 2030, Natalie Don-Innes MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise
Keynote: Making children’s rights real: Building a Scotland of happiness, love, and understanding, Juliet Harris, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights)
Workshops covering children’s mental health, additional support needs, labels and language, outdoor play, peer mediation, and much more
Chairing from Nicola Killean, Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland and Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Advisor on the promise, along with members of Children in Scotland’s children and young people’s advisory group, Changing our World
A dynamic community of exhibitors paired with valuable networking opportunities.

To find out more about this event and to book now, visit: www.childreninscotland.org.uk/conferences/ac25/

This event is kindly sponsored by Road Safety Scotland, tri.x – Part of the OneTouch Health Group, Kibble and The Open University in Scotland, in partnership with DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central.

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Invitation to Tender: Website Design

04 March 2025

Children in Scotland is inviting digital agencies to tender for its website design project.

Tender requirements and a brief for this project can be found here:

Invitation to Tender_Children in Scotland Website

For further information, or to return a proposal, please contact Julie Thomson, Communications & Marketing Manager at jthomson@childreninscotland.org.uk

The deadline for responses is 5pm Friday 28 March 2025.

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Success Looks Different: Celebrating Inclusive Education in Scotland

5 March 2025

Three schools and one nursery have been crowned winners of this year’s Success Looks Different Awards!

The awards invited education settings to share how they celebrate the achievements of all pupils, including those who get additional support with their learning.

The awards were created by the Inclusion Ambassadors, a group of secondary school-aged pupils from across Scotland who have a range of additional support needs. Now in their third year, the Success Looks Different Awards contribute towards the Scottish Government’s Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.

The awards have four categories: Early Years, Primary School, Secondary School and Special School. This year, the application process required applicants to coproduce their submissions with children and young people. This was because the Inclusion Ambassadors wanted the voices of children and young people to come through more in applications. As one Inclusion Ambassador put it, an important reason for this is that “We want to make sure that applicants walk the walk and don’t just talk the talk”.

a collage of images and drawing representing inclusive school learning. at hte centre of the image are the words 'Success Looks Different 2024 - 25'

The winners of each category were chosen by the Inclusion Ambassador themselves, and the group judged applications based on their own carefully crafted selection criteria. This includes how well applicants celebrate the individuality of pupils, how they demonstrate creativity and how well they share successes with the wider community.

SUCCESS LOOKS DIFFERENT 2024-25 WINNERS

EARLY YEARS

ELU Hamilton, South Lanarkshire

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Buchanhaven Primary School, Aberdeenshire

SECONDARY SCHOOL

Duncanrig Secondary School, South Lanarkshire

SPECIAL SCHOOL

Parkhill Secondary School, Glasgow

In total the Inclusion Ambassadors received 26 applications from 10 different local authority areas across Scotland. While the number of applications is lower than in previous years, this year’s submissions were particularly inspiring, thanks to the increased participation of children and young people. Submissions were incredibly creative with one school writing a song and another building a diorama (a miniature three-dimensional model) of their school space with QR codes that revealed soundbites from pupils sharing their thoughts about their school.

A person in a high-visibility jacet reaches into a raised planter, a child beside them holds a garden trowel. The child has pink hair.

Beth Fyfe (Advice and Information Officer) said:

“The new Engagement Pack really helped to centre the voices of children and young people, and the submissions were so creative! The writing, drawings, videos, and photographs meant the Inclusion Ambassadors could directly connect to what the children and young people at each school and nursery wanted to say.”

“The judging session was a great day. It was hard work getting through so many fantastic applications and it was tough for the Inclusion Ambassadors to select their winners – the standard was so high!”

David Yule (Policy, Participation and Projects Officer) added:

"2024-25 was another year of really high-quality applications from early learning settings and schools across Scotland. All schools showcased some really unique ways that they are celebrating the success of all pupils and presented these in creative and fun applications. Despite the difficult task of selecting winners, the Inclusion Ambassadors loved seeing what schools were doing to celebrate and shout about pupils’ success.”

One of the Inclusion Ambassadors involved in the judging process reflected:

“It was a good day, I really enjoyed it. Choosing the schools was amazing and it was a lovely safe space.”

