North Ayrshire marks Care Experienced Week

Last week (21 October - 1 November) marked Care Experienced Week and North Ayrshire Council’s Corporate Parenting team were proud to once again pledge their support.

Care Experienced Week takes place at the end of October every year. It is a week to celebrate the Care Experienced community, their achievements and what their future holds.

This year's theme, ‘Forward to the Future’, was a chance for our Corporate Parenting team to collaborate with partners and other corporate parents to think about what we can do together to support Care Experienced people to achieve their ambitions and build the futures they want.

As a statutory body, North Ayrshire Council is a Corporate Parent.

Corporate Parents have a vital role to play in ensuring the rights of Care Experienced people are upheld, and that they have the best chances and outcomes in life.

The term Care Experienced is used to describe children and young people who have experience of care at any stage of their lives through adoption, foster care, short break caring, kinship care, residential care, youth justice and throughcare (leaving care). It recognises that Care Experience is just one part of who a person is, and that every child and young person has their own strengths, aspirations, relationships and future.

Alongside partners, this week saw local secondary schools, Ayrshire College, Police Scotland, the council’s Youth Work, Money Smart, Working North Ayrshire, Housing and Throughcare teams, Skills Development Scotland, Children’s First, and NHS Ayrshire and Arran Prevention and Service support team host a ‘Connecting our Communities’ networking event at Ayrshire College.

87 young people attended to find out about the support available for them and also take part in fun activities including a photo booth, detective exercise, youth voice workshop and table tennis.

On the run-up to Care Experienced Week, our Corporate Parenting team also had the pleasure of attending Scottish Parliament at Holyrood on Tuesday 29 September.

This visit saw three young people from the Champions Board – a North Ayrshire network of youth voice groups operating for Care Experienced young people in our secondary schools, within the community and residential children’s houses – attend The Promise Oversight Board’s Parliament Reception.

At the Parliament Reception, young people heard from Paul McLennan MSP, Siobhian Brown MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, and David Anderson, Chair of The Oversight Board, about the progress being made to #KeepThePromise across Scotland.

Created following Scotland’s Independent Care Review in 2016, The Promise Scotland is a national commitment and organisation dedicated to transforming Scotland's care system so that all children, young people, and care-experienced adults grow up loved, safe, and respected.

And more recently, Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Advisor and Chair of The Promise Scotland, visited North Ayrshire to meet with young people from our Champions Board and meet with council officers across our localities and Chief Executive Craig Hatton to discuss strategic aims with the council’s Executive Leadership team and see the Promise progress being made locally.

Highlights discussed included:

• Young people’s voices driving change through the Champions Board, with Care Experienced young people shaping services, influencing decision-making and playing an integral role in identifying priorities, designing and monitoring delivery of the new Corporate Parenting Plan.
• Strengthening care and support through initiatives including the Brighter Pathways Programme, enhanced foster care recruitment and retention, the Moving On Forum and the new Boyle Street supported accommodation service, helping Care Experienced young people experience stable care, positive transitions and greater independence.
• Embedding The Promise across North Ayrshire through mandatory corporate parenting learning, the Promise Champions Staff Network and strengthened partnership working, improving awareness, reducing stigma and supporting better outcomes for Care Experienced children and young people.
• An annual Care Experienced Joint Cabinet meeting – set for mid November at Saltcoats Town Hall which will see approximately 100 young people taking decision-makers to task in a lively discussion and series of workshops with the Council’s Executive Leadership team and Elected Members.
• The establishment of more community-based inclusive spaces where Care Experienced young people can have their voices heard and help influence change.

Councillor Chloé Robertson, Young People's Champion shared: "In North Ayrshire, supporting, caring for and protecting our care experienced infants, children and young people is a central and essential part of everyone’s role as a corporate parent, reflecting our shared values and commitment to their rights and wellbeing.

"We each have a responsibility in ensuring our care experienced young people are safe, nurtured and valued, and their voices are able to influence the work we do, so attending the Ayrshire College event in Kilwinning this week was a brilliant opportunity to do just this.

“This important work is all about asking – “would this be good enough for my child?” Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a diverse network of Corporate Parents to provide the support needed to the Care Experienced community.

"The Promise progress we are making also demonstrates our commitment to Article 20 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This is legally binding international legislation that sets out the rights of children and how we can amplify their voices, uphold, safeguard and respect them. In this case the right is: Children and young people in care have the right to special protection and help if they can’t be looked after by their own family."

Hosting other events including a creative art workshop for colleagues at the Harbour Arts Centre and a Halloween Disco for children and young people at Ardrossan Youth Centre, Care Experienced Week 2026 has been one enjoyed by all.

It was also the perfect time for the team to further promote the digital support available to our residents via the North Ayrshire Communities mobile app. With benefits, entitlements, news and events info all at your fingertips, the app is available for free download on Apple and Android via the links below:

• North Ayrshire Communities app (Apple)
• North Ayrshire Communities app (Android)

If you are a care experienced young person and would like to understand how you can get involved in the action beyond Care Experienced week, email the team at: corporateparenting@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

Community groups and organisations offering support to care experienced young people can also use the above email to have their details included to the online app. Follow the Corporate Parenting Team on Facebook to keep up to date with everything happening near you.

Published: 02 November 2026