[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$ffa13g2osk1lr":17},{"id":4,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":8,"slug":9,"content":10,"content_overview":11,"published_at":12,"seo_title":8,"seo_description":13,"image":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16},"01m5fanaffkxrzkrpj1x4keag4","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","01j303dmcc6n6900v73fs88bc7",false,"Right to Food Commission supports Aberlour's Call to End School Meal Debt","right-to-food-commission-supports-aberlours-call","\u003Cp>School meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three words that should never be uttered in the same sentence\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Children bearing the burden and stigma of debt should shame any society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, here in Scotland that is what we saw happening for thousands of children and their families around the country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For many high school children having a negative balance on their parent pay account would mean being unable to access a meal at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>School meal debt and hidden school hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two sides of the same coin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what side that coin lands on it would still show how badly we have failed many of Scotland’s most disadvantaged children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why at Aberlour we were compelled to do something about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To make sure we stood beside those children and their families and to call for something to change – urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We wanted to make sure we saw an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\u002Fschool-meal-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">end to school meal debt and hidden school hunger for good\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2023 we urged the then First Minister, Humza Yusaf, to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To bring an end to the shameful practice of children and their families being chased by debt collectors for school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>School meal debt is a symptom of families not having enough money to provide the very basics for their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fundamentally, it is about a lack of income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We welcomed the introduction of a one-off School Meal Debt Fund to write off outstanding debt for one year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But we were clear that was not enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our evidence shows that the majority of children with school meal debt are from low-income working families who do not qualify for free school meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, along with writing off the debt for struggling families, we called for the expansion of Free School Meals to all low-income families across Scotland to help prevent school meal debt in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again, we welcomed John Swinney’s subsequent commitment to continuing the School Meal Debt Fund for a further year to write off nearly £3 million of school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Figures show that this benefitted 70,000 children and their families across Scotland over the last two years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A welcome relief for many, but still a limited intervention without a long-term solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our campaign to end school meal debt has continued up to and during the recent Scottish Parliament elections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last year we also published evidence that pointed to the extent of school meal debt for children and their families in England.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What our research suggested was that around 1 in 4 children not eligible for free school meals in England had regular or persistent school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so we called on the UK Government to act and follow Scotland’s lead by taking action to end school meal debt for children across the rest of the UK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This week saw the launch of the independent UK Right to Food Commission report and findings following their work to evidence the scale of food insecurity across the UK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Commission’s report provides a roadmap and clear actions all governments across the UK must take to end food insecurity for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This includes ending school meal debt for good for all children the length of the country, from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Scotland, the SNP made a commitment during the Scottish Parliamentary election campaign to end school meal debt once and for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That manifesto pledge was then followed by the First Minister announcing that families struggling with school meal debt would continue to be helped by committing the same level of investment again this year to write that debt off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time this will happen alongside the further expansion of Free School Meals in primary schools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The urgent measure and a preventative solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is much more the First Minister must do to make real progress on his ambition to “eradicate child poverty”.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this is one example that the rest of the UK can follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making sure no child ever again is burdened with debt or goes hungry at school would be a quick win for Andy Burnham, to show his commitment to tackling food insecurity by ending school meal debt in every postcode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Martin Canavan\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Head of Policy & Influencing \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>",null,"2026-10-21T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity's Head of Policy & Influencing, Martin Canavan, shares what must be done to end school meal debt and hidden hunger in schools for good. He shares what has been done in Scotland and what must be done in England.","media\u002Fshared image.jpg","2026-10-21T13:33:25.000000Z","2026-10-22T08:11:54.000000Z",{"id":18,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":19,"slug":20,"content":21,"content_overview":11,"published_at":22,"seo_title":19,"seo_description":23,"image":24,"created_at":25,"updated_at":26,"next":27,"prev":38},"01jv7kr4s5e7vy6y2fnqyr5sjn","Public bodies 'perpetuate harm' on families left in debts to abusive partners","public-bodies-perpetuate-harm-on-families-left-in-debts-to-abusive-partners","\u003Cp>Aberlour Children's Charity will give parliamentary evidence on the urgent need for compassionate reforms and protections against \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Faberlours-joint-briefing-to-msps-on-coerced-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">‘coerced debt’\u003C\u002Fa> owed to public bodies, preventing further harm to domestic abuse survivors and their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour, one of Scotland’s leading children’s charities, will today [Thursday 15 May 2025] outline how survivors of domestic abuse and their families are being further harmed by inflexible debt-recovery practices, particularly council tax and rent arrears, imposed by public bodies, at an evidence session of the Social Justice & Social Security Committee of the Scottish Parliament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Key points that Aberlour’s Chief Officer of Children & Families, Lynne O’Brien, will raise include:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Systems are failing vulnerable families:\u003C\u002Fstrong> Public bodies’ rigid approaches to debt collection fail to consider the coercive or fraudulent nature of debts accrued under domestic abuse, forcing survivors into destitution in order to leave abusive relationships.