The Promise

Participation and feedback

Ongoing participation and engagement with care experienced children, young people, families and professionals is a foundation of our work to keep the promise in Midlothian. We do so in many ways and are always looking to widen the ways we listen to people.

Our participation groups

Our wee voices - Hawthorn Family Learning Centre
Our 'Champs' - 6 High school groups
Our 'original champs'
Our Kids Group (5-12 years) - Foster families
Family group - Edge of Care team
Family group decision making - Social Work
Voices - Midlothian House
Our Voices - Residential houses
Children and Family Teams
Who Cares? Scotland
CAPS (Advocacy at Hearings)

Feedback

Care Experience Week 2026

As Care Experience Week gets underway from Monday 26 October, we’re celebrating the talents, strengths, achievements and aspirations of care-experienced children and young people across Midlothian. This year’s theme, Forward to the Future, is about listening to what matters to our young people, challenging barriers, creating opportunities and turning our commitments into meaningful action.

To mark the week, here’s a special message from Council Leader Councillor Kelly Parry:

“From being cared for to leading with care”

"I hold responsibility for leading the council and I was once a child in its care. My story is one of possibility, belonging, resilience and responsibility. My own journey is a powerful reminder that a child’s circumstances today do not define their tomorrow.

Every child deserves to feel safe, loved, valued and believed in and should be afforded opportunities to discover their strengths, realise their ambitions and shape their own future. Every child in our care could go on to shape our communities, lead our organisations and influence our futures.”

Care Day 2026

Care day celebrations

Our wee ones, children, young people and their families came together to celebrate care day on the 20 February. The theme this year was connections, we had a successful afternoon discussing the importance of feeling valued, understood and being heard without judgement.

Care Experience Week 2025

This theme of Care Experience week 2025 was Children’s Rights. The annual event brought all corporate parents in Midlothian together to remove barriers and stigma and recognise the strengths and achievements of wee ones, children and young people.

To mark this special occasion Midlothian Council launched a new initiative to help care-experienced young people feel safer and more connected to the professionals who are supporting them.

This excellent idea came from the existing Midlothian Champions Board. They highlighted they often know very little about the social workers and other professionals making decisions about their lives. Having personal details such as likes, dislikes, and hobbies would help build trust and make them feel more comfortable. The existing Champions board created a list of prompts to help staff create a biography, the idea that these will be shared with children, young people and their families in advance of first meetings as way of introduction.