Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, May 18, 2023

Official Report 1125KB pdf

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Fostering Friendly Employers Scheme

The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-08721, in the name of Rona Mackay, on supporting foster carers in the workplace through the fostering friendly employers scheme. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament recognises Foster Care Fortnight, taking place from 15 to 28 May 2023; notes the view that more flexible and supportive workplaces are needed, to assist foster carers in employment, and, in turn, encourage more working people to foster; understands that research carried out by the Fostering Network found that 41% of foster carers combine their role with other employment in Scotland, while 60% of foster carers said that a fostering-friendly HR policy would help them to work while fostering; believes that workplaces becoming Fostering Friendly Employers (FFE) helps to provide foster carers with additional support and raises awareness of the extra demands placed on them to nurture what it sees as some of the most vulnerable people in society; understands that there are presently 4,623 children in foster care in Scotland; is grateful for the 3,716 fostering families in this country and commends their hard work and the unconditional love that they give to the children in their care; understands that 500 more fostering families are needed; further understands that being part of the Fostering Network’s FFE scheme ensures that foster carers have the opportunity for paid leave for training, respite, meetings and other requirements to fulfil what it sees as their vital role; acknowledges that the theme during Foster Care Fortnight 2023 is Fostering Communities, and believes that being an FFE is a great example of how the wider fostering community can provide support, understanding and respect, which is entirely in line with The Promise.

12:50  

Nothing is more important than giving a child the best start in life and a loving, stable home, and nothing is more important than ensuring that the thousands of children who, through no fault of their own, are fostered get that best start.

The Scottish Government is passionate about fulfilling the Promise and ensuring that care-experienced children are protected and loved, and I am very proud of our continuing commitment to them.

The theme of today’s debate, which takes place during foster care fortnight, which runs from now until 28 May, is fostering communities. Delivered by the leading fostering charity, the Fostering Network, it focuses on how employers can support employees who are going through the fostering process. The fostering friendly employers scheme would ensure that foster carers have the opportunity for paid leave for training, respite meetings and other requirements to fulfil their vital role.

I hope that the theme will help to boost awareness of the need for more foster carers and make employers think about how they could help employees to fulfil their wish to help children.

Thousands of new foster families are needed every year to care for children, with the greatest need being for foster carers for older children, sibling groups, disabled children and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. There are currently 4,623 children in foster care in Scotland and 3,716 fostering families. We need to thank them for their hard work and for the love that they give to the children in their care. However, 500 more fostering families are needed, and I will outline how employers can support them at no cost to their business other than giving them time.

The Fostering Network set up the fostering friendly employers scheme in 2014 in response to the finding that foster carers need more flexibility and understanding from their employers in order to work alongside fostering. There are more than 120 fostering friendly employers in the United Kingdom, and the number is growing. Collectively, they employ more than half a million staff. The recent news that John Lewis has joined the scheme is great, and I expect other large companies to follow.

The Fostering Network found that 41 per cent of foster carers in Scotland combined their role with other employment, while 60 per cent of foster carers said that a fostering friendly human resources policy would help them to work while fostering. Flexibility is the key to helping employees through the fostering process.

I can speak from personal experience as an employer—my head of office, Paul, has adopted siblings and went through a thorough and detailed process that began with fostering. Obviously, it involves getting time for meetings, phone calls and social work appointments. Now, when I see his happy thriving children, I know that every absence from the office was worth it. Nothing could be more important than the selfless act of offering one’s home to children and, in the case of Paul and his husband Mark, nurturing them for life.

I am proud to say that I am the first MSP to sign up to the Fostering Network’s fostering friendly employers scheme. I have no doubt that many more colleagues from across the chamber will follow suit.

