Children, young people and families

Our family wellbeing service can provide support for a wide range of issues which may be affecting you or your family.

Our aim is to listen to you and offer support with the challenges of being a parent, such as: 

• worries you have about any changes of circumstances for you and your children 
• bereavement and loss 
• emotional and mental health difficulties 
• financial stress 
• many other aspects of family life.

We aim to provide the right help at the right time for parents and families to stop issues getting worse.

By talking, listening and engaging with you, we offer free, non-judgemental and responsive support. 

This could mean:

• providing or arranging practical help or assistance 
• carrying out an initial assessment to help identify what support would work best for you and your family 
• putting you in contact with other services or organisations like the NHS, money advice, or counselling.

We work in partnership with:

• Engage Renfrewshire
• Youth Inspired
• Home Start
• KLAS Care
• Active Communities
• Brick Lane Paisley.

See how our family wellbeing service helps Renfrewshire parents with the video below.

There are 2 ways to contact our family wellbeing service to request support. Please make sure you choose the correct online form.

Ask for support for yourself

To ask for support for yourself, use this form:

Request for assistance to family wellbeing service (for the public)

Professionals and agencies

If you're a professional or agency looking for support for a family you are working with, use this form:

Request for assistance to family wellbeing service (for professionals and agencies)

We aim to contact you within 3 working days to advise which support is most appropriate.

This may be from our team directly or one of our partner services.

The headteacher at Paisley Grammar School Community Campus is Janice Levens.

The primary schools associated with Paisley Grammar School Community Campus are:

• Gallowhill Primary School
• Mossvale Primary School
• Ralston Primary School
• Todholm Primary School
• Williamsburgh Primary School.

New Paisley Grammar School Community Campus

Paisley Grammar School Community Campus is due to open for pupils and staff on 20 August 2026.

The catchment area remains the same, including the 5 associated primary schools listed above.

Facilities at the new school

Paisley Grammar School Community Campus is a modern, energy-efficient learning environment with:

• outdoor facilities, including 2 full-size sports pitches, one 3G and one grass, plus outdoor learning and social spaces
• modern facilities for practical subjects including a 300-seat theatre, fitness suite, dance studio, makers space, teaching kitchens, drama studio, and music suites
• a range of ways to learn and teach, with open spaces for group work as well as traditional classrooms
• facilities for use by the wider community out with the school day, such as meeting rooms and flexible learning space.

The school is fully accessible to pupils with mobility issues or additional support needs. The location allows a closer partnership between the school and the nearby West College Scotland.

Location, road safety and school transport

The campus will be served by the new east-west road being constructed, which provides direct access from Renfrew Road.

The road forms part of the wider AMIDS South project, which is improving transport connections across north Paisley and creating safer routes for people walking, wheeling, cycling and driving.

Work on the wider AMIDS South project, including the new bridge across the White Cart, will continue after the school has opened.

Safe walking, wheeling and cycling routes now provide access to the campus, including the completed Gallowhill Link beneath Renfrew Road.

Pupils living more than 2 miles away from the school can get school transport under our home-to-school transport arrangements.

Updates on the progress of the new school

Paisley Grammar School Community Campus has now been completed and will welcome pupils and staff in August 2026.

Previous updates issued during the construction of the new campus are available below for reference.

• August 2026 - update on travel guidance for parents/carers
• June 2026 - progress update on new building, road improvements and transport
• February 2026 - progress update on construction, road improvements and transport
• June 2025 - update on construction progress, travel planning, what happens next

Who can get a Kinship Care Allowance

The financial support that we can provide depends on how you become a kinship carer and the child’s legal or care status.

Kinship carers eligible for an allowance are:

• all formal kinship carers – where the child has a legal status as “looked after” by the council
• some informal kinship carers – where the child does not have a legal status as “looked after” but is subject to a Section 11 Order (previously known as a residence order, now a kinship care order) and is or was:
  • previously “looked after” by the council
  • at risk of becoming “looked after” by the council.

A social worker will complete an assessment of the kinship carer to confirm if we’ll provide any financial support.

If you’re an eligible and approved carer, the social worker will arrange a kinship allowance to be paid.

Who cannot get financial support

We cannot provide financial support to carers who entered a private care arrangement with a close family member or friend without the council being involved.

