Care Experienced Week is a time to celebrate the care experienced community. This year’s theme is rights – recognising the importance of ensuring care experienced people are valued, heard and supported to succeed.
Our visit to the Haus of Seisay
Myself, alongside SQA Chief Executive Nick Page, and SQA Regional Manager Maureen Wallace, were delighted to have the opportunity to visit Haus of Seisay, a Paisley-based hairdressing academy which was established in 2022 by adoptive parents Thomas and Tony Seisay.
Haus Of Seisay is a charity that strives to provide career opportunities in hairdressing for care experienced young people. Their vision is a world where stigma surrounding care experience is eradicated, replaced by an environment that fosters understanding, support, and equal opportunities.
Thomas and Tony Seisay are creating opportunities and empowering care experienced young people — it was amazing to meet their learners and learn about the work they do.
Following the visit Thomas said: “It was great to have Nick, Joanne, and Maureen from SQA visit Haus of Seisay! It was amazing to share just how talented our care experienced young people are — this is exactly how we break down stigma.
“It was a jam-packed morning full of learning, sharing, and celebrating positive stories from our care experienced communities. The visit highlighted what we already know: Haus of Seisay is full of creativity, potential, and bright futures.
“I am extremely passionate about Haus of Seisay and understand that my own children’s outcomes could have been so different. I want to make a positive change for young people.
“Let’s equalise opportunities for care experienced young people.”
SQA Chief Executive Nick Page said: “What an inspirational and powerful approach to helping our learners develop their skills and employability through real top end hairdressing. What was as striking was the confidence, openness and enthusiasm the team and our learners had for what they were learning.”
Maureen Wallace, SQA Regional Manager for Dumfries & Galloway, and North, South & East Ayrshire, added: “I felt very honoured to have had my hair analysed, treated, and styled by such a talented young person. Thomas, Tony and I were delighted that Nick got to see first-hand all the creativity and potential in the young people at Haus of Seisay. We wish them every success!”
As a Corporate Parent, SQA understands the unique support some care experienced people may need, and that they may find the commitment to undertaking a qualification overwhelming. For this reason, SQA has enabled Haus of Seisay, and other businesses, to enter care experienced candidates on a unit-by-unit basis (rather than for the full qualification), at no additional charge.
If you’re a business and would like to find out more, please email maureen.wallace@sqa.org.uk.
Thanks again to the team at Haus of Seisay for the opportunity to visit. What a fantastic morning!
The National House Project (NHP)
The NHP is a UK-based charity dedicated to helping young people transition out of the care system by supporting them in setting up their own homes and leading connected and fulfilled lives. This is achieved through the set-up and development of Local House Projects (LHPs), which sees care experienced young people receive practical support to move into their own home, and helps them develop the essential skills and relationships needed to live both independently and as part of their wider community.
In 2023, NHP worked in partnership with SQA to develop a customised award, which young people achieve on completion of the House Project Programme (HPP). Care experienced young people from Midlothian, East Dunbartonshire, and Fife began their HPP journey that same year.
Kelly Mottram, Director of Practice at NHP, said: “At NHP, we are delighted that young people leaving care in Scotland can access SQA customised award certification upon completion of HPP. Gaining certification recognises the hard work and commitment they’ve shown as they prepare to move into their own homes. Supporting care experienced young people to lead the way in shaping their own lives is at the heart of everything we do at NHP.
“It was important for us to introduce certification through SQA after young people who are part of the House Project community in Scotland told us they wanted certification that held real merit and meaning for them. We are grateful to SQA for their support in developing this award.”
Care experience as a protected characteristic
We treat care experience as a protected characteristic. This means recognising the unique experiences and challenges care experienced people can face — and making sure our policies promote fairness, equality and understanding.
We’re committed to:
- Embedding care awareness across our policies and equality impact assessments.
- Supporting our staff to understand how care experience can shape a person’s journey in education and employment.
- Working closely with Who Cares? Scotland to ensure we listen directly to care experienced voices.
- Continuing to strengthen our role as a Corporate Parent — making sure young people’s rights are upheld in every part of our work.
We know that rights are more than words — they’re about action. By treating care experience as a protected characteristic, we’re helping to ensure that care experienced learners and colleagues feel seen, valued and supported to reach their potential.
Care experienced children and young people have the right to be listened to, treated with respect, and have a say in decisions about their lives, as outlined in UNCRC Act 2024. As a Corporate Parent, we have highlighted these rights in our Corporate Parenting Plan commitments, and our children’s rights action plan.
To learn more about how we’re keeping our promise to care experienced young people all year round, visit our website, where you’ll find our Corporate Parenting Report 2022–25 and Corporate Parenting Plan 2023-26.
