Five years since the Promise was made
- Area of Work: Children and Young People
- Type: News Item
- Published: 5th February 2025
This year marks the halfway point from when the promise was made, to when it needs to be kept.
This year marks the halfway point from when the promise was made, to when it needs to be kept. 5 February also marks five years since the promise was made.
This is a really important year: an opportunity to reflect on all the positive changes that have happened so far and focus on what still needs to change.
On February 5, five years since the promise was made, The Oversight Board for the promise published their third report on progress. The report is clear that despite 2025 marking the halfway point in time, Scotland is not halfway in progress.
The report focuses on Whole Family Support and the Workforce. It found issues including short term funding, a stretched workforce with recruitment and retention issues, and a need for urgent investment. The Oversight Board are calling for all responsible for delivering the promise to focus efforts, work together, and ask for and accept support where necessary.
However, they also report on the significant progress that has been made, and the “commitment and goodwill” of those responsible for delivering it. Because of this, they remain hopeful and determined that the promise can be kept by 2030.
Five years since the promise was made, The Promise Scotland has also been reflecting on the significant number of positive changes made by people working hard to keep the promise.
These include:
- the introduction of a whole family wellbeing fund to support local service transformation
- improved work to keep brothers and sisters together
- passing laws, including the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act which has ended the detention of under 18s in Young Offenders Institutions, and the UN Convention on the Rights of a child
- the introduction of payments, including the Care Experience Student Bursary and the minimum standard allowance for foster and kinship carers.
However, the organisation is calling for everyone to work together to ensure that positive changes are built upon, with the pace of work quickened, to ensure changes are being felt by all children young people, and families who experience care.
Read the latest Oversight Board report here: www.oversightboard.scot
Find out about the positive changes that have happened on The Promise Scotland website https://thepromise.scot/what-must-change/halfway/
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