What support do you think should be available to parents with experience of care, before and after starting a family?
How do you feel about creating a Charter for parents with care experience to help strengthen that support from Local Authorities and other ‘corporate parents’?
Following the successful introduction of a charter for young parents with care experience in Wales, a group of charities and other organisations in Scotland want to find out what you think would work here.
We’re inviting you to informal workshops in September to let us know what you think. RSVP today!
Parents and parent-to-be with care experience, and others who have considered the support available to families with care experience, are invited to join teams from the Why Not? Trust, Early Years Scotland, Staf and The Promise Scotland at a series of workshops in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Aberdeen.
When and where the workshops are taking place:
At each session, you can:
Travel expenses will be covered, children are welcome and refreshments will be provided.
Workshop participants will also receive a gift voucher to thank them for their time.
Numbers are limited, so please RSVP in advance.
If lots of people sign up, we can look into additional dates and times for more workshops. Please contact us using the details at the bottom of this page if you can’t make it along to the above sessions but would like to be involved.
Who can come to the workshops?
Any person with care experience and views on what support should be provided by their local authorities before and after having a baby.
Parents and parents-to-be with care experience are very welcome, as is any person with care experience and strong views on family support, whether you plan to have a child in the future or not.
Please fill out an RSVP form so we know how many refreshments and gift vouchers to bring on the day.
What’s in it for me?
Your time is precious and your voice matters – this only works with the input of people with care experience and a clear understanding of what parents need from support services before and after having a child.
This is your chance to influence the next steps, help make meaningful change, and enjoy a cuppa and a chat with other people who care.
To thank you for your time, participants will have travel expenses covered and receive a gift voucher at the end of the workshop.
What organisations are involved?
The workshops are being facilitated in collaboration with the Why Not? Trust, Early Years Scotland, Staf and The Promise Scotland, with support from Dr Louise Roberts at Cardiff University.
What is a ‘charter’, and what difference would it make?
A charter is an agreement that individuals or organisations can sign to make a public commitment to something.
In Wales, the charter for young care-experienced parents was signed by all Welsh local authorities who agreed to a series of promises, co-written by people with care experience. It helped to set out what they can expect from support services and to hold those services accountable for delivering certain standards.
What happens in Scotland is up to you! This is just the first step.
You can find out more about the Welsh charter at exchangewales.org and in the short videos below.
A summary of the research findings that led to the creation of the Welsh charter:
What promises did the Welsh local authorities sign up to?
Anyone who RSVPs for a workshop will get more information and a reminder closer to the time.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please get in touch with Michelle Craig, Community Development and Engagement Lead at the Why Not Trust, on 07850 725740 or email her at michelle.craig@whynottrust.org.
