National Siblings Day – Celebrating and supporting important relationships

Today is National Siblings Day, recognising and celebrating sisters, brothers, siblings and sibling-like relationships of loving friendship.

These relationships are vital for children, young people and care experienced adults just like they are to so many of us. It is essential that Scotland supports and nurtures these connections as a matter of priority not as an afterthought.

What are children and young people telling us about their sibling relationships?

The Promise Story of Progress Vision Statement 4 reflects this, with children and young people with experience of care describing their relationships with brothers and sisters as profoundly important, yet separation through decisions about where children live and who they live with, imprisonment, or adoption continues to bring pain and a sense of loss.

Care experienced children and young people also describe some positive experiences of opportunities for connection and shared experiences. Maintaining these links can help them feel more like themselves, reinforcing a sense of identity and belonging.

It feels meaningful when adults help them stay in touch, create opportunities to spend time together, and recognise the importance of these relationships in their lives.

Children and young people say they feel supported when:

• I get help to keep in touch with my brothers and sisters.
• People care about my relationship with my brothers and sisters and help us to stay together.
• I feel like my rights are being respected when people make sure I can see my brothers and sisters.
• I get to have fun with my brothers and sisters.
• It feels like things are more normal when I can spend time with them.

However, this is not true for everyone, with others describing ongoing difficulties in having their rights to sibling relationships upheld.

Children and young people describe feeling overwhelmed when:

• I am not with my brothers and sisters – it feels like something important is missing.
• I don’t know the next time I will get to spend time with them.
• I feel really upset when I can’t keep in touch with them.
• It feels like I'm missing out on their lives.
• I feel like a stranger to them because we don’t see each other.

When children and young people are unable to see their brothers and sisters because of decisions made by adults, they describe feeling frustrated, powerless and isolated from their family. Over time, this separation contributes to sadness, anger and a growing sense of disconnection.

What is happening around sibling relationships?

National quantitative data shows that some siblings who enter foster care are still being separated, and that only a small number of new foster households are being approved to care for larger family groups. Most children who are experiencing care away from home continue to live with kinship carers or foster carers, rather than in residential settings.

Even harder to capture in national level data are relationships like former foster siblings, best friends, neighbours, and many others that can sometimes be just as important as birth siblings.

Every child and young person should be supported to sustain relationships that matter to them - with family, brothers and sisters, carers, and trusted adults - wherever it is safe to do so but limited resources are a significant barrier.

What is helping to support sibling relationships for care experienced people?

Organisations and services are working to improve how support is designed, delivered and experienced, with the aim of cherishing relationships between brothers and sisters. Their evidence describes both systemic barriers to brothers and sisters living together, and the need for tailored support so that meaningful time together and lasting relationships can be enabled.

Organisations and services report that progress is being made in developing supportive environments, enhancing collaboration with caregivers, and strengthening the approaches used by the workforce.

At the same time, persistent challenges, particularly around resources and consistency, continue to influence the extent to which change can be sustained across all settings.

What needs to happen next?

It essential that Scotland continues to build on the work happening to support and nurture meaningful relationships. Plan 24-30 sets out outcomes for this work and actions that must happen to keep the promise to brothers, sisters, siblings, and sibling-like relationships, so that by 2030:

• Every child and young person is supported to sustain relationships that matter to them - with family, brothers and sisters, carers, and trusted adults - wherever it is safe to do so.
• Workers have the time, trust, and reflective support to prioritise relationships.
• Recording practices reflect the value placed on brother and sister relationships as a right and source of wellbeing and decision making relating to brothers and sisters is accurately recorded and reviewed.

Supporting and maintaining meaningful relationships is vital to keeping the promise that children and young people grow up loved, safe, