North east double triumph at Herald Society Award
Two dedicated teams from the north east of Scotland have received recognition for their hard work towards improving outcomes for looked after children in Scotland, through the Herald Society Awards. Announced last night (2 November 2016) at an event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow, both Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire City Council won the Young People’s Project of the Year award.
The multi-agency teams are working in partnership with CELCIS, and the Scottish Government to deliver the Permanence and Care Excellence Programme (PACE) with the aim of making significant improvements in the life chances of looked after children in Scotland. In particular, the programme looks at the growing concern about delays in achieving a long-term stable home for looked after children.
Jennifer Davidson, Director at CELCIS, comments:
“Children and young people need stability and belonging to flourish as they grow up. This is true for all children, and it’s especially true for children who have experienced trauma and loss in their lives. Young people who are looked after have been telling us for years how important it is that they have this stability, and our work alongside local teams aims to ensure that every child who is in care has a settled, secure and permanent place to live, quickly and with minimum disruption to their young lives.
“Our partnership working with both Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire City Council and the Scottish Government, has been central to fulfilling this vision and we’re delighted with the results we’ve collectively achieved for children. It’s a delight that the importance and effectiveness of our partnership working has been recognised by this Herald Society Award.”
Aileen Nicol, Permanence and Care Team Lead at CELCIS, comments:
“The recognition that this award gives to both teams, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, is testimony to the fact that securing permanence is a real and central issue for looked after children, and those concerned for their welfare, in Scotland. When a child’s wellbeing is compromised within their birth family, for whatever reason, we need to act early with thorough and robust assessments, sensitive support to parents and children and effective decision making. The clock on that child’s childhood never stops ticking, and it’s all of our jobs to ensure alarm bells keep clanging until young people have a secure place that they can call home.”