CELCIS

The Bright Spots Programme in Scotland offers valuable insights into the wellbeing of children in care and young care leavers. Join CELCIS, Coram Voice and participating local authorities on 10 November to learn more about this programme of work: buff.ly/3d3d2TK

Do you work in residential child care in Scotland? The Holding Differently, Containing Distress research project wants to hear from you. Share your experiences of physical restraint and efforts to reduce or eliminate its use. Check your SSSC-registered email for the survey link.

NEW: In this blog for Care Experienced Week, Adam Bennett, Founder and CEO of ProjectChange, reflects on the thinking behind his opinion piece ‘Please Pass the Smoked Salmon’ and argues for more trust, autonomy and dignity when providing support to care experienced young people: buff.ly/DGxz6vE

Tomorrow! What helps residential child care practitioners stay well and remain in the profession? We'll discuss the role of self-compassion, effective coping strategies, supportive supervision and strong leadership in sustaining staff wellbeing: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

📢Join us in November to explore Respect for All, Scotland’s national anti-bullying guidance for schools & organisations. We’ll also introduce professional learning from Respectme Scotland designed to support practitioners across a range of settings. 👉 https://ow.ly/sQe350ZZeut

How can we strengthen assessment and early support for kinship carers? A new Research in Practice briefing supports social care practitioners to build a strong start for kinship families. https://ow.ly/PpZ05100tCl

Research in Practice has been commissioned by the Department for Education to draft Career Standards for the children’s homes workforce. We are inviting professionals and young people aged 16-25 from across England to contribute to this work. https://ow.ly/v6ak5100upR

“You need someone in your corner, cheering you on” Lifelong Links connects children in care, or care leavers, with people who care about them. And in this video clip, Bayley, a young person from our advisory group, sums up perfectly why Lifelong Links is needed. https://ow.ly/oxTC50ZfOPO

Join our free, open webinar to hear what children and young people with experience of care have been sharing about their wellbeing: buff.ly/3d3d2TK

Fiona Duncan, the Independent Strategic Advisor visited South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, to hear about how their approach to planning has enabled services to get on and make changes.

Read the latest advice from Fiona Duncan, the Independent Strategic Advisor for the promise, on Intensive Family Support https://thepromise.scot/independent-strategic-advisor/

This week we are celebrating all of Scotland's care experienced community! Care Experienced Week is the world's biggest celebration of children, young people and adults with experience of care.

NEW: In this guest post for the CELCIS blog, care experienced CELCIS consultant Gordon Drennan discusses why listening to lived experience and adequate resourcing will be essential to delivering the new Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act 2026: buff.ly/y6bd8CF

Call for articles now open for the 2027-28 editions of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care on the theme of deinstitutionalisation and child care reform. Find out more: buff.ly/W4Ukh0J

⏰📩You can keep connected through our free, monthly newsletter. Sign up now to get all the latest information later this week: buff.ly/GtkPKbd

📣 We're looking forward to welcoming almost 200 attendees to tomorrow's free online webinar, "From Law to Reality: Implementing the UNCRC Act in Practice." Read more here ➡️ www.togetherscotland.org.uk/news-and-eve...

What helps residential child care practitioners stay well and remain in the profession? We'll discuss the role of self-compassion, effective coping strategies, supportive supervision and strong leadership in sustaining staff wellbeing: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

This week is Care Experienced Week and we are celebrating all of Scotland's care experienced community #ForwardToTheFuture: buff.ly/VNNBLwB

This feature story looks at how East Lothian Council's Families Together programme, established through the Scottish Government's Whole Family Wellbeing Fund and supported by CELCIS, is providing early help for children, young people and their families: buff.ly/4fcb9YL

The recording of our CPD accredited webinar about data linkage and what it can tell us about children's lives and experiences is available now: buff.ly/nzyZ18X

Call for articles now open for the 2027-28 editions of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care on the theme of deinstitutionalisation and child care reform. Find out more: buff.ly/W4Ukh0J

Drawing on research, practitioner experience and sector insights, this webinar will explore how trauma-informed approaches can create healthier working environments and support exceptional care for children and young people: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

Call for articles now open for the 2027-28 editions of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care on the theme of love in alternative care for children and young people. Find out more: buff.ly/W4Ukh0J

ICYMI: Our suite of SU resources continues to spark action following last month’s webinar. Thank you to everyone who’s already explored the tools, registered for the Audit Workbook and Action Planner, or joined the conversation. Find out more at: UniteFoundation.org.uk/Blueprint

We're hiring! 📣 Recruitment is now open for a Practice Development Advisor (Contextual Safeguarding) at CYCJ! To find out more, head to our website where you can download the full role description and apply via the Strath Vacancies portal: www.cycj.org.uk/news/vacancy...

