SpeakOut Junior Winter 2022

! r o i n u J WINTER 2022

Ask Buddy P6-7

rld Out of this wo d ce n e Care Experi Week

P8-9

Make a festive bookmark P10

Hey! Welcome back to SpeakOut Junior, Who Cares? Scotland’s magazine for our younger members.

This issue I’ll be telling you all about the fun I had at our Care Experienced Week events like the Love Rally and Time to Shine. We’ll hear from one of our advocates, Caroline and we’ll talk

about what the word “contact” means.

I hope you all had a happy Halloween with lots of sweeties! Now it’s time to look forward to mince pies and making snowmen! love,

Buddy

Send us your art, poems and jokes!

For a chance to appear in the next issue of SpeakOut Junior, photograph or scan your creations and email them to: membership@ whocaresscotland.org or post to 40 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6HJ. Don’t forget to add your name, age and address.

r Buddy Bea et tre 12 Bear S Beartown

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If you’d like your own copy of SpeakOut Junior posted to you, then make sure you sign up as a Family Member by visiting www.whocaresscotland.org

If you would like to opt out of receiving SpeakOut Junior please email membership@ whocaresscotland.org. You must have the permission of a parent or guardian to enter competitions and for any letters or pictures you send us – by sending something you agree to let us publish a copy in SpeakOut Junior and promise you are the creator and owner (unfortunately we are not able to return it). We will only use data provided to contact winners in relation to competitions or letters, you can see our privacy policy here https://www. whocaresscotland.org/whatwe-do/privacy-notice/.

Find out what’s

in this issue…

Ask

Buddy

Meet Your Advocate

pages 5

L VE RALLY

Care Experienced Week pages 8-9

pages 6-7

Mini Makers................... 10 In It To Win It.................... 11 Fun Pages....................12-13 The WC?S Phone Book.14-15

A big thank you to 10-year-old, Tyler who sent in his colouring page from the last issue!

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A Ch ristmas Messa ge from Lou ise For Who Cares? Scotland, 2022 has been an important year. As the lockdown ended, we had to think carefully about how we could meet up with our members again and listen to your voices.

We created opportunities to meet up all over Scotland through our fun and friendly team of Development Officers; we ran groups and had summer activities like the Care Cup. We visited thousands of Care Experienced people in every part of Scotland and listened to you to understand what you wanted to change and helped you to ask for that change.

We spread our message of love to the world so that teachers, leaders, and everyone in Scotland can understand what it means to be Care Experienced and why that matters.

We talked with important people about the laws which effect you. We held events bringing those people together with Care Experienced people, so they could ask for things to be better.

For the first time in 2 years, we got to bring everyone together and create those big moments. We raised flags and banners as we marched through Glasgow for the Love Rally and 4

celebrated and had fun at the Time to Shine festival.

We will end this year with our traditional Care Family Christmas dinner, in person on Christmas Day, to allow our care family to come together. I’m looking forward to seeing some of you there.

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’m really excited for what 2023 will bring for Who Cares? Scotland and our members.

Love,

Louise x

Meet your Advocat Advo cate e A Who Cares? Scotland advocate, also called an APW, will listen to you and then make sure you are listened to by people who make decisions in your life. This issue, we are meeting Caroline Breen, who is an advocate in North Lanarkshire.

Hi, my name is Caroline and I’ve been with Who Cares? Scotland since 2018.

What made you want to become an APW?

I love that Who Cares? Scotland gives young people a person that is purely just there to listen to them and make sure their voice is heard.

This can be a rare experience for young people, and I wanted to support them through this journey and remind them just how important they really are.

Tell us a bit about you

In my spare time, I love binge-watching tv series with some ice-cream, a cosy blanket, and a little snuggle from my cat, Dior! Dior loves going out in the car for a wee Sunday adventure, she even has her own seatbelt! I have taught her to play fetch just like a dog and she loves to play hide and seek.

What are you looking forward to in the future?

I hope that the future will include many more events like Time to Shine now that we can go back to doing national events. I love being able to meet up with everyone and for us all to come together and have some much-deserved fun!

3 fun facts about Caroline

• I once fell down OUCH! ben Lomond!

• I used to sew and design outfits.

• I loveeeeeeeee food.

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Ask

Buddy Asking questions helps us understand the world around us. On this page, I’ll do my best to answer your questions! If you are still not sure, you can ask a grown-up you trust or someone who works for Who Cares?

Scotland to read over this page with you.

What is Contact?

Contact is the word workers sometimes use to describe the time you might have with important people in your life, like your mum or dad, brothers and sisters, or other family. Some children prefer to use the phrase “family time” `because that feels better.

How often should I have family time?

