Staff in children's homes will be required to have degrees as part of a new strategy designed to give young people in care a better chance in life.
The strategy, which will be announced today by minister for children and young people Aileen Campbell, is also intended to deliver better support for children living in troubled family settings and speed up decisions about removing children into residential or foster care when staying at home is no longer possible.
There will be new training and qualifications for foster carers, and a mentoring scheme to pair young people who are 'looked after' in care with a supportive adult.
The new qualifications for residential child care workers will be SCQF level nine, or degree equivalent courses, which will be delivered in universities, or by online or distance learning.
New staff will need the qualification before they can be hired while existing staff will be given time to achieve it in post. Some of the most experienced staff may get credit for their existing knowledge and only have to do part of the degree.
However residential children's units increasingly house only the most troubled young people and the government wants all staff to be equipped with the latest thinking on how to help them, through concepts such as attachment theory.
The strategy will also set out how the Government will support councils and others to meet the changes in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act which introduced a right for young people to continuing support and to stay in the same placement until they are 21.
Ms Campbell said the strategy was designed to inject pace into decision making and minimise the number of placements children experience when they cannot stay in their original family.
"We are also introducing new learning opportunities and qualifications for foster and residential carers so they have the right skills to support the children they care for," she said. "If this was my child I wouldn't be expecting anything less.
"I've spoken to a lot of residential care workers and staff who have welcomed the increased need for them to achieve different qualifications and the respect for their professional role."
She said £9m a year was being invested in improving the chances of care leavers, who traditionally leave education with fewer qualifications than their peers and have a much higher risk of poor outcomes such as unemployment, homelessness and imprisonment.
"When a child goes into foster, kinship or residential care they will have already faced significant challenges," Ms Campbell added. "I am determined this strategy will make sure every looked after child has a secure loving home and supportive relationships with those who want the very best for them."
Young people with experience of living in care have helped influence the strategy, including many supported by the advocacy charity Who Cares? Scotland. Its chief executive Duncan Dunlop said: "The Scottish Government has continued to listen to care experienced young people. The key now is for this strategy to mean something in reality for every one of these children and it's all of Scotland's job to make that happen. These after all are Scotland's children."
Aspokesman for council umbrella group, Cosla, said: “We support a well-qualified workforce and the impact this is recognised to have on the wellbeing of children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable. We remain engaged with government in how that can be achieved."
Danny Phillips, of public sector union Unison said: "We are supportive of ensuring the workforce is better qualified, as it will improve the support we provide for looked after children. So we see the merit in making sure this happens across the country.
"However we need to make sure that we use the skills of all the workforce to ensure looked after children get the broad support services they need. And it is important that those without degrees have the opportunity to develop their skills too, so they too can provide the best support possible to children who need it most."
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