Corporate Parenting

Vision Statement

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is proud to be a corporate parent. We are committed to improving the lives of care experienced young people and aim to provide (corporate) parental support to ensure that students who are care experienced are not disadvantaged.

Being a parent isn’t always easy. We know we have to work hard to ensure the care we provide is fair, meaningful and focused. By working with an extended family of care experienced young people, organisations and care-givers, we promise to provide a safe environment with good access to services and support for those who need it. To that end, we strive to develop relationships with our care experienced students so that we can provide tailored support.

This Corporate Parenting plan is managed by Jesse Paul, Fair Access Manager.


What is a corporate parent?

Corporate parents are public bodies named in law as having responsibilities to young people who are looked after and care experienced. The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 says that 24 public bodies have a responsibility to understand the lives of Scotland’s looked after young people and respond to their needs as any parent should. These public bodies include things like the police, health boards, local authorities, social services and any post-16 education body (such as RCS).

Download our Corporate Parenting Plan.


Estranged students

Estranged students are young people studying without the support and approval of a family network. Young people in this position have removed themselves from a dysfunctional situation and often have no contact at all with their family. These situations can be caused by:

  • Emotional abuse
  • Mismatched expectations about family roles and relationships
  • A clash of personality or values including social and cultural expectations

More information on where estranged students can find help can be found on UCAS.

 

Is care experience the same as being estranged?

Estranged students are not the same as care experienced young people who have had local authority and/or social service involvement. Although the situations may be similar, estranged students have had to go it alone. This may be due to age or because of family pressure. RCS have signed the Stand Alone Pledge and are now working towards better supporting our estranged students.