How often you see your family might have already been decided at a Children’s Hearing, but it is important that you feel listened to when it comes to seeing your family. The adults around you should know how and when you would like family time to happen. You can tell your Who Cares? Scotland worker or another grown up you trust. Are there certain things you like to do, or perhaps special times that you’d like to spend with your family? Are there places where you would like to meet?

How should I feel about seeing my family?

It’s ok to have different feelings about seeing your family. You might wish you could see them more often or you might want to see them less. You might think you want to see them but when it comes to it you feel upset about not having enough time or having to say goodbye. All of these feelings are normal and talking about them with your Who Cares? Scotland worker or a grown up you trust can help.

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Will I see my family at Christmas?

It can be hard if you don’t get to see your family at Christmas. Don’t be scared to talk to your carers or workers about how you feel. Sharing how you feel with a person you trust can sometimes make you feel better. If there is someone you wish you could see at Christmas, can you draw them a picture or write them a letter? Then you can ask a grownup to help you send it.

Auntie

Sister

Mum

Buddy

Dad

Gran

If you want to talk to someone about your family time, you should speak to a grown up you trust or your Who Cares? Scotland worker, if you don’t have one, you can call our helpline on 0330 107 7540 between 12 and 4 pm, Monday to Friday.

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Care Experienc Care Experienced week happens over the last week of October and is a special time to celebrate everyone who is Care Experienced. ‘Care Experienced’ is what you and all the other members of Who Cares? Scotland are. It means you are or have been in care. Being in care can mean different things for different children.

You could live with a foster family, be looked after by your Grandparents, live in a children’s home, live with your adoptive family or you live at home with the help of a social worker.

This Care Experienced week, we celebrated by holding lots of fun events for our members to come to. We loved being back together in person!

The Members’ Assembly Our Members’ Assembly is all about bringing members together to explain how Who Cares?

Scotland works to make sure the voices of all ages are heard.

Members enjoyed bacon rolls and a catch-up with their friends before hearing from our Chief

Executive, Louise Hunter, about the plan for Who Cares? Scotland for the next 5 years!

The Love Rally The Love Rally was a specially organised march in Glasgow for Care Experienced people and their supporters to march for a lifetime of love! More than 500 people turned up with flags and banners to chant and stomp along to samba band, Samba Ya Bamba. The event finished with Care Experienced speakers up on a big stage telling everyone why a lifetime of love is so important and why we mustn’t stop working together to until everyone has it.

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ced Week 22 The Time to Shine Festival

Time to Shine is a big party for Care Experienced people. This year it was space themed. Everyone was dressed up as things related to ‘space’ like aliens, planets and astronauts. We even had prizes for the best dressed. We had lots of cool things like a bouncy bungee run, a surf simulator, a slushy machine, moon boots, a photo booth, face painting, and a super cosy galaxy chill-out tent!

If you didn’t make it along to our Care Experienced Week events this year, we hope you still celebrated in some way. Hopefully you can join us next year!

One of our members, Charlie, said this about Time to Shine: It was the first to be held since the pandemic, so it was brilliant for to be back together. I dressed up in a big blow-up costume that made me look like I was being abducted by an alien, it was so funny! It was a really good day.

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Mini Makers

Festive Bookmarks Make yourself a colourful book mark or give them as gifts this Christmas.

You will need: • • • •

Wide roll of sticky tape Scissors A hole punch Coloured paper for decorating Step 1:

Stretch out a long bit of tape to the length of a book on a clean flat surface.

Step 2:

Use your whole punch to make little coloured circles.

• •

Ribbon Anything else you might have for decorating: sequins, stickers or feathers.

Step 3:

Stick your little circles or any other decorations onto the sticky side of your tape.

Step 4: Once you are happy with your design seal everything in place with another length of sticky tape.

While we’ve made these Christmasy you can use this method to make bookmarks all year round.

They make great gifts for bookworms!

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a

in W 5 r! £v2ouche

In It To Win It

Once you have completed the IN IT TO WIN IT page please return it to us by Tuesday the 31st of February 2023 to be in with a chance of winning a £25 voucher of your choice. You can do this by giving the page to your Who Cares? Scotland worker or asking a grown-up to email a photo of your entry to membership@ whocaresscotland.org or post it to 40 Wellington Street, Glasgow G2 6HJ. !

Good luck

Merry s h t a M Can you count how many snowmen, bells and sleighs you see?

Widnsetaercrh Wor

Can you find all 10 words that match the pictures? Colour me in once you’ve found all the words!

LAST ISSUE’S WINNER: Tyler (10)

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s e g a P n u F Join the Jolly Dots!

Can you spot the odd snowman out?

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Colour in this winter wonderland picture!

We’d love to see your finished pictures. Ask a grown-up or your Who Cares?

Scotland worker to help send in your picture. They can email us at membership@ whocarescotland.org. Don’t forget to include your name and age!