Jenny Gilruth (Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills) also shared her thoughts on this year’s awards, saying:

“I want to congratulate the winners and all of those who took part in this year’s Success Look Different Awards. It's vital that we recognise the work being done to ensure our schools and early learning and childcare settings are inclusive places of learning.

“This is an important opportunity to celebrate the achievements of children and young people with additional support needs and those dedicated to ensuring they can thrive and fulfil their potential.

“I would also like to thank the Inclusion Ambassadors for their ongoing commitment to fostering inclusive learning environments.”

The Inclusion Ambassadors

The Inclusion Ambassadors are a group of secondary school-aged pupils from across Scotland.

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New Fairer Funding pilot welcomed as a positive first step by Children in Scotland

6 February 2025

Children in Scotland has welcomed the announcement of a new Fairer Funding pilot, created by the Scottish Government, as a positive first step in ensuring that funding is making the best impact for children, young people and their families living across Scotland.

The pilot, which commits more than £60million to provide multi-year funding to organisations working across Scotland, including a two-year grant to Children in Scotland’s national service for additional support for learning, Enquire, will focus on eradicating child poverty, an issue which the First Minister has outlined as the number one priority for his government.

Children in Scotland, alongside its members, has been campaigning for an urgent rethink of the Scottish Government’s funding models in light of the significant financial challenges facing the third sector due to years of static funding, rising costs, inflation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive, Dr Judith Turbyne, said:

“We are delighted that the Scottish Government has committed to two-year funding for our Enquire service.

“I would say it was a good first step. It will make a significant difference to the service for the next two years. It will be much more efficient both for the team in Scottish Government and Enquire itself, freeing up time to make more impact on the ground. And it will save us much worry and heartache around the festive period because of the uncertainty it creates.

“However, we understand this is a first step. Two years is so much better than one year but extending that further will really help in terms of efficiency and productivity, ensuring that money that Scottish Government is spending is really having the best impact.

“We also need to continue the discussion about increasingly moving to a core funding model wherever possible and to spread this practice across the whole of the Scottish Government to ensure that organisations can be the best impact for the children, young people and families we serve.”

During a visit to SCVO’s The Gathering, which was held at the EICC in Edinburgh earlier this week, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, met with Dr Turbyne and representatives from Children in Scotland to discuss the current challenges.

Speaking about the Fairer Funding pilot on her visit to The Gathering, Ms Somerville said:

“I know many charities, faced with rising costs and falling donations, need more security and stability to enable them to plan and develop. Child poverty, in particular, requires longer-term interventions to help achieve the solutions we want to see. For that, the third sector needs financial stability and certainty. That’s why I have prioritised delivering on our commitment to provide more multi-year funding where we can to support the vital work of the third sector in Scotland, as part of our fairer funding approach.

“The pilot is the first step in mainstreaming multi-year funding agreements more widely across the third sector. It will give organisations the ability to plan for the future and make the most of their resources. The pilot’s focus on grants connected to tackling child poverty and the delivery of frontline services to our communities will maximise the impact of longer-term funding and support the delivery of our number one priority, eradicating child poverty.”  

A number of Children in Scotland’s member organisations will also receive funding through the Fairer Funding pilot including Sistema Scotland, Dyslexia Scotland, Who Cares Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust’s Bookbug project.

To find out more about Enquire, please visit enquire.org.uk

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Creating a definition of ‘care experience’

30 Jan 2025

This week, Children in Scotland responded to a Scottish Government consultation, which seeks views on defining a universal definition of ‘care experience’, a term that The Promise deems to have meaning for many people, being linked to personal identity and understanding shared experiences.

Why do we need a universal definition?

We know that experiences of care in Scotland are hugely diverse and are unique to the individual child, young person or adult. However, an inconsistent approach to defining care experience both complicates how children and young people identify with the term, and presents an additional barrier to accessing rights and entitlements. A clear definition would create clarity across different sectors’ approaches to defining care experience, and strengthen the data we have on care experienced children, young people and adults, allowing us to more accurately identify the barriers they face and put in place appropriate actions. It would allow them to better access their rights, improving wellbeing, whilst combatting societal stigma around the term.

How has Children in Scotland responded?

