Corporate Parenting
Keeping The Promise in South Lanarkshire
The Care Review was “an independent, root and branch review of Scotland’s care system” of the underpinning legislation, practices, culture, and ethos. The outcome of the review has been articulated in a series of documents entitled the Promise.
The Promise sets out a vision of a system that support shifts in policy, practice, and culture so Scotland can #KeepThePromise it made to care experienced infants, children, young people, adults and their families - that every child grows up loved, safe and respected, able to realise their full potential.
The Promise is built on five foundations of voice; family; care; people and scaffolding. These foundations are at the heart of our promise for our children and families.
At its core, the commitment to keep children with their families where it is safe to do so and above all else, value the importance of relationships with families. We are working to shape local practice and involve service providers, professionals and volunteers involved in the lives of children to implement change.
While work is beginning to cascade responses across Scotland, In South Lanarkshire we are working to shape local practice and involve families, service providers, professionals and volunteers involved in the lives of children and young people to implement change.
Our newly established Corporate Parenting Board met for the first time at the end of April 2021 and was renamed ‘The Promise Board’ to underline the importance of this commitment. In addition, our Champions’ Board was launched in December 2019 and has now been incorporated into our children’s services governance structure on a parity with The Promise Board. The approach will have a key role in helping us shape and adapt our services throughout the duration of the Promise Plan 21-24.
The work is supported through three new priority multiagency thematic groups who will help to implement this change:
- Redesigning Services for care experienced children
- Community Throughcare, aftercare and continuing care
- Engagement and participation of care experienced children and young people
Our new Corporate Parenting Strategy includes the commitment to building capacity to support children and young people to remain within their families where it is safe. We will do this by developing an enhanced and more co ordinated family support model. We have undertaken an improvement programme to enhance the support offered to Kinship carers, we have ambitious plans to strengthen our support to care experienced young people post 16 years, in line with the vision of the Promise, we will design a model of continued support post 16 years for our care experienced population.
The plan will give centrality to the importance of relationships across our workforce, promoting a culture that values relationships between the workforce and children, young people and their families.
South Lanarkshire Champions Board have launched their social media platforms. Find out what’s happening on: Facebook or Twitter
There is lots more information available on our Children and Families webpages including Care Experienced Young People, Kinship Care and Throughcare and Aftercare.