Aberlour has completed their 8th Gender Pay Gap Report as required by the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.
As with many social care organisations we have a predominately female workforce. Over the last year this has increased from 82% to 84%.
1 in 4 children in Scotland are growing up in poverty – across the rest of the UK that figure is nearly 1 in 3.
Tackling child poverty is the first and most important thing any government can do to create a fairer and more equal society.
Reducing poverty cannot be done without investment. This means tackling the root causes of poverty and disadvantage, such as inadequate income, lack of affordable housing, and limited access to education and employment opportunities. In doing so it will also reduce the levels of debt that people find themselves in. Increasing family incomes helps families to thrive. Ultimately, investment in social security and tackling child poverty is an investment in our communities, in our citizens, in our children and our shared future.
Poverty is a political choice, but children do not choose to grow up in poverty. We are calling on the next UK Government to make the political choice to end child poverty and invest in our children and young people. Tackling poverty will help reduce debt. For those in debt the next government must make the recovery of debt much less punitive. This is especially true of debt owed to public bodies.
Read our manifesto for the 2024 general election to find out what our five immediate priorities are for the next UK Government.
The health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016 was implemented on 1st April 2018 placing an organisational duty (Duty of Candour) on health, care, and social work services. This is a legal requirement which means that when things go wrong and mistakes happen, the people affected understand what has happened, receive an apology, and that organisations learn how to improve for the future.
An important part of this duty is that we provide an annual report about the duty of candour in our services. This short report describes how Aberlour Child Care Trust has operated the duty of candour during the time between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
Despite the progress made through incorporation of the UNCRC and towards the incorporation of four further UN human rights treaties into Scots law, it is clear there is still much work to be done to protect, respect and champion the human rights of all our citizens in culture and practice across Scotland. Furthermore, despite decades of data gathering, developments in terms of legislative provision and public and political understanding of the specific, additional, and alternative needs of people with learning disabilities, autism, and neurodivergent people, we too often see their rights not being upheld. The rights breaches that these communities continue to experience daily remain pervasive.
We welcome the Scottish Government’s consultation to explore how we best support and further enhance the rights of people with learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergent people, the national conversation it has prompted, and the opportunity to respond.
Read our response to the Scottish Government’s Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill consultation.
Aberlour is committed to supporting, promoting and protecting the human rights of all children and young people. We have championed the incorporation of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in order to make the rights of children and young people across Scotland real – for every child, every day, everywhere
Children and young people’s rights are at the heart of the work we do every day as an organisation, supporting children, young people and families. We will ensure that the voices and views of children and young people will be listened to and acted upon and will inform and influence all decisions that impact upon them and the work we do as an organisation.
We will ensure there is clear accountability and transparency in how we support, promote and protect the rights of children and young people in Aberlour. We will do this consistently through CRWIAs to support the development and delivery of our services, projects and policies to ensure children and young people’s rights remain the primary focus of all our work.
CRWI As allow you to evidence the impact a policy or piece of work will have on children and young people’s rights. This helps you to really think about how particular policies within your organisation can uphold children’s rights. This includes seeking out information about what children and young people have said on a topic. We know this approach is crucial for keeping the child at the centre of our work.
CRWIAs encourage you to think about how different groups may be affected by a specific policy or piece of work, ensuring consideration and acknowledgement of how it may impact differently on different children and young people. This helps to proactively plan, rather than react, to different circumstances if they arise. CRWIAs are also important for helping to consider any negative impact on children and young people’s rights a policy or piece of work may have.
Aberlour is committed to the development and implementation of CRWIAs as part of our work in supporting, promoting and protecting the rights of children and young people. We will also use CRWIAs to help effectively ensure the work we do with partners, including local authorities and public bodies, meets our obligations in relation to UNCRC.
We work with children, young people and families throughout Scotland experiencing disadvantage and discrimination, providing services and support in communities around the country. We help to overcome significant challenges, such as the impact of drugs and alcohol on family life, growing up in and leaving care, poor mental health, living with a disability, arriving alone in Scotland as a refugee or asylum seeker, or the impact of poverty and inequality. We understand that not all children are born with an equal chance and are committed to beating poverty and discrimination.
Article 2 (non-discrimination) – The UNCRC applies to every child without discrimination, whatever their ethnicity, sex, religion, language, abilities or any other status, whatever they think or say, whatever their family background.
Article 3 (best interests of the child) – The best interests of the child must be a top priority in all decisions and actions that affect children.