The aim of all actions taken by the Scottish Government to deliver the Promise is rightly to ensure that all care experienced children and young people grow up loved, safe and respected. A significant aspect of this is to improve support and access to care experienced people’s unique rights and entitlements. While there is clear value in introducing a universal legal definition of care experience to help normalise the language of care and thus improving support, we know that amending legal definitions will only go so far.

Our response urges the Scottish Government to continue working closely with expert stakeholders and organisations representing those with lived experience of care – and act on what they have already told us in other recent consultations on redesigning the children’s hearing system and ‘moving on’ from care into adulthood.

As we move at pace towards 2030, the deadline for Keeping the Promise, it is important that we step away from further rounds of consultation and focus on implementation and delivery based on these views.

Read our full consultation response here

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Access All Arts Fund brings new opportunities to children and young people in 2025

28 January 2025

A project improving Scottish children and young people’s access to the arts has today announced that 88 awardees will receive a total of £65,095.40 in funding to progress their creative interests.

The Access All Arts Fund, managed by Children in Scotland and supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland, supports young people who are experiencing barriers to accessing creative opportunities.

Funding decisions are made by a panel of children and young people, who considered a wide range of barriers to the arts, including mental health, language and cultural barriers, financial barriers, lack of access to materials or equipment, disabilities, and geographical barriers.

Now in its third year, the fund was open for applications from 19 September to 4 November 2024 and received 148 applications from children and young people aged 11 to 25. Awardees will be funded to pursue a range of arts activities, including photography, painting, music and dance.

In 2023, a survey of participants indicated that 92% of recipients experienced a positive impact on their mental health and wellbeing. 82% said that receiving funding had helped them to overcome barriers to the arts.

Sophie Elliott, Policy, Projects and Participation Officer at Children in Scotland, said:

“For a third year, the Access All Arts Fund has given children and young people across Scotland increased access to creative opportunities. The panel of children and young people and staff team were delighted to learn about the creative interests of young applicants.

We look forward to hearing about how the children and young people receiving awards will progress their creative projects and activities.”

Sarah Lockhart, Youth Engagement Officer at Creative Scotland says:

“We proudly support Children in Scotland’s Access All Arts programme, a beacon for young creative minds across the nation, for the third consecutive year. In 2025, a generous funding of over £65,000 will empower 88 children and young people to explore their passions and hone their talents. Spearheaded by a dynamic youth panel, the programme ensures that young people have a voice in how the funding is allocated, making it easier for them to dive into the arts in their unique ways.”

Find out more about the Access All Arts Fund.

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First Minister John Swinney faces child poverty calls at Children in Scotland-led sector meeting

A group of people stand behind a large wooden desk.

Last Thursday, 12 December, First Minister John Swinney had a lively discussion about children’s rights and child poverty with the Children’s Sector Strategic and Policy Forum, at a meeting chaired by Children in Scotland.

Forum members were joined by Natalie Don-Innes MSP and the First Minister to talk about embedding children’s rights, policy coherence and doing things differently to deliver on our national child poverty targets.

There was a warm welcome for the budget's focus on child poverty, including the proposal to scrap the two-child limit which currently restricts support certain families receive through universal credit or child tax credit.

However, there is much more to be done, and the conversation looked at some of the challenges, with a reflection on the fact that the current suite of policies and allocated resourcing are unlikely to help us reach our national targets if some things do not change.

There were three key themes. Firstly, being more visible about the embedding of children’s rights in decision making across all of the statutory sector, with the need for the Scottish Government to set a strong example for local authorities and other public bodies. From the point of view of the Forum this is about language, action, and using the tools at our disposal (for example Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments) to the best of our abilities. Making sure that children’s rights is at the centre of our planning will ensure that we are investing in the prevention and early intervention work that is so essential for long-term and sustainable change.

Secondly, the group looked at tackling instances where there is a lack of policy coherence. That is to say, where a policy from one part of the government undermines something happening elsewhere. There was a good discussion around this with a focus on the role that the third sector can play in outlining where there are challenges around this and what might be done about it.

Finally, there is the challenge around the third sector itself. As the FM noted in the meeting a ‘well-resourced third sector’ is essential to help deliver on the mission to eradicate child poverty. The third sector is an essential partner in working with babies, children, young people and their families, often at the sharp edge, and yet years of difficult economic conditions have undermined it. Current funding models have tended to exacerbate this situation. As a result, it is difficult for the third sector to be the partner it can and should be.

