Barnardo's and Kibble hosted a joint parliamentary reception which aims to build on work to help children in Scotland
Two charities have teamed up to improve support for children who have suffered traumatic experiences.
Barnardo’s Scotland and Kibble Education and Care Centre examined What Next after Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)? at a joint parliamentary reception this week.
With a growing awareness of the impact of ACEs across Scotland, the event aimed to explore areas of good practice where trauma-informed approaches are being used with children and young people.
Speakers touched on specific areas of work targeting young people who have experienced adversity in childhood, as well as approaches which can be used universally to develop children and young people’s emotional learning, as part of a preventative approach to the impacts of adverse childhood experiences.
The reception was sponsored by Gail Ross MSP, convenor of the Cross-Party Group for the Prevention and Healing of Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Children & Young People, addressed the event and said the Scottish Government is committed to tackling childhood adversity. She said: “We are taking forward a number of transformative actions which will have a real and lasting impact on the life chances of our young people such as investing more in infant mental health and providing additional funding for school nurses and counsellors.
“By sharing learning at this important event we will help further our collective ambition to prevent such adversity and ensure that anyone affected receives the best possible support.”
Kirsten Hogg, Barnardo’s Scotland’s head of policy, said: “We would like to thank Gail Ross MSP for hosting the reception and the Minister for Children and Young People for kindly speaking. We are aware of the strong commitment from the Scottish Government towards understanding, mitigating and responding to ACEs.
“We hope this event will help start a conversation about the next steps. If we truly understand how early trauma and adversity can impact on our children and young people, how can we equip all those working with them to respond effectively?”
Dan Johnson, clinical director of Kibble said: “There are a lot of things that can be done and prevention of harm is a huge part of this but we also need to look at how we respond to those who have already experienced it. The principles and approach of trauma informed care has promise in improving the response of services and I would encourage everyone to learn more about this.”
