2. Support

We spoke to children and young people about the support they had received, how they had accessed this support, what worked for them, and what improvements still need to be made. Children and young people talked about how it felt when support was missing at times when they needed it:

“I lived in a house with no heating and my windows had been smashed and they didn’t move me until it had an impact on my health. I was struggling because I didn’t get paid from college because of my attendance. I had no food.” – Alesha, OHOV

 “When children and young people aren’t being supported it can lead to them feeling anxiety, fear, guilt, and insecurity. It makes you feel alone”. – Jamie, OHOV 

Some children and young people shared examples of support that had made a positive difference during difficult times, for instance, a young man from the Inside Out group in Polmont spoke about a youth worker and project that had helped him when he was younger. He would tell them about his upcoming court cases, and they really listened. They tried to get him away from some of his troubles at home or in the community through activities like hillwalking and working in a burger van. He said they, “heavy duty scratched my back. They actually kept me out of jail when I was younger”.

Some young people talked about the impact of receiving support that wasn’t suited to their needs. Involving children and young people in planning interventions can help with that:

“Every time we would go in and there would be a support plan, and it wasn’t like she was hiding the computer, you know? I liked that. It was this open thing. It goes back to our information and how it’s kept and what’s been written about us. It was done really visually in front of me. And I think that was important and it’s that collaboration and then being able go back the next time, look at what we’d written, alright, have we achieved this? OK. Brilliant. Right, tick that off. That’s not needed anymore.” – Paige, National Leadership Network

If children aren’t involved in planning support, interventions are less likely to suit their needs, and feel like something that is being done ‘to’ them rather than ‘with’ them:

“When you don’t listen to me and just make assumptions about what I need, I don’t feel safe.” – Ash, OHOV

 “When you’re in that situation with people and they have already made the decision about your life, there is nothing you can do…I’m in a residential and I feel like the adults and people who are in charge, they always go by the ‘book’, or the regulations and rules and not by individuality or anything.” – Amelia, Experts by Experience

To read more about children being involved in making the decisions that affect their lives, see the ‘Children’s Participation and Learning from their Voice’ section of this guide.

Many of the children and young people we spoke to said that sometimes they didn’t feel involved in their support planning as they didn’t understand the support that had been put in place. Sometimes this was because of the overly complex language that was used. You can read the ‘language’ section of this guide for more information on this. 

Some children and young people said that adults were sometimes vague about what support was being provided or didn’t inform them that something was going to happen:

“When I got put in secure, I was told I was going to McDonalds. I never got that McDonalds.” – Liam, Experts by Experience

“I was at St Mary’s and woke up one morning and my bags were packed. Then I was taken to Rossie.” – Young person from Rossie 

“If a child or young person is on some kind of personalised plan of support, the contents of this plan should be communicated to them clearly. Adults should make sure children and young people have a good understanding of the care system. They should be told about what is happening and someone should be there to answer their questions.” – Poppy, OHOV

OHOV board member Lisa gave an example of an advocacy worker who supported her to understand the decisions that were made at her children’s Hearing:

“She would always come see me the day of the hearing. We’d go out for coffee that morning. She’d get my final views and she made, like, wee cards as well. It was like a wee dictionary, but it would like come up with simpler meanings of each decision. So if I didn’t understand it she would have, like, simpler ways to put it. And I think that really helped because at that age I was doing exams and stuff. How am I meant to focus on that if I’ve got other words that I don’t understand?”

The importance of consistent, reliable support was highlighted throughout conversations with children and young people:

“Someone you know, who you can access easily and follows up on things is so important”. – Jason, Shetland Crew

“Inconsistent support upsets and confuses us.” – Jamie, OHOV

Some of the children and young people described their frustration when adults didn’t follow through with support that was planned. Some young people felt ignored:

 “They throw money at you to ‘shut up the situation’, meaning they will not be providing the right support… they’re more focused on getting the nail out of your head than understanding how you are really feeling.” – Reece, Youth Just Us

“I almost got barred from my doctor because I got really frustrated with being passed around. I didn’t feel I had any control over my care.” – Danny, Youth Just Us

“You’ve got to be suicidal to have your mental health taken seriously.” – Young person from Inside Out

“Doctors just fob you off as a moody teenager. I’m an adult now. The meds just make you worse, that’s all they give you. It doesn’t solve the heart of the problem.” – Danny, Youth Just Us

Some young people talked about their frustration when support had been promised but not delivered:

“I hate when a social worker promises something or says they’re going to do something and then you get radio silence. Or they go on leave and don’t tell you or just don’t answer their phone.” – Young person from Falkirk Champs

“I hate when you’re told something is going to happen about a certain situation you’re in and then nothing happens; you feel betrayed. It’s traumatic, especially if the situation you’re stuck in is a traumatic one.” – Skye, Quarriers

“Don’t say it if you can’t do it. If it’s within your job role, make sure you do it.” -Reece, Youth Just Us

“Unexpected leave is totally understandable however, if you know you are leaving, you should put steps in to fully support the young person. Offer safe transitions between workers when leaving roles.” – Reece, Youth Just Us

You can read more about the importance of consistent and reliablesupportive adults in the ‘Relationships with Key Adults’section of the guide.

