Care Experienced Children and Young People funding: national operational guidance 2026/2027

Accountability

Local authorities are responsible for:

• Ensuring that care experienced children and young people’s voices are heard and embedded in decision making.
• Preparing plans for the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund, which should outline clear outcomes to be achieved and how progress towards these will be measured and monitored.
• Providing assistance to schools and partners by:
• supporting schools, social care services and other partners to raise awareness of the needs of care experienced children and young people through coaching, professional learning, trauma awareness and supporting access to tracking and monitoring and data analysis tools
• providing professional learning around planning (data, outcomes & measures), interventions & approaches
• offering practical support, where required, in terms of financial management, access to data, tracking and monitoring tools and HR.
• Ongoing, active monitoring of plans in place for Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund spending, supporting and challenging key stakeholders and/or partners; and adjusting plans where necessary.
• Reporting on progress towards identified stretch aims.
• Reporting on the effective investment of ASF and linking Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund in to wider plans.
• Collaborating with a range of services across the local authority and in local communities to secure additional contributions to the mission of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.