Children and Young People

‘I believe our commitment to putting children at the centre and working in genuine partnership with our carers and customers are the keys to our success.’
Dev Dadral - Chairperson SWIIS

From the very start, SWIIS has built its service around its commitment to put children and young people at the centre. It’s where our young people – many of whom have only experienced life on the margins, deserve to be.

Consultation with young people is embedded within our service and we are constantly seeking out new ways of listening and responding pro-actively to what our young people tell us.

In 2009 we decided that participation was so important that we appointed a member of staff with the sole responsibility of helping us listen and act on what our children, young people, carers and staff have to say.

Some of our foster children have taken part in a consultation programme with staff from Dundee Rep to tell us about their experiences of living in foster care. We have long standing groups for Children Who Foster, where children of foster carers can get together and talk about their experiences of being in a family who fosters.

SWIIS is aspirational for its children and young people. The disadvantages that children and young people who are looked after and have to overcome, are many and complex. By working holistically as a team, our carers, social workers, therapists, education and health professionals are concerned to overcome disadvantage by improving every aspect of a young person's life and with it their life chances.

For example, the involvement of our staff extends way beyond the boundaries of school and the school curriculum. Group-based out-of-school activities can range from surfing and trekking to painting and poetry, are amongst the many creative and challenging means through we try to develop young people's social and developmental needs and self esteem, as well as working in partnership with schools and other education specialists towards improving their educational attainment.

To find out how are young people are doing…read more or see our Outcomes link above, or simply follow the link to your local SWIIS Team.

You can also find out more from our young people themselves by reading their stories just - click on the links below.

David’s Story Kate and Dan’s story Millie’s story Nassim’s story
Dean’s Story Kate and Dan’s story Millie’s story. Nassim’s story

The story told by these young people is a story already known to many. On average, there remains a shortage of 40,000 foster homes for people like Millie, Nassim, Dean, Kate and Dan. SWIIS is committed to doing everything it can to provide the stability and care that these young people and the many hundreds like them deserve.

If you think you might be able to make a difference to these lives, talk to us through your local SWIIS Office or register your interest through the links provided. There is a significant shortage of carers able to provide support to

Older Childre Teenage parent and baby Children with disabilities Children with disabilities Carers able to provide occasional breaks to existing carers
Older Children Teenage parent and child Sibling groups Children with disabilities Respite care
If you think that you may be able to join our team in meeting the needs of these particular groups, please do not hesitate to talk about these and many other options through with your local office or complete our register your interest form.