A foster carer who works for a fostering friendly employer said:

“Being employed, being a mum and foster carer is hard to get to grips with at first. You have your own commitments, but I’ve had fantastic managers. I was honest with them at the beginning and said, ‘Look, this is what we’re going through’. When emergency placements came up, I sent my manager a text in the middle of the night to say, ‘We’ve just taken a placement so I’m going to be late in the morning’. He would reply, ‘It’s not a problem. Don’t worry about it’.”

One business said:

“the impact for us as a company is relatively small, but the impact for any potential child being fostered could be significant.”

In February, I was privileged to host a reception in the Parliament for the Fostering Network. It was a wonderful evening, hearing inspirational stories from foster parents and meeting some of their happy children, who were an absolute delight.

What does being a fostering friendly employer entail, and how does an employer become one? The Fostering Network has a template for a fostering-friendly HR policy, which is available by inquiry, and its scheme is free to join. Signing up to the scheme means supporting staff by providing five days’ paid leave a year for fostering related activity. The policy applies to staff who have three months or more employment service with a company, and they are eligible if they are applying to become a foster carer, if they are an approved foster carer and have a child in placement or if they are an approved kinship carer.

Such employers are committed to supporting any staff member who is a foster carer or an approved kinship carer by creating a fostering friendly office that offers flexible working arrangements that respond to the needs of all staff who are foster carers or approved kinship carers. Those needs could include time for assessment and training prior to approval as a foster carer, attendance at a panel for approval, child review meetings, annual foster care review meetings or training. In short, the scheme allows people to prepare to become foster carers and to take time off work without losing holidays or money, but it has very little impact on a business.

Together, we could transform, support and recognise foster carers in the workplace, which would, in turn, encourage more people to foster. Employers can play a critical part in creating fostering communities by supporting foster carers to give children a loving home. That is surely the greatest gift of all.

12:56  

I thank Rona Mackay for securing the debate on supporting foster carers in the workplace. I recognise and applaud her personal commitment in that regard.

Foster carers provide care in a family setting for children who cannot live with their own families. There are many reasons why children come into care. Foster care can last weeks, months or for the rest of a childhood, depending on the child’s circumstances.

Foster care fortnight is happening right now—15 May until 28 May—and, in my area, the council’s families for children team is keen to attract new carers. To support that, it is hosting an information event from 10 till 3 on Monday 5 June in Irvine’s volunteer rooms for people who are interested in becoming a foster carer. It will be a relaxed drop-in session that will provide information on fostering and adoption opportunities to people who would like to know more. Some of North Ayrshire’s foster carers will be there on the day to share their experiences. I understand that the team is particularly keen to hear from people who feel that they could offer a home to children who have disabilities and those who could take a small family group so that siblings can remain together.

There is no such thing as a typical foster carer. They can be single, co-habiting or married. There are flexible options for foster care, with different arrangements possible. Those include providing short breaks, interim fostering or longer-term support for young people.

I was struck by the personal testimony of North Ayrshire foster carers who shared their experiences ahead of the event. I would like to share some of them with members now. Susanne has been a North Ayrshire foster carer for six years, mainly providing short breaks for young people. She said:

“I became a foster carer because one of my friends was a foster carer, and I witnessed how she had made such a difference to the wee boy she was looking after. She had made such a difference to his life, and I thought that would be something I would like to give to another child.

I enjoy seeing the progress that the children in my care are making. It’s really good to see them thrive and be part of the community, and just see them progressing.”

She said that she feels that there is a good network for carers at the council. There are training facilities, and carers meet up for training and socially for a coffee. She urged folk who are thinking of becoming a foster carer to pick up the phone and contact the health and social care partnership. She said that getting more information, speaking to carers and having an informal chat can be helpful.

Sonya is another experienced foster carer in North Ayrshire. She has been looking after children for almost 20 years and is currently caring for young people on a long-term, short-term and respite basis. She is also an adoptive parent. She shared this:

“At the moment, I have got three children and one young person on a continuing care basis, which is when you look after a child who reaches the age of 18, and they can stay with you for as long as you wish, and they go on to be supported by throughcare services, which offers support up to the age of 26.”