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Dr Judith Turbyne, who chaired the meeting, afterwards reflected:

"We are very grateful to Mr Swinney for taking the time to meet with us and hear first hand the experiences of those leading a struggling children’s sector and working directly with the children and families who are most impacted by government decisions.

"What is great is that we have a common goal – eradicating child poverty. But, of course, there are challenges.

"What I enjoyed about the meeting was the mutual respect I could feel in the room, and the common desire to work to eradicate child poverty. The current economic situation is making it difficult for all of us. But a crisis can be a good starting point for doing things differently, for having the difficult conversations, for being brave. And that starts now.

"We are keen to contribute nationally as a Forum to this work, and we will be seeking to ensure that we engage both bravely and constructively. Our babies, children, young people and their families deserve nothing less."

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Children in Scotland welcomes Scottish Government decision to end the two-child benefit cap

5 Dec 2024

Children in Scotland has today welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to end the two-child benefit cap, describing the move as a positive step towards ending child poverty in Scotland.

Announcing the decision during the Scottish Budget, finance secretary Shona Robison said the “pernicious” cap on benefits will be scrapped in Scotland by 2026, helping to lift more than 15,000 children out of poverty.

Originally implemented by George Osborne in 2017, the UK-wide two-child limit currently restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households, disproportionally affecting low-income families.

The charity, which represents more than 400 member organisations working with and for children and young people, was also pleased to see a focus on education within the budget, as the Scottish Government outlined plans to bring breakfast clubs to more primary schools, expand free school meals to primary 6 and 7 children from low-income families, and also provide £120million to head teachers to address the poverty attainment gap.

Additionally, the proposed £29million fund for an Additional Support Needs (ASN) plan, which would provide training for more teachers, is another welcomed move.

Having been campaigning for the two-child limit to be scrapped for many years, particularly through its work with the End Child Poverty Coalition (click here for more), Children in Scotland now wants to work closely with the Scottish Government to further tackle the wealth inequalities impacting an estimated one in four children on a day-to-day basis.

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Dr Judith Turbyne said: “It’s really positive news from the Scottish Government that they are committed to scrapping the two-child benefit cap. We also welcome the renewed commitment to combating child poverty.

“Now is the time to put children’s rights at the centre of our child poverty work, and we look forward to engaging with the Scottish Government on how to do things differently so that we can really deliver on that promise.”

Case study: How poverty impacts children and young people

Since Highland Action for Little Ones (Halo) launched in January 2023, it has supported more than 2,000 children, providing essential resources such as clothing, shoes, toiletries, and other basic essentials that are often taken for granted.

Mel Thomson, Chief Operating Officer at the charity, has witnessed first-hand the resilience shown by families.

She said: "The impact of poverty on children is profound and far-reaching. At Halo, we see this every day – families struggling to make ends meet, often working multiple jobs while balancing childcare, but still finding it difficult to meet their children’s basic needs.

“The rising cost of food, energy, housing, and childcare has placed an unbearable strain on household budgets, forcing families to make heartbreaking choices between essentials like heating or feeding their children. No family should have to face these choices, and no child should grow up without access to the basic necessities of life.

"The number of referrals we receive each week is growing steadily, and is a clear reflection of the increasing financial pressures families are facing. The need for items like clothing and shoes has skyrocketed. These are not luxury items – they are fundamental to a child’s health, self-esteem, and ability to engage in school and social activities.

"The rapid growth in demand speaks volumes about the increasing number of families struggling. Each referral tells a story of a family doing their best but still falling short in the face of rising living costs."

Click here to find out more about the work of Highland Action for Little Ones

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Issue 4 of Insight magazine now available for non-members

15 Nov 2024

As part of our commitment to supporting professionals and practitioners across the children’s sector, we regularly open access to previous editions of our member magazine, Insight – and, today, non-members can now read the digital edition of Issue 4.

Originally published in April 2023, the fourth edition of Insight is filled with articles, profiles, interviews and features, and boasts an extended Changemakers section which includes an interview between our children and young people’s advisory group, Changing our World, and former Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Bruce Adamson.

