Title Corporate Parenting Plan Sub-title 2017-18 Introduction NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is a national special health board. In NHSScotland, there are fourteen territorial health boards delivering health and social care to all geographical areas, and eight special health boards each providing specialist national functions. Further information about each health board is available at http://www.scot.nhs.uk/organisations/. In NES our specialist national function is to improve health and care through education of the health and social care workforce. We oversee education and training for doctors and dentists, and we prepare professionals for practice in clinical psychology, pharmacy, optometry and health care science. We provide access to education for nurses and midwives, and for allied health professionals (for example, physiotherapists and art therapists), health care chaplaincy and for health care support workers and administrative, clerical and support staff. Along with a wide range of other public bodies and individuals, NES is a corporate parent. What is corporate parenting? Corporate parents have responsibilities for the wellbeing of care-experienced young people. This group includes all children and young people up to the age of 26 who are or have been in residential care, in foster care, in kinship care and looked after at home with social work involvement. Corporate parents are intended to carry out many of the roles that parents should. Under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, NES must: Be alert to matters which adversely affect the wellbeing of looked after children and care leavers Assess the needs of those children and young people for the services and support we provide Promote the interests of those children and young people Provide opportunities for those looked after children and young people to participate in activities designed to promote their wellbeing Take action appropriate to help those children and young people access such opportunities and make use of the services and support provided Take any other action we consider appropriate to improve our functions to meet the needs of those children and young people What do we know about care experienced young people in Scotland? Care experienced young people continue to face disadvantage and poorer outcomes overall. Around a third of Scottish prisoners have been in care, 1 and nearly half of 5-17 year olds living in care have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. 2 73% of looked after young people leave school before the age of 16, 3 and only 4% of looked after young people went straight to university compared with 39% of non-looked after young people. 4 These are only some of the challenges facing those leaving care, and the combined effects of such adversity mean that care experienced young people need extra help and support in order to help them cope. Accessing opportunities and sustaining work and/or education can be very difficult for children and young people whose families are unable to look after them. For these children and young people, continued support is needed if they are to make the most of any opportunities available.
How can NES meet its corporate parenting duties through its core functions of education and workforce development? At its heart, corporate parenting is about making sure care experienced young people have the same life chances as everyone else. Corporate parents are not expected to undertake new functions to meet corporate parenting duties, but we have responsibilities to exercise our existing functions in ways that take account of and help to address the needs of this population of children and young people. Our corporate parenting plan supports two of our strategic themes: Education for improving quality to enhance patient safety and people s experience of services Education for new models of care to support the 2020 Vision Our Chief Executive, Chair and Board take leadership in this area of work, and the delivery of the plan is supported by a designated Director reporting to the Senior Leadership and Management Team. This is our first corporate parenting plan, and we will report formally on our progress in April 2018. Who Cares? Scotland provided feedback on an earlier draft of this plan. We will continue to ensure the plan takes account of the needs and views of care experienced young people by engaging through Who Cares? Scotland, and by collaborating with other corporate parents. Our corporate parenting plan will be published on the external NES website. Governance arrangements Our Educational and Research Governance Executive Group (ERGEG) and Executive Team have approved this corporate parenting plan. Progress on activities will be reported quarterly through our Person-Centred Care, Participation, Equality and Diversity Leads Network (PEDLN). ERGEG and PEDLN will advise on implementation. Additional scrutiny will be provided through our educational governance review cycle, 3 yearly to align with required progress reports to Scottish Government. NES directors will support dissemination of information and resources for their own work streams. References 1. Scottish Prison Service (2016). Prisoner s Survey 2015 Young People in Custody. SPS: Edinburgh. 2. Office of National Statistics (2004). The Mental Health of Young People Looked After by Local Authorities in Scotland. London: HMS. 3. Scottish Government (2016). Education Outcomes for Scotland s Looked After Children, 2014/15. Edinburgh: Scottish Government. 4. Scottish Government (2016). Education Outcomes for Scotland s Looked After Children, 2014/15. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
NES Corporate Parenting Plan Outcome 1 NES understands and is alert to the needs of care experienced young people, and uses this understanding to inform its policy, planning and functions Actions Represent the national corporate parenting agenda in our strategic framework Work with Who Cares? Scotland and other organisations representing the views of care experienced young people to ensure their needs are reflected in our plans Work with Who Cares? Scotland to develop case study materials focused on learning more about what care experienced young people need from the NHSScotland workforce Work with Who Cares? Scotland to provide corporate parenting learning opportunities for key staff members in NES, including the senior leadership and management team Explore opportunities for collaboration and partnership with other corporate parents, especially towards better understanding what care experienced young people need from NHSScotland 2 NES staff are aware of and understand the needs of care experienced young people and NES s corporate parenting responsibilities Review induction materials and processes to identify and provide opportunities for new staff to learn about the needs of care experienced young people, and about NES s corporate parenting responsibilities and corporate parenting plan Identify and provide opportunities for all existing staff members in NES to learn about the needs of care experienced young people, and about NES s corporate parenting responsibilities and corporate parenting plan Review and update Equality and Diversity educational resources to include care experienced young people 3 NHSScotland staff are aware of and understand the needs of looked after children and care experienced young people and NHSScotland s corporate parenting responsibilities Reflect the needs of care experienced young people in our educational resources and initiatives Reflect NHSScotland s corporate parenting responsibilities in our educational resources and initiatives Engage with Equality and Diversity leads across NHSScotland to consider how equality and diversity educational resources at local, regional and national levels could contribute to raising awareness of the needs of care experienced young people Work with Who Cares? Scotland to make a range of educational resources for corporate parenting available across NHS Scotland, by hosting these on our digital learning platform and by helping health and social care partners to access them Work with Who Cares? Scotland to support the development of new case study materials focused on specific health care contexts.
4 Care experienced young people are better able to access routes into work and employment within NHSScotland, including Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships Work with the NHSScotland Employability and Apprenticeship Network and key partners to promote and support further development of opportunities for care experienced young people, including helping to build capability to meet the support needs of care experienced young people transitioning into and sustaining MA programmes Work with NHSScotland partners to explore more flexible entry and career pathways, further qualifications, and requirements for support for care experienced young people joining the workforce Create and promote a dedicated section of the NHSScotland careers website for care experienced young people, working with key partners to ensure care experienced young people shape the development of this section; that it supports a wide range of career aspirations; and that it delivers engaging content With key partners, initiate dialogue to explore potential for improving national health and social care workforce data intelligence around care experienced young people working in NHSScotland Manage a levy on clinical placement costs for non-eu overseas medical undergraduates, in support of deliverables to be determined by Scottish Government Health Workforce, including additional medical undergraduate places and a graduate entry programme to support widening access
This resource may be made available, in full or summary form, in alternative formats and community languages. Please contact us on 0131 656 3200 or email altformats@nes.scot.nhs.uk to discuss how we can best meet your requirements. NES Corporate Parenting Lead: Judy Thomson Director of Training for Psychology Services NHS Education for Scotland 2 Central Quay 89 Hydepark Street Glasgow G3 8BW www.nes.scot.nhs.uk NHS Education for Scotland 2018. You can copy or reproduce the information in this resource for use within NHSScotland and for non-commercial educational purposes. Use of this document for commercial purposes is permitted only with the written permission of NES.