National Framework for Life Journey Work
In November 2024, following an extensive period of consultation and engagement with key stakeholders, the Scottish Government published ‘Supporting Adoption: A Vision and Priorities for Scotland’. The aim of encouraging greater openness in adoption means supporting best practice in life journey work to help children develop a coherent narrative of who they are and why they were adopted. AFKA Scotland has been commissioned by the Scottish Government to co-produce a National Framework for Life Journey Work, alongside a Good Practice Guide, and training materials. This work complements AFKA’s vision and commitment to our ongoing work:
‘Our vision is a future where every practitioner working with children, young people and their families is knowledgeable, skilled, confident, and empowered to support the safe, secure, and loving care to which every child has a right.’
The Framework will support the workforce to embed modern best practice around life journey work, and promote consistent and effective practice within children’s services. It will create clear standards for the provision of life journey work for children and young people with care experience in Scotland, whether permanence is achieved through a return home, kinship care, foster care, adoption, or residential care. This builds on the work that AFKA has already undertaken in producing a good practice toolkit Staying Connected which brings focus to good transitions for children moving to permanence within kinship, fostering and adoption, and the Good Practice in Permanence Guides on Building & Nurturing Connections, Supporting Birth Families, and Supporting Families Providing Permanent Care.
The work to create and launch the framework will take place between April 2026 and March 2028. During this period, we will work with stakeholders to develop the framework and supporting materials, and carry out sense-checking, peer review, and piloting. If you would like to know more about development of the framework then please e-mail the project lead, AFKA researcher Dr. Mark Hardy, at mark.hardy@afkascotland.org.