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The WC?S Phone Book Find out if we have an advocate in your area Lanarkshire Prajapa Seneviratne Advocacy Coordinator North Lanarkshire 07849 087 753 Ray MacLean Advocacy Coordinator North Lanarkshire 07523 512 800 Brenda Ann Murphy APW North Lanarkshire 07849 083 141 Elle Scott APW North Lanarkshire (Mat Cover) 07849 086 188 Jacqueline McLachlan APW North Lanarkshire 07841 033 020

Kerry Connor APW North Lanarkshire 07841 033 019 Lisa Allan APW North Lanarkshire 07790 341 265 Mags Corr APW North Lanarkshire 07841 033 018 Sarah Bailey APW North Lanarkshire 07715 312 658 Suzanne Niven APW North Lanarkshire 07849 083 248

Laura Campbell Development Officer North Lanarkshire CB 07849 086 191 Ewen Kerr Advocacy Coordinator South Lanarkshire 07970 515 442 Lynne Morris APW South Lanarkshire 07786 068 138 Michelle McAtear APW South Lanarkshire 07841 033 107 Callum Holt Development Coordinator South Lanarkshire 07769 325 162

North James Cameron APW Highland & Advocacy Coordinator North 07841 878 953 Jantine Van Loon APW Highland 07850 852 708 Kirsteen Wood APW Highland 07523 512 610

Paula Campbell APW Moray 07712 870 335

Judith King APW Highland and Moray 07583 050 179

Rachel Campbell Advocacy & Participation Development Officer Highland Schools 07597 577 843

Sian Wild APW Shetland and Participation and Project Coordinator

Kayleigh Griffin Advocacy & Participation Development Officer Moray CB & Schools 07841 032 885

North East Lynne Williamson APW Aberdeenshire 07712 869 576

Paul Lamont APW Dundee 07787 436 681

Jo McLeod APW Aberdeen/ Aberdeenshire 07598 580 316

Leah Strachan APW Dundee 07976 738 663

Jessica Varney APW Rossie YP Trust 07849 083 246

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Donna Mcleod Bray APW Western Isles 07764 290 921

Grown ups, you can find out more about our advocacy referral process by visiting our website whocaresscotland.org North West

Heather Nailard APW Argyll & Bute 07769 325 000 Pamela Hynes APW Argyll & Bute, Crossreach 07739 078 244 Sorcha Tams APW Falkirk and Clackmannanshire 07598 580 320

Morag Cantwell Advocacy Coordinator (Forth Valley) 07523 512 612

Bethany Simpson APW (SP) West Dunbartonshire 07787 560 467

Mary Bateman APW Falkirk and Stirling 07739 078 247

Jemma Kane Advocacy Coordinator (Kibble) 07540 823 286

Caroline Ironside APW Stirling 07849 084 996

Amy Goodwin APW Spark of Genius 07971 474 168

South East Kari-Ann Johnston Development Officer 07841 033 100

Ellie Crozier APW Edinburgh 07712 870 390

Sophie Morris APW East Lothian 07985 046 739

Keira Kerracher APW Edinburgh & Sycamore 07849 083 003

Lesley-Ann Rafferty APW Edinburgh 07787 560 471

Ellie Barrow APW Edinburgh & Harmeny 07970 515 440

Kieran Platts Development Officer Edinburgh 07841 033 104 Susan Armstrong APW (SP) Midlothian and Scottish Borders 07712 872 078

South West Denise McMillan APW East Ayrshire 07932 101 076

Fiona Simpson APW Glasgow 07787 560 472

Lindsay Cook APW East Renfrewshire 07973 801 709

Kim Campbell APW Glasgow 07712 870 343

Sheryl Kay APW South Ayrshire 07738 195 692

West Lynsey Emery Development Coordinator West 07980 956 140 Caroline Breen APW Renfrewshire 07394 418 025 Donald Walker APW Renfrewshire 07712 865 958 Geraldine Whitson APW West Lothian 07712 870 345

Karen Kearney APW West Lothian 07523 512 796 Morag Cantwell APW West Lothian 07523 512 612 Sharon Edwards APW West Lothian 07779 451 117 Lynsey Emery Development Coordinator West 07980 956 140

Heather Donaldson Development Officer (Volunteering & Influencing) 07523 512 797 Rachel Outram APW Renfrewshire 07985 089 947 Zoey Hillman Development Officer Renfrewshire 07484 089 832

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NATIONAL OFFICE: 40 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6HJ. Tel: 0141 226 4441 e.mail: membership@whocaresscotland.org DUNDEE OFFICE: 11 Castle Street, Dundee DD1 3AA Tel: 01382 202888 RENFREWSHIRE OFFICE: 25 St James Street, Paisley, PA3 2HQ IRVINE OFFICE: Sovereign House, Academy Road, Irvine, KA12 8RL

www.whocaresscotland.org