CVS Falkirk

Supporting, developing and representing community groups, voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering

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Voluntary Sector Children’s Services Forum

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The Voluntary Sector Children’s Services Forum (VSCSF) provides an opportunity for Third Sector organisations that work in, or have an interest in, services for children and young people to work together and share knowledge, skills and resources to support children, families and communities in the Falkirk Council area to reach their full potential.

The third sector – comprising community groups, voluntary organisations, charities, social enterprises, co-operatives and individual volunteers – plays a vital in providing services for children and families in Falkirk. This forum allows their voices, issues, concerns and views to be raised within Community Planning in Falkirk District, and the priorities identified in the new Falkirk Plan.

The Forum relies on active participation of its members, and we would encourage anyone who works in or has an interest in services for children and young people, to get involved! Members have found that contributing to VSCSF meetings has meant their organisation has benefited in a variety of ways. For maximum benefit, the Forum would expect your organisation to:

a) nominate staff who can attend Forum meetings on a regular basis and able to determine their own workload capabilities
b) read any papers circulated prior to the meeting
c) gather views or concerns from your organisation that can be considered at the Forum meetings and report back the outcome of any discussions.

In addition to Forum members, we work closely with Falkirk Council and NHS Forth Valley – if you would like to know more or to get involved please contact Kerrie Hoggan by email: kerrie.hoggan@cvsfalkirk.org.uk

Terms of Reference

Members of the forum are working on a new Terms of Reference, which will be available soon.

Dates of Future Meetings

All meetings will be held via Zoom, 10am – 12pm, unless stated otherwise.

  • Wednesday 11 June 2025
  • Wednesday 17 September 2025
  • Wednesday 17 December 2025

Minutes and Agendas of Previous Meetings

2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

Contact

If there are any issues, speakers or areas of interest you would like added to the agenda of future meetings, please contact Eloise Wilson by email: eloise.wilson@cvsfalkirk.org.uk

Alternatively, to be added to the VSCSF mailing list, contact Laura Jamieson by email: laura@cvsfalkirk.org.uk

Useful Information

Falkirk Children’s Commission

Falkirk Children’s Commission is a sub group of Falkirk Community Planning Partnership.  The Commission is a multi-agency collaborative that leads and supports agencies to work together to improve outcomes and meet the needs of children and young people.  Falkirk Children’s Commission has representatives from all services, statutory and voluntary, working within Children’s Services in Falkirk.

The Commission oversee the work on Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) in Falkirk.  Further information about the Commission, GIRFEC, the Integrated Children’s Services Plan and other useful resources can be accessed on the Falkirk Council GIRFEC page.

GIRFEC

GIRFEC is Scottish Government’s commitment to provide all children, young people and their families with the right support at the right time, in order to help every child and young person in Scotland reach their full potential.

GIRFEC has been developed to provide Scotland with a consistent framework and shared language for promoting, supporting, and safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people. It is locally embedded in organisations, services and practitioners across Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (see above for Falkirk), with a focus on changing culture, systems and practice for the benefit of babies, infants, children, young people and their families.

For further information (including GIRFEC principles and values, SHANARRI, Named Person, and resources), please visit the dedicated Scottish Government GIRFEC page.

Named Person

Scottish Government has determined that children, young people and families should know who they can contact when they need access to relevant support for their own, or their child or young person’s wellbeing. Within the GIRFEC approach, these foundations are carried out through the role of a Named Person, who is able to provide a clear point of contact within universal services, if a child, young person or family want information, advice or help.

The support of a Named Person is available to all children, young people and their families. However, there is no obligation for children, young people and families to accept the offer of advice or support from a Named Person.

For further information on the Named Person service, please visit the dedicated Scottish Government page.

There is also guidance available (linked for your convenience) intended for practitioners and service leads who work with children, young people and families. This guidance clarifies who would be the appropriate practitioner to fulfil this role.

Alternatively, for information on Named Persons in Falkirk, visit the Falkirk Council GIRFEC page.

An Introduction to Wellbeing Card Game

Developed by Children in Scotland and The National Third Sector GIRFEC Project, the Wellbeing Card Game is designed to help community groups, clubs and other organisations to understand how their work contributes to the wellbeing of children and young people, using the 8 SHANARRI wellbeing indicators:

  • Safe
  • Healthy
  • Achieving
  • Nurtured
  • Active
  • Respected
  • Responsible
  • Included

The game is free to use, and comes with an introduction leaflet that gives some background and instructions on how to play the game.  To download the game and resources, please visit the Children in Scotland website.

