It’s Thursday morning. Sunshine is bouncing off the walls and windows of Rachel House. Birds are singing. After a long, cold spring, flowers are bursting with pent up energy. “You chose a good day to visit,” a smiling Lyndsay Stobie opens the front door to the Kinross hospice for children. As welcomes go, it could hardly be warmer. Yet many people (including Lyndsay herself) … [Read more...] about Sunshine on Rachel House
childcare
Postscript: Infants in care – out of sight out of mind?
In early 2021 we drew attention to the inconvenient truth of the high number of infants in Scotland separated from their mothers before their first birthday, many in the first week of life[1].Between 2008 and 2017 one in every 85 children born in Scotland was in public care at some time before their first birthday: this represents 6,180 infants, a third of whom were less than … [Read more...] about Postscript: Infants in care – out of sight out of mind?
Keeping the Promise (and the faith)
This article replies to the recent piece by Maggie Mellon concerning the promise made to Scotland’s children in relation to their care when looked after by the state. I speak not for the entity The Promise Scotland nor the Scottish Government, both of whom the article holds accountable. However, I am a (former) social worker, foster carer, occasional Social Work lecturer, and … [Read more...] about Keeping the Promise (and the faith)
An empty Promise
Following the Independent Care Review, a Promise was made to children and families by the Scottish Government in February 2020. The Promise was that: • No child would become looked after by the local authorities for want of help and support that could prevent them being taken from their homes. • When it was unavoidable for a child to be “looked after” by their local … [Read more...] about An empty Promise
Infants in care – Scotland’s civic emergency
You would think, in light of recent exposés in Chile, New Zealand, Ireland and Northern Ireland, that the forcible removal of infants from their mothers and fathers in Scotland would be a matter of nation-wide interest. On the contrary. Neither the recent report of the Independent Care Review nor the current strategic plan of the Children and the Young People’s … [Read more...] about Infants in care – Scotland’s civic emergency