Statutory guidance on Part 9 (Corporate Parenting) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

Outcomes from Corporate Parenting

146. Under section 63 Scottish Ministers are empowered to issue guidance to corporate parents about the kind of outcomes (for the eligible population of children and young people) which should be achieved through corporate parenting (the proper fulfilment of all duties set out in Part 9).

147. This guidance recommends that every corporate parent considers, in the context of their primary functions, their contribution towards:

• Providing safe, secure, stable and nurturing homes for looked after children and care leavers;
• Enabling looked after children and care leavers to develop or maintain positive relationships with their family, friends, professionals and other trusted adults;
• Upholding and promoting children's rights;
• Securing positive educational outcomes for looked after children and care leavers;
• Ensuring 'care' is an experience in which children are valued as individuals, and where support addresses their strengths as well as their needs;
• Ensuring physical or mental health concerns are identified early and addressed quickly;
• Increasing the number of care leavers in education, training and employment;
• Reducing the number of looked after children and care leavers who enter the youth and criminal justice systems.

148. This is not an exhaustive list, and the outcomes adopted by each corporate parent (and recorded in the corporate parenting plan) should be identified through an assessment of need (a duty under section 58(1b)) and by remaining alert to matters which adversely affect the wellbeing of looked after children and care leavers (section 58(1b)). Critically, corporate parenting outcomes should be shaped through continual discussion and engagement with children and young people. Meaningful dialogue is essential to effective corporate parenting. However, the level of consultation must be proportionate, and corporate parents should work collaboratively to minimise duplication, and to ensure all corporate parents have opportunities to fulfil their corporate parenting responsibilities (section 58).

149. The corporate parenting outcomes chosen by each corporate parent will also be shaped by their other functions, and the public policy area in which they primarily operate.