On Monday 5 October The Secure Care Pathway and Standards were launched, mapping out what children and young people can expect should they come into secure care. Co -produced and co-designed by young people with experience of secure care and the wider care system, the standards map the journey before, during, and after secure care, exploring how that should look and feel at each of these stages.
Young people and staff at Kibble were integral to the development of the new standards alongside other Scottish secure care providers, local government and the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ). When implemented, the new standards will deliver a consistent, unified approach to caring for this vulnerable group in all council areas across Scotland.
Minister for Children and Young People Maree Todd said:
“Going into care is distressing. Some children will not be able to show their feelings or to talk about what they are going through. That is why it is important that we have systems in place that make transitions less traumatic.
“The standards are fully co-produced by young people living in secure care and those with care experience and are written from the child’s perspective to ensure young people’s voices are heard, their rights are adhered to and they are treated with respect.
“The standards reinforce our commitment to the Scottish Government’s Getting it Right for Every Child policy, supporting the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the important asks of the Independent Care Review, Promise published earlier this year. Above all our young people must feel safe, loved and cared for in a compassionate nurturing environment.”
Beth-Anne Logan, a care experienced young person who has been involved in developing the standards said:
“Growing up in secure care, we wish we had a tool such as the standards to help us know our rights and what to expect off the people caring for us as secure can be a scary place sometimes – especially when you first move in there. These standards should be a beacon of hope and we should all be striving for the best care possible for Scotland’s children.”
According to Sinclair Soutar, Executive Director of Secure and Specialist Services at Kibble:
“The new standards are a key milestone in the transformational change agenda. Secure care today looks completely different to what it did ten years ago, and I fully expect it to look very different in the years ahead. With the commitment of all services/agencies involved in the implementation of the new standards, I think we will see a lot of positive changes.”
“At Kibble, we have been actively reviewing and implementing changes to our policies and practice since the beginning of this journey and we will continue to progress this in line with the new standards. Our therapeutic, trauma-informed care implementation is just one piece of the jigsaw. We’ve created forums and a range of opportunities for young people to share their voice and to tell us what changes they would like to see happen.”