What's more, in the magazine's lead four-page interview, Dr Khadija Mohammed, Associate Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of the West of Scotland, talks about the importance of embedding a meaningful understanding of racism across the school curriculum and beyond.

The Scottish Government website states that its Anti-Racism in Education Programme was established in response to the significant amount of correspondence received by the Deputy First Minister as part of the Black Lives Matter movement in the spring of 2020, and to one of the recommendations of the COVID-19 Ethnicity Expert Group.

A stakeholder group was set up during the pandemic, and in October 2022, a formalised board was established, chaired by Dr Mohammed. For Dr Mohammed, like many anti-racist educators and activists, this work was not new, nor was it a passing moment.

In 2013, she co-founded the Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators to provide a strong voice for social and professional communities and to engage in critical dialogue. In her role at the University of the West of Scotland, she has been steadily working to ensure that the next generation of teachers and early years practitioners are supported to become anti-racist educators.

And now, she is determined to ensure the momentum is sustained so that the national focus on anti-racism can spark a transformation which enables children and young people across Scotland to have an education that represents the diverse past and present of our world, and challenges all of us to create a more socially just future.

To read the full interview with Dr Mohammed, click the link below, where you'll also find:

A discussion about levelling the playing field in the performing arts with theatre-maker Rachel-Jane Morrison
Amy Woodhouse on the complicated legacy of Nicola Sturgeon and her record on improving the lives of children and families
Dr Alison Scott exploring approaches to supporting mothers whose children have been removed into care
And Raza Sadiq's comment piece on the Illegal Migration Bill which he describes as an assault on human rights.

Insight Issue 4 is now available, click here to read

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New paper advocates for inclusive school environments for young people with additional support needs

14 Nov 2024

A paper published by Children in Scotland offers new guidance on creating inclusive school environments for young people with additional support needs.

The paper brings together the views of the Inclusion Ambassadors, a group of secondary school-aged pupils who have a range of additional support needs and attend a variety of educational provision across Scotland.

Building on the group’s previous work, which focused on improving classroom environments for pupils with different support needs, this paper widens the lens to consider how additional school spaces beyond the classroom impact children and young people’s overall school experience.

The paper identifies a number of factors that affect how inclusive additional spaces feel for pupils, with issues such as overcrowding, busyness and noise levels, impacting pupils’ abilities to relax and de-stress in additional spaces.

Further issues including fighting in corridors and disruption in toilet settings were found to impact how safe and comfortable young people felt in additional spaces. Group members also highlighted how accessibility requirements, which were considered within the classroom setting, were often not met within additional spaces in the school.

Quieter areas, designated for learners with additional support needs, including libraries, additional support bases and designated “quiet rooms”, offered calm and relaxed spaces where pupils could go to de-stress, regulate and calm down. The paper also highlighted the positive impact that came from giving pupils’ ownership over additional spaces, supporting them to feel included in their wider school environment.

Having previously stressed the importance of a relationships-based approach in meeting young people's additional needs, the Inclusion Ambassadors described how additional spaces helped to develop vital relationships with staff and fostered community-building with peers, especially when members had the option to visit quieter spaces with friends.

Generally, group members found there to be a lack of overall provision for inclusive spaces outside the classroom, as well as a lack of awareness for provision if it was available.

Based on group members’ experiences, Children in Scotland has proposed six recommendations to support school staff to create more inclusive school environments:

School should closely with pupils with additional support needs to understand their experiences of using spaces outside the classroom in their own school context
Schools should raise awareness among pupils with additional support needs of the wide range of spaces on offer in the school to ensure that all who can benefit from accessing these spaces are provided an opportunity to.
Staff should trust pupils to take ownership and show respect for all spaces in their school – including the outdoors and green spaces where pupils can access nature.
Schools should not prevent all pupils from accessing additional spaces (including toilets) when ‘negative behaviour’ is exhibited in these spaces.
Schools should provide support for accessibility needs beyond the classroom and designated additional support needs bases.
When schools are redesigning, adapting or creating new spaces, pupils with additional support needs should participate in making decisions about what these spaces look like, feel like and include.

Click here to read the full summary paper ->

Learn more about the work of the Inclusion Ambassadors ->