Promise keepers assembled

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Subject: Promise keepers assembled

Dear Friend

Welcome to this month’s newsletter, and what another busy month it has been!

I’d like to start by reflecting on last week’s National Conference. Once again it was brilliant to have so many like-minded, passionate people in the room all ready to share how they are keeping the Promise and plan to continue to do so as we move on from Plan 21 – 24.

I’d like to say a particular thank you to our sponsor, Kibble and to our exhibitors whose stalls were overflowing with excellent practice and the odd goody or two! Thank you to our excellent speakers and facilitators, Thomas, Pamela, Shaun & Dawn from team Staf, Rachel and Fraser from The Promise Scotland, Dr Autumn from University of Edinburgh, Claire, Victoria and Charlie from Charleston Square and Beth-Anne and Sharon from North Lanarkshire Council whose contributions created a day of learning, love, and laughter.

For those who were unable to make it, or indeed those who were there and would like to refresh their memories of the day, we have collated the presentations and useful links on our events resources page. We have also assembled the Keeping The Promise posters which many of our delegates provided which you can access here. If you would like to contribute to this collection, please send an A4 poster detailing how your organisation is keeping the promise for those transitioning from care to marion@staf.scot We will also shortly be sharing the outputs from the roundtable session and sharing those on the resource page.

As we move on from Plan 21 – 24 it is vital that we hear from you, the Moving On experts, about what is needing to ensure we meet the commitments made to care leavers. Our 100 Days of Listening project is collating this information and as we approach the 50-day mark it is more important than ever that you take part, be that by survey or an in person or online session. You can find out how to take part and get your voice heard at www.staf.scot/moving-on

As one Conference ends, another large-scale event is on the horizon. Details for our Staf Summit, which is aimed at senior leaders, will be circulated soon. If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this event, please email marion@staf.scot for more information. For now please save the date, Wednesday 13th March. We will also be sharing information about the next Participation Network meeting which is taking place on the 28th February. Make sure you are signed up to the Network’s mailing list to be the first to find out the details!

With the end of 2023 fast approaching, it gives me time to think about the many ways we have engaged with our members and allies and be so grateful for everyone’s commitment. Our member survey will be shared at the end of the year, so please look out for that, and take some time to share your thoughts on the work of Staf and what you would like us to focus on going forward. We have also got our dates for our next set of forums, starting in January, so can you sign up to make sure you don’t miss out on the many ways to connect and learn from your peers across the country.

We know that the lead up to Christmas can be a challenge for many reasons, particularly for care experienced people, so we hope you find some time to take care of yourselves and reflect on the many small wins, which Fraser McKinlay commented on at the Conference, that have actually made a huge difference and will continue to do so as we all move forward to 2024.

Best wishes,

Jo Derrick
Staf CEO

Staf Projects

Youth Justice Voices & Inside Out - Care and Justice Experienced Steering Groups

Youth Justice Voices is a Scotland-wide participation project, jointly run by Staf and CYCJ and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund which seeks to amplify the voices of care and justice experienced young people (aged 16-25) to influence national change.

It has been lovely to visit some of our members including staff and young people at Kibble and GSC this month.

Youth Just Us

We have also seen our participation space full of life last week as we hosted our Nae Danger VR experience night with Youth Just Us and No Knives Better Lives. Thanks to Aberlour, CYCJ and OHOV we welcomed some new faces to the group, trailing the game for the first time and having a giggle in the process. Special thanks to Orielle from NKBL for facilitating the session. And if you missed out, don’t worry we will be holding another VR experience night next year.

We are looking forward to our next team building, planning and Youth Just Us quiz night at Staf on Monday the 4^th and Christmas Celebration evening before we take a well-earned break.

In 2024 we are keen to ensure that we create a national network for care and justice experienced young people. We are keen to reignite our work with Police Scotland tackling stigma and discrimination and are planning some focussed work around the Care Leaver Payment and Children’s Care and Justice Bill and some fun and creative projects too. So if you are aged 16-25 and want to drive change then get in touch with ruth@staf.scot you can join Youth Just Us in Glasgow or our YJV North East Project in Aberdeen.

Inside Out ‘Speaking Out’

Inside Out has been running in collaboration with Barnardo’s in HMP&YOI Polmont since 2020. Throughout this time we have heard how difficult transitions can be, so it was really important that the group were able to participate in the 100 days of Listening, Moving On Change Programme this month. We intend to continue these conversations with Staf and the Scottish Government in the New Year. Suitable housing, adequate financial support and access to education, employment and community activities were fundamental as are relationships with family, friends and workers who care about you and provide hope.

Inside Out speak a lot about the approach that workers can take and that was notable in our recent evaluation session with Inside Out. These are things most people know but it is important to remind ourselves how important the “atmosphere”, “the Gucci biscuits” and the fact that “workers care about our opinions” is to young people. Taking a youth work approach and setting the right environment is key but the clear message was also loud and clear: group members come because they want to “make a difference” and want to be part of the solution “because you can make a change in the system because you involve folk instead of making assumptions about what they need”. Just don’t forget the tea and biscuits!

If you want to hear more about the work of Youth Justice Voices and the opportunities available to young people contact ruth@staf.scot who would be more than happy to arrange a visit or info session for young people at Staf.

You can keep up to date with the work of Youth Justice Voices and Inside Out via our Twitter account @YJVScotland

More info

The Real Toolkit

This month's featured guide is for care experienced people Who Can You Turn To which is all about asking for support and knowing who to turn to when needed.

Check out all the guides at www.therealtoolkit.scot

More info

National Leadership Network (NLN) which Staf are lead hosts of alongside our partners at CYCJ, Columba 1400, Resilience Learning Partnership and Who Cares? Scotland.

