Dear Friend
Welcome to this month’s Staf newsletter, at the end of what has been another busy period for the team with delivery being the optimum word!
This month it was a privilege to attend the Cross-Party Group on Care Leavers’ first hybrid event at the Scottish Parliament. Attended by MSPs, including Natalie Don, the Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise, and with presentations from several young people with care experience, it was a very productive, passionate, and important forum for all involved as we discussed stigma and what supports are needed before accessing further and higher education. We look forward to following up on the many action points and delivering the follow up meeting in February where we will look at what is needed during and after FE/HE. If you’d like to be part of these conversations, email marion@staf.scot to be added to the CPG contact list.
It’s been great to have our workforce focus groups and forums back after the summer break, with such rich discussions and presentations and opportunities to connect and learn. There are plenty more to come this year, which you can sign up to at our events page.
As you know, October is a busy month in the care calendar as we celebrate care experienced week (23 – 29 October). There are some great events taking place across the country, and for Staf we are proud to be supporting Cheryle from Project Return to organise two mental health and wellbeing hubs taking place in Edinburgh (24 Oct) and Glasgow (26 Oct) which are open to care experienced people who want to learn more about how to access wellbeing services and opportunities. Spaces are limited and filling quickly but there’s still time to sign up via our website.
During care experienced week we will also be kicking off our 100 Days of Listening project which seeks to emulate the listening that went into the Independent Care Review, this time with a focus on creating a wish list of wants for young people moving on from care and from those who support them. Check out ‘Moving On’ Strategic Lead, Thomas Carlton’s blog for more information about this important next stage in Keeping the Promise. If you’d like to be one of the many voices heard, then please complete our interest form here.
As I mentioned in our last newsletter, all eyes are on the Promise as we reach the end of Plan 21 – 24 and as Ryan (a member of the Cross-Pary Group) recently said “we shouldn't be saying keeping the promise, we should be saying delivering the promise.” We know there is a lot still to be done, but there is also a huge amount of magnificent work being delivered across the country which we plan to showcase at our National Conference in November, sponsored by Kibble. This year we are delighted to be joined by Fraser McKinlay, CEO of the Promise Scotland alongside throughcare & aftercare practitioners in the field and Promise Leads including Beth Anne Logan and Sharon Coats from North Lanarkshire Council. We are also delighted to be welcoming back Dr Autumn Roesch Marsh who will be presenting her work, ‘Feeling safe, feeling connected,’ focusing in on the role of friends and social connections in creating a sense of safety and belonging. You can sign up to attend our Conference here. Remember early bird booking offer ends on the 13th of October!
It was encouraging to see the Promise being directly addressed by the First Minister during the Programme for Government, with a focus on supporting care leavers into employment and the announcement of a Strategic Committee, which Natalie Don confirmed will consist of several Ministers whose portfolios interact with delivering the Promise and will be chaired by the First Minister. We’ll make sure to keep you updated on any developments.
This month we have been delighted to see the outcomes of two strands of work. We are thrilled to share that Glasgow City Council have delivered their Shannon’s Box to children entering care. We have supported them throughout their journey to creating bespoke designs and making sure the content suited the young people’s needs took time but it’s great to see them, as Bluey would say, in real life! You can find out more about Shannon’s Box here.
We are also so proud of Youth Justice Voices’ collaboration with Clan Childlaw and Braw Talent which resulted in Alright?, an incredibly powerful animation about young people’s experiences and wants from legal representation. If you’ve not had a chance to watch it, please check it out here. It’s a great demonstration of coproduction at its best.
Speaking of Youth Justice Voices, Youth Justice Us, the Glasgow based steering group for care and justice experienced young people aged 16 – 25, is hosting some drop-in sessions over the next few weeks with creative pursuits including soap making, tie dye and canvas tags to give potential members an insight into what the group is and does. Email katrina@staf.scot for more info or check out our Instagram page.
Our Katrina has also been busy with our Scottish Mentoring and Leadership Project work, which involved a week in Skye during the Indian Summer. It was an intense and enjoyable week, which Shaun was able to enjoy with Katrina before he started university. You can read more about the trip, and Shaun's journey with Staf in his brilliant blog!
Finally, for those who want to find out more about Staf overall and how we could support you, why not sign up to attend one of our Staf Information sessions? The first one is taking place on Wednesday 4 October. Sign up for free here.
All the best
Jo Derrick
Staf CEO
