Gette Cobban writes and shares her thoughts following the December 3rd Sector Family Forum, an opportunity to discuss the work around and support provided for children, young people and families in Aberdeen. The forum also gives a chance for those working in the 3rd sector to share the services that their organisation offers, as well as raising any concerns or challenges faced by the sector.
We had our second forum meeting today and it was great to see so many people able to attend in person. We had quite a few who had attended in October and were joined also by a number of new people who were keen to network with colleagues.
Deejay from Four Pillars was our host and made us really welcome with tea/coffee and biscuits. Deejay shared information about the services currently available via Four Pillars for children, young people and their families.
We welcomed Shona from GREC and Ed & Vince from Action for Children who talked about their work with unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the city and the particular challenge for those in the 16-17 age range. These numbers are increasing and there seems to be a particular difficulty engaging these young people with schools/college in the city often due to the lack of English being spoken.
Despite great supports being available via Aberdeen City Council, Action for Children, GREC, Aberdeen Foyer and Aberlour through their Guardianship programme the forum were left feeling that more support is needed for this group to ensure their needs are met and their safety is ensured. Without doubt this will continue to be discussed by forum members.
We welcomed James Simpson, Performance & Strategy Development Officer at ACC who talked about how the forum could contribute to and link with children’s services planning in the city. Members had the opportunity to talk with James and highlight a variety of points.
Forum meeting dates have been set for 2024, with the first meeting being Tuesday 6th February. These meetings are held between 12.00 and 14.00, are informal with members encouraged to bring their lunch and relax with like minded colleagues.
