Today kicks of Care Experienced Week which is running through to 1 November 2025.
Celebrated annually, Care Experienced Week is a chance to celebrate the Care Experienced community and provide opportunities for people to connect and come together. It also raises awareness of the Care System and the different experiences of Care Experienced people.
The first Care Experienced Week was held in 2018, the brainchild of Who Cares? Scotland, inspired by National Care Leavers’ Week. They wanted to highlight that, although someone may leave care, they never leave their care experience behind and that they identify more as Care Experienced rather than as a care leaver. It also allowed the celebration of people in every stage of care experience, including those still in official care settings.
This year’s theme is rights.
ILF Scotland, as a public body of the Scottish Government, supports Scottish Ministers to deliver their corporate parenting role.
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".
For us, it means that we ask applicants to our funds to let us know that they are care experienced so that we can provide extra support at the point of application and beyond to help them to achieve the best possible outcomes.
We also make sure that all our staff are trained in meeting the needs of care experienced people and that all are trauma informed.
Watch our socials and website over the week ahead to find out more about care experienced week and how you can get involved.
