Corporate Parenting Plan 2025-2028

Our core purpose and values

The University has a long-standing commitment to supporting care-experienced young people into higher education and through to successful graduation. 

Our Corporate Parenting Plan for 2025-2028 builds on the success of previous plans and looks to extend our scope and ambition as previous innovations mature into established, mainstream practice.

Our Corporate Parenting responsibilities

University of Dundee is identified as a ‘Corporate Parent’ in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.  Corporate Parenting is defined as:

“An organisation’s performance of actions necessary to uphold the rights and safeguard the wellbeing of a looked after child or care leaver, and through which physical, emotional, spiritual, social and educational development is promoted.”

And

The formal and local partnerships needed between all local authority departments and services, and associated agencies, who are responsible for working together to meet the needs of looked after children and young people.”

Care-Experienced Students

As a Corporate Parent, University of Dundee will support every young person, under the age of 26, who is looked after by a local authority through Foster Care Placement, Supervision Order, Kinship Care Order or in Residential care. In addition, those young people who were in care on or any time after their 16th birthday but are no longer looked after by a local authority, known as a ‘Care Leaver’. 

Committed as a Corporate Parent

As part of our Corporate Parenting Responsibilities, we are required to demonstrate how we are meeting the requirements in Sections 58 to 61 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014; this plan meets the university’s obligations under Section 61.   

Continuing to build on the University’s Corporate Parenting Action Plans 2019-21 and 2022-24, the plan for 2025 -28 sets out the following objectives:

Objective 1: The University should grow as an inclusive and supportive place to study where Care-Experienced students feel engaged, included, supported, and valued as part of the University community. 

Objective 2: The University will seek to promote the interest of our care-experienced students and alumni who face additional barriers and provide opportunities designed to support their achievement, progression, employability and wellbeing. 

Objective 3: The University will continue to ensure strong and widespread understanding among staff of matters that might adversely affect the wellbeing and/or achievement of care-experienced young people.

Objective 4:  The University will work to fulfil its role as an inclusive organisation and good corporate parent, working collaboratively with other local and national agencies and corporate parents.