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Urgent, compassionate reform needed:\u003C\u002Fstrong> Just as FCA standards bind private creditors to treat vulnerable customers fairly, Aberlour calls on Scottish Government and public bodies to adopt trauma-informed, flexible debt management policies that recognise coerced debt as a distinct category.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Children’s rights at risk:\u003C\u002Fstrong> The current approach breaches UNCRC duties by perpetuating child poverty and homelessness when families leave abusive relationships, deepening existing inequalities.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Speaking ahead of the evidence session, Aberlour’s Chief Officer of Children & Families, Lynne O’Brien said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Women and their children who are victims of domestic abuse and financial abuse are currently being failed. The inflexibility of the systems and processes they have to navigate too often entrench existing inequalities, perpetuating harm on our most vulnerable families. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Many are forced to make difficult decisions in order to leave abusive relationships resulting in financial hardship and destitution and burdened with debts built up by perpetrators of the abuse they have suffered. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Urgent and compassionate reforms to public debt management and recovery are vital not only to tackle child poverty, but specifically to support women with experience of domestic abuse who face barriers to moving on from homeless accommodation into settled housing due to debt and rent arrears owed to public bodies. Right now, Scotland is failing to uphold the rights of children in families affected by domestic abuse forced into homelessness and destitution, and pushed into poverty due to financial abuse, coerced debt and aggressive public debt recovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>","2025-05-15T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity will give parliamentary evidence on the urgent need for compassionate reforms and protections against ‘coerced debt’ owed to public bodies, preventing retraumatisation of domestic abuse survivors and their children.","media\u002Flynne obrien web.jpg","2025-05-14T14:39:02.000000Z","2025-05-14T16:16:04.000000Z",{"id":28,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":29,"is_featured":7,"title":30,"slug":31,"content":32,"content_overview":11,"published_at":33,"seo_title":30,"seo_description":34,"image":35,"created_at":36,"updated_at":37},"01k0vresbdm3exvwyxm9xaybpp","1","Professor hails happy childhood in orphanage: ‘I had nothing and no one. Suddenly, I did’ ","professor-hails-happy-childhood-in-orphanage","\u003Cp>David Divine remembers his days at Aberlour orphanage with a keen, detailed memory but none so vividly as his last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>David said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>You never knew, you see, no notice at all. You were told if you needed to know and no one needed to know they were leaving. We would just vanish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You got a small suitcase. It didn’t hold much but we didn’t have much. A clean set of clothes, shorts, a shirt, pants, and that was it. I had my piggy bank too. I loved putting pennies in and counting them in bed at night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seemed like such treasure but was really nothing at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>A photograph of the same, battered, brown case features on the cover of Aberlour Narratives of Success, a book written by Divine almost half a century after leaving the Highlands in 1964, aged 11, for less happy years with a foster family in Midlothian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Part memoir, social history, and a moving, powerful testament to the resilience of children, the book recounts the history of the orphanage before charting the lives of some of the boys and girls after they left Speyside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Divine, who went onto university before successful careers in social work and academia on both sides of the Atlantic, said he has never cried so much as when researching the book and understanding how Aberlour had given others, like him, the tools to build a life and find happiness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>He said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>We were very damaged but many of us went on to have successful lives, whatever that meant for each of us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One of the men I spoke to measured success in his garden, not in degrees and books and big jobs but in caring for plants and watching them grow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That struck me. It was a lesson for me. It’s about what is in your heart, what makes you feel good about yourself and, speaking only for myself, I left Aberlour with the capabilities to identify that and drive towards it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Divine, who arrived at the orphanage at 18 months and spent almost ten years there, one of 6850 children to live there from 1875 until it closed in 1967. He says he found a family there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was placed in care after being born in 1953 in Edinburgh. His mother white, his father a black American airman once stationed nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>“I was a scandal, a horror for my mother’s family. They ousted her and they ousted me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I literally had nothing, I literally had no one, and Aberlour gave me something and somebody.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It gave me food, shelter and affection. It gave me a family and I was happy there. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I felt loved there, nurtured, and I’d never, ever had that before. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In some ways, they were the happiest days of my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Divine believes his recollection of life at the orphanage are clear-eyed not rose-tinted and acknowledges other children may not share the same, largely happy, memories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>There is no doubt there could be sadness and bleakness and, we now know, incidents of abuse but that was not my experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All I can say is that was not my experience and that’s not what I found at Aberlour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What I found there was the only place in the first 20 years of my life where I actually felt nurtured, loved, cared for and valued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For me it bordered on paradise because of the staff, who clearly cared for me, like my house mother, Auntie Phyllis, the other children, the surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>After studying at Edinburgh University, Divine launched a successful career in social work becoming Britain's first Black social services director in 1987, in the London borough of Brent before joining The Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He left Britain for a professorship at a Canadian university years ago, and now lives in Nova Scotia, but has lost none of his reforming zeal or passion to improve the life chances of children in need.