We are now five months into Year 2 of our 2023 – 2027 Strategic Plan. As so much of our work includes input from our members, it’s important for us to update you about the incredible work we are doing across Scotland to achieve our strategic objectives and overall mission.
Watch the video below to find out about the progress we’ve achieved over the course of the last year, and the impact our work has had on Care Experienced people.
Find out more about our Key Priorities:
Upholding Rights
Through relationship-based, Independent Advocacy, we support Care Experienced people of all ages to understand and realise their rights.
Discussions are ongoing with the Scottish Government about the development of a lifelong advocacy approach, based on a report prepared by Who Care? Scotland. Read more about our Lifelong Rights Campaign and take the pledge to show your support.
Influencing Change
By listening to what Care Experienced people tell us, we further develop our evidence-base, which supports our asks of decision makers with the ability to bring about positive change.
Our work to influence change is continuing in 2024. In February, on the fourth anniversary of the publication of The Promise, we published a report highlighting which areas of Plan 21-24 are showing clear progress and where more attention is required. You can read the report in full here.
In April, we took 37 Care Experienced people of all ages from across Scotland to the Scottish Parliament to meet with the Education, Children & Young People Committee to talk about The Promise and share their experiences since its publication in 2020.
As part of our Lifelong Rights Campaign, we have released the first in a series of research papers, to show that Care Experienced people currently do not have the same life outcomes as their non-Care Experienced peers. The first paper focuses on one of the most frequently raised issues for 16+ Care Experienced people contacting us for advocacy: support with housing. You can read the full paper here.
In line with the 10th anniversary of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act which sets out corporate parenting duties, our Education & Engagement team is currently planning a celebration event to highlight positive working practice amongst Corporate Parenting bodies. The Corporate Parenting Awards will take place in August and our nominees have been shortlisted by Who Care? Scotland staff and Care Experienced people.
Creating Connection
In bringing Care Experienced people together, we create spaces for fun, friendship and belonging, as well as opportunities to engage with influencing opportunities.
We delivered another successful Care Day Carelidh at the Engine Works in Glasgow in February. The event was attended by participants from all over the country with residential care providers and local authorities supporting their young people to attend and celebrate them on Care Day.
We just celebrated Refugee Week with a joint event held in Glasgow with The Guardianship Service and arts charity, Standing Tall. A group of young refugees worked with rapper and songwriter PAQUE and musician Declan Welsh to create a new song and music video that was screened at the event. It was a lovely opportunity for our members to show their support to the refugee community.
We have lots more events coming up this year including Summer Camp, The Love Rally, Time to Shine and Care Family Christmas. Check out our events page for all the details.
Providing Opportunities
Through our membership offer which promotes a positive sense of care identity, we provide additional opportunities and build an engaged community of Care Experienced people.
We are currently supporting and preparing four young people to attend the Harvard Summer School programme, they will jet off to America in June.
We also have a new offer for our members with Pure Gym who are offering a 50% discount on gym memberships with no joining fees. Find out more about this on our Members Hub.
You can usually find all our opportunities on the events page of our website, but we will also share them with you through our newsletter, Newsflash, SpeakOut magazine and on social media.
If you have an opportunity that could benefit a Care Experienced person, please email comms@whocaresscotland.org and we will be pleased to share it with our members.
Creating Communities that Care
By delivering our work in communities across Scotland, we create care aware communities which can support everyone to thrive.
We now have a Communities that Care Team, whose priority is to continue our training of John Lewis employees across the UK and lead our Communities that Care work in Renfrewshire, Edinburgh and in Clackmannanshire. We hope to continue rolling this project our in more local authorities.
