Corporate Parenting team share Promise progress
At the start of the year, colleagues were invited by the Corporate Parenting team to Saltcoats Town Hall as part of a Reflecting and Recommitting event to ensure that North Ayrshire is on track to #KeepThePromise to care-experienced children and young people across our six localities.
As the team set their sights on a busy Spring and Summer, they wanted to share their insights and updates that North Ayrshire Council is making in relation to The Promise (Scotland's care review).
Part of our Connected Communities team, Corporate Parenting Engagement and Participation Lead Jenny Lewis shared: "The conference brought together 81 attendees, including 10 young people from our Champions Board - care-experienced young people meeting fortnightly across our secondary schools, to reflect on our collective responsibilities as corporate parents, strengthen our commitment to The Promise, and gather staff voice to inform the refresh of the Corporate Parenting Plan.
"The strongest message across the day was the value of hearing directly from care experienced young people and the need for continued collaboration, clarity, and shared ownership across services.
"Staff were invited across all Council services and a major aim of the conference was to gather staff voice to inform the refresh of the Corporate Parenting Plan. Young people and frontline staff have also contributed, with further consultation still to come."
Thank you to all colleagues who attended our recent staff Promise Conference. In North Ayrshire, supporting, caring for and protecting our care experienced infants, children and young people is a central and essential part of every employee’s role as a corporate parent, reflecting our shared values and commitment to their rights and wellbeing. We each play a part in ensuring our care experienced young people are safe, nurtured and valued, and their voices remain at the heart of this work. The views shared by our young people and staff at this and related events will inform our next Corporate Parenting Plan and continue to shape how we embed their insights across everything we do.
Collective actions being taken forward as a result of the event are as follows:
- improving transitions and identifying gaps across services
- strengthening communication and language in line with young people’s preferences
- challenging assumptions and supporting reflective practice
- raising awareness of corporate parenting responsibilities across all staff
- promoting young people’s voices in all areas of council work
- Keeping The Promise central to decision‑making
- increasing training, networking, and shared learning opportunities
- ensuring consistency, collaboration, and clarity across services
- improving understanding of policy and supporting better transitions into adult services
Part of the day also included an exploration of a What Matters to Us poster, capturing six priorities identified by care experienced young people, setting the direction of the months to come...
Since summer 2025 care experienced young people aged five-to-26 from North Ayrshire have been sharing what matters to most them. These have been split into six priorities:
1. Feeling safe and secure is important to me
2. Trust and relationships are important to me
3. Having a voice and being listened to is important to me
4. Friendships and social connections are important to me
5. Opportunities and aspirations are important to me
6. Understanding and respect are important to me
Finally, colleagues were encouraged to spread the word about the current MCR Pathways mentoring opportunities available in our secondary schools. More information in the MCR news article.
The session also shone a spotlight on the new Care Experience and Corporate Parenting iLearn module, mandatory training on i-Learn for all staff that explains North Ayrshire Council's role as a Corporate Parent and our collective statutory duties.
Developed by Who Cares Scotland? the training, informed by the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 is designed to support Corporate Parents (like the Council and other services such as Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue) to uphold the rights and safeguard the wellbeing of Care Experienced people.
The module also explains what it means to be care-experienced. Being care experienced in North Ayrshire means any person - child or adult - who is currently or has previously been in the care of the local authority, including foster care, kinship care, residential care, or supported accommodation.
It is hoped that by completing the module, colleagues will better-understand how they can make a huge difference to the lived experience of Care Experienced people.
Stay tuned to North Ayrshire Corporate Parenting on Facebook for news updates and events happening between now and Summer 2026.
The Corporate Parenting team will continue to work closely across all Council Services to drive forward The Promise and ensure everyone plays their part.
If you have a good news case study to share, want to become a Promise Champion or find out how your team can contribute towards The Promise, email the Corporate Parenting team to get started...
Published March 31, 2026
