On the 1st of October members of the Community of Practice were hosted by Rossie’s residential and secure service for a day of discussions about the needs of children and young people in their care who are separated from their siblings.
Michael Scanlin, Service Development Manager for Residential Services, gave a presentation on the innovative work they are progressing to have a separate facility set within the grounds of Rossie to facilitate siblings and family members to spend time together.
The building has been designed to meet the differing needs and wants of the young people and will facilitate cooking and eating together as well as chilling with games, arts and crafts and TV. Michael took his inspiration from visits to Siblings Reunited STAR and is drawing on the importance of access to the outdoors with the building being close to the woods and plans for adventure play equipment and polytunnels for gardening activities. Building work commences very soon with young people at Rossie being involved in the planning of furnishings and decor and Michael is hopeful the centre will be ready for visits by the summer of 2025.
Following Michael’s presentation, we heard from Rachel Farrier and Claire Lightowler from Clan Childlaw on the work they are doing with young people to realise their sibling rights as set out within the legislation. View their powerpoint presentation and information about Participation Rights).
Following a delightful lunch, attendees were divided between three breakout sessions, each having a different focus:
CLAN breakout – Overcoming barriers to sibling contact – This session, facilitated by Clan Childlaw, focussed on what the barriers are to sibling contact, how we overcome any barriers, and how we can help children seek remedy when their rights to sibling contact are not respected.
Rossie Secure breakout – Balancing Risks with Rights in Secure Care – exploring the significance, the barriers and strategies in nurturing sibling bonds. Sharing insights into secure care practices in supporting brothers and sisters to keep in touch.
Rossie Residential breakout – Timeline of a journey to care: Case study of one young person’s experience of placement moves and impact on family life.
This was a very informative and thought provoking event, combined with the excitement at the creation of another resource in Scotland to promote sibling relationships.