The National Peer Support Network is for local child poverty leads in health and local authority settings to come together and share policy and practice on child poverty locally. The Network meets every 4-6 weeks. Please contact the National Co-ordinator if you are interested in joining the network.
There is also an online network (known as the Knowledge Hub) which brings together those working to reduce child poverty in local communities across Scotland. It supports everyone to connect and share their work. It hosts the latest research, guidance and legislation that will support you to develop and implement your approach to tackling child poverty and developing a Local Child Poverty Action Report. If you are interested in joining the group, you can submit your membership request on Knowledge Hub (requires registration).
You can also keep up to date with the latest developments in terms of local and national action to tackle child poverty via our newsletter. You can sign up here.
You can also follow both the National Coordinator for Local Child Poverty Action Reports (@hanna_mcculloch) and the Project Officer for Child Poverty and UNCRC (@FeliciaSzloboda) on Twitter.
Rural Child Poverty Network
The IS also supports the Rural Child Poverty Network to meet quarterly online over the course of the financial year 2022/23. The Network aims is to build and strengthen relationships between peers and colleagues working at local and national level to understand and address child poverty in remote, rural and island authorities.
In March 2022, the Improvement Service received funding from the Scottish Government to explore barriers to addressing rural poverty. Given the complexity of the issues and the varied range of partners involved including local authorities, health boards and national government, the Improvement Service suggested a process of engagement (an ‘intelligence sprint’) based on principles and process derived from the Scottish Approach to Service Design.
You can read the full report here: Rural Child Poverty Report 2022