Sonya decided to investigate fostering after seeing an advert in her local newspaper, and she initially cared for two young boys who came into her family when they were aged just two and 15 months. They have now moved on to live with a family member. She describes them as being the light of her life. She added:

“They came in and they made our whole family’s life great—that’s the only way to describe it. Now, they visit me every year.

The bond that me and the boys have got is second to none. It’s like having your own birth child … there is no difference there. For me, that’s what fostering is about. If you can take a child on, they don’t need to be your birth child to love them and give them the security they need.”

According to figures from the Fostering Network’s report, nearly 40 per cent of foster carers combine fostering with other work. Those who do so say that a supportive employer can make all the difference in enabling them to balance employment with looking after children.

I will be following Rona Mackay’s lead in exploring how, as an employer, I can sign up to the scheme, and I encourage employers of all sizes in my constituency to have a look at the scheme. In providing an opportunity to make a difference for families and children in our local community and to provide improved support for employees, it represents a win for everyone.

13:01  

I, too, thank Rona Mackay for bringing the subject of the fostering friendly employers scheme to the chamber for debate and for her detailed explanation of the scheme. By now, it is well known among members that I relish the opportunity to speak on the topic of foster care. I hope that members will not mind me taking a slightly wider view.

I make no apologies for stating that we must do more for vulnerable people in our society. In most cases, we are talking about children and young people who have lived through multiple traumatic events, heightened uncertainties and delayed brain development. In many cases, those children are in their infancy. The shocking statistic that a quarter of child protection orders are for children under 20 days old highlights the urgency of the matter.

I appreciate the work that charity groups such as the WAVE Trust and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children do to highlight the plight of vulnerable children, and I applaud their efforts in successfully drawing attention to Scotland’s baby blind spot and initiatives such as the 70/30 campaign, which works towards achieving a 70 per cent reduction in the number of children who experience maltreatment by 2030. That is a target that we must meet.

Right now in Scotland, we have 3,716 families who have stepped forward to provide a sense of stability and safety for our most vulnerable children by fostering. Those fostering families are trying to repair the psychological effects of trauma and to ensure that a secure environment, including care and love, is provided for the 4,623 children who currently need to be fostered. Those 3,716 fostering families should be valued in more ways than by simply having words of support spoken about them within the walls of this chamber.

Foster parents and kinship carers in Scotland live in the only area of the United Kingdom not to have a minimum carers allowance. It would be remiss of me not to mention that again, as time keeps marching on and nothing seems to change on that count.

I am glad that we are taking the time to focus on the fostering friendly employers scheme. I fully back anything that will help foster carers and adoption families to support the child in their care. However, I must sound a cautionary note. It is imperative that businesses, regardless of their size, can buy into the scheme as easily as is stated.

Over the years, businesses have managed to adapt to changes in working practices. When I started working, which was not yesterday—in fact, it was so long ago that flexi time was still new—most people used flexi time to swing their working day an hour to either side. That might have involved starting an hour earlier and leaving at 4 or coming in slightly later and working until 6. That was excellent for working parents and easy for many large businesses to accommodate. However, smaller businesses could not accommodate it. It was necessary to have the economies of scale to make variable working work. Small independently owned businesses could not, and still do not, operate in that way.

We have come a long way from the days of 9-to-5 working in the office, and I am encouraged by the fact that working flexibility and working-from-home practices are now accepted, especially as we know that that helps working carers. However, small businesses still find it difficult to embrace such processes and to continue to work efficiently. That needs to be recognised, and it must be recognised in this case. To make the scheme work for fostering families, we must ensure that small businesses in all communities can buy into it.

I also draw members’ attention to kinship carers and adoptive parents. We too often forget that the same issues apply to fosterers, adopters and kinship carers. All children who live with a family member or with an adoptive or foster family have experienced the same trauma and uncertainty in their early lives, so it goes without saying that all those families would benefit from more understanding workplaces. If we truly want to have a system that puts the welfare of children at its heart, we must ensure that the benefits are accessible, regardless of who the care provider is.

Those children are the most vulnerable in our society. It is time that we raised their profile and started to truly value the people who care for them.

13:05  

It is a privilege to speak on behalf of Scottish Labour and I thank Rona Mackay for securing the debate. Foster care fortnight provides us with a welcome opportunity to reflect on the importance of fostering and to highlight that there is much more to do to support those who foster.

Currently, 41 per cent of foster carers in Scotland juggle their fostering duties with other employment, which demonstrates their remarkable commitment and dedication. We must do more to help them, by creating an environment in which foster carers can balance their fostering and professional roles. According to research carried out by the Fostering Network, 60 per cent of foster carers believe that a fostering friendly human resources policy would help them to do that. It is crucial that workplaces are both supportive and flexible in accommodating the unique demands placed on foster carers. As we have already heard, by becoming fostering friendly employers, workplaces not only provide additional support to foster carers but raise awareness of the invaluable role that those carers play.

There are currently 4,623 children in foster care in Scotland and I thank the 3,716 families who care for them. I pay tribute to one particular foster carer, Margaret Cowie of Rutherglen. She has dedicated more than 30 years to fostering, providing unwavering love and a stable and nurturing environment for the children in her care, and enabling them to grow and thrive. Her hard work and dedication, like that of the thousands of others who do the same across the country, are truly remarkable. I hope that members will indulge me in wishing Margaret a happy 60th birthday. I know that she is looking forward to celebrating with her foster children this weekend.

Although there are absolute gems like Margaret right across the country, there are simply not enough foster carers. Scotland has a shortfall of around 500 fostering families and that shortage emphasises the urgency of creating an environment that attracts more people and families to become foster carers. Participation in the fostering friendly employer scheme means that foster carers can access crucial benefits such as paid leave for training or respite meetings and other essential requirements. Those provisions support foster carers to effectively fulfil their vital role.

As we have heard, this year’s foster care fortnight focuses on the theme of fostering communities. Becoming a fostering friendly employer is a prime example of how the wider fostering community can come together to provide support, understanding and respite for foster carers. By embracing that initiative, we demonstrate our commitment to the Promise and reaffirm our dedication to nurturing looked-after children.

Fostering is not the responsibility of foster carers alone. There is a well-known saying that it takes a village to raise a child. We need entire communities to come together to support foster families in their selfless commitment to the children that they care for. It is our collective duty to create a network of support that extends beyond foster carers and their families to schools, employers, healthcare providers, social workers and local organisations, who must all work hand in hand to provide holistic support for foster carers. We must develop a culture of understanding, compassion and respect for the families who open their hearts and homes.

As we celebrate foster care fortnight 2023, let us recommit ourselves to the principles of the Promise, ensuring that every child in foster care receives the love, care and opportunities that they deserve. Together, let us build a future in which no child feels alone or neglected and in which every child knows the warmth of a nurturing family.

13:09  

I thank Rona Mackay for initiating this debate and I thank members for their contributions. This is a really important issue and I am completely supportive of ensuring that workplaces are more flexible for foster carers.

This debate, which is my first as a member of the Government, has provided us collectively, as a Parliament, with an opportunity to recognise the Fostering Network’s annual foster care fortnight. It is also an excellent opportunity for us all to recognise foster carers and acknowledge the vital difference that they make to the lives of our children and young people.

Today, I published a letter to all foster carers thanking them for all that they do, but I would also like to put on the record my sincere and heartfelt thanks to all foster carers and practitioners who work in the sector. We absolutely recognise the key role that you play in providing secure, nurturing and supportive homes for children and young people across Scotland. What you do day in, day out positively transforms lives.