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour orphanage closed in 1967 as residential care homes became smaller, less institutional, and, whenever possible, children were kept with their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Divine said the change in direction improved care for many children but their fundamental needs remained unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>He said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>The idea that closing these big homes and moving care to smaller units would somehow remove all the challenges was wishful thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The same challenges remain, and good, caring staff are still the key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The positive stories told by people once cared for in these big homes, people like me, have undoubtedly been overshadowed by the stereotypical idea of them as these Dickensian institutions mired in abuse and misery. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The danger is that we don’t look back with clear eyes and lose the chance to learn some very valuable lessons on how to build new, loving families for children in care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Many of those lessons could be learned in the orphanage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Divine understands why such large institutions were closed but insists size matters less than quality of staff and insists a nurturing, ad hoc family in care is better than none or parents incapable of delivering love and support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>He said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>I would absolutely say that I found family at Aberlour, I found a home where I had none.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In many of the most important ways, it still feels like home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The size and condition of any residential home matters but it does not matter as much as having staff who are on a mission to offer the children there every possible support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It does not matter as much as having care providers who are driven by helping those children to identify what a successful life might look like for them and help get them ready for it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We need to be having those conversations to find out what children value, what they want to achieve and how.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There must be a partnership, between the child and adult carer, and that demands well paid, well trained, well led, skilled and committed staff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>He admits, however, those were conversations that did not happen at the orphanage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>He said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>No, we were essentially told what our futures would be. We had no part to play and did as we were told. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“However, we were chronologically young but, because of our experience, ancient with wisdom and knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We needed all that wisdom to navigate through life because we had nothing. Without that ability to navigate and the knowledge of where we needed to be, we would have got nowhere. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s about survival but people don’t like that kind of language. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There must be more to life than survival, they’ll say, but when you have nothing and no one, survival skills are what matter. How will I, with no one, navigate through life?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Things like education and good jobs are part of that, but are these the things that have value for children? What do they believe would be a valuable life?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We need to talk to the children, discuss their ideas of a successful, productive life and, most importantly, help convince them it can be achieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Divine visited Scotland, and Aberlour, regularly before Covid and plans to return for events marking the 150th anniversary of the charity, named after the town, where he spent a happy childhood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Speaking from his home in Canada, he said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>At 71, I have nine grandchildren, three loving adult children and a partner, and we all love each other and help each other, care for one another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know how fortunate I am to have someone who cares for me, and children who love me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am very grateful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This article was written as part of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fassets\u002Fpdf\u002Fwe-are-family-150th-celebration.pdf\">'We are family' special edition supplement with the Sunday Post\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>","2025-05-18T00:00:00.000000Z","Professor David Divine remembers his last days at the Aberlour orphanage to commemorate 150 years of Aberlour Children's Charity. ","media\u002FDD today.jpg","2025-07-23T13:44:36.000000Z","2025-07-23T14:06:09.000000Z",{"id":39,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":29,"is_featured":7,"title":40,"slug":41,"content":42,"content_overview":11,"published_at":43,"seo_title":44,"seo_description":45,"image":24,"created_at":46,"updated_at":47},"01jtqyspa9bbfq5a9md0bqssjh","Charity urges Scots to consider fostering amid recruitment crisis","charity-urges-scots-to-consider-fostering-amid-recruitment-crisis","\u003Cp>Fostering is on the brink of crisis with a shortage of carers stripping children of the chance to live with a family, according to a leading charity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour Children’s Charity is urging more Scots to consider \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fhelp-us\u002Ffostering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fostering\u003C\u002Fa> to help bridge the widening gap between the number of children in need of a home and available carers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nicola Fearon, the charity’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fhelp-us\u002Ffostering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">head of fostering\u003C\u002Fa>, confirms applications to become foster carers have dropped in recent years and believes the pandemic may be a factor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>In recent years, there have certainly been more carers leaving and fewer coming in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are many reasons from an ageing population and people caring more for elderly relatives to the cost of living crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour, which has been delivering foster care for more than 20 years, believes the pool of potential carers is wide and diverse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Fearon said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Our vetting will be thorough but there are few things that would automatically rule out potential carers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Children come from all sorts of backgrounds and carers come from all sorts of background too. It’s about empathy not experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We would encourage anyone who has ever thought about it, however briefly, to pick up the phone or send us an email.