Delivering the promise: Embedding care experienced young people’s voices into education planning and service design

Abstract

Educational Psychologists (EPs) play a key role in ‘Keeping the Promise’ by helping to ensure that care experienced children and young people (CECYP) receive all they need to thrive. The Independent Care Review highlighted that transitions can be scary and upsetting for CECYP and Scotland must work to ensure that transitions are limited, relational, planned, and informed. The lived experiences of three care experienced university students in relation to their transition out of high school in Scotland, were explored through semi-structured interviews using the online platform Microsoft Teams. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2009) was used to identify themes. The key themes of ‘feeling a lack of control’ and ‘ambitions stuck in the side-lines’ highlighted that damaging stereotypes, organisational pressures, and feeling voiceless, were all barriers to a positive transition out of high school for the participants. The research findings are discussed in relation to the foundation of ‘Voice’, as outlined in The Promise Scotland. Implications for EP practice are discussed both in relation to the transition out of high school and into university for CECYP, but also with a broader lens of embedding CECYP’s views into educational practice.