Barnardo’s Scotland Assistant Director Maureen McAteer, operational lead for The Promise within Barnardo’s Scotland, reflects on two years on from the publication of the independent review of the care system in Scotland.
My very first job was in a service for young people in care moving for the first time to their own place. I’m not sure any job since has taught me quite as much as I learned in that service. Since then, I have worked with lots of children, young people and families in many different settings.
I remember them all, some I got to know better than others, and I still wonder sometimes where they are now and what they are up to. The question I would most like to ask them now is what, if anything, about the support you received worked for you? And what, if anything, was missing that could have made all the difference?
When I look back, I have lots of discomfort about the things I got wrong and things I didn’t challenge at the time, but now recognise I should have. It's sobering to acknowledge our part in a system where some children, young people and families have felt badly let down by those of us tasked with supporting them.
Opportunity for Change
Maybe that is why The Promise feels like such a once in a lifetime opportunity to strengthen and extend the things we do well in children’s services, alongside making the radical changes required to give all children and young people the rich and nurturing childhoods they deserve. As part of the children’s services landscape, we in Barnardo’s Scotland are committed to playing a full part in that change journey.
Voice of Children, Young People and Families
Two years on from the publication of the Independent Care Review we are fully engaged in exploring how, in partnership with others, we can deliver deep, meaningful and sustainable improvements in how we support children, young people and families. After taking some time to digest The Promise, we thought it was important to connect across our whole organisation by engaging a representative group of staff from every geographical and thematic area of Barnardo’s Scotland. We have sought to ensure we really understood what is being asked of us and the role each of us can play in supporting the transformation required. We have identified what could support change and what could potentially get in our way. We know we have a lot of do and that some of what is required of us will be challenging but we also know in our hearts it is the right thing to do.
One of our key priorities is ensuring we enact our commitment to listen and act on what children, young people and families say matters to them. Through our ARTicle 12 Group, young people have the opportunity to come together and use creative voice to explore The Promise and what it means to them. Of equal importance is our approach with each and every individual to ensure they understand and realise their rights by having opportunities to have their voice heard in decisions which affect them day in and day out.
The Promise - Foundations
We plan to use the five foundations of Voice, Family, Care, People and Scaffolding as the building blocks of our internal Barnardo’s Scotland approach to implementing The Promise. Communities of practice orientated around these themes will be where we co-create our response alongside our work in localities across Scotland. We’re not quite sure of our final destination but we know we have a clear set of guiding principles from The Promise to keep us on the right track.
Ultimately it is a huge privilege to do the work we do. Children, young people and families trust us to journey alongside them, sometimes when they feel deeply vulnerable, as they navigate complex circumstances. Our staff talk about the ordinary people they witness doing extraordinary things every single day. It is this which spurs us on when delivering The Promise can feel far off. Being a part of bigger movement and supporting everyone to play their part, however large or small, is the only way we can make this change possible.