Significant progress being made on East Ayrshire Corporate Parenting Action Plan priorities

The plan is based around five key priority areas designed to improve outcomes for care experienced children and young people. Of the 60 actions contained within the Plan, 31 have been completed, 10 are making good progress, 14 are making reasonable progress and only five actions have yet to begin.

The voices of care experienced children and young people have always been key to the development of the plan, and feedback gathered through the Care Experienced Cabinet and wider engagement activities continues to shape priorities and drive improvement.

Significant progress has been achieved within the ‘Moving On’ priority of the plan, which focuses on helping young people transition from care into adulthood, secure housing and access ongoing support. Among the key achievements is the establishment of the ‘Moving On, Continuing Care and Aftercare (MOCCA) Service’, which has been fully operational since early 2025 and provides dedicated support to care experienced young people moving into adult life.

Partnership working with Blue Triangle Housing Association has also expanded, and through supported accommodation at Whatriggs Road and additional housing secured in 2025, up to 11 young people can now be supported at any one time to develop the skills, confidence and stability needed for independent living. 23 properties were also allocated to care experienced young people via the Strategic Needs Group during 2025-26, with every tenancy successfully sustained to date.

Good progress is also being made under the ‘Relationships’ priority, which recognises the importance of maintaining family connections wherever possible and building trusted, lifelong relationships around young people.

The implementation of the ‘Signs of Safety and Healing’ model has seen social work practitioners and partner agencies being trained to support a restorative and relationship-based approach to working with children and families, while in schools, investment in the Care Experienced Lead Teacher model is helping children and young people access trusted adults who can provide support throughout their educational journey.

Work is also being continued across the ‘Poverty’ priority to ensure care experienced children and young people are not disadvantaged financially. The newly established Welfare Rights Service is now closely connected to the Corporate Parenting Strategic Group, with referral pathways in place to ensure care leavers can access advice and support when needed.

Partners are also progressing work to improve digital inclusion, including efforts to provide Wi-Fi access within children's houses to ensure young people can remain connected and fully participate in education, employment and social opportunities.

Under the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ priority, significant progress has been made to ensure that children, young people and care leavers are supported to recover through access to bespoke and specialist support whenever they need it.

A key achievement has been the full implementation of Health Safety Checks for children and young people accommodated in emergency situations. This approach has now been rolled out across North, South and East Ayrshire, including out-of-hours social work staff. A Trauma Informed and Responsive Service Action Plan has also been developed, which includes a series of commitments to workforce learning and development and a framework for trauma training across partner organisations.

Additional investment through Whole Family Wellbeing Funding is helping to expand specialist support for neurodivergent children and young people, while therapeutic interventions such as Therapeutic Life Story Work and Play Therapy are also providing much-needed support.

The ‘Celebrating Youth’ priority aims to ensure care experienced children and young people are recognised for their strengths, talents and achievements.

Young people continue to play a central role in shaping services through structures such as the Care Experienced Cabinet, where they meet regularly with elected members and senior leaders to share their experiences and influence decision-making. Strong partnership working between education, SL33, social work and Ayrshire College has also helped to create opportunities for young people within East Ayrshire’s children’s houses to engage in education, training and employment.

Councillor Clare Maitland, Cabinet Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, said: "Our care experienced children and young people deserve the very best opportunities in life. It is encouraging to see the significant progress being made across all five priorities, particularly in supporting young people as they move into adulthood, improving access to housing and strengthening health and wellbeing support. We remain committed to listening to young people and working together with our partners to ensure they have every opportunity to thrive."