Camphill Scotland is the membership body for the 11 Camphill communities in Scotland. Together, our members support more than 500 people with learning disabilities and other support needs, ranging from children to older people. The communities are located in a variety of beautiful settings across Scotland, from Dumfries to Aberdeen. Each offers a supportive community life with personalised opportunities to find purpose and belonging through a wide range of social, cultural and work activities.
Our aims and objectives
We facilitate our members’ development as social care providers, and build their national profile and influence. We aim to ensure that our members:
- Meet the highest modern standards of care and fulfil the original Camphill ethos, and
- Remain recognised leaders in the fields of social care and learning disability
We do this by:
- Giving communities a national voice on key issues impacting upon the lives of people with a learning disability and other support needs
- Raising awareness of the work of the Camphill communities in Scotland by engaging with key audiences, including the Scottish Government, MSPs, local authorities, NHS Health Boards, the social care regulators and users and carers groups
- Contributing to the development of policies and legislation affecting people with a learning disability and other support needs
- Updating and engaging our members in the wider social care environment, including regulatory and legislative changes and sector-wide developmental opportunities
- Supporting communities to learn from each other and to work collaboratively in areas of mutual interest
Our policy and influencing work is founded upon the values and ideals that inspire the Camphill movement as a whole. These include:
- The rights of people with a learning disability to have full and equal access to social goods including work, relationships, and a cultural, artistic and spiritual life.
- The rights of people with a learning disability to have an equal say in how society’s resources are allocated and to shape their environments according to their needs and interests.
- The value of shared living as a powerful means to release individual potential and reduce isolation and loneliness.
- Taking a global and sustainable approach to social and economic challenges and thereby transcend narrow national or sectional interests.
- The value of the arts and of cultural life generally to promote individual and group development.
- The rights of people with a learning disability to choose where they live, and the type of support they receive.
- The rights of parents and carers of people with a learning disability to receive an appropriate range of support.
We aim to exert influence on the wider social and political environment in Scotland so that it reflects these themes. We do this in various ways including:
- Responding to policy developments and legislation affecting people with learning disabilities at Scottish Government level, and in the Scottish Parliament.
- Engaging with key policymakers up to Scottish Government Ministerial level on issues impacting upon people with learning disabilities.
- Representing our members’ interests in key policy fora, including Scottish Parliament Cross Party groups.
- Responding to policy consultations initiated by the Scottish Government, and by public bodies including the social care regulators, and to parliamentary inquiries.
- Using social media to raise awareness and offer commentary on the issues of the day
- Organising workshops, giving speeches and making presentations at national events
- Writing articles and making appearances on the local and national media
- Working with partners including the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability, Coalition of Care and Support Providers Scotland (CCPS), the Scottish Council for Social Services, the Care Inspectorate and many others to promote the interest of people with learning disabilities and other support needs
