Framing care experience in Scotland

A young girl in a purple hoodie sits doing homework with a woman in a pink jumper. They are both laughing and leaning towards each other.

To transform the care system in Scotland, and end the stigma faced by people with care experience, we need to shift how people think about and understand it.

Since 2017, we've been working together to change the story, with support from CELCIS, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Life Changes Trust, The Robertson Trust, Social Work Scotland and The Scottish Government.

What we found

Our research with over 5,500 people in Scotland showed us that public understanding of people with care experience is rarely separated from the system seen to have shaped that experience. People struggle to see the potential of a responsive care system. And this is closely connected to negative attitudes towards children and young people with care experience.

We found that three closely interlinked narratives drive this response:

  1. Children who experience care are irreversibly damaged
  2. This damage happens when selfish parents make poor choices
  3. It’s made worse by a care system that is fundamentally unable to care for children

To build public support for reform, and to encourage positive action, we needed to tell a new story. One that shifts the dominant narrative on care experience from ‘the forever damaged other’ to ‘what all children need to thrive’.

Through rigorous testing, we found several framing strategies to help tell this story and shift hearts and minds.

What we did

We helped set up the Each and Every Child initiative – first skilling up their team to understand and use the reframing strategies. We then teamed up on three strands of work:

  • Awareness-raising and training – Designing and running free framing coaching sessions and resources for individuals and organisations. In a follow-up survey, 94% of respondents agreed that they understood framing well enough to use it in their work.”I genuinely found the Each and Every Child training I’ve done to be the most valuable professional training I can think of… I really think it’s that good.” – Workshop series participant
  • Early Adopters – Providing intensive and tailored support to embed the framing principles in three organisations: Who Cares? Scotland, The Promise Scotland and the Scottish Government. This work also led to tangible examples of how the framing could be put into practice.
  • Voices of Experience – Equipping and empowering those with lived experience of the care system to understand and apply the framing recommendations when telling their own stories and sharing their experiences.

An evaluation of the project so far was carried out by The Lines Between in December 2023.

The support from FrameWorks UK has enabled Each and Every Child to work with different organisations across the country to share robustly tested, evidenced-based framing recommendations. Most significantly, the work with FrameWorks UK has been shaped by the knowledge and expertise of people with lived experience of the “care system”, with FrameWorks working alongside the team to fully understand the impact of stigma and discrimination and the power of sharing our stories in a safe, effective way.

Claire O'Hara Each and Every Child

Changing the story

Together we have:

People who we’ve worked with have written well-framed stories published in the Metro, BBC Scotland, and the Herald.

And Who Cares? Scotland used our research to frame their approach to, and work with, the John Lewis partnership. One outcome of this being the 2022 John Lewis Christmas advert which represents our first framing recommendation – start with what all children need to thrive.

Voices of experience

From early on, we knew it was vital for people with experience of care to be at the centre of the movement. We knew their voices could build support for progressive policies and positively shift public thinking.

Initially, we came together to co-design workshops for people with experience of care to use framing when sharing their own stories. Through Each and Every Child, we helped create an environment where everyone felt able to contribute and question – knowing they would be listened to without judgement.

Over time, the voices of experience group’s role evolved – from a group originally set up to co-create a training session, to helping set strategy and shape the direction of Each and Every Child and our work together. The group have even created a podcast exploring framing, the impact of sharing stories, and how organisations and workers can fully support people when sharing stories.

It means we can tell stories in a way that is safe, that is powerful, that will mobilise people to act – whether in their role in the sector or as a member of the public.

Jimmy Paul Voices of Experience Group

Briefing: How to talk about care experience in Scotland

The framing research findings and methods that underpinned our work.

How to talk about care experience in Scotland

Toolkit: Each and Every Child

Practical guidance, tips and examples for applying the framing recommendations.

Explore the toolkit

Report: Mapping the gaps

A research report mapping the gaps between expert and public understandings of care experience and the care system in Scotland

Read the report