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List of Scottish Government Policy DocumentsIn relation to Volunteering

Volunteering is part of the very fabric of Scottish society and culture and Scotland’s Colleges are in a position to make a valuable contribution by increasing the quality, quantity and accessibility of volunteering within further education.

The Scottish Government actively promotes volunteering as a powerful force for change and many government policies have a direct impact on volunteering, both for those who volunteer and for the wider community and Voluntary Sector.

The following is a list of the main policy documents which are active at the present time and which include or promote volunteering or the work of the voluntary sector. Many have a direct and very obvious impact on education while others may seem rather divorced from our concerns.

All though, are illustrative of the wide role which volunteering plays, from community empowerment to Olympic legacy, from youth strategy to service provision within the National Health Service.

List of Scottish Government Policy Documents

Community Empowerment Action Plan.

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/empowerment

“Scotland’s communities are a rich source of talent and creative

potential and the process of community empowerment helps to

unlock that potential. It stimulates and harnesses the energy of

local people to come up with creative and successful solutions to

local challenges. Community empowerment is a key element in

helping to achieve a more successful Scotland and in delivering

our shared outcomes.”

Lead Body: Directorate of Housing and Regeneration – Regeneration Division.

The Scottish Concordat.

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/923/0054147.pdf

This concordat sets out the terms of a new relationship between

the Scottish Government and local government, based on mutual

respect and partnership. It underpins the funding to be provided

to local government over the period 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Lead Body: Cosla

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List of Scottish Government Policy Documents

Single Outcome Agreements.

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/local-government/SOA

In November 2007 national and local government signed a historic

concordat, which committed both to moving towards Single

Outcome Agreements (SOAs) for all 32 of Scotland’s councils and

extending these to Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs).

Lead Body: Cosla

Reaching Higher – The National Sports Strategy.

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/07105145/0

Reaching Higher focuses on the promotion, delivery,

playing and enjoyment of sport. Key to this is developing a

culture where sport is valued for the pleasure and quality it

brings to people’s lives and for the pride and recognition it

brings to our nation.

Lead Body: Directorate of Equalities, Social Inclusion and Sport – Sport and Games Legacy Division

2014 Legacy Plan.

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/Commonwealth-games

A games legacy for Scotland was launched in Glasgow on 1

September 2009. This set out our ambitions for achieving a lasting

legacy for the whole of Scotland from Glasgow 2014 and other

events such as London 2012 and the Ryder Cup which will also

take place in 2014.

Lead Body: Directorate of Equalities, Social Inclusion and Sport – Sport and Games Legacy Division

How Good is our Culture and Sport.

Visit: www.hmie.gov.uk/documents/publication/hgiocas.pdf

The aim of this publication is to support continuous improvement

in culture and sport provision in local areas. A range of

organisations provide services and activities for culture and sport

in local areas. The principal target and user of the framework

is the local authority. It is recommended that local authorities

should bring the framework to the attention of other service-

providing organisations, e.g. those it commissions and its

Community Planning Partners. Other organisations providing

culture and sport are also encouraged to use the framework to

self-evaluate their provision and its impact on the community.

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List of Scottish Government Policy Documents

Bridging the Gap.

Visit: www.ltscotland.org.uk/Bridging_The_Gap.pdf

Bridging the Gap is primarily for school staff and youth workers

who, together, can deliver better opportunities and outcomes for

young people in Scotland. This publication sets the policy context

and offers examples of practice to encourage youth work and

school partnerships across Scotland to deliver more opportunities

to engage and inspire young people. It is intended to complement

the sharing practice case studies exemplifying the youth work

contribution to Curriculum for Excellence on Learning and

Teaching Scotland’s website.

Lead Body: Learning and Teaching Scotland

Curriculum for Excellence.

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/Schools/curriculum/ACE

Curriculum for Excellence offers a broad and deep general

education from early years through to S3 (typically age 15). It

includes a senior phase of education (typically 15-18) which

provides opportunities to obtain qualifications and develop skills for

learning, life and work. It promotes the ability to learn and to reflect

on their own learning, a skill for life that will help young people go

onto further study, to secure work and to navigate through life.

Lead Body: Directorate of Schools

Note: Many research papers produced by The Institute of Volunteering Research http://ivr.

org.uk demonstrates the role of volunteering in developing self-confidence and soft skills,

central to the development of the attributes and capabilities of the 4 capacities of CfE.

16+ Learning Choices: Policy & Practice Framework.

16+ Learning Choices: Policy and Practice Framework: supporting all young people into positive and sustained destinations

This Framework is for all partners – across a broad range of settings

– who are involved in planning for and delivering the Senior

Phase of Curriculum for Excellence, including those involved in

young people’s post-16 transitions to further learning, training and

employment.

