SMN NEWS: Scottish Parliament Discussion Session Round Up Now Available!

SMN were delighted to host a discussion session at the Scottish Parliament on the 24th of November 2022. Sponsored by Kaukab Stewart MSP, the event was an opportunity for mentoring services and other stakeholders to share the importance of mentoring to care experienced children and young people (CECYP), with elected members of parliament.

Scottish Mentoring Network had been awarded funding from the Promise Fund to research the mentoring provision for CECYP across Scotland. We conducted a mapping survey, followed up by focus groups with mentoring co-ordinators and mentors. This work, in partnership with intandem and YMCA Scotland, resulted in a digital map showing the location and type of mentoring services. We were then able to publish a findings report to summarise the research.

To share the findings, we invited a selection of stakeholders to participate in a discussion with elected members of parliament. The discussion began with Sarah Barr sharing a summary of the findings report, followed by Susie White and Josh Hurd from intandem sharing the recommendations from their 'Views From Home' report. Colin MacFarlane rounded off the presentations with his experience of YMCA Scotland's experience of delivering mentoring services.

The group then were able to enter a discussion about what opportunities exist for mentoring services to collaborate to increase the availability of mentoring for this client group.

We would like to thank everyone who came along and participated in the discussions, and Kaukab Stewart MSP for hosting this event. You can read our full round up of the event in the document attached to this news story.