Fairer Futures Partnerships Boost Family Confidence in North Ayrshire
Community-led initiatives funded by the Scottish Government and North Ayrshire Council are providing vital support and improving wellbeing for families facing child poverty.
By Kirsty Lennox
••4 min read
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Parents and children engaged in a craft activity at a community centre in Scotland.
Families in North Ayrshire are building confidence and accessing crucial support through community-led activities funded by Fairer Futures Partnerships, aiming to combat child poverty and boost local wellbeing.
North Ayrshire Council, in partnership with the Scottish Government, has been utilising a Fairer Futures Partnership (FFP) since October 2024. The initiative, backed by £400,000 over 2025/26 and 2026/27, focuses on integrating community knowledge and experience to develop local solutions for families experiencing or at risk of child poverty.
A dedicated team within the Council has been working with various community partners since 2025 to address child poverty. This work specifically targets areas like Saltcoats North East and Kilbirnie South/Longbar, identified as benefiting from coordinated, additional support. The team leverages the Council’s Child Poverty & Early Intervention Fund (CPEIF) to support hyper-local projects.
In Saltcoats North East, the Community Link Up project, based at Auchenharvie Academy in Stevenston, is actively improving life for families. It offers a friendly and relaxed environment with free family activities, groups, and events designed to help those feeling isolated, seeking new connections, or needing assistance with services like food access and employability.
Recent activities organised by Community Link Up have included group crafts, a teddy bear hunt, and a 'Breakfast Banter' session for parents and carers. The project aims to open avenues to support and advice, fostering wellbeing through engagement.
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"Families are at the heart of everything we do and it's really important to us that they're involved in every part of the process. Each year, we carry out a survey, speak to people and ask them about the kind of activities and support they would like. In fact, we have families who started out getting support and are now volunteers, which is great. Over the past year we have partnered with more than 160 organisations including Third Sector, the NHS, local businesses, schools, nurseries, parent councils and animal welfare organisations. People can become quite isolated and go through different challenges in life, and we are here to help by building trusted relationships."
Feedback highlights the project's significance, with one resident describing Link Up as 'the heart of the neighbourhood – a place where families come together, support is always available and fun is guaranteed all year round.' The initiative provides more than just activities, offering a support system for debt advice, benefits, and addressing the rising cost of living.
Similarly, in Kilbirnie, the Beith Community Development Trust is running family sessions that are seeing increasing engagement. These sessions focus on employability, volunteering, and maximising income, ensuring residents can access available support.
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"Families and community partners have been involved in the process of setting up these local activities and ways of working, and their input was invaluable when it came to deciding which support would make a real difference to the people who need it most. It is clear that families want support that is built on trusted, established, local relationships, where they can access help at a pace that feels right for them. With this in mind, the work has been designed around community-based organisations that already have strong roots within their local areas and are well placed to build meaningful, long-term relationships with families. Both Community Link Up and Beith Community Development Trust have existing knowledge of what their communities need, great relationships with families and the means to help people access support. Feedback from families has shown that there have been positive changes already and I look forward to seeing how the work develops and brings about meaningful, long-lasting change."
The Council Leader emphasised the invaluable input from families and partners in shaping these local activities. The work is designed around established community organisations with strong local roots, ensuring support is built on trusted relationships and delivered at a pace suitable for families. Positive changes have already been noted, with anticipation for further meaningful, long-lasting impact.
Reducing child poverty is a key priority for the Council, forming a central pillar in its transition towards a wellbeing economy aimed at enhancing the quality of life for local residents.
