Corporate parenting

What is corporate parenting?

Corporate parenting refers to the necessary actions of public bodies to promote and support the physical, emotional, spiritual, social and cognitive development of a looked after child or care leaver, from infancy through to adulthood.

What duties do we have as a corporate parent?

The six duties set out in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 provide a working definition of corporate parenting. Insofar as the duties are consistent with the proper exercise of our other functions, we must:

1. Be alert to matters which, or which might, adversely affect the wellbeing of children and young people to whom this Part applies
2. Assess the needs of those children and young people for services and support it providesP
3. Promote the interests of those children and young people
4. Seek to provide those children and young people with opportunities to participate in activities designed to promote their wellbeing
5. Take such action as it considers appropriate to help those children and young people: (i) to access opportunities it provides in pursuance of paragraph (4); (ii) to make use of services, and access support, which it provides
6. take such other action as it considers appropriate for the purposes of improving the way in which it exercises its functions in relation to those children and young people.

How are we delivering our corporate parenting duties?

We have published a report on the implementation of the 2016-18 plan which also outlines our plan for 2018-2021.

We will carefully consider which of our delivery functions engages the Corporate Parenting duties and develop actions as appropriate for the functions that are within scope, with an updated plan due by the end of 2024.

We have also published a literature review of corporate parenting research and reports.

Please contact Stuart Drummond on 0131 240 2041 or drummondst@slab.org.uk

You can also find out more about corporate parenting on the website of the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) and Who Cares? Scotland, a charity that works with care experience young people and care leavers across Scotland.