On 17 November we are launching our final phase – where we will bring all of the work together to produce our relationships resource.  

On the day, you can join us at Staf’s National Conference to be one of the first people to hear our new name and learn about the new phase. You can also keep an eye out on Twitter @StafScot or @papoulapr – where we will be sharing the updates throughout the day.  

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To give you an idea of what to expect, let’s look at where the project started and what the advisory group has been up until now.  

The start – Mapping Relationships across Scotland 

The project is based on an ambitious idea: to make sure that young people across Scotland have meaningful relationships and someone in their corner, whether they are growing up in care, transitioning out of care or have left care.  

Relationships are important. We know that. You know that. So, this project had the monumental task of capturing what good relationships are to young people, to workers and to organisations.  We called this phase of the project ‘Mapping Relationships’, as we took an open-minded approach which was entirely led by the lived experience. You can see some highlights of the trips across Scotland here. On a side note, it feels like a long time ago that we were able to travel – this of course all took place in 2019.  

Building Connections – Advisory Group, the heart of the project 

Equipped with all this knowledge we started the probably most important step part of this journey: bringing together the Advisory Group.  

The Advisory Group is a group of young people and members of the workforce from across the nation. They are at the heart of this project – leading and guiding the creation of a resource that will do three key things: 

Help workers to become better at building relationships 
Help young people to learn about their rights when leaving care 
Promote relationship-based practice for organisations that work with young people  
 
The Group has met throughout the pandemic – showing an impressive commitment of the group members to the project. You can see the progress of the group here: https://staf.padlet.org/stafscot/RelationshipsTimeline   

The Final Phase 

The project is nearing its final stage which will focus on the preparing the resource and launching it.  

There are several parts to the final stage.  

First of all, it will still be led by the Advisory Group – but we are opening the group up for new members who want to influence this project.  

Second, we will be focusing on designing a resource that is accessible, inclusive and promotes our values.  

Finally, we will be looking for feedback and engagement from young people and workers from across the sector to make something that truly fit the current needs.  

Want to get involved?  

Follow @StafScot on Twitter and sign up to the newsletter to be notified on the 17th of November of the launch. To be at the launch, book your place at our National Conference. 

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Until then it’s all still top-secret.