Moray Council’s new framework on a rights-based approach around relationships

Moray Council have created a new framework which supports their workforce to take a rights-based approach around relationships.

The framework, created as part of the Maintaining Relationships project, aims to help remove barriers the workforce has in creating positive lasting relationships with young people. It was created using co-design, to make sure that it best meets the needs of young people and the important adults in their lives.

Mandy Morrison, who was the Improvement Officer – Maintaining Relationships, at Moray Council when developing the framework, said the project started when young people identified difficulties around keeping in touch during transitions.

She explained:

Young people had told us when they moved onto independent living, they weren’t always sure how adults would keep in touch with them. They were often left feeling forgotten when they moved on from care.

The Maintaining Relationships project – which launched in October 2025 – is a bold and compassionate initiative that places relationships at the heart of care. It aims to ensure young people would know how people would keep in touch, what that would look like and what to expect.

Children and young people who have been harmed through relationships need supportive relationships to heal from trauma. Moray is committed to removing barriers and helping our workforce nurture positive lasting relationships.

Research shows young people do better across a range of areas in their lives if they have one secure adult.  Moray wanted to ensure young people did not have disrupted relationships when they move on from care.  That they were able to keep in touch with the adults who matter to them.

Working with young people to map the framework

As well as the young people feeling the need for something to change, those working alongside them were also unsure around their roles, boundaries and expectations during this period.

To create something to help this, the team knew it was vital to work with young people, who had told them that they wanted to be involved in decisions about their lives.

So the work to create the framework started by considering stories from young people and adults about their previous experiences. A co-design group was set up, and the local champions board were also engaged.

The co-design group started by creating a picture of a of a young person, Rory, and did journey mapping to plot key points in Rory’s life, what he needs and what adults can do to help Rory feel connected.  Rory was based on the experiences of young people who are part of the champions board.

Rory was then taken to the champions board, where they repeated the journey mapping process, then to a care leavers event which enabled other young people and adults to add to Rory’s story.

Working across agencies to create it

All the information on what Rory needs, which came from young people and those with care experience, was then taken to the Maintaining Relationships multi-agency working group. This group was made up of workers with expertise on maintaining relationships across the workforce, and two young people who came from the initial co-design group.

From the themes identified from young people, adults who keep in touch with young people, teams, forums and practice across Scotland, the Maintaining Relationships framework was created.

During the journey there were challenges to overcome, as this was a new way of working for many of the team in the council.

Mandy said:

The policy team were accustomed to writing policies and procedures which had clear parameters in terms of expectations of how staff should respond in certain situations.  The framework aimed to reflect what the workforce had told us about the uniqueness of each relationship, allowing space for adults to use their professional judgement around boundaries and expectations of each relationship.

So we worked closely with the policy team as this was a new approach for them.

Maintaining relationships had originally intended to be a policy, we quickly learned if the policy was to apply to the whole local authority, it was not achievable to realise this in the short timescale of 18 months of Corra funding (Keeping the Promise 2).

It then moved from being a policy to becoming a framework, to enable it to be more young person friendly and collaborative in agreeing boundaries and expectations between the young person and the adult (in consultation with line managers).

Mandy found that the biggest learning from the project was how to co-design with young people in a way that’s meaningful, whilst also balancing the requirements of the local authority in terms of their duty of care to their workforce and compliance with existing policies.

But by ensuring they kept going with co design, they have now created something which the young people involved are proud of, and which has the potential to improve a vital part of young people’s lives.

Mandy added:

The project is rooted in the voice of our children and young people, and it challenges traditional boundaries. It asks us to follow relationships, not job roles. It demands cultural change, risk reframing, and system-wide transformation.

For Moray, this is so much more than paper guidance that will sit on a shelf. It’s a promise to our children and young people that the relationships they value won’t be lost. It’s our desire to create a culture where love, connection, and continuity are not just possible, but expected and experienced by all young people and those who care for them.

Our Champions Board have been integral to this process, and the collaboration goes way beyond our workforce and into our communities through our locality networks.