Article 12 (respect for the views of the child) – Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right applies at all times, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life.
Article 18 (parental responsibilities and state assistance) – Both parents share responsibility for bringing up their child and should always consider what is best for the child. Governments must support parents by creating support services for children and giving parents the help they need to raise their children.
Article 20 (children unable to live with their family) – If a child cannot be looked after by their immediate family, the government must give them special protection and assistance. This includes making sure the child is provided with alternative care that is continuous and respects the child’s culture, language and religion.
Article 22 (refugee children) – If a child is seeking refuge or has refugee status, governments must provide them with appropriate protection and assistance to help them enjoy all the rights in the Convention. Governments must help refugee children who are separated from their parents to be reunited with them
Article 23 (children with a disability) – A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far as possible, independence and to play an active part in the community. Governments must do all they can to support disabled children and their families
Article 27 (adequate standard of living) – Every child has the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and social needs and support their development. Governments must help families who cannot afford to provide this
Article 31 (leisure, play and culture) – Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities. Article 39 (recovery from trauma and reintegration) – Children who have experienced neglect, abuse, exploitation, torture or who are victims of war must receive special support to help them recover their health, dignity, self-respect and social life.
Welcome to the latest edition of Aberlour News.
In the Spring 2024 edition you can read about how new Aberlour services are helping children, young people and their families all across Scotland.
You can also find an update on what we have achieved in the past year. There’s a lot of good work happening, but there’s also so much more to do.
Aberlour’s Family Financial Wellbeing pilot has successfully delivered positive change for Tayside families struggling with public debt (such as Council Tax, School meal debt). It has done this by testing new and innovative approaches to financial advice and support. The pilot uniquely combined Aberlour’s family support model with financial wellbeing advice offered by Tayside’s statutory and third sector to empower families and reduce the impact of poverty. The pilot was established in 2022 to run for 3 years and is funded by the Robertson Trust, Corra Scotland and Aberlour. It is delivered by Aberlour working in partnership with Dundee City, Angus and Perth & Kinross Councils. An independent evaluation of the pilot was completed by Social Value Lab.
Aims of the pilot were to:-
This was welcomed by the parents involved, one of whom said: “I felt like I was stuck in a hole, and I was getting deeper into it, and I wasn’t going to be able to get out of it.”
Read the full pilot project Evaluation of Tayside Family Financial Wellbeing Project
In December 2023, members of the End Child Poverty (ECP) coalition in Scotland set out what we believe needs to happen to shift the dial on child poverty. The Coalition is made up of over 80 organisations. Members in Scotland have longstanding expertise and policy calls informed by the voice of children and families. Overall, we urged the Scottish Government to apply a robust test across the entire Scottish Budget: will this meaningfully support Scotland’s child poverty ambitions? This briefing is our top-level ‘scorecard’ assessing how the draft Budget responded to this challenge, as measured against our calls.
In setting out this assessment, it is important to recognise that we have strongly welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment and actions to date to drive down child poverty across Scotland. Investment in the Scottish Child Payment is alone estimated to lift around 50,000 children out of poverty. Low-income families with children have seen their incomes boosted by around “a sizeable £2,000 a year” compared to those in England and Wales, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. As a result, there are families no longer relying on foodbanks, children able to join their friends in activities previously denied them, and struggling parents whose financial worries have lessened, and mental health improved. We know from our work, that the extra money has been spent on essentials, like nappies, while also helping parents travel to interviews, a new job, or college – opening up long-term routes out of poverty.
However, we are bitterly disappointed that the draft Scottish Budget for 2024-25 fails to sufficiently build on these efforts. As it stands, the Budget will, at best, stall progress in some areas, while hampering progress in others. Overall, there is a lack of concerted investment to further reduce child poverty in the short-term or to prevent it in the future. We are concerned by choices – such as funding a Council Tax freeze that will disproportionately benefit better off households whilst providing little if any support for low-income families – that do not align with the Government’s stated priority of tackling poverty. As a result, we are deeply concerned the Budget may be a step back, putting the statutory 2030 targets in yet more jeopardy.
At Aberlour we work with care experienced children, young people and their families. Through our residential children’s houses and fostering service we provide safe, nurturing and loving homes for children who cannot live with their families. We also support families and their children who are looked after at home. Many of these children and their families also have experience of extreme financial hardship and growing up in poverty. The increased likelihood of children from poorer backgrounds having experience of the care system is well established. The Promise is clear that tackling poverty is fundamental to achieving the ambition that children grow up loved, safe and respected and are able to fulfil their potential: “There must be a significant, ongoing and persistent commitment to ending poverty and mitigating its impacts for Scotland’s children, families and communities.”
