The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC) is an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, as well as support to their families or carers.
This includes children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), such as social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, autism spectrum disorder and learning difficulties, those with mental health problems, and those with care experience. They experience poorer life chances, including lower levels of educational attainment and higher levels of unemployment.
We are committed to improving the lives of these children and young people, and our vision is to make Scotland the best place in the world for them to grow up in.
As a coalition we aim to achieve this through campaigning to improve support for these vulnerable individuals, influencing the government, politicians, the NHS and local authorities to deliver this. Through this activity, we are seeking to ensure that a wide range of high-quality, well-resourced and easily accessible services is provided, tailored to individual needs.
These services include those provided by local authorities, specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) delivered by the NHS, and support provided by voluntary and private sector service providers.
Providing the most appropriate care and support, giving these children and young people the best start in life, will help them achieve their full potential. Such an approach will support the closing of the educational attainment gap, assisting in creating a more equal society.
Every child and young person has an equal right to play their part in Scotland's future, and we want to ensure that they have an equal opportunity to do so.
While there is a greatly increased demand on services by vulnerable children and young people, this is set against a backdrop of tight public finances and the impacts of Covid-19.
We are campaigning for improved services for these children and young people. This is so that they receive the most appropriate care and support, delivering positive outcomes – both educational and social – with the considerable cost savings this can bring.
Our campaigns are based on our five key founding principles. Through these we seek to influence political and other key stakeholders, such as the Scottish Government, local authorities, the NHS and the media to achieve this positive change.
Current campaigns are focused on delivering:
There should be prompt access to assessment and to high-quality and well-resourced services for children and young people.
Improvements in the commissioning and delivery of services can be both cost-saving and result in better outcomes.
Services provided must be tailored to the individual needs of the child or young person concerned, be this delivered by the public, private or voluntary sectors.
There must be greater collaboration between the public sector and high-quality third and private sector service providers, delivering the best possible care and support.
Improved management of transitions, especially to adult services, should be prioritised by service commissioners and providers.
