Corporate parenting
The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 defines corporate parenting as "the formal and local partnerships between all services responsible for working together to meet the needs of looked after children, young people and care leavers".
The 2014 Act introduced new duties and responsibilities for Scottish public bodies defined as corporate parents, effective from April 2015.
A good corporate parent will want the best outcomes for their looked after children, accept responsibility for them, and make their needs a priority. To help public services be good corporate parents we have published:
- statutory guidance on corporate parenting
- guidance for councils and community planning partnerships on being a good corporate parent
- Corporate parenting - turning legislation into practice together report
We have also commissioned Who Cares? Scotland to provide a programme of training and support for corporate parents, including elected members, local authorities, schools, health boards and other service providers. Find out about this support on the Who Cares? Scotland corporate parenting website, or read more about corporate parenting in general on the CELCIS website.