Steering Group

The Steering Group have approved applications for funding for leadership projects from the hosts. These projects will be monitored by the Steering Group over the next 12 months. Look out for updates in due course. The Steering Group will soon begin exploring how the NLN will fund leadership opportunities next year and beyond.

A new recruitment drive to join the Steering Group is well underway which a good number of applications received so far. Applications have been received from a good mix of genders, wide age range and significant geographical spread. Applications close on 22nd of December 2023.

Consultants

The consultants continue to work on various pieces of work including writing NLN policies, planning and delivering roadshows and planning and delivering the current social media campaign around the NLN website.

Cutting Aboot - NLN’s Active Travel Project

Cutting Aboot staff are currently in the midst of undertaking a literature review which has highlighted significant gaps in information about the travel behaviours of individuals with experience of care. Despite this gap we are finding lots of interesting data that will help shape our research questions and engagement strategy.

To further support our work, we recently attended the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places Conference in Stirling which focused on bridging the gap between urban and rural active travel communities which provided phenomenal learning and networking opportunities that we are looking forward to nurturing during future stages of our work.

NLN Website

Hopefully you have seen some of the great videos and visuals that have made up the social media campaign for the NLN website which goes live on Wednesday the 6th of December. One of the NLN Consultants has taken a leading role with this.

NLN Roadshows

At the start of the month, we visited the fantastic National House Project (Fife). This was a great evening where we got the opportunity to meet and chat with lots of people involved in great work in Fife. The evening maybe went too well as the two members of #TeamNLN left agreeing to get their legs waxed and their hair dyed for charity in 2024!!! The next Roadshow being planned is at Kibble.

Language project

The National Leadership Network is still working with our friends at Each and Every Child and Our Hearing, Our Voices on a project with a focus on language in the care experience community. Watch this space for updates in 2024.

Networking

NLN staff attended the recent Staf conference in Stirling which was a great opportunity to share information on the NLN including a bit of a focus on the Cutting Aboot project. It was great to say hello and catch up with various friends including staff from The National House Project, Kibble, and various Champs Boards. It was also great to talk to Fraser McKinlay, CEO of The Promise who is keen to meet up with #TeanNLN as he has been hearing good things about us!

Participation Network

NLN staff continue to be involved in this network’s Steering Group working with Ruth from Staf. Look out for an in-person event happening early 2024 which will have a focus on the concept of ‘power’.

Life Changes Trust legacy

As always it has been great to engage with our friends from the various Life Changes Trust legacy projects this month. Great to be part of such a supportive network of people.

As always this is a bit of snapshot of some of the things #teamNLN are working on. If you would like more information on anything mentioned here, please contact gary@thenln.org

More info

Staf Events

Supported Lodgings, Supported Carers Focus Group
Tue 5 Dec

Book now

Implications of Continuing Care
Tue 9 Jan

Book now

Participation Practitioners' Forum
Thu 25 Jan

Book now

Local Authority Manager's Forum
Wed 31 Jan

Book now

Care Leavers into Employment, Education and Training
Tue 13 Feb

Book now

Staf Summit
Wed 13 Mar

Save the Date

The Participation Network

We are delighted to be the new hosts of The Participation Network, taking over from 5 years of #partycipation facilitated by our friends at CELCIS. The Network is open to anyone involved in helping others share voice and influence change. If you'd like to find out more and sign up to the network click on the link below.

We are delighted to share that the next gathering will take place on Wednesday 28th February with a theme of Power and Participation. Sign up to our mailing list to be notified when places will be available and future updates.

More info

Cross Party Group on Care Leavers
Staf is secretariat to the Cross Party Group on Care Leavers, chaired by MSP Paul O'Kane. Join us to discuss issues raised by care leavers from housing, to mental health, education and finance.

Next meeting: Wed 21 Feb, 6pm, Scottish Parliament/MS Teams
Topic: What care experienced students need to success during and after further and higher education.
How to join? Sign up here or email marion@staf.scot

Policy and Practice Updates

100 Days of Listening - Share your voice
There's still time to take part in the 100 Days of Listening. You can complete the online survey or we can come to you and speak directly online or in person.

More info

Care Leaver Payment
The consultation on the care leaver payment which was launched by the First Minister at the Staf participation space is now open. Please do share your thoughts on this one off, £2000 payment for care leavers.

More info

CCSP £13 Social Care Worker Call
The Coalition of Care and Support Providers, of which Staf is a member, is calling on the First Minister to value social care workers by increasing their pay in the forthcoming budget. Find out more below.

More info

A Roadmap for Trauma Responsive Change
The Scottish Government has published a new roadmap to help services and organisations identify and reflect on progress, strengths and opportunities for embedding a trauma-informed and responsive approach across policy and practice.

More info

Member of the Month: Falkirk Health and Social Care Partnership

Falkirk are a long-term member of Staf. In their latest update to COSLA's Promise - The Work of Local Government page they informed us of their work around supporting the workforce.

"We are also currently using the Promise Mapping Tool given to us by our local Promise Delivery Partner, which looks at the priority area of supporting the workforce for Plan 21-24. This first wave of responses will enable us to form a baseline of activity from which to measure our progress. The mapping tool looks at 4 key areas of Workforce Values, Trauma Informed, Ongoing Relationships and Workforce Support. We have amended and incorporated this tool into our Corporate Parenting work to capture related Promise activity from across the partnership. From here we have conducted a thematic analysis of all responses so far and used this to inform our Corporate Parenting priorities moving forward."

More info

What we love this month
💜The buzz of the room at the Staf Conference
💜The Hub for Success' Care Fest Winter Warmer

💜The love shown to departing Staf board member Simone

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Subject: Promise keepers assembled