Lead Body: Directorate of Lifelong Learning – Enterprise &

Employability for Young People.

Note: Volunteering is a recognised offer within the 16+ Learning Choices, some young

people who are not ready or are unable to take up a more formal offer of learning could take

part in a personal and social development opportunity or volunteering, which will act as a

stepping stone into a more formal destination.

Visit: www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/

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List of Scottish Government Policy Documents

Refreshed Strategy for Volunteering in the NHS in Scotland.

Visit: www.vds.org.uk/Portals/

Towards the end of 2005 the then Scottish Executive Department

for Health asked Volunteer Development Scotland to consult with

stakeholders and make proposals and recommendations on how

to best take forward volunteering in Scotland’s NHS and to update

previous guidance on volunteering issued in 1998 and in 2000.

Volunteering in Youth work Strategy.

Visit: www.youthscotland.org.uk/volunteering-plan/

The Volunteering Action Plan aims to attract mote volunteers to

the youth work sector and to improve support and development

of opportunities for youth work volunteers. As part of the National

Youth Work Strategy the Scottish Government made a commitment

to work with the voluntary sector to develop an Action Plan for

volunteering - recognising and valuing volunteers within the

sector. Youth Scotland, working with YouthLink Scotland and

Volunteer Development Scotland, will deliver the Action Plan

improving the recruitment, induction and training of volunteers

working with young people, and supporting the development of

young volunteers. The Action Plan aims to “energise volunteers

and encourage more people to take on the rewarding challenge of

enhancing young people’s lives”.

Better Health – Better Care.

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/206458/0054871.pdf

This Action Plan contains a number of proposals that shift

ownership and accountability to the people of Scotland and

offer them the opportunity to take more control of their health.

That brings with it responsibilities too. Our proposals for the

development of a participation standard and a charter of mutual

rights will enable us to maximise the opportunities that this brings.

The Healthcare Quality Strategy for NHS Scotland

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/311667/0098354.pdf

By establishing a shared understanding of quality, and a

commitment to place it at the heart of everything we do, the

Quality Strategy represents a unique and important opportunity for

all of us to work together to our mutual benefit to make our NHS

even better, for everyone, now and into the future.

Lead Body: Health Directorates

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List of Scottish Government Policy Documents

Scottish Government Economic Strategy

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/11/12115041/0

This Government Economic Strategy sets out how we will support

businesses and individuals and how, together, we can deliver the

following Purpose: to focus the Government and public services

on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all

of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic

growth.

Lead Body: Directorate of Business, Enterprise and Sustainable

Growth

Young People

Visit: www.volunteering.org.uk/VolunteeringSkills.pdf

Research confirms that young people develop skills for life through

volunteering, such as personal and social skills, self-confidence,

self-esteem, communication skills, working with others, practical

skills, team working, managing relationships, taking responsibility,

problem-solving, planning, preparation for work.

Social Inclusion

Visit: www.ivr.org.uk/summaryreport.pdf

Volunteering embraces people from all sectors of society and can

help re-engage people.

The question of whether volunteering is inclusive, and the broader

link between volunteering and social exclusion, has been a key

theme for the volunteering movement in the recent past. It has

caught the attention of practitioners, researchers and policy-makers

alike, particularly in the light of the growing realisation that while all

types of people volunteer, some people are more likely to volunteer

than others - at least as far as formal volunteering is concerned.

Environmental Volunteering in Scotland

Visit: www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/Volunteering_May_2008.pdf

Environmental volunteering provides opportunities for people

to become closely involved in the natural heritage learn more

about it and take action for its future. Volunteering offers

opportunities for people to improve their well-being, for example

by gaining new skills and experience and improving their physical

and mental health and well-being. It improves quality of life within

the wider community by helping to create and maintain places

where people want.

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List of Scottish Government Policy Documents

Enterprising Third Sector Action Plan

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/19085003/0

In recent years, within the third sector, we have seen the rise of

the social enterprise business model (businesses which trade for

a social or environmental purpose) and of the social entrepreneur

(innovative individuals who start businesses that meet social or

environmental needs). Some of our most enterprising third sector

organisations – in the field of community care, for example – are

now major providers of high quality public services. The aim of this

action plan is to encourage this culture of enterprise throughout

the third sector. In short, we want to make Scotland a world leader

in the development of an enterprising third sector.

Lead Body: Directorate of Public Sector Reform – Third Sector Division

Playing Our Part – The Scottish Government Response to the Dalgleish Report

Visit: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/02/01161357/1

The Dalgleish Report provides a way forward to further develop

environmental volunteering in Scotland. The Scottish Executive

wants to play its part and help where it can. However the job will

require the work of many organisations and the enthusiasm of

thousands of individuals co-operating in this important task. We

look forward to their help and guidance. Together we can make a

difference.

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www.learningbyvolunteering.org