As Scotland continues to pursue improved experiences and outcomes for care-experienced young people, as part of a policy known as The Promise, a group with personal experience of the system's shortcomings explain what has to change.

The fact that we are “care experienced” means we face barriers that make it much it harder for us to achieve the same things as other people. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, but it does mean that we sometimes need some understanding, a little bit of help, from those working in the education system.

Sometimes the barriers that we face are big, personal issues. The things that have brought us into contact with the care system are, obviously, going to have an effect on our lives, and sometimes there might not be much that teachers, for example, can do about all that. There are times when we have bigger priorities than completing a homework assignment or writing an essay.

But there’s a lot that can be done, and lots of ways in which the system could be changed to make things better for people like us.

You maybe wouldn’t think of this sort of thing, but we end up having to spend a lot of time doing things like attending Children’s Panel hearings or support services, and very often that means having to be out of school. So we miss........

© Herald Scotland