Scotland’s Care System: Achieving Life Goals and Ambitions

This report highlights the voices of care experienced children and young people that Action for Children Scotland supports. It tells politicians, policy makers, professionals, and practitioners about what care experienced children and young people believe works in Scotland’s care system but also what needs to improve. The hopes and aspirations of care experienced children and young people are also revealed within this report.

Summary of Postcard Comments
Care experienced children and young people can be looked after at home or looked after and accommodated. Those we support told us that Scotland’s care system should:

• provide the setting where young people can have positive relationships with all those they encounter based in a safe, secure, and happy environment;
• ensure that people and systems around young people treat them with respect and are available to turn to in times of need at ‘transitional’ moments in their care journey;
• empower them to make decisions that affect their lives so that they can achieve their goals while learning from their experiences;
• provide equality of opportunity, with financial and in-kind support, to allow them to become confident and successful adults.

The Vision Statement
Care experienced children and young people that Action for Children Scotland support have developed a vision statement which contains four principles.

Action for Children is working towards a Scotland where:

1. children and young people in care have the right to live in a safe, secure and happy environment underpinned by positive relationships;

2. children and young people in care have the right to be able to live independently but with the comfort of knowing that support is available during transitional moments in their lives;

3. children and young people in care have the right to be treated with respect by systems and people that they encounter and are also empowered to learn from their mistakes while achieving their goals;

4. children and young people in care have the right to equality of opportunity, and the financial and in-kind support to help them succeed and achieve in life.

Putting Words Into Practice
Care experienced children and young people came together to develop the vision statement by looking at challenges and developing potential solutions. The asks contained within this report along with Annex A reflect this work. In taking these asks forward, the Independent Review of Scotland’s Care System, can promote a system which supports care experienced children and young people to fulfil their potential. This is also an opportunity to review earlier reports, strategies and programmes to ensure that words have been put into practice.