CVS Falkirk also has a physical copy of the Wellbeing Card Game available for loan; for further information, please contact Laura Jamieson by phone: 01324 692003, or email: laura@cvsfalkirk.org.uk

The Promise

The promise is that Scotland’s children and young people will grow up loved, safe and respected.

To keep it, Scotland must bring about the changes set out in the Independent Care Review, which was built on what care-experienced children and young people had to say, over a period of 3 years.

When its findings were published in 2020, Scotland’s First Minister pledged that the country would #KeepThePromise, a commitment which was supported by all parties in Scottish Parliament.

Scotland aims to achieve the Promise by 2030, through mapping out what needs to change and keeping track of what’s already happened. The Promise Scotland aims to help make sure this can happen by supporting people and organisations as they work to #KeepThePromise.

For further information, please visit The Promise Scotland website.

Whole Family Support

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Collective Leadership Group (CLG) was established: the Coronavirus (COVID-19): Children and Families Collective Leadership Group.

The CLG developed a Vision and Blueprint for Holistic Family Support in Scotland; subsequently, a subgroup – the Family Support Delivery Group (FSDG) – was also put together. This subgroup developed the Routemap for delivering this Vision, along with the Principles of Holistic Whole Family Support (both available on the Scottish Government website) to promote consistent standards of practice across Scotland, which aims to help deliver improved outcomes for children, young people and families.

In Scotland, “Family Support” refers to a range of services to help families meet their individual needs. The aim is to improve families’ wellbeing by providing advice and support to enable them to avoid crisis; this support is provided by a range of organisations, including agencies, professionals, the third sector, and trusted partners.

For further information, please visit the Scottish Government website.

Falkirk Community Planning Partnership and the Falkirk Plan

Falkirk Community Planning Partnership (CPP) is the collection of public, private, third and community sector organisations providing local services in Falkirk which serve the local community. It is required by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to publish a Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (LOIP), which identifies the greatest inequalities for Falkirk’s residents, and how services which make up the CPP, plan to tackle them.

The Falkirk Plan (2021 – 2030) was approved and published in October 2021, after a year-long development process which included a review of local data, extensive engagement with local residents, and a review of local policy and projects that impact the issues raised by local people.

Each of the third sector forums and networks facilitated by CVS Falkirk allows the third sector’s voices, issues, concerns and views to be raised within Community Planning in Falkirk District, and the priorities identified in the Falkirk Plan.

For further information, please visit the dedicated Falkirk CPP website.

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods are payments which help towards the costs of being pregnant or looking after a child.

They are part of the 5 family payments provided by Social Security Scotland, along with the Scottish Child Payment.

Best Start Grant is made up of 3 one-off payments:

  • Pregnancy and Baby Payment
  • Early Learning Payment
  • School Age Payment

Best Start Foods is a prepaid card which can be used in shops or online to buy healthy foods such as formula, milk or fruit. Tips and support on using the card are also available (linked for your convenience).

The payments people receive will depend on how far along in their pregnancy they are, and/or how old their child is.

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods are 2 separate payments, though people apply for both payments using the same form. This is to make sure people can get all the payments they are entitled to, without having to fill in more than one form. They will receive separate letters to let them know whether they are eligible for each payment.

For further information on these payments, please visit the dedicated page on the mygov.scot site.

Alternatively, people can also contact Social Security Scotland via the details listed on the mygov.scot contact page.

Youth Scotland

Youth Scotland is the largest national youth work organisation in Scotland, supporting over 82,500 young people, 1,700 youth groups, and more than 9,300 youth workers. Launched in the early 20th century, Youth Scotland has a diverse membership network – from small rural youth groups to large urban projects – with a common goal shared by everyone: better outcomes for young people.

Their membership network is made up of local youth groups of all sizes, Area Associations, and Youth Scotland staff (who can provide support and training on a range of youth work topics). The network aims to deliver varied, universal youth work, along with the innovative solutions their members create in an ever-changing youth work landscape.

For further information, including how to access support, or to learn more about membership, please visit the Youth Scotland website.

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