At ILF Scotland, we believe that all children and young people should be treated fairly, listened to and given the support they need to live happy and independent lives.
This is a shorter version - or summary - of our first Children's Rights Report using plain language to make it easier to read. It explains what we are doing to protect children’s rights and what we plan to do next. We will check our progress every year and share this on our website.
ILF Scotland is a public organisation. We provide funding to disabled people in Scotland and Northern Ireland to help them to live independently. We believe disabled people should have the same rights and freedoms as other people.
ILF Scotland is also a Corporate Parent. A Corporate Parent is an organisation that helps support care experienced children and young people.
UNCRC stands for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A convention is an agreement between countries.
The UNCRC explains the rights of all children and young people and applies to everyone under 18 years old. Children's rights are the things every child and young person should have and enjoy and include:
The UNCRC became law in Scotland in 2024. This means that
ILF Scotland must:
All the rights in the UNCRC are important but we will pay special attention to:
Article 2: Non-Discrimination
This means nobody should be treated unfairly.
Article 3: Best Interests of the Child
This means decisions should help children and young people.
Article 23: Children with Disabilities
This means disabled children should receive support to succeed.
The Transition Fund gives grants to young disabled people aged 16 to 25 to help them to:
The Independent Living Fund re-opened in 2024. It supports disabled people with complex support needs to live independently.
ILF Scotland supports the Career Ready Scotland internship programme. Young people aged 16 and 17 have spent four weeks working with ILF Scotland to learn about the different jobs we do.
One intern now works at ILF Scotland as a Modern Apprentice.
We make sure we listen to:
We also go to meetings with organisations like schools and meet with groups including parents and listen to what they tell us about young people.
ILF Scotland has a group called Young Ambassadors. These are young people who received funding from the Transition Fund. They meet a few times each year and share their experiences to help other young people.
They tell us:
They have helped us improve:
Equality is important to ILF Scotland. We want everyone to feel:
Our staff receive training to help them understand:
This helps us provide better support for young people.
We have:
We will:
We will:
We are promising to work with young people to make sure we protect and respect their rights.
Advisory Group – a group of people who receive funding from us that help us deliver and improve our services
Board - A group of people who help make important decisions about how ILF Scotland works
Care Experienced - a person who is currently in care or has been in care at any point in their life
Case Study – a look in detail at how our funding has worked for a person
Complex Support Needs – someone’s needs that require a lot of extra support to manage
Corporate Parent - an organisation with a legal duty to support care experienced children and young people
Disadvantaged Areas – a place where people may face challenges such as low income, poorer health or fewer opportunities
Equality - treating people fairly and giving equal opportunities no matter their background or circumstances
Funding - money provided to help people or organisations
Intern – someone who works on a temporary basis to learn new skills
Grant – money given for a specific thing that you do not need to pay back
Modern Apprentice – a job that pays people while they learn which helps young people to gain experience
Neurodiversity - different ways people think, learn and process information
Trauma-informed - understanding how difficult experiences may affect someone
UNCRC - United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
