Bairns' Hoose – children and young people: participation and engagement plan

4. Next Steps: Participation and Engagement Plans

We have committed to a number of actions in our Bairns' Hoose Project Plan Progress Report and Pathfinder Delivery Plan (2023 – 25) including to the implementation of this engagement plan.

4.1 Bairns' Hoose Standards

Engagement through link workers has made clear to us that in addition to the children and young person's version of the Standards, children and young people would find visual content a more engaging way of receiving information about the standards. Posters and postcards have been created and will be made available alongside the written material about the Standards for children and young people.

4.2 Bairns' Hoose Pathfinders

As described in the Scottish Government's Bairns' Hoose Project Plan Progress Report and Pathfinder Delivery Plan (2023 – 25), Bairns' Hoose Pathfinders Partnerships will act as proof of concept for the Bairns' Hoose model in Scotland. The participation and engagement of children and young people has been established as be an essential component for any site wishing to become a Pathfinder.

Children and young people, through link workers, will be involved in the scoring of applications from Pathfinder partnerships. HIS will work with partner agencies to ensure that children and young people are supported and informed to give their views on prospective Pathfinder partnerships. Information that is important to them, such as how the Pathfinders will involve children and young people in their local area, or how staff are trained, will be communicated in a way and format that is right for them.

4.3 National Bairns' Hoose Governance Framework

The role of the National Bairns' Hoose Governance Group (NBHGG) is to offer collective leadership, scrutiny and strategic oversight, and to generate a vibrant and constructive exchange of views to support the development of the model for Bairns' Hoose in Scotland.

The NBHGG held its inaugural meeting on 12 October 2022 and is independently chaired by Val de Souza, a professional social worker who has worked for more than 30 years in the social justice sector. The NBHGG provides the necessary collective leadership, specialist input and expert challenge to promote and support the development and establishment of an evidence-based, comprehensive, child-friendly national Bairns' Hoose model for Scotland.

A key priority for the Chair of the NBHGG is to ensure that the voices of children, young people and their families are heard and their experiences incorporated into the national Bairns' Hoose model.

The NBHGG has committed to ensuring that all of its meetings will include the voice of children and young people in some form. The NBHGG will feed back to the children and young people involved in the work on their input and how it is being taken on board to ensure communication is two-way and demonstrates clearly the "influence and audience" elements of the Lundy model.

4.4 Further Actions

Through both the link workers and Changemakers, we will also:

• Work with children and young people to develop a children's charter outlining how children and young people will be involved in the implementation of the Standards and the ongoing development of the Bairns' Hoose model.
• Gain children and young people's views on the name "Bairns' Hoose" – if it is meaningful to them and to explore alternatives if not.
• Involve children and young people in the development of the new Scottish Government Bairns' Hoose website https://www.bairnshoosescotland.com/.
• Hold an event to celebrate the achievements of all the children and young people and their families who have contributed so much to Bairns' Hoose development.

The participation and engagement of children and young people in the development of Bairns' Hoose in Scotland has been invaluable in shaping our understanding of their experiences and how together we can make the services best suit their needs. We will review this plan with input from children and young people.

We look forward to continuing this through the next phases of implementation.