Research in Practice has been commissioned by the Department for Education to draft Career Standards for the children’s homes workforce. We are inviting professionals and care-experienced young people aged 16-25 across England to contribute to this work. https://ow.ly/22r650ZZiUl

Take part in our research on care experience as a protected characteristic. Research in Practice is inviting professionals across England to contribute to a new study exploring the impact of recognising care experience as a protected characteristic at a local level. https://ow.ly/tK5Q50ZZZay

This report recognises that giving every child the best start in life is not just an education challenge, it is a health challenge too. Read more ⬇️ buff.ly/9duEJNz @cfyounglives.bsky.social #HealthVisiting

Fiona Duncan, the Independent Strategic Advisor visited South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership yesterday, to hear about how their approach to planning has enabled services to get on and make changes.

What does taking a #cashfirst approach to supporting families and young people look like in practice? Find out about North Lanarkshire Council's and CELCIS' work to support children's wellbeing and what this approach told us about power and relationships: buff.ly/BgibumH

What helps residential child care practitioners stay well and remain in the profession? We'll discuss the role of self-compassion, effective coping strategies, supportive supervision and strong leadership in sustaining staff wellbeing: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

Yesterday Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Advisor to the promise visited North Ayrshire Council where she heard about their determination to work collaboratively to keep the promise.

How can the wellbeing of Scotland's residential child care workforce be better supported? Join us to explore practical approaches that help staff work safely, sustainably and confidently with children and young people affected by trauma: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

Call for articles now open for the 2027-28 editions of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care on the theme of deinstitutionalisation and child care reform. Find out more: buff.ly/W4Ukh0J

Practitioners' experiences of children's and young people's behaviour shape their working lives. Join us to consider what needs to change across residential care settings to better support staff and strengthen practice: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

Available now! Seven free webinar recordings on the use of artificial intelligence and children's social care. Interested in what AI could mean for children's social care, decision-making, the experiences of using transcription tools or the impact of chatbots? Take a look: buff.ly/f6pVNJb

Call for articles now open for the 2027-28 editions of the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care on the theme of love in alternative care for children and young people. Find out more: buff.ly/W4Ukh0J

Staff wellbeing matters. Hear from experts as they explore work-related stress, burnout and secondary traumatic stress in residential child care, alongside the factors that help protect and support practitioners: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

We are seeking an ambitious and knowledgeable Service Manager to lead the development, delivery, and growth of our Inclusion Services, building on the incredible success of our Creating Caring Connections programme. 👉 Find out more and apply today: earlyyearsscotland.org/jobs/service...

Too many children and young people who self-harm aren't getting the support they need. New research found significant inequalities in access to therapy, particularly for Black and Asian young people and those facing disadvantage. buff.ly/DKNs43M

Reunification can be a pivotal transition for children, young people, and families. Join an open access webinar on 10 November exploring key messages from the Reunification Practice Guide developed by Foundations – What Works Centre for Children & Families. https://ow.ly/FO4650ZY0eJ

Research in Practice has been commissioned by the Department for Education to draft Career Standards for the children’s homes workforce. We are inviting professionals and young people aged 16-25 from across England to contribute to this work. https://ow.ly/5h5q50ZZfhe

Just a few more days left to apply for our Sessional Adviser vacancy📣 - Flexible hours - £28 per hour - Home-working or hybrid - Closing: Friday 23rd October at 9am. https://ow.ly/X7sn50ZVtAt🔗 #Jobs #SocialWork #Advice #ChildWelfare #ChildrenServices #CharityJobs

Inclusion and involvement build belonging. Young advisors for this year’s #GoodChildhoodReport revealed that young people want to have a say in how their communities were shaped. Have a read: https://ow.ly/hgTR50ZY5gi

The next online Community session will focus on decision-making at all stages, and how it works to enable and support sibling, sibling-like and other relationships of loving connection. Sign up to join on 26 November here: ow.ly/ZjrE50ZWoyx

The recording of our recent webinar in our series on AI and Children's Social Care is now available. Find out more about protecting children from online sexual abuse and risk in the age of artificial intelligence: buff.ly/JicMJAt

Our feature story on the power of hope includes an online 'hope reservoir', where the people working in Scotland's residential child care community share their thoughts and insight on having a positive impact for children and young people: buff.ly/FcqyC4N

What helps residential child care practitioners stay well and remain in the profession? We'll discuss the role of self-compassion, effective coping strategies, supportive supervision and strong leadership in sustaining staff wellbeing: buff.ly/KMC4zYR

The recording of our recent webinar which looks at experiences of using AI transcription tools in social care and public services is available here: buff.ly/MNcHQHh

New report published! 📒 This morning, we launched Poverty in Northern Ireland 2026, a state-of-the-nation, in-depth look at the current levels of poverty in Northern Ireland. Our Head of NI Ursula O'Hare explains some of the long-lasting impacts of poverty on children 🔽