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Ministerial foreword
At the heart of this review are the experiences of children, young people and adults who have been looked after by local authorities in Scotland. Many have achieved excellent results and become independent and successful, despite a difficult start in life. I asked the chief social work inspector to conduct this review because I am determined to make sure our public services are ready and able to support all our looked after children to realise their full potential.
Services intended to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked after children have not always been as good as they should be and our expectations of looked after children are often far too low. The challenge for us now is making sure we can help all looked after children make the most of their strengths and talents. They need people in organisations and communities that believe in them and who can care for them with commitment and skill. This review leads us in a new direction, by showing us that when looked after children have access to high quality services and are supported by skilled people who care about them, their lives can change for the better.
I want to be sure that looked after children are part of the vision for all Scotland's children: that is to be successful learners, responsible citizens, effective contributors and confident individuals who are safe, nurtured, healthy and active, achieving, respected and responsible and included. We must have the same hopes, expectations and commitment to looked after children as we have for all our children. In a Scotland where every child matters, we want all our children to achieve their potential and to be able to celebrate success in their lives.
This report complements wider work being undertaken by the Scottish Executive seeking to understand better and provide more support for looked after children, arising from the short life working group I have been chairing and which will report shortly.
Peter Peacock
Minister for Education and Young People
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