Home to Highland Programme for young people commended.

Unanimous support by Members of the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee has been given to the Council’s Home to Highland Programme which works to return care experienced young people to the Highlands from out of authority residential placements.

Councillors have considered two evaluations of the ‘Home to Highland Programme’ and the services being developed to prevent young people requiring moving out of the local authority area.

The evaluations undertaken in late 2023 covered the entire programme, including the care needs of children and an additional external evaluation of their educational needs.

The two evaluations which were enthusiastically received by the committee, were:

• A review of care needs titled “Home to Highland Self Evaluation Report - Don’t be sorry for me, this is the best care home in the World”; and
• an external exploration by the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland of whether the Home to Highland Service is the best model to meet the educational needs of care experience learners.

Cllr David Fraser, Chair of the Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Committee said: “The Home to Highland Programme is a shining example of where we work best to come up with solutions that truly work.

“Not only have we made vast changes to peoples’ lives but we are continuing to look for areas of continuous improvement – this is not the end of the journey but we have come so far in turning around a very difficult situation and making it so good. None of us know when we touch someone’s life how that will impact and that is what our staff are doing.

“On behalf of the committee I would like to give a huge thanks to everybody involved not just in the Health and Social Care, and Education services but also to the wider support services across the whole council who support the provision of services for our care experienced young people.”

Councillors noted a range of suggested next steps in the evaluation reports for the Home to Highland Programme which will aim to further improve the lives and outcomes of young people in future.

The care and education reports on the Home to Highland Programme can be viewed on the Council’s website.