The Childhood Trust Meets Scottish Social Justice Secretary on Poverty and Community Outreach Impact

The Childhood Trust held a highly constructive meeting with the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP on Friday 14th November at Scotland House, London. The key focus of the discussion was our successful Volunteer and Community Programme, Transforming Spaces, and the challenges of ensuring government policy delivers real change for children and families experiencing poverty. 

The Frontline Delivery Model 

The meeting provided an opportunity to demonstrate the practical application of tackling the impact of poverty on children through our model, which involves direct work with Social Work teams who refer families experiencing hardship and material deprivation.  

"It was inspiring to share how our team, along with dedicated volunteers, provide much needed and valued support for the families referred to us by local social workers. The team and I were pleased to discuss the real-world impact of our Transforming Spaces programme and others similar to this," said The Childhood Trust's Chief Executive, Josephine McCartney. "Referrals from social workers ensure support reaches the families with the highest, often most complex, needs, proving how essential community-level programmes are to the wider welfare system." 

A significant part of the conversation centred on how policy intention moves to effective on-the-ground delivery. Ms Somerville showed a keen interest in how our volunteers help to provide consistent, tailored support that institutional services can struggle to provide alone. 

Policy and Research Outlook 

The discussion comes at a pivotal time, with the UK Government's Child Poverty Strategy due for release in the coming weeks along with the budget on 26th November. 

Beth Adams, Head of Volunteering and Community Outreach, commented on the strategic importance of the conversation: "Our community outreach and the experiences of our volunteers are a direct measure of whether policy is succeeding. The discussion with the Cabinet Secretary reinforces the critical need to ensure strategies genuinely translate into effective community-level change." 

Looking forward, The Childhood Trust will be launching its new research report on material deprivation in London in early 2026. This forthcoming data will build on insights shared during the meeting with Ms Somerville, providing robust evidence on the daily hardships faced by children in England's capital and informing future community action. 

We thank Ms Somerville for her time and look forward to continuing constructive conversations and collaborations to ensure policy translates to tangible and meaningful change.