Weekly Kinship Care Allowance

If you're eligible, the amount of money you get each week as Kinship Care Allowance depends on the age of the child that you're caring for:

This is the Scottish Recommended Allowance per child per week, minus £17.25 child benefit. Kinship carers can claim this child benefit as well as the weekly allowance. 

If you do not receive child benefit for a child you’re caring for, speak to your allocated social worker who will help you in making a claim.

From 18 to 21 years old

If you care for a young person who continues to live with you from the age of 18 up to their 21st birthday, you’ll be entitled to a continuing care allowance. 

We’ll pay you an allowance of £206 per week.

Contact us

You can contact our social work services by: 

Eligible kinship carers may be able to get money to help with the costs of looking after a child. This is called a Kinship Care Allowance. 

A Kinship Care Allowance is paid by the council where the child originally lived, which may be different from your own local council.

Who a kinship carer is

A person is a kinship carer if:

• they’re a close family member, a close family friend, or someone who already has a relationship with the child
• the child is living with them because the child’s parents are unable to care for the child
• the child’s parents do not live in the same household as the carer and child
• they’re not looking after the child as part of a private care arrangement.

Types of kinship care

Informal kinship care 

Informal kinship care is where families make their own, independent arrangements for a child to live with close family members or friends. This is also known as a private care arrangement.

In these circumstances the child is not legally “looked after” by the council.

This arrangement would not be considered formal kinship care as our social work service was not involved in the arrangement and did not plan to remove the child from the care of their parents.

Formal kinship care 

Formal kinship care is where a child has a legal status as “looked after” and is placed with close family members or close family friends with the council involved.

A children's hearing or court may place children in formal kinship care.

We have duties and responsibilities for children in formal kinship care which are set out in law and government guidance (Scottish Government website). This includes assessing and reviewing potential kinship carers and their homes.

Family support

In circumstances where a birth parent lives with their child in a close family member or close friend’s household, or enters a shared care arrangement with that person, it is not considered a kinship placement. 

The parent will still have legal responsibility for the child.

Assessment of kinship carers

When a concern is raised about the care or protection of a child, this is investigated by our social work service.

Before we can arrange for a child to be cared for by a close family member or close family friend, we must assess if this placement meets the child’s needs.

This assessment will usually be completed by a social worker, who’ll:

• carry out police checks on every adult in the household
• check social work database systems and the health records of all potential carers
• visit the home to interview the proposed carer and make sure their home is suitable for the child's needs.

If all checks are satisfactory and we decide that it is not safe for a child to return to the care of their parents, we’ll complete a full kinship assessment within a 12-week period. This assessment will focus on strengths, vulnerabilities, and support needs.

Responsibilities of kinship carers

When a child is placed with a kinship carer, that carer has a responsibility to provide a safe and stable home environment which meets the child's needs.

Responsibilities include making sure the child attends school or nursery and receives medical and dental treatment.

We’ll assign the child a social worker who’ll see them regularly to get their views about their care and their future. The social worker may visit children at their home and in private.

The social worker will develop a care plan for the child and is responsible for making sure that the care plan progresses.

The social worker will make sure the carer has a copy of the care plan and that they understand the plan for the child. 

If a carer has any questions about this or their role in the child's care plan, the social worker should be able to answer them.

Kinship carers are expected to work with the council. This is usually through the child’s social worker, but sometimes by attending meetings with other professionals, such as health and education, to discuss the child.

These meetings are to share information and let everyone work together on the child's care plan.

As a kinship carer for the council, you’ll be allocated your own social worker to offer you support and any training that may be required. This will be a different social worker from the child.

Financial support for kinship carers

Financial support that we can provide depends on how you become a kinship carer and the child’s legal or care status.

Find out more about financial support for kinship carers.

Contact us

You can contact our social work services by:

More information

Get non-council advice and support for kinship carers from:

• Renfrewshire Carers Centre
• Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland.

Kinship care is when a child is placed under the care of a close family member or a close family friend by the council, the children's hearing system, or the courts because their parents are unable to care for them.

In these circumstances, the child is defined as “looked after” by a council under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Our policy is to always arrange for a child to be cared for by their close family members, if possible.

More information 

You can find out more about the Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme (Scottish Government website).

The Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme funds nurseries and childminders to provide a daily serving of milk and a snack for children who attend for at least 2 hours a day.

It aims to ensure children have daily servings of healthy food and drink items from an early age to help their growth and development.

