What is Corporate Parenting?
Corporate Parenting is the College’s statutory duty to act in the best interests of care-experienced young people.
As a corporate parent, Fife College has a responsibility to understand the experiences and needs of care-experienced people and to provide support, encouragement and opportunities that they need to achieve their ambitions.
For us, Corporate Parenting is about more than meeting a statutory responsibility. It is about creating a College environment where care-experienced students feel they belong, have their voices heard and are supported to reach their full potential.
Our Commitment
We want every care-experienced student at Fife College to have the opportunity to succeed.
We recognise that every care-experienced student has their own experiences, circumstances, strengths and ambitions. Our role is to listen, understand and make sure the right support is available when it is needed.
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1
Welcome
Create an inclusive and supportive environment where care-experienced students feel they belong. -
2
Listen
Make sure the experiences and views of care-experienced students help shape the services and support we provide. -
3
Support
Provide access to appropriate academic, financial, wellbeing, guidance and transition support. -
4
Empower
Help students build confidence, develop their skills and make informed choices about their future. -
5
Remove Barriers
Identify and address barriers that could affect a student’s experience, progress or achievement. -
6
Support Progression
Help students progress into further study, employment and other positive and sustained destinations.
What does Corporate Parenting mean in practice?
Corporate Parenting is everyone’s responsibility.
We work across the College to make sure our staff understand the needs of care-experienced students and know how to help them access the right support.
Our teams work with students, Guidance, Funding, the Students’ Association and external partners to provide a joined-up approach to support.
This includes:
- Identifying care-experienced applicants at application stage, where students choose to disclose their care experience
- Providing additional support during the application and transition process
- Offering students the option of a named Guidance Adviser
- providing information and support around funding and the Care Experienced Bursary
- offering opportunities for students to build confidence before starting college
- providing ongoing support throughout the student journey
- working with support workers, carers and partner agencies where appropriate
- developing staff awareness and understanding of Corporate Parenting
- working with other corporate parents and community partners to create additional opportunities for care-experienced students.
Our approach continues to develop in response to the experiences and feedback of our students.
Listening to our students
The voices of care-experienced students are central to our approach.
We want students to have meaningful opportunities to tell us what is working, what could be better and what support they need.
We currently provide a range of opportunities for care-experienced students to share their views and connect with others, including:
- Student feedback
We use regular student surveys to understand the experiences of care-experienced students and identify opportunities to improve the support we provide.
- FCSA Care Experienced Student Officer
Fife College Students’ Association (FCSA) has a dedicated Care Experienced Student Officer role, helping to ensure the voices and interests of care-experienced students are considered and promoted across the Students’ Association.
The role also supports awareness-raising campaigns and on-campus activities. Want to find out more? Contact FCSA at fcsa@fife.ac.uk.
Corporate Parenting and Equality
Our commitment to care-experienced students is part of our wider commitment to equality, inclusion and student success.
Through our equality work, we are committed to enhancing the student experience and helping to narrow attainment gaps for care-experienced students.
We recognise that providing equitable support does not always mean providing the same support to everyone. It means understanding individual circumstances and removing barriers so that every student has a fair opportunity to succeed.