17 January 2020

The first students to benefit from a new service aimed at improving outcomes for care experienced young people at college have met the First Minister to discuss the project.

Delighted to host the @NicolaSturgeon at @GKCollege to meet care-experienced students who are part of our STAY service, aimed at improving outcomes for care-experienced young people attending @GKCollege, @CofGCollege, @Glasgow_Clyde and @WestCollScot. pic.twitter.com/miuuJtX2Kz

— AFC Scotland (@Actn4ChildrScot) January 14, 2020

Action for Children joined forces with Glasgow Colleges Regional Board (GCRB) and West College Scotland to offer the STAY programme which provides practical and emotional help to care-experienced students to help them succeed in college and beyond.

The First Minister spoke with students and their support workers to hear how the service has helped them, during the visit at Glasgow Kelvin College’s east end campus.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

Young people with care experience often have more barriers to overcome than their peers but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the same ambitions and achieve the same goals.

“Initiatives like the new STAY service are vital to ensure every young person in Scotland, regardless of their background, has access to the same experiences and education and, ultimately, the same chance to live a happy, fulfilled and successful life.

“It was a pleasure to meet the young people who are already benefitting from STAY and their support workers who are providing not only practical but emotional help too, the service is clearly already making a big difference.”