I also take this opportunity to add my thanks to the Fostering Network Scotland—members of which are here with us today, and whom I met before the debate—for all the work that it does in organising foster care fortnight and raising the profile and awareness of fostering more generally.

As Rona Mackay highlights in her motion and as others have mentioned in their speeches, there are challenges, including with the retention and recruitment of foster carers, but there are also opportunities for everyone across the chamber, local and national Government, the third sector, local communities and, importantly, employers in supporting our foster carers.

There is absolutely no doubt that the pressure within the foster care system is an area that we need to address collectively in order to fully deliver on the Promise, and I am absolutely clear that it is vital that the Scottish Government leads from the front if we are to ensure that all care-experienced children and young people are supported to grow up loved, safe and respected.

We set out our commitment to do that in the Promise implementation plan, which was published last year. In the plan, we outline our vision for delivering a good childhood to ensure that

“Every child lives in a safe and loving home where families are given support to overcome difficulties and stay together.”

We are also clear that investing in a programme of comprehensive, on-going support for care givers is key to ensure that they have the skills, knowledge and confidence to continue to nurture the children in their care and build stable and loving relationships.

Work has begun on delivering that vision. We have committed to an investment of £500 million over the current session of Parliament in our whole-family wellbeing programme of activity. That will transform services to ensure that families, including foster families, can access the support that they need where and when they need it. We also allocated £50 million in this year’s budget, including £32 million that has been provided directly to children’s services planning partnerships, to enable work at local level.

We provide funding to the third sector to support foster carers. That includes over £150,000 to the Fostering Network Scotland this year to support the Fosterline Scotland service, training for foster carers and encouraging the recruitment of new carers.

The Scottish Government is also working with a small group of partners including the Fostering Network, the Promise Scotland, local authorities and others to look at how we attract and retain foster carers and what action we can take collectively to make that happen. The group is expected to conclude its work over the coming months, but I know that it is considering a package of support for foster carers that includes both financial and practical elements so that care givers feel better valued and supported.

On the financial side, I reassure Parliament that it remains a priority of this Government to deliver a Scottish recommended allowance for foster and kinship carers to meet the needs of children in their care as soon as possible. It has taken far longer than was originally anticipated and I recognise the frustrations of care givers and stakeholders, but positive progress is being made with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and we are working at pace to make that happen.

Allowances are important, of course, but they are not the whole picture. Foster carers need to be supported so that they can, in turn, support children who have often had a very difficult start in life to grow and develop in a stable and nurturing family home. We have already committed in our Promise implementation plan to publishing what we will do to provide trauma training and support for adoptive parents and kinship and foster carers, and the group that I mentioned earlier is also considering wider learning and development, including peer support.

As Pam Duncan-Glancy highlighted, foster carers often juggle looking after children with other employment, and I am well aware of how hard that can be.

The group is actively considering how employers in the wider community can support foster carers. The fostering friendly employers scheme is a positive example of how supportive and flexible employers can help foster carers to combine employment with the vital role that they play in looking after some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

I am absolutely committed to ensuring that the voices of those with lived experience are at the heart of everything that we do, and I am committed to working with foster carers in Scotland, and stakeholders who represent fostering, as we develop any changes to policy and practice on our journey to keep the Promise.

That is why, today, in recognition of the positive benefits that the fostering friendly employers scheme brings, I commit the Scottish Government to considering how it can become a more flexible workplace for foster carers as well as to exploring take-up of the scheme in order to support and promote it further. I thank Rona Mackay for being the first MSP to sign her office up to the scheme, and I encourage others to do so.

I conclude by thanking Rona Mackay for the debate, as it has given us the opportunity to debate foster carers and everything that they do and to consider how they can be further supported.

Again, I thank Scotland’s foster carers for their service and commitment. There is absolutely no doubt that you improve the lives of the children and young people in your care and make our collective vision for children in Scotland—to grow up safe and loved—a reality. Thank you.

13:16 Meeting suspended.  

14:00 On resuming—