North-east councillors have been hearing from young people during the presentation of an independent review of children’s care in Scotland.
Elected members in Aberdeenshire have heard about the local authority’s efforts to deliver on The Promise.
The Promise is the name of the main report and output of the national care review which sets out clear timescales and milestones for children’s services to deliver on up to 2030.
It is based on the feedback of over 5,500 care experienced children and adults, families and care workers.
Councillors pledged their support to Keeping The Promise and being good corporate parents and they made a commitment to listening to the needs, fears and wishes of care experienced children and young people, and being proactive and determined in collective efforts to address these.
At a meeting of Aberdeenshire Council full council young people with experience of care were given a chance to speak to councillors which is featured in the video above.
The message from Aberdeenshire’s Young People’s Organising and Campaigning Group, which brings together care experienced young people to help shape the way services are designed and delivered, was: “Involve us… prepare us… include us… and, most importantly, listen to us.”
Speaking after the meeting, Leigh Jolly, head of children’s services for Aberdeenshire Council said: “The key things our young people are telling us echoes what is outlined in The Promise and what was shared by care experienced people across Scotland.
“These include the importance of having a voice, being listened to, receiving good family support to help families stay together, and ensuring when young people have to come into care, the support is child-centred and based on relationships, and stigma is eradicated.
“The council and community planning partners are piloting a whole systems approach to providing holistic family support in Aberdeenshire. Two projects are based on ‘Ten Principles of Family Support’ as detailed in ‘The Promise’.”
“Our aim is to enable families to feel supported, listened to and empowered, and develop capacity to reach their own goals and avoid the need for more targeted services in the longer term.”
Find out more about Aberdeenshire’s multi-agency approach to providing families with the right support here.