The daily serving includes: 

• plain fresh cow's milk or a non-dairy alternative, or infant formula for children under 12 months old
• a healthy snack, either fruit or vegetables.

Any nursery or childminder in Renfrewshire can register for the scheme if you:

• are registered with the Care Inspectorate
• provide care to pre-school children for 2 hours or more a day. 

Under the scheme, children will get milk, or a non-dairy alternative, and a healthy snack serving once a day if they attend at least 2 hours of nursery or childcare.

If a child goes to more than 1 nursery or childminder during the day, they should still receive only 1 serving a day. 

If a child gets the milk and snack serving at another nursery or childminder before coming to your setting, you do not need to provide it again.

You should agree with the child's parents and carers when the milk and snack is provided, in line with any other arrangements for meals at your setting.

You should keep a record if a parent or carer chooses to decline all or part of the milk and snack provision for their child.

From 1 April 2022, a national combined rate of 58.2p for milk, non-dairy alternatives, and a healthy snack was introduced for every eligible child.

There is no charge for parents or carers of children who get the daily milk and snack provision. 

What you cannot use the scheme for

This scheme is separate from any other meal or snack arrangements you provide at your setting. 

You cannot use these payments for other types of food, drinks, meals, or products that are not approved for the scheme.

See the products that must be provided under the scheme (Scottish Government website).

You'll need to give us an estimate of the number of milk and snack servings you expect to provide from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, so we can calculate payments to childcare settings.

We recommend you base this on your existing catering estimates and the number of children you expect attend your setting each day. 

For example, if you’re a nursery with 80 places, you could apply for between 80 to 120 servings per day.

In your application, you'll need to provide:

• the registered name, address and postcode of your nursery or childminding business
• your contact details
• which type of childcare provision you provide (either day care or childminding)
• the address where the nursery or childminder is
• the bank name, account number, and sort code of the nursery or childminder
• if you keep an attendance record
• how many children are enrolled at your nursery or childminding setting
• how many sessions you provide a week
• how many children you expect to care for at a session
• how many milk and snack servings a month you expect to provide
• a copy of your childcare provider's certificate of registration - you can upload this as a photo (JPEG) or a scanned document (PDF).

Register for the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme online

This year's scheme runs from 1 August 2026 until 31 July 2027.

We'll let you know if we have confirmed your registration. 

We'll tell you by email when your payments will start. 

When you'll get paid

This year's scheme runs from 1 August 2026 until 31 July 2027.

If your registration is confirmed, you’ll get 3 payments during the year to purchase the products that must be provided under the scheme (Scottish Government website).

The 3 payment periods cover:

• 1 August 2026 to 30 November 2026
• 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2027
• 1 April 2027 to 31 July 2027.

If you register before 20 July 2026, you'll get your first payment on or around 1 August 2026.

If you register after 20 July 2026, you'll be paid within 4 weeks of the date you registered. 

You will not get backdated payments if you register after 20 July 2026.

We'll make the second payment on or around 1 December 2026.

We'll make the third payment during the week commencing 6 April 2027.

Renfrewshire’s Promise annual report

Keeping The Promise in Renfrewshire – Annual Report 2026 provides a clear and accessible account of collective progress from February 2025 to February 2026.

It outlines how partners across Renfrewshire are continuing to embed the foundations of The Promise.

Two versions of the Annual Report:

• Renfrewshire’s Promise 2026 - A comprehensive report detailing progress across all services and partnership areas, explaining how The Promise is being delivered locally and how lived experience shapes decision making, planning and system change.
• Renfrewshire’s Pinky Promise 2026 - A child friendly version presenting the key messages in a simple, visual and accessible format for children, young people, and anyone who prefers a simpler style.

Keep The Promise in Renfrewshire Action Plan 2026 to 2029

The Action Plan 2026 to 2029 sets out detailed actions partners will deliver over the next 3 years. It aligns with: Promise Plan 24–30, Scottish Government Implementation Plan and Local strategic priorities.

The plan uses 2 core descriptors:

• Descriptor 1: Listening, Leading and Working Together -
  Focuses on leadership, governance, culture, language and ensuring Care Experienced voices shape all activity.
• Descriptor 2: Supporting Families and Changing Systems That Work for Everyone - 
  Focuses on workforce development, employability, whole family wellbeing, children’s hearings, community justice, and system redesign.

Each action includes responsibilities, timescales and monitoring measures.