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Care Inspectorate data covering the five years up to 2024 revealed only 178 new foster carers registered in 2023, the lowest number in five years, while 405 households came off the register.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost half of potential foster carers, with most receiving at least £20,000 to care for a child, were approved within six months.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fearon said while the responsibility of providing foster care can seem daunting to potential carers, it has the power to change lives, of children and carers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Fostering can change things in the most positive ways imaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The lives of fostered children can be transformed but so can the lives of carers and their own children and grandchildren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Families begin to better appreciate what they have and what it might mean not to have it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our carers say the same things again and again. They will talk about giving something back, of giving a child a family and a home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They will say it’s challenging but the sense of making a real difference to a child’s life far outweighs the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Like any family, it can be difficult at times but it can be a lot of fun too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour, marking its \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002F150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">150th anniversary\u003C\u002Fa> this year in partnership with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sundaypost.com\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Sunday Post\u003C\u002Fa>, is the biggest Scotland-only children’s charity delivering more than 50 frontline services for children and their families across the country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lynne O’Brien, Chief Officer for Children and Families, believes that wide-ranging expertise allows foster carers to receive exceptional support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Our foster carers are highly valued and we can draw on different services and expertise from across Scotland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Flexibility is key and we have the ability to be creative to tailor support for children and families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>O’Brien believes the importance and value of fostering must be better recognised and called for stronger partnerships between local authorities and other fostering agencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>There must be a wider acknowledgement of the crucial role played by foster carers, their commitment, experience and ability to transform the lives of children and young people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As a society, we must champion carers and offer them every possible support and encouragement because their work could not be more important. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Children’s rights are at the heart of everything we do and we will continue to listen and learn from children, young people and families to deliver the best care and support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Would you like to know more about fostering? \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fhelp-us\u002Ffostering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">We would love to hear from you\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>A family affair: First foster carers reveal challenges and rewards\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>It has, they admit, not always been a bed of roses but, according to Aberlour Children Charity’s first \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fhelp-us\u002Ffostering\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">foster \u003C\u002Fa>carers, that’s kind of the point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Shona Stewart said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>It’s about being a family for children and every family will have ups and downs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You enjoy the good times and get through the bad times and you do it together as a family. It’s about belonging and love. That’s all it’s about really.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Shona and husband David were Aberlour’s first carers when the charity launched its fostering service in 2004. Experienced in social work and residential care, they were still surprised by the positive impact of fostering on their family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shona and David - not their real names, they would rather not be identified to protect the privacy of their children – said fostering was life-changing for everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Shona, 56, said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Even though we had worked in care, it was still a shock to have this child living with us. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It felt a little scary, for her too because she hadn’t been with a family for so long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There had been long discussions about fostering but eventually we just decided to go for it, to bring these kids up alongside our own. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Children need a family to grow. Families aren’t possible for every child but are the best way of giving them stability and seeing them through to adulthood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When I was training as a social worker, we’d be told that if there’s one person crazy about you then you are more likely to succeed. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We just wanted to be the people crazy for these kids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>David, 58, said the demands of fostering are significant but so are the rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>He said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>There are a lot of great times, a lot of happiness, but it’s not the Waltons. It’s like any family but, because of their experience, foster children can bring an unpredictability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>When advising couples thinking about fostering, he encourages them to understand the reality and not romanticise the role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>He said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Sometimes you hear people talk about ‘rescuing’ children but we’re not here to rescue anyone, we’re here to support and encourage them, to give them the chance to live happy lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we can do that, it’s enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for The Sunday Post and published on Sunday 11th May 2025.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>","2025-05-12T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity Urges Scots to consider fostering amid recruitment crisis","Fostering is on the brink of crisis with a shortage of carers stripping children of the chance to live with a family, according to a leading charity. Aberlour Children’s Charity is urging more Scots to consider fostering to help bridge the widening gap.","2025-05-08T12:44:17.000000Z","2025-05-12T10:59:38.000000Z"]