Funding boost to improve attainment for care-experienced children and young people

Care-experienced children and young people in Renfrewshire will now receive additional support to help them reach their full potential thanks to a new fund.

Renfrewshire Council will initially receive £359 thousand to improve attainment of care-experienced children and young people as part of the Scottish Government’s Attainment Challenge.

The money will help expand and develop new initiatives for care-experienced children and young people, regardless of whether they are looked-after at home, in care, have been adopted or were previously being looked-after.

Free books will be given to children aged up to five years-old who are involved with social work services. They will receive one free book a month from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Teachers, residential and social workers will receive training from Sleep Scotland to support care-experienced children and young people develop better sleeping habits and be able to concentrate better on their learning.

Parents of care-experienced children and young people will be supported to engage with their child’s learning and journey through school as part of a new direct support service.

Care-experienced children and young people will be supported to raise their ambitions for later life and see learning as a route towards their goals through a service that focuses on resilience, wellbeing and improving attainment.

Education and Children’s Services Convener, Councillor Jim Paterson, said: “It’s important that children and young people reach their full potential and I welcome this additional funding to support the Attainment Challenge.

“We know that care-experienced children and young people can be disadvantaged in getting the best start in life. This fund will help us to expand initiatives that make a difference and deliver new services that can direct additional support where it is needed.”