Dear Friend
I can’t quite believe we are almost in the last quarter of the year. Where has the time gone? Here at Staf we have been enjoying getting together and reconnecting following a summer of planning and recuperating.
Thank you to everyone who has attended our forums this month, it’s been great to hear from so many of you and we look forward to more lively conversations in October with our Implications of Continuing Care and Supported Lodgings, Supported Carers Focus Groups.
I’m also very much looking forward to our National Conference on the 23rd November which this year is in person, hurrah, at the Stirling Court Hotel and focuses on the value of relationships with a particular focus on the role of friendships with contributions from Dr Autumn Roesch-Marsh (University of Edinburgh) Michelle McClintock (Aberdeenshire Council), members of Youth Justice Voices and Scotland’s Local House Projects with more speakers to be confirmed. It’s shaping up to be a great day of connectivity and learning. Make sure you book your tickets by the 14th October to secure the best rate available.
We’re also looking to create new networks, and with The Promise being integral to all our work, we are wanting to hear from any Promise Keepers out there to help build connections and ensure we are all learning and collaborating to #KeepThePromise for care experienced people and the workforce. If you are a Promise Keeper or know someone who is please contact info@staf.scot to find out more.
A marker of the speed at which time is passing was the 1st birthday of The Real Toolkit, our online resource for and by care experienced young people and the workforce. We celebrated with cake as we exhibited at the Scottish Education Expo (thanks to everyone who visited the stand) and our project worker Katrina wrote this blog on the journey so far and the exciting times ahead.
We have also been celebrating the work of Youth Justice Voices, our care and justice experienced steering groups who have been central to two recently published documents; the Whole Systems Approach guidance for children and young people in conflict with the law and Clan Childlaw’s Study of Legal Support for children and young people. Thank you to all involved for sharing your lived experience to ensure that improvements are made and young people have the support and information they need at what can be frightening and difficult times.
Finally, as Care Experienced Week (24 – 28 Oct) approaches we are planning our own events and looking forward to attending others run by our members. On the 25th October, we and our partners at Care Leavers Association (England) and IFCO are holding a Building Bridges event where you can hear from care leavers from England and Scotland about what matters to them, what their hopes are for the future and how we can work together to improve the outcomes for care experienced people across the UK. If you'd like to be added to the guest list for this event or to find out more email info@staf.scot.
Thank you for your time and support, as always.
Best wishes,
Jo Derrick, Staf CEO
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Youth Just Us - Care and Justice Experienced Steering Group
Youth Just Us have been very busy this month. They contributed to the recently published Whole Systems Approach guidance for children and young people. Youth Justice Voices member Marie said "Myself, Dale and Jason worked really hard on this guide to make sure children and young people going through the justice system understand the process and their rights, so I am really happy to see it being published. Thank you to all of the young people who shared their views with us and made the guide possible. I know that something like this would have helped me when going through a scary and confusing system so I hope it has a positive impact." They were also pivotal in Clan Childlaw's scoping study on Legal Support for Children and Young People. Huge thanks to young people from Inside Out, Youth Just Us and STARR for sharing their views. Youth Just Us are currently seeking new members. Join them at an info session taking place at the Staf participation space in Glasgow on Monday 3rd October where you can find out about the project, as well as trying out some fun creative activities. Get in touch with ruth@staf.scot more info. Please share this flyer with anyone you think might be interested in joining Youth Just Us.
Inside Out - Care experienced steering group at HMPYOI Polmont
You can keep up to date with the work of Youth Just Us and Inside Out via our Twitter account @YJVScotland | | | | Care Leavers Forum
The Care Leavers forum continue to meet and discuss issues important to them. They were delighted to meet with the First Minister to discuss the Guaranteed Income for Care Leavers. They are also involved in the Building Bridges work with the Care Leavers Association and IFCO. To find out how to attend their event on the afternoon of the 26th October, please email info@staf.scot.
Get in touch with katrina@staf.scot if you'd like to get involved and influence change for care leavers! | | | | The Real Toolkit
The Real Toolkit celebrated it's first birthday on the 21st September! We celebrated with some cake at the Scottish Education Expo and we will be announcing new changes to the site soon.
In the meantime check out the latest blog from Project Worker Katrina about the past year and what lies ahead for the Toolkit,
Check out this month's featured guides on Supporting Young People in education.
You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with our progress. | | | | National Leadership Network (NLN) which Staf are lead hosts of alongside our partners at CYCJ, Columba 1400, Resilience Learning Partnership and Who Cares? Scotland.
Gary Brown, NLN Development Co-ordinator, shares the latest update
Steering Group: NLN staff have been meeting with the 4 young people from the Steering Group on a weekly basis. The young people have been going through an introduction to the NLN while working on supporting promoting the recruitment process again. NLN staff and young people are also doing 1-1 sessions to build relationships and get to know each other better.
Steering Group recruitment: We are currently recruiting for new members for our steering group. You can find out more about the role and how to apply here.
Interim Oversight Board: The young people in the IOB have been involved in a few different things recently. They have been giving feedback on an evaluation of the recent roadshows, planning what the NLN hoodies* should look like and discussing how the NLN can work effectively with volunteers. They were also discussing the idea of doing a podcast to celebrate all they have achieved so far. The IOB are also currently considering their next stages with the NLN. *The group decided that the colour of hoodies should be polled on social media and so far it looks like the purple colour in the NLN logo is looking like the favourite. The style of hoodie will also be polled on social media.
NLN partnership meeting: At the last meeting, the agenda covered many topics such as the Steering Group (inc. recruitment), Life Changes Trust legacy projects, completing the partnership agreement fully, engagement strategies and so much more. Two subgroup meeting were arranged on the back of this meeting to look at governance in the Steering Group and the NLN generally.
Comms: We are working on a website and should have something to share soon. Comms staff from CYCJ, Columba 1400 and Staf and NLN staff met up to look at the current Comms strategy/plan and focus on working collaboratively. Notes from this meeting are available but the agenda covered the NLN story so far, social media, quarterly updates, blogs/vlogs and more. The comms staff are keen to meet every two months moving forward.
Life Changes Trust Legacy leads meeting: this was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances happening around the pass of the Queen. A meeting in October is now being planned. Some of the leads from the projects have been meeting individually to build relationships and start sharing resources, paperwork, thought and ideas, etc that may be useful to each other. NLN staff have met with the new leads from both the Creativity and Care Project and the Digital Skills project. If you would like to know any more information on these projects, please get in touch.
NLN Blogs/Vlogs: A small group of ‘friends’ of the NLN will be approached to see how this work will develop. This will help with us consider guidance, content, and suitability, etc. Also look out for some blogs/vlogs from young people who have been working with the NLN too, they will be on our social media platforms in due course.
This is a snapshot of some of the work the NLN is doing just now. For more information, please contact gary@thenln.org | | | | | |
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