Understanding friendship support for care experienced people
Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (Staf), in partnership with a team of care experienced researchers, throughcare and aftercare workers, and staff from the Universities of Edinburgh and Stirling, invites practitioners working with care experienced people to share your insights on friendship support via an online survey.
About the project
Most people value friendship in their lives, and find comfort, support and happiness in these relationships. However, we know from the Independent Care Review in Scotland, we do not always do enough to support the friendships of people with care experience. Our research aims to help everyone in the ‘care system’ better understand the importance of these relationships and provide practical strategies and ideas to support them effectively.
Why we need your input
Your practical experience is essential to our research. This survey will help us:
- Identify factors that help or hinder friendship for care experienced people
- Collect examples of friendship-related practice
- Understand the challenges in supporting friendships
- Develop practical ideas and strategies for the best ways to support friendship
The survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Your responses will be treated confidentially. You’ll also have the opportunity to sign up for updates and/or participate in the research further.
Deadline: June 30th, 2025
What happens next
Findings from this survey will complement the work being done by our research teams. The practice materials will be launched at the Staf conference in November 2025.
Thank you for contributing to this important work. Your insights will help transform friendship support for care experienced people across Scotland.
Link to survey: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/edinburgh/friendship-focussed-support-for-care-experienced-young-people
—
For more information, please visit the Staf website or contact Ruth Kerracher from Staf (ruth@staf.scot) or Dr Autumn Roesch-Marsh from the University of Edinburgh (a.roeschmarsh@ed.ac.uk)