 

A more common support need that is sometimes unmet for children and young people as they move through the care system is safe transitions. Some of the young people spoke about a drop off in support when they became teenagers:

“They had a rainbow room at my school for people in care. They took you out of class on a Friday for the last hour of school. There were toys there and a teacher who would ask questions. You’d do play therapy and get peer mentoring. Secondary school was nothing like that.” – Skye, Quarriers

“There’s a big difference between how you’re supported as a child and as a teenager. They don’t have time for you – they just expect you to get on with it.” – Bethany, Quarriers

Many more of the young people spoke about feeling as though they’d fallen off a ‘cliff edge of support’ when exiting the Children’s Hearing System and beginning throughcare:

“Transitions should never feel like a jump. Don’t assume that we’re coming into a new situation with experience. For instance, when supporting a young person in throughcare/aftercare don’t assume we know how to cook, clean, or find housing for ourselves.” – Achilles, OHOV

“There’s a lack of communication – you need a proper ending, proper communication about big changes: asking if you still need someone – maybe there’s someone else that could help – some support in place if needed and properly finish up.” – Gemma, Experts by Experience

“It would be better for the young person if Throughcare and Aftercare were involved earlier in the young person’s journey. Having to retell our experience while navigating a challenging time (moving into our own place) isn’t ideal.” – Achilles, OHOV

“It should be clear how a child can leave the system, but there should be support in place. It can be like you’re free falling when you leave the system.” – Young person from OHOV

“Every child’s circumstances are different when they leave the hearings system. If you are in care, it would be important to have full details of the supports and resources you will receive when you are no longer on an order. There can be confusion amongst children, professionals and carers about their responsibilities and entitlements.” – Young person from OHOV

Young people shared a clear picture about a lack of support or clarity about entitlement to support, when they exited the hearings system. Rather than focus the exit plan on what they or their families needed to do to exit the hearings system, they all shared what should be in an exit plan to ensure their welfare and wellbeing needs are met, like their non- care experienced peers. The following areas needed to be covered according to the young people:

•   What is expected of them and their family
•   What support they are entitled to
•   Where they will live
•   Support with housing
•   Resources for independent living

We discussed transitions with several young men at St Mary’s Kenmure. Many of them felt they had poor experiences of moving between the community or other care settings to secure care. They knew pre-planning and preparation for this was not always possible but were able to speak about what might help future changes or transitions: 

• Meeting key staff in advance 
• Receiving information in advance 
• Having a gradual introduction 
• Maintaining relationships with staff from the place they were moving on from.

Lisa, an OHOV board member, gave a positive example of a professional who supported her during a difficult transition: 

“When I was moving to college, I was 16 and it was during COVID. My advocacy worker just left to go to Greece, so at that point I didn’t have anyone. But then I had a throughcare aftercare support worker and because COVID had just started we weren’t able to see each other, so it was hard to learn things. So she spoke to my respite care. She was helping me, like manage money, cooking and like all those things that I was going to need. Even after I’d moved out she checks in on me and asks how I’m doing and if I need any support.” – Lisa, OHOV

Many of the young people we spoke to said that throughout their care journey they’d struggled to access support with mental health. Some of the young people said that mental health provision should be given more priority when supporting children and young people:

“Mental health should be spoken about more than anything else.” – Alesha, OHOV

“Mental health should be given more of a priority and taken into consideration when a child enters the care system.” – Poppy, OHOV

A large number of children and young people said that they would like adults to take a trauma informed approach to providing support. The young people at OHOV designed a trauma informed guide for adults who support care experienced children and young people.

Young men at St Mary’s Kenmure and at Polmont spoke about how mental health support works well for them when it is built in and does not need a further referral or gatekeeping process.  The OHOV board members have regularly said this should be the case for all care experienced children, with dedicated support from CAMHS:

“We can’t overlook this or keep it separate from everything else. It’s so important and is part of everything.” – Emma, OHOV

We asked children and young people about the qualities they value in a supportive adult (see ‘Relationships with Key Adults). These qualities might be described as ‘ways of being’, e.g. ‘friendly’, ‘kind’, ‘honest’ etc. Some children went on to give examples of supportive actions and approaches; things that adults do, which demonstrate the qualities identified.