Last week, from 21 October to 1 November, North Ayrshire celebrated Care Experienced Week. The council's Corporate Parenting team reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the care-experienced community, celebrating their achievements and future potential. This year's theme, ‘Forward to the Future’, encouraged collaboration among corporate parents to help care-experienced individuals achieve their ambitions.
As a statutory body, North Ayrshire Council acts as a Corporate Parent, ensuring the rights of care-experienced individuals are upheld and they receive the best life chances. The term 'Care Experienced' encompasses children and young people who have been in care at any stage, recognising their individual strengths and aspirations beyond their care journey.
An event titled ‘Connecting our Communities’ was hosted at Ayrshire College, organised by local secondary schools, Ayrshire College, Police Scotland, and various council teams including Youth Work, Money Smart, Working North Ayrshire, Housing, and Throughcare, alongside Skills Development Scotland, Children’s First, and NHS Ayrshire and Arran Prevention and Service support team. The event saw 87 young people attend to learn about available support and engage in activities such as a photo booth, detective exercise, youth voice workshop, and table tennis.
In the lead-up to the week, the Corporate Parenting team attended the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood on Tuesday 29 September. Three young people from the Champions Board participated in The Promise Oversight Board’s Parliament Reception, hearing from Paul McLennan MSP, Siobhian Brown MSP (Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise), and David Anderson (Chair of The Oversight Board) about progress on The Promise initiative across Scotland. The Promise Scotland, established after Scotland’s Independent Care Review in 2016, aims to transform the care system so all children and care-experienced adults grow up loved, safe, and respected.
Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Advisor and Chair of The Promise Scotland, recently met with young people from the Champions Board and council officers, including Chief Executive Craig Hatton, to discuss strategic aims. Key highlights included the Champions Board driving change, strengthening care and support through programmes like Brighter Pathways and new supported accommodation at Boyle Street, embedding The Promise through mandatory learning, and planning an annual Care Experienced Joint Cabinet meeting in mid-November at Saltcoats Town Hall.
Councillor Chloé Robertson, Young People's Champion, stated that supporting care-experienced individuals is a core part of everyone's role as a corporate parent, reflecting shared values and commitment to their rights and wellbeing. She emphasised the importance of asking 'would this be good enough for my child?' and highlighted the commitment to Article 20 of the UNCRC, which ensures children and young people in care have the right to special protection and help.
“"As a Council, our shared services will continue to work alongside care experienced young people across our six localities to provide the support and scaffolding they need to live happier, healthier and more connected lives in North Ayrshire. The Corporate Parenting team will be consistently consulting and engaging with care experienced young people to understand their barriers and how we can empower them to overcome any challenges they face."
Other events during Care Experienced Week included a creative art workshop at the Harbour Arts Centre and a Halloween Disco at Ardrossan Youth Centre. The week also promoted the North Ayrshire Communities mobile app, offering benefits, entitlements, news, and events information.
Care-experienced young people interested in getting involved can email corporateparenting@north-ayrshire.gov.uk. Community groups and organisations can also use this email to be included in the app. Updates are also available on the Corporate Parenting Team's Facebook page.