We believe that the financial precarity many care experienced people find themselves in is not inevitable. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of corporate parents to be the ‘bank of mum and dad’ for care experienced children and young people and to guarantee their financial security when they leave care. This must also include ensuring care experienced young people have ongoing practical and emotional support, with the knowledge and certainty that they can continue to benefit from and lean on those existing nurturing and loving relationships with those who have provided their care and support as they have grown up.
Read our full response.
All health and social care services in Scotland have a duty of candour. This is a legal requirement which means that when things go wrong and mistakes happen, the people affected understand what has happened, receive an apology, and that organisations learn how to improve for the future.
An important part of this duty is that we provide an annual report about the duty of candour in our services. This short report describes how Aberlour Child Care Trust has operated the duty of candour during the time between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023. We hope you find this report useful.
At Aberlour we deliver services across Scotland that support children, young people and families with a range of needs. We support families living with a disability through our community-based family support services, as well as our dedicated disability residential and short breaks services. We also provide safe, loving and nurturing homes for children who can’t live with their families through our residential children’s houses and fostering services.
Our family support services work with children and families at home and in the community, often in partnership with schools, to help and support children with the challenges in their lives and at home that can impact on their learning and education. We work with families to understand the, often intersecting, challenges and stressors in their lives and to ask them what will best help them and their children. This allows us to develop trusted relationships, find solutions together and ultimately help children to be ready to learn when they arrive at school.
Through our work we either directly or indirectly support the education and learning of all our children who require additional support for learning, working in partnership with schools and local authorities across Scotland helping to realise children’s right to a meaningful education. Working in both primary and secondary schools, this includes direct one-to-one support or group work with children in school, focusing on routines, change and transitions, health and wellbeing and emotional support. For children who require additional support for learning in-school support is important, such as nurture hubs, learning support bases and education support workers.
Read our latest evidence paper to the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee on Additional Support for Learning (ASL) in Scotland.
Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment
Aberlour Statement of Purpose
Aberlour is committed to supporting, promoting and protecting the human rights of all children and young people. We have championed the incorporation of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in order to make the rights of children and young people across Scotland real – for every child, every day, everywhere.
Read all about our archives project in partnership with The University of Stirling in the Scottish Council Archives Review.
Aberlour and another 100 organisations, charities, trade unions and faith groups are part of The End Child Poverty Coalition. We are all dedicated to alleviating and ending child poverty in the UK.
Today (Tuesday 28th November 2023) we have co-signed a letter to the Scottish First Minister, Humza Yousaf, urging him to use the forthcoming budget take substantial action to end child poverty in Scotland.
We are calling on the Scottish Government to:
Specific investment should include:
Read the letter and End Child Poverty Coalition briefing document to find out more.
The Scottish Government intends to incorporate four international equalities treaties and the right to a healthy environment into a single Human Rights Bill.
We are committed to championing children and young people’s human rights. Through our work every day we aim to make those rights real for the children, young people and families we support. Underpinning everything we do is our ambition to ensure the children we work with have an equal chance regardless of their start in life. We have worked relentlessly to ensure that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is fully embedded in law and is visible across our organisation and obvious in what we do and how we work with children, young people and their families.
As a rights respecting organisation we fully support the intention of the Human Rights Bill and the aim of respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of all people in Scotland.
Read our response to this consultation.
Find below our Annual Report and Financial Statements for year ended 31 March 2023.
Despite a challenging economy and the cost of living crisis, our staff have striven to improve the lives of children and families across Scotland who are struggling to cope. They have continued to fight against poverty and discrimination and challenged the government to achieve positive change. Our strong values of Respect, Integrity, Innovation and Challenge are at the heart of everything we do.
“The need for Aberlour however has never been greater and we will not rest on our laurels. We will strive to ensure our organisation is sustainable in order to help build brighter futures for even more disadvantaged children, young people and families throughout Scotland.”
– Aberlour Chair, David Robb
Read our Annual Review to learn how we have continued to fight against poverty and discrimination and challenged the government to achieve positive change.
Welcome to the Autumn 2023 edition of Aberlour News! In our latest edition read all about how our supporters help keep families like Bronwyn’s together. There is also an update on our campaign to prevent children going hungry at school. We hope you enjoy Aberlour News!