We want to work together to support infants, children, and families when they need help.

The Promise is included in lots of council plans and is across all council services and our partners.

The Promise has a key focus around better life experiences for all our Care Experienced Community.

Our transfer process is quick and easy. Contact us to start the process.

Reasons to transfer to us

You can:

• keep Renfrewshire children living in the area
• foster children from a wide range of ages, from 0 to 21
• giving back to your local community.

You could get up to £31,990.92 a year for each child that you foster.

This is from:

• a weekly fostering payment or £330.46 per child
• an allowance of up to £284.75 per week per child to cover food, clothing, schooling, and other costs..

We provide:

• support and training before and during fostering
• dedicated social worker always on hand
• access to Renfrewshire’s local carer support group.

See support and training for foster carers.

See allowances and payments for foster carers.

To talk to us about transferring from a fostering agency to Renfrewshire Council use our contact form.

Contact us about fostering

To talk to us about transferring from a fostering agency to Renfrewshire Council, you can phone 0300 300 1199.

Stages in the fostering process

There are three stages to become a foster carer:

• information
• preparation
• formal application.

Information stage

At this stage, you are reading up on fostering and assessing if this is something you want to do. You can:

• download our fostering information pack
• sign up to a fostering email list to receive information about fostering and event.
• speak to a member of the team and ask questions. Phone us on 0300 300 1199 or email childrenandfamilies@renfrewshire.gov.uk. 

Preparation stage

When you’re ready to start the fostering process, you should phone us on 0300 300 1199.

This stage includes:

• initial home visit
• preparation groups.

Formal application stage

Once you’ve completed the preparation stage, you can formally apply to become a foster carer.

This stage includes:

• home study assessment
• fostering panel.

Timescale

How long it will take to complete the process of become an approved foster carer varies depending on your situation. We need to:

• carry out a comprehensive assessment
• determine applicants’ qualities, skills, and reasons for wanting to foster.

Many candidates will remain in their job throughout the process until they are officially registered as foster carers.

Home visit

You’ll receive a home visit from a social worker to chat about your circumstances and motivations to foster. You’ll be able to ask any questions you have about fostering during the visit.

If both you and the social worker are happy to continue, we will invite you to attend the next available preparation group.

Preparation groups

Preparation groups are made up of 6 introductory modules. The modules are designed to give a comprehensive understanding of the roles and responsibilities of foster carers. All new foster carers must complete all 6 modules.

You’ll hear about the experiences of foster care from:

• other foster carers
• young adults who have been in care
• staff.  

After completing the modules, we’ll arrange a home visit to discuss feedback with you.

If you and the social worker are happy to continue, we’ll give you a formal application to complete. 

Home study assessment

Your supervising social worker will carry out a home study assessment. This is a very thorough assessment that considers the background, family history, relationships and living situation of all individuals seeking to become foster carers.

It can take between 6 to 9 months to complete.

After completion, we will present successful assessments to the fostering panel for final review and approval.

Fostering Panel

Your home study assessment will be reviewed by a group of professionals on the fostering panel.

Your supervising social worker will make a recommendation to the panel on your suitability to become a foster carer. You may be asked further questions relating to your answers at the panel.

The panel will make recommendations on the age, gender and number of children you'll be allowed to foster. These will go to the agency decision maker for a final decision. If agreed, we will send out an official letter of confirmation within 14 days of approval.

Foster with Renfrewshire Council

Find out how to become a foster carer with us.

Contact fostering

You can contact us online about fostering.

Contact us about fostering

From short-term to long-term foster care, there are different ways you can support children and young people.

We have different types of foster care arrangements to help meet the needs of children in different circumstances. You could foster:

• younger children
• teenagers
• siblings
• disabled children
• black and minority ethnic children
• unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Stay over fostering

You could care for children or young people for:

• an overnight stay
• or a weekend or slightly longer.

Short term (interim) fostering

You could foster a child or young person until they:

• can return home to their own family
• are placed with long-term foster carers or adoptive family.

Short term (interim) breaks can last from a few days to several months.

Long term fostering

You could foster children or young people for a number of years, up until age 18.

You'll be able to offer the long term support they need to grow and thrive if they cannot return to their family.

Foster with Renfrewshire Council

Find out how to become a foster carer with us. 

Contact us

You can contact us online about fostering.

Contact us about fostering