Keeping The Promise to all our children, young people, adults and families

Keeping families together

We want children in Scotland to be able to live with their family, where it is safe to do so.

Family

Family can mean different things to different people. Family is very important because they can make us feel loved, supported and cared for. Sometimes relationships with family can be difficult – especially when families experience

tough times. When those relationships do become difficult we want to make sure there is support in place to keep families together and navigate life's challenges. We recognise that this isn't happening enough just now and these are some of the things we will do to make things better.

Providing support for your whole family

We know how important it is to look after all of your family in order to help you to stay together and get through tough times together

We will:

• Invest in Whole Family Wellbeing to help families stay together and thrive
• Introduce a Scottish Recommended National Allowance for kinship and foster carers to provide financial support to them
• Provide support with the costs of living and ensure that advice is easily available in places that are easily accessible for example at the doctors; or at school; or at the shops
• Work together with local authorities and other providers to ensure families have the support they need. This includes easier access to childcare and help for families to get education and jobs

A Scottish Recommended National Allowance means that wherever in Scotland children are living their caregivers will receive at least this amount of money to help care for them

Your education

We know that school is a big part of your life and that it does not always feel easy and this can have an impact on your happiness, friendships and how well you do in your learning

We will:

• Help to ensure you receive the support that you need in school and other education settings
• Give every school aged child their own digital device to help you to access learning
• Help children with care experience attend school and stay in school
• Make it easier for families to learn together and help adults learn how to support their children's learning
• Help people with care experience go to college or university if they want to

We will provide around £11 .5m per year to local authorities to help support educational attainment

Getting a job

We know that we must continue to make it easier for our children and young people with care experience to be the best they can be, including getting a job, training and support.

We will:

• Help people with care experience into jobs, treating people with dignity & respect
• Take a 'No One Left Behind' approach and continue to support young people with care experience through the Young Persons Guarantee
• Help people to access and understand what money they can get from the government to help them and continue to work with people with care experience to design our benefits services

The Young Persons Guarantee aims to connect every 16 to 24 year old to the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme or volunteering placement

Your community

We know that the places we live, the communities we are part of and the environment that surrounds us has a big place in our lives.

We will:

• Introduce a new Human Rights Bill to provide full and equal access to community services that improve lives and strengthen your human rights protections
• Listen to the voices of everyone in our communities to make sure they can play in, and make improvements to, the local areas we live, work and play
• Continue to work with partners to reduce crime and build stronger, safer communities
• Continue to work with health services, the police and other organisations to reduce the number of young people with care experience who go missing

Health and wellbeing

We should all be able to live long, healthy and active lives, no matter who we are or where we come from. We know from the Independent Care Review that health and mental health services need to do more to support people with care experience.

We will:

• Provide money each year to to help babies' and toddlers' mental health
• Create a national care service for adult health services, a decision on whether children's services will be included has yet to be made
• Work with SportScotland to ensure sports organisations understand the needs of people with care experience
• Create a whole family approach to mental health and support councils to provide new and better services for children and young people aged 5-24
• Ensure support is available all day and night to children and young people, their families and carers when things get really bad
• Support mental health pathways and services for children and young people and ensure that support is available and accessible to those who need it, at the right time

You and the law Getting it right for every child

We know that too many of our people with experience of care are at risk of ending up in prison.

We will:

• Help improve all children's journey through the justice system, including through introducing Bairns' Hoose to make sure that children and young people get the right support and care they need to recover
• Make things better when somebody in your family goes to prison by putting in place different supports and understanding better the impact it has on you
• Support people who are in prison, listening and understanding to what has happened to them during their lives helping them stay connected to the place they are from
• We will support local areas to implement the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) encourages everyone to work together to build a scaffold of support around children and young people. One that can provide support if needed, for as long as it's needed. This can be a named person who is a clear point of contact for support and advice; a child's plan, giving a full understanding of wellbeing and a model for all to follow; and, planned support across all services, this can be managed by a lead profession

The Bairns' Hoose

Will be a child-friendly, safe and welcoming space for children to talk about what has happened when someone has broken the law. It will reduce the number of times that children have to tell their story to different professionals. If a child needs to give evidence in a court process, someone explains what is happening and supports them through this.