This briefing is the fifth in a series of evidence summaries on the impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing of children and families in Scotland, drawing on wider UK and international research where appropriate.

In October 2020 CELCIS convened and facilitated a virtual workshop with the Virtual School Head Teacher (VSHT) and Care Experienced Team (CET) network. Network members were asked two questions for consideration prior to the meeting. This document contains the key themes arising from question two: Did the VSHT/CET network have an impact on supporting you in your role during lockdown? What, if any, impact did being part of the network have for the children and young people that you have responsibility for?

In October 2020 CELCIS convened and facilitated a virtual workshop with the Virtual School Head Teacher (VSHT) and Care Experienced Team (CET) network. Network members were asked two questions for consideration prior to the meeting. This document contains the key themes arising from question one: Why did having your specific role within your local authority make a difference to care experienced children and young people during lockdown?

These Practitioner Guidance Papers share the approaches of five Family for Every Child members in adapting existing helplines or setting up new ones during the COVID-19 pandemic

This cross-national study compares and contrasts how two states- one in the U.S. (Illinois) and one in Spain (Catalonia)—support care leavers as they transition into adulthood.

This paper explores the research from a collaborative between Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and University College Cork (UCC) that had an overarching aim to reduce fostering instability, in relation to its contribution to supporting fostering stability.

This report provides an insight into the Permanence and Care Excellence (‘PACE’) programme – a Quality Improvement programme underway from 2014-2020 which engaged with local authority partnerships in 27 of the 32 Scottish local authority areas. The programme was aimed at supporting local authority partnerships across Scotland to reduce permanence planning timescales for looked after infants, children and young people using a Quality Improvement framework.

This study consists of interviews with 22 children’s spokespersons in Norway. Study findings question whether children in care proceedings understand the invitation to voice their wishes as confined to matters relating to the proceedings.

The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of an intervention created to stimulate the development of children under the age of seven, living in an institution for children without parental care in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of the intervention was to match each child with one volunteer, trained to deliver three hours per week of individually tailored, play-based activities, for a minimum of one year.