What is Corporate Parenting?
In 2014, the Scottish Parliament passed a law called the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. In this act, a range of organisations in Scotland became Corporate Parents to Care Experienced people.
These Corporate Parents include:
In the law, Corporate Parents have key duties or “responsibilities” to Care Experienced people.
1
They should assess your needs.
For example, Corporate Parents should find out:
- what help you need to do well in school, college or uni
- what they can do to make sure you are healthy and happy at home
- the best way for their organisation to help you
2
They need to be alert and notice if you need some help.
Corporate Parents should:
- understand what it’s like to be a young person in care
- know about the problems you might have, and talk to you about how they can help
- talk to other Corporate Parents who are involved in your life
3
They need to promote your interests and provide opportunities which improve your wellbeing
This means:
- standing up for your rights and making sure you are treated the same as everyone else
- supporting you to take part in activities like sports, music and art
- giving you lots of chances to work with them as a volunteer, trainee or employee
4
Corporate Parents need to take action and make sure that you can access these opportunities.
This means they should:
- give you simple information about how their organisation can help you
- make sure you have the money, transport and support you need to take part
- help you to make appointments, register for services and complete applications if you need it
5
All Corporate Parents need to work together so that they can improve.
They have to:
- make a plan and talk to you about it
- keep track of how they are doing and ask for your feedback
- work together to become better Corporate Parents
Questions?
If you have any questions about Corporate Parenting, email our Training and Education Team
Also, don’t forget advocacy.
An advocate is a person who speaks up for you and makes sure that your voice is heard. Together, you can make sure that your Corporate Parents are doing a good job.
