@StafScot’s Building Relationships Advisory Group is meeting today for the 7th time and I’m going on annual leave from tomorrow so it seems like a natural point to summarise the AMAZING things the group has done and our brilliant ambitions for the future /1

The group is for young people with care experience or in care and workers that support them. We are designing a resource, a toolkit, that should help organisations implement & improve their relationship-based practice. /2

(I realise that relationship-based practice is a term used sometime to describe different things, this project is not based on just one theory, but we are inspired by young people & current practice /3

This work is based on a year’s research of practice, visits to places and discussions with people to understand what people understand under relationship-based practice in Scotland) /4

So, whether you are trauma-informed, relationship-based, person-centred etc.. we want RELATIONSHIPS at the heart of every service and support. Write policies with relationships in mind, design support with young people and value them as a person. Relationships matter. /5

There are many, many resources out there: how are we different? /6

Well, first: we are not trying to re-invent the wheel. Young people have been clear for a long time and workers know that relationships are important. But that knowledge does not always translate into practice, and that’s what we want to change. /7

We want to give workers and organisations a toolkit that can help them bridge that gap, identify how to IMPLEMENT and improve relationship-based practice. /8

We also want to have a place where young people can find information of what rights they have when leaving care and what support they can expect. /9

The group so far has done amazing work, and not even a pandemic could stop their enthusiasm. It honestly is such a privilege to work with them. /10

Do you want to have your voice heard and influence the resource? Do you work with young people transiting out of care? Are you a young person in care or with care experience? Get in touch if this work sounds interesting and you want to learn more: [email protected] @stafscot /11