Being Included

Being Included

“Being Included” is a basic human need that every person requires to thrive and succeed, which is something we want for our young people and staff alike. It is also one of the guiding principles of care in Scotland and is the aim that every child and young person has a sense of “being included” in some form (Getting it Right for Every Child).

The psychologist Abraham Maslow identified human needs and organised them into a hierarchy. He used a diagram of a pyramid to demonstrate the hierarchy, building one need on top of the other. Maslow’s theory was that to be the most successful version of yourself, there are fundamental needs that must be met first before you can progress to the next one. First and foremost, your need for food, water and shelter should be met before you can meet your needs for physical safety (secure accommodation, reliable money coming). Inspire Scotland meets these basic needs once children and young people have moved into one of our homes. Once these needs have been met, the next basic human need is for love and belonging, which is met through friendship, family, sense of connection. Only when this need is met can a person go on to develop a sense of confidence, respect for themselves and self-esteem.

It can be quite common for young people who do not have the traditional sense of belonging from their birth family to seek it wherever possible. The need is so strong that young people could seek to meet it through intimate relationships with inappropriate people or look to meet it through involvement in gangs, which can often be very dangerous. Whilst we want to protect our young people from these risks, it is not the only reason we want them to feel included. Inspire Scotland genuinely cares for each young person, as well as our staff members, and want them to feel included and a part of the Inspire Scotland family. We want them to be able to grow to be the best versions of themselves.

It is for this reason that Inspire Scotland has chosen “Being Included” as a main guiding value for the whole organisation. We don’t want to just meet basic safety and physiological needs; we want our young people to feel as though they have a place where they are loved, valued, listened to and cared for and that they hold a space in the hearts of the staff and other young people. We hope to help our young people develop a sense of positive self-identity, where they are respected and embraced, but also celebrated for who they are. This may be particularly important to any young people who identify as LGBTQIA+ and have not received acceptance from their birth family. We want to celebrate the diversity of our young people, their religions, race, gender, ability, disability, sexuality and personalities. We believe that everyone should be included, regardless of their background. We believe that valuing everyone’s uniqueness enriches Inspire Scotland and society, and differences should be honoured for the variety it brings to life.

Our young people have had some traumatic experiences and often need a lot of support to cope with this trauma. Feeling included reduces feelings of isolation and loneliness and improves the social and emotional wellbeing of our young people. It helps to counteract the negative effects of trauma and the impact of living away from their home. An inclusive environment promotes positive relationships between young people and staff members. When everyone feels valued, they can trust, communicate and work together more easily and achieve better outcomes together. When young people are included, they can be more engaged in activities, which helps to develop interpersonal skills, empathy and conflict resolution. This then leads to building their confidence in their own abilities.

We also want our staff to feel a sense of belonging too in their work, with their colleagues and the young people they care for. We want them to feel all of the benefits already discussed for our young people in their own lives, careers and daily tasks at Inspire Scotland. We value our staff, want them to feel included and supported in their roles. We want to attract staff members who share these values and contribute to our caring and supportive environment. We want our staff to continue to develop and be the best versions of themselves as well.

Ultimately, our culture of inclusion aims to create an environment where both young people and staff feel heard, validated and supported, contributing to their overall development and resilience; encouraging them to become the best version of themselves.