500 delegates meet, share and learn at sector event of the year

This week saw us deliver our annual two-day conference, attended by more than 500 delegates from across Scotland and further afield.

This flagship event is a unique opportunity for those who work within the children’s sector to learn about current best practice, share latest research, network, and discuss the key priorities facing us today.

Once again, we were able to offer a rich and diverse programme and were delighted to see representatives from all parts of the sector in attendance.

We had some amazing keynote speakers, with highlights including:

• Elaine Wylie, founder of The Daily Mile
• Catherine Calderwood, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland
• Amal Azzudin talking about her experiences and human rights campaigning
• Karen Reidfrom the Care Inspectorate
• Professors Brigid Daniel and Brigid Featherstone discussing inequalities in the area of child welfare
• Teacher Graham Andre talking about creating a gender neutral classroom and the BBC programme No More Boys and Girls
• Sara Rowbotham discussing Child Sexual Exploitation, Rochdale and her experiences; and
• Chelsea Cameron talking about her letter to her parents and her campaigning work

We are grateful to our conference chairs, BBC Scotland presenter Sally McNair, campaigner Chelsea Cameron and Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland Bruce Adamson.

We were also joined by our very own children and young people’s advisory group, Changing our World.

The group led on social reporting, encouraging delegates to make a pledge about how they would go about including the views of young people in their work, presenting their findings to the conference on day two. Have a look at some of their work on Twitter using the hashtag #MyVoiceCoW

Delegates also had the chance to attend one of 28 workshops or a study trip over the course of two days. The easiest way to get an idea of the breadth and what people thought of the workshops is to have a look at our two Twitter Storify reports: Day 1 and Day 2.

None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for our sponsors – you can find our more about them in the links below. Sincere thanks to all of them.

And a final thanks to everyone who took part in the conference – organisers, facilitators, children and young people and delegates. It’s so impressive to see such a commitment to improving the lives of children in Scotland.

Our annual conference sponsors:

Care Inspectorate
Foster Care Associates
Kibble Education & Care Centre
The Richmond Fellowship Scotland
Road Safety Scotland