Care experience
Introduction
Kinship carers look after children and young people when their birth parents are unable to care for the child themselves. They may be a relative or a family friend.
With changing and diverse family types in Scotland today, it is important to consider the different influences in young lives and the potential impact these may have on their development.
You can also find out more about Who Cares Scotland?, a national voluntary organisation, working with care-experienced young people and care leavers across Scotland. The videos explain more about the work they do with care experienced individuals, and why this is important.
Key themes
- the importance of professionals, carers, and family working together for the child or young person
- living with a grandparent or kinship carer
- significant positive and negative influences — routine and consistency, kinship care, removal from mother, school, supervised visits to mother
- relationships with grandparents, mother, and friends at school
- normative development, and the expected sequence of development for child aged 11 years, 3 months
- holistic development
- interrelation, interaction; and nature-nurture
- observation methods
- the impact of primary school and learning support on a child
Additional themes
- benefits of outdoor play
- importance of healthy eating
- related theories
- attachment theory — Bowlby, Zeedyk, Ainsworth, Rutter
- play work theory — B.Hughes , Sturrock and Else (Play Cycle)
- social learning theory - Bandura/Vygotsky, Rogoff
Links to further information
Services for children: education system, NHS, voluntary
Some of the professionals involved in Laura's care
- Teacher, specifically the role of a teacher in a looked-after child's life
- Classroom assistant
- School nurse
- Play worker
- Social worker
- Police
- Childminder
- Or various NHS staff
There are many strategies, initiatives and pieces of legislation in Scotland that protect and promote the health and wellbeing of children in Scotland.
- Curriculum for Excellence.
- Getting It Right For Every Child - GIRFEC.
- How Good Is Our School? - HGIOS.
- Play Strategy.
- Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People/Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
- Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006.
- My World Triangle.
- Looked After Children (Scotland) 2009 Regulations.
- NSPCC Children in Care, Legislation, Policy and Guidance.
This list isn't exhaustive and there are other valuable learning resources available.
Who Cares? Scotland
Types of care
Being care experienced
If there is a link that would be valuable to other learners, please contact us with further information or add to the Childcare Ushare web page