Summary information relating to Corporate Parenting

Published 19/07/2019.  Last updated 05/06/2024
sourceLearning resources categoryInclusion Wellbeing and Equality

The information in this summary gives practitioners access to information, resources and policies to support professional learning and be even better corporate parents. It also provides connections to partners who can support this work.

Guide to this summary

  1. Definitions
  2. Key legislation, policy, and guidance
  3. Key facts
  4. Resources and reports
    • General education
    • Case studies
    • Self-evaluation
    • Professional learning
  5. Supporting agencies
  6. Links to other Corporate Parents

1. Definitions

Corporate parents

All ‘agencies and organisations of the state’ listed within Schedule 4 of the children and young people Act who have statutory duties to collaborate with each other in upholding the rights and securing the wellbeing of looked after children.

Corporate parenting

The principles, duties and actions necessary to uphold the rights and secure the wellbeing of a looked after child or care leaver, and through which physical, emotional, spiritual, social and educational development is promoted, from infancy through to adulthood.

It is a role which should complement and support the actions of parents, families and carers, working with these key adults to deliver positive change for vulnerable children and young people.

Looked after

Children and young people who are currently looked after in a formal arrangement with a local authority, but not always, involving compulsory supervision arrangements following a children’s hearing. Children can be looked after while remaining in the family home, with social work support, or in kinship, foster or residential care placement.

Care-experienced

Children and young people include those who have been looked after by a local authority at any time during their life. This includes adoptive children who were previously looked after. This is the preferred term identified by those with experience of the care system, as it is inclusive of those who may no longer be “looked after” but still live with the effects of this experience.

Care leaver

A young person who was looked after on or after their 16th birthday and who is aged under 26.

Notes

Children and young people (CYP) can be looked after and care experienced at the same time.

The term care experienced is becoming more widely used as it is more inclusive language preferred by CYP, however, the legislation refers to and applies to CYP who are defined as being ‘looked after’ or as a ’care leaver’.

Definitions for the different types of care can be found in the Care-experienced Children and Young People Definitions PDF Document.

2. Key legislation, policies, and guidance

Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (Part 9)

Current legislation on corporate parenting. Statutory guidance on Part 9 (Corporate Parenting) of the CYP Act 2014 is also available.

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004

Covers all looked after children and young people as they are considered to have additional support needs until assessed. Additional support for learning: statutory guidance 2017 (Code of Practice) outlines the current statutory guidance.

Equality Act 2010

Current equality legislation. Care experience is not legally a protected characteristic however many corporate parents treat ‘looked after’ status or care experience as if it was.

Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC)

Policy developed to support families by making sure children and young people can receive the right help, at the right time, from the right people.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child  

A treaty which comprehensively provides for the rights of children.

Independent Care Review

Set up to identify and deliver lasting change in the care system.

Scottish Care leavers Covenant

Established by stakeholders to close the gap between policy and practice for care leavers.

Core Tasks for Designated Managers

Ensures improvement in outcomes for looked after children and young people.

3. Key Data (focus on educational outcomes and leaver destinations for Care Experienced CYP)

4. Resources and reports

General education

Children and Young People’s Voice

Learner participation: Young Radical’s views (PDF)

Corporate parenting-turning legislation into practice together: Scottish Government Report 2018: how looked after CYP have benefitted from corporate parenting support.

Preventing Offending: Getting it right for children and young people Progress Report 2017: Scottish Government report on youth justice strategy (2015) progress.

Designated Manager Survey: Summary Findings (2017): How schools support Care Experienced CYP.

Careers Information, Advice and Guidance services and post transitions

Overseen Often Overlooked: Children and young people looked after at Home (2015)

Closing the Attainment gap in Scottish Education (2014): what teachers, schools, local and national government and other education providers can do to close the educational attainment gap associated with poverty in Scotland. See also care-experienced children and young people fund guidance. This fund specifically supports raising attainment for care-experienced children and young people.

Improving Educational Outcomes for Children Looked After at Home

Scotland's first nation-wide survey of Care Experienced students in Scotland's colleges and universities

Case studies

Self-Evaluation

How good is our school? 4 (2015): current self-evaluation tool for schools (part of a suite of ‘HGIO’ tools).

Professional Learning

5. Supporting Agencies

Who Cares? Scotland is a national voluntary organisation providing membership and independent advocacy for care-experienced people. Their vision is for a lifetime of equality, respect and love for care-experienced people.

CELCIS is the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection in Scotland (formerly for Looked After Children in Scotland), based at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

The Scottish Funding Council’s National Ambition for Care-Experienced Students provides inclusion priorities for care-experienced people.

The Association of Directors of Education in Scotland lists directors of local authorities with responsibility for education. All local authorities are corporate parents.

Enquire is an organisation offering advice on ‘additional support for learning’ for practitioners, parents and young people.

6. Links to other Corporate Parents

(this is not an exhaustive list, visit Corporate Parents - Who Cares? Scotland (whocaresscotland.org) for more details

Improvement questions

  • How am I helping care experienced children and young people be ready to learn and then engage in learning?
  • What could I do more of, less of, or differently to support care experienced learners?
  • How can partnership working, with other practitioners, parents, the wider community, and partners, be developed further to better support care experienced children and young people’s wellbeing and to achieve better educational outcomes?
  • What professional learning do I need, or can offer, to support practitioners to be even better corporate parents?
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Summary information relating to Corporate Parenting

Published 19/07/2019.  Last updated 05/06/2024
sourceLearning resources categoryInclusion Wellbeing and Equality

The information in this summary gives practitioners access to information, resources and policies to support professional learning and be even better corporate parents. It also provides connections to partners who can support this work.

Guide to this summary

  1. Definitions
  2. Key legislation, policy, and guidance
  3. Key facts
  4. Resources and reports
    • General education
    • Case studies
    • Self-evaluation
    • Professional learning
  5. Supporting agencies
  6. Links to other Corporate Parents

1. Definitions

Corporate parents

All ‘agencies and organisations of the state’ listed within Schedule 4 of the children and young people Act who have statutory duties to collaborate with each other in upholding the rights and securing the wellbeing of looked after children.

Corporate parenting

The principles, duties and actions necessary to uphold the rights and secure the wellbeing of a looked after child or care leaver, and through which physical, emotional, spiritual, social and educational development is promoted, from infancy through to adulthood.

It is a role which should complement and support the actions of parents, families and carers, working with these key adults to deliver positive change for vulnerable children and young people.

Looked after

Children and young people who are currently looked after in a formal arrangement with a local authority, but not always, involving compulsory supervision arrangements following a children’s hearing. Children can be looked after while remaining in the family home, with social work support, or in kinship, foster or residential care placement.

Care-experienced

Children and young people include those who have been looked after by a local authority at any time during their life. This includes adoptive children who were previously looked after. This is the preferred term identified by those with experience of the care system, as it is inclusive of those who may no longer be “looked after” but still live with the effects of this experience.

Care leaver

A young person who was looked after on or after their 16th birthday and who is aged under 26.

Notes

Children and young people (CYP) can be looked after and care experienced at the same time.

The term care experienced is becoming more widely used as it is more inclusive language preferred by CYP, however, the legislation refers to and applies to CYP who are defined as being ‘looked after’ or as a ’care leaver’.

Definitions for the different types of care can be found in the Care-experienced Children and Young People Definitions PDF Document.

2. Key legislation, policies, and guidance

Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (Part 9)

Current legislation on corporate parenting. Statutory guidance on Part 9 (Corporate Parenting) of the CYP Act 2014 is also available.

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004

Covers all looked after children and young people as they are considered to have additional support needs until assessed. Additional support for learning: statutory guidance 2017 (Code of Practice) outlines the current statutory guidance.

Equality Act 2010

Current equality legislation. Care experience is not legally a protected characteristic however many corporate parents treat ‘looked after’ status or care experience as if it was.

Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC)

Policy developed to support families by making sure children and young people can receive the right help, at the right time, from the right people.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child  

A treaty which comprehensively provides for the rights of children.

Independent Care Review

Set up to identify and deliver lasting change in the care system.

Scottish Care leavers Covenant

Established by stakeholders to close the gap between policy and practice for care leavers.

Core Tasks for Designated Managers

Ensures improvement in outcomes for looked after children and young people.

3. Key Data (focus on educational outcomes and leaver destinations for Care Experienced CYP)

4. Resources and reports

General education

Children and Young People’s Voice

Learner participation: Young Radical’s views (PDF)

Corporate parenting-turning legislation into practice together: Scottish Government Report 2018: how looked after CYP have benefitted from corporate parenting support.

Preventing Offending: Getting it right for children and young people Progress Report 2017: Scottish Government report on youth justice strategy (2015) progress.

Designated Manager Survey: Summary Findings (2017): How schools support Care Experienced CYP.

Careers Information, Advice and Guidance services and post transitions

Overseen Often Overlooked: Children and young people looked after at Home (2015)

Closing the Attainment gap in Scottish Education (2014): what teachers, schools, local and national government and other education providers can do to close the educational attainment gap associated with poverty in Scotland. See also care-experienced children and young people fund guidance. This fund specifically supports raising attainment for care-experienced children and young people.

Improving Educational Outcomes for Children Looked After at Home

Scotland's first nation-wide survey of Care Experienced students in Scotland's colleges and universities

Case studies

Self-Evaluation

How good is our school? 4 (2015): current self-evaluation tool for schools (part of a suite of ‘HGIO’ tools).

Professional Learning

5. Supporting Agencies

Who Cares? Scotland is a national voluntary organisation providing membership and independent advocacy for care-experienced people. Their vision is for a lifetime of equality, respect and love for care-experienced people.

CELCIS is the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection in Scotland (formerly for Looked After Children in Scotland), based at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

The Scottish Funding Council’s National Ambition for Care-Experienced Students provides inclusion priorities for care-experienced people.

The Association of Directors of Education in Scotland lists directors of local authorities with responsibility for education. All local authorities are corporate parents.

Enquire is an organisation offering advice on ‘additional support for learning’ for practitioners, parents and young people.

6. Links to other Corporate Parents

(this is not an exhaustive list, visit Corporate Parents - Who Cares? Scotland (whocaresscotland.org) for more details

Improvement questions

  • How am I helping care experienced children and young people be ready to learn and then engage in learning?
  • What could I do more of, less of, or differently to support care experienced learners?
  • How can partnership working, with other practitioners, parents, the wider community, and partners, be developed further to better support care experienced children and young people’s wellbeing and to achieve better educational outcomes?
  • What professional learning do I need, or can offer, to support practitioners to be even better corporate parents?
^ Back to top