Stand Up For Siblings is proud to support The Promise Scotland mark the second anniversary of the publication of the Independent Care Review (ICR) on Saturday 5 February 2022.

We have worked with the ICR and The Promise to continue to promote the voices of children and young people with regard to maintaining relationships between brothers and sisters.

We contributed to the changes in legislation and celebrated the new duties within the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and we continue to actively raise awareness and promote good practice in Scotland. 

STAR, Siblings Reunited features in a new documentary being aired by the BBC. The Scottish charity which helps separated siblings, was asked to star in the programme ‘Split up in care’. The documentary features BBC reporter Ashley John-Baptiste who grew up in care. Ashley spoke to Karen Morrison from STAR for the programme. You can watch the programme on the BBC iPlayer and you can also read an interview with John on the BBC website.

Following our three webinars at the start of October, recordings are now available. Click on the links below to access.

Brothers and sisters – our rights to be together, be heard and participate 

Research into Practice 

Implementing Policy and Practice Change

Read the transcripts of the webinars here.

We know there’s lots of people caring for their siblings. Stand Up For Siblings has created a new section on our website for sibling carers. The new section provides information about supports, including financial, practical and emotional supports. It also contains links to organisations who can help you.

If you have any relevant supports or resources you would like to share on this section, then please get in touch.

A number of Stand Up For Siblings partners were recently successful in their bids to the Corra Foundation to help Keep The Promise.

Adoption UK Scotland said they were delighted to have been awarded 12 months funding to develop workshops and support for adoptive parents caring for brothers and sisters.  Their project will also involve an offer of training and practice advice for professionals alongside partners AFA Scotland (Adoption and Fostering Alliance). The AUK aims to support all families in permanence whether this be adoption, fostering or kinship care in the maintenance of sibling contact in separate families, and to ensure joint placements thrive.

There was also funding success for STAR, Siblings Reunited. They submitted a joint bid for funding with AFA Scotland. Part of this work will involve an evidence-based process evaluation of STAR. It is hope this will enable STAR and AFA to identify best practice in relation to sustaining relationships between brothers and sisters and to share this across agencies to ensure that Scotland can be the best place for children to grow up.

Karen Morrison from STAR said: “We are delighted with the news and can’t wait to get started.”

SCRA has also received funding for a joint project to be carried out with Families Outside which will involve exploring the issues and experiences around the restoration and maintenance of relationships for children and young people who are within the care system and separated from a brother or sister who is in prison. It will then look at how these issues can be addressed and the implementation of processes and structures to enable these relationships to be better recognised and supported in the future.

Stand Up For Siblings continues to support full implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) following the recent judgment by the Supreme Court.

Everyone in the Stand Up For Siblings partnership is committed to protecting and upholding children and young people’s rights.