Renfrewshire Council

Since launching The Promise in Renfrewshire back in August 2021, we have grown our Promise Keeper network to over 300 people including council colleagues, elected members, partner organisations, third-sector volunteers, and local foster carers.

Promise Keepers act as local champions, helping to educate and improve services for care experienced people to ensure the key recommendations from the Independent Care Review, remain at the forefront of service design and delivery.

To mark this significant milestone, English teacher Amy Curran, from St Andrew's Academy in Paisley, shares her experience of joining the Promise Keeper network and the impact she's been able to make at her school.

Amy said: "I became a Promise Keeper because I was in foster care when I was nine years old. My teachers—both at primary and secondary school—provided me with love and support consistently, especially my wonderful English teacher. Without her nurturing approach, I wouldn't have gone to university or became a successful teacher.

"I have been a Promise Keeper for around a year now and in that time, I've been able to make a real difference. I've helped raise staff awareness by delivering training to different faculties and supported the introduction of our language policy, which encourages the avoidance of stigmatising terms like 'Looked After Children' or 'LAC' and using preferred terms like 'care-experienced' instead.

"In addition to my role as an English teacher, I am also the 'acting project leader of enhanced transition support' within St Andrew's Academy. Through this, I have supported several care-experienced young people, with a focus on S1s to ensure their transition from primary school is as smooth as possible.

"This involves regular wellbeing checks with pupils which is a really rewarding thing to do. Because of my own journey, I know exactly how it feels to have one key adult giving support and I really get how important consistency is in a child's life.

"The Promise Keeper training was a two-hour session where I met other professionals in Renfrewshire, including those in healthcare and education. This allowed me to understand how different local authority divisions support care-experienced young people.

"If anyone is thinking of becoming a Promise Keeper then I'd encourage them to sign up—you'll realise that you already do a lot of the stuff in your job already without even thinking about it."

Learn more about The Promise

If you are interested in becoming a Promise Keeper, or would like more information, please get in touch with promise ambassador, Sam Macrae at samantha.macrae@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Our e-learning course on iLearn offers a valuable guide to The Promise and our Promise Keepers network at Renfrewshire Council. 

Find out more about The Promise in Renfrewshire.

You can get more background and information on wider strategy and The Promise frameworks, on The Promise Scotland's website.

Read about The Promise Scotland.

Published Friday 15 November 2024