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| Dear Friend,
On behalf of everyone at Staf, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
The festive season might be over for another year but we've got plenty of treats in the first Newsletter of 2019.
Firstly, we're looking back over an incredible year for Staf in a blog setting out some of what we have achieved in 2018. I want to thank all of our members for their support and participation - without you none of this would have been possible.
I'm particularly proud that we've secured funding for fantastic new projects on relationships, trauma and the participation of young people with experience of the justice system. These projects will build on the work we've been doing over the past year on these important issues.
In the last month, we also called on the Scottish budget to protect funding for the implementation of Continuing Care, and as you can see from our blog on the budget, that's a call we'll keep making.
We're also looking forward to a great line-up of events this year, with new opportunities for members to connect and network, including our first-ever Local Authority Managers' Forum.
Finally, don't forget to put our one-day Dr Karen Treisman event in your new 2019 diaries - this event is already filling up fast so make sure you don't miss out!
As you can see, it's really shaping up to be an exciting new year of new beginnings for Staf - I look forward to getting started.
All the best,
Norma
Norma Corlette, Staf CEO |
| | The New Year's Resolution we're sticking to in 2019 It's that time of year again. The Christmas decorations are packed away and we're setting our goals for the year ahead. At Staf, 2019 will be all about ensuring care leavers and those who support them are listened to, cared for and loved. Read about our plans for the year ahead in Norma's blog. |
| | The Importance of Relationships |
| | Last year we interviewed young people alongside someone who has made a big difference in their lives and asked them four questions about their views on the importance of relationships. Watch our highlights video, and find out more about the project on our website. |
| | | Staf awarded over £500,000 for exciting new projects Thanks to funding from both the Life Changes Trust and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, 2019 sees us embark on three very different projects but all with one major theme: relationships. Importantly, all of this work will support the workforce to improve the lives of young people. Find out more here. |
| | | 2018 in Numbers: what we achieved together last year
2018 was a packed year for Staf. Get the full list of what we achieved last year with your support. |
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| | Scottish Budget: what it means for care leavers and those who support them The Scottish Government has announced its draft budget for 2019-20. We've gone through the detail and put together five things you need to know about the impact on care leavers and those who support them, including our call to protect funding for Continuing Care. |
| | How can we support care leavers into employment? Lewis, our Policy and Events Officer, takes a look at two of the key issues facing young people with regards to employment in preparation for the Care Leavers into Employment Focus Group's next meeting on 6th February 2019. |
| | Your Voice: barriers to employment At Staf we aim to listen, reflect and act on the views of our members. This month we want to know more about the barriers care leavers face when getting into work. The young people involved in our Connecting Voices project previously told us that lack of affordability in public transport is a key issue. Is this an issue in your area? How are you supporting young people to overcome this barrier? What else can be done?
Contact Lewis@staf.scot to feed in your views or to book your place at the Care Leavers into Employment focus group on 6th February. |
| | NEW: Connecting Members Online We are committed to finding new ways for our members to connect and network. That's why this month we've set up a new private discussion group on Facebook for Staf members, where we'll post new content every week to inform and engage members. Join the conversation by signing up here. |
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| | A Day with Dr. Karen Treisman: supporting the workforce to become trauma informed and trauma responsive
Wednesday 8th May 2019 | 9.30am - 4pm, Glasgow |
| | Following on from her fantastic presentation at our National Conference, we are delighted that Clinical Psychologist Dr Karen Treisman will now lead this special day-long event to give you the tools you need to support a trauma-informed organisational culture.
Dr Treisman has worked in children’s services for several years and is a specialist in supporting systems to move towards being, and to sustain, trauma-informed and trauma-responsive practice.
At this exciting event, Dr Treisman will take us through the four Rs of a trauma-informed system, where we realise the impact of trauma; recognise the signs of trauma; resist re-traumatisation; and respond by fully infusing trauma knowledge into everything they do.
Watch Dr Treisman talk about the importance of supporting the workforce below. |
| | | | Save the date - we're bringing Dr Bruce Perry to Scotland! |
| | In partnership with other organisations, we are hosting an International Child Trauma Conference - More than My Trauma - in 2020, featuring world-renowned trauma expert Dr Bruce Perry. Our partners for the event are Kibble, Children in Scotland, Clackmannanshire Educational Psychology Service, Aberlour and Seamab.
Be the first to get the details as they're announced - sign up to the mailing list today. |
| | | | We've created this new event to bring together local authority managers to connect, network and share best practice specific to delivering statutory services to young people.
Join us in the familiar surroundings of the Albert Halls in Stirling where we will spend time discussing current practice issues including: - Transitions
- Social Security
- Service delivery and design
As always there will be plenty of time to catch up with colleagues, spending time together networking and sharing practice.
You can find out more, including booking information on our website. |
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| | | What will be discussed?- Best practice and how we, together, can overcome current issues: from ensuring adequate funding and resources, to ending the postcode lottery faced by young people.
- We will be joined by colleagues in Fife who will share their current developments and best practice.
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| | Our Care Leavers into Employment focus group tackles the issues faced by young people in both accessing and sustaining employment.- At our last meeting, we explored solutions to a range of key employment issues.
- For this coming meeting, we will take a deeper dive into transport and 'soft outcomes' specifically: please get in touch with lewis@staf.scot if you have any good practice you would like to share in these areas!
- From the practice collated and the discussions at the forthcoming meeting, we will seek to influence change in national policy.
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| | Our longest standing focus group is the Supported Lodgings and Supported Carers group. This group brings together those who run schemes across Scotland to share practice, ideas and importantly to feel a sense of community with each other.
Mike Rodden, our very first honorary member has facilitated this group since 2015 and led its work. Mike has been a strong advocate for supported lodgings and carers, which offer the best form of transition to interdependence for many care experienced young people. Mike stood down in his capacity as group facilitator at the last meeting as he looks to further enjoy his retirement.
We are looking for another volunteer to take on the role of co-ordinating this group. This involves chairing the quarterly meeting, taking notes and distributing them to the group. Please get in touch with Pamela@staf.scot for further information about this opportunity.
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| | | We also have a number of additional dates for your diary next year:
Implications of Continuing Care Focus Group: 16th April 2019, University of Strathclyde
Care Leavers into Employment Focus Group: 1st May 2019, Glasgow |
| | | If you only have time to read, listen or watch one thing this week, make sure it's one of the below.
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| Read: Coram Voice's Bright Spots Snapshot 2018 report gives a much-needed insight into how children and young people in care really feel about their lives. 2,684 looked-after children participated in this survey from across 17 local authorities in England. |
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Listen: In this episode of 'Life Matters', Dr Bruce Perry talks about the impact of trauma on children's brain development, the impact on their lives and how people can be supported to recover from trauma. |
| | | | © 2018 Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum, All Rights Reserved.
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