Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) received funding from the Scottish Government’s UNCRC Innovation Fund, administered by the Corra Foundation, for the period 9 October 2023 to 6 December 2024.
The funding was utilised in its entirety to purchase the specialist knowledge of Families Outside to raise awareness amongst professionals about the impact of the justice journey (e.g. parental/sibling contact with the justice system) on children and young people. Central to the project, which is rooted in children’s rights, is the use of Prison Reform Trust’s Child Impact Assessments Toolkit, a UK-wide resource co-created by children and young people.
A multi-agency steering group formed in January 2024 and a programme of training (multi-agency) was launched in April 2024.
Ninety-nine people attended Champion Training (1-day session) and 345 attended a shorter Toolkit Session. The training aimed to upskill staff on a multi-agency basis (including social work, education, housing and third sector) enabling them to understand and mitigate the negative impacts of the justice system on children. In addition to the in-person training delivered during 2024, a short training video was created by Families Outside (as part of this project) and is available on our webpage to anyone unable to attend the session or wanting a refresher: Child Impact Assessment Training - Perth and Kinross. This video is a legacy of the project. Further information about the toolkit can be found at Child Impact Assessments: The Toolkit - Perth & Kinross Council
Resources and support
Young people from Perth Academy who have been impacted by the justice system participated in the project to create child-friendly resources. These materials are designed to help children and young people understand their rights when interacting with the justice system.
Alongside creating resources for children and young people, a guide was also developed for individuals directly involved in the justice system—both perpetrators and victims. This guide aims to clarify the support available to them.
Pathways & Roles and Responsibilities
A Roles and Responsibilities guide was created to provide clarity to the multi-agency professionals regarding expectations i.e. police role - to share information about the availability of the toolkit; children and families support service – direct support with completing the toolkit and accessing identified support.
In addition, an information sharing pathway was developed to provide clarity to workers regarding information sharing and GDPR.
Outcomes and Impact
The project equipped staff with the necessary knowledge link children impacted by the justice system into support. Positive feedback was received from the multi-agency training confirmed the project's success. Work will take place during 2025-26 to gather feedback from child, young people and professionals who have utilised the toolkit.
The following are some examples of commitments made from training participants:
- Talk to children – active listening.
- Use it to open up conversations
- Find a way to keep the conversation about families in justice going.
- Use it to begin child centred conversations.
- Make sure it becomes an everyday conversation.
- Tell prisoners families.
- Continue conversations with children, young people, adults and communities.
- Ensuring children are heard!
- I will ensure to make the child impact assessment a part of my work toolkit!!
- Put yourself in ‘their’ shoes.
- Do it every day, let it become the norm.
- I will always mention the impact assessments when I deliver rights training to children, young people and professionals.
- Keep the impact on the child at the forefront of my mind and use info/tools from training as appropriate. Share with colleagues.
- Ensure the families I work with are provided option to engage in assessment.
- Include impact assessments in the support we offer and consider other ways we can promote and advocate for children's voices in the justice system.
Successes, Challenges and Solutions
Key to the success of this project was the high level of ‘buy-in’ from management teams across all sectors (Community Justice and Safety Partnership). Combining the specialist knowledge of Families Outside with the established connections of the local Community Justice Partnership Co-ordinator enabled prompt access to key multi-agency partners. Regular feedback was sought from the steering group throughout the project and tweaks the training delivery format were made, as required i.e. it was quickly identified that engaging teachers presented a significant challenge due to staffing constraints. To address this, Families Outside provided in-service sessions and twilight sessions, maximising participation without disrupting school schedules.
An initial concern from multi-agency partners was that that Child Impact Assessment would be an additional ask of their staff, many of whom already feel close to capacity. The development of the Roles and Responsibilities guide referenced earlier was useful in providing clarity to services that their staff were not being asked to do more.
Sustainability and Future Plans
Our range of webpages have been developed to support staff and the public:
- About Child Impact Assessments - Perth & Kinross Council
- Child Impact Assessments: The Toolkit - Perth & Kinross Council
- Child Impact Assessment Training - Perth and Kinross - Perth & Kinross Council
- Community Justice - Your rights when someone is arrested / goes to prison - Perth & Kinross Council
- Child Impact Assessment - Feedback from Children, Young People & Professionals - Perth & Kinross Council
The Steering Group established at the outset of this project will continue to meet albeit at a reduced frequency (moving in January 2025 to (bimonthly instead of monthly meetings) to continue to raise awareness and embed the toolkit.
Along with keeping the topic on meeting agenda’s locally, learning from the project will also be shared at national events during 2025-26 and beyond.
Engagement with Children and Young People
A Young Person’s Steering Group from Perth Academy supported, and continues to support, this project. The group consisted of 7 young people. The group assisted with the development of resources and directed the activity of a local Child Impact Assessment launch event held in November 2024.
Going forward the group has evolved to a peer support group looking to arrange activities for young people impacted by someone close to them on the justice journey (like the types of activities arranged for young carers) but it is hoped that the group will still provide some guidance and feedback to the multi-agency steering group.
If you would like to know more about this work, please contact:
Eleanor Lindsay - elindsay@pkc.gov.uk
Kerry Knox - Kerry.Knox@familiesoutside.org.uk
The most relevant UNCRC articles covered in this project:
Article 3: Best interests of the child
The project prioritises the rights and wellbeing of children affected by the justice system, ensuring their needs and interests are central to all activities and decisions.
Article 4: Implementation of rights
The project's focus on using funding to promote children's rights reflects the commitment to ensuring these rights are implemented and upheld.
Article 9: Separation from parents
Addresses the impact of parental involvement in the justice system on children, aiming to mitigate negative effects of separation.
Article 10: Family reunification
Supports efforts to maintain family connections and facilitate reunification where possible, reinforcing the importance of family integrity.
Article 12: Respect for the views of the child
Engages young people in developing resources, emphasising their participation and ensuring their voices are heard and respected.
Article 18: Parental responsibilities and state assistance
Provides guidance and resources to support parents in fulfilling their responsibilities, with state assistance when necessary.
Article 17: Access to information
The initiative ensures children receive accessible and child-friendly information about their rights and the services available to them.
Article 19: Protection from all forms of violence
Offers training to professionals to safeguard children from harm, particularly those affected by the justice system.
Article 39: Recovery from traumatic experiences
Facilitates recovery by providing resources and support for children to cope with and heal from the trauma associated with justice-related issues.
Article 42: Knowledge of rights
The project disseminates information about children's rights widely, ensuring that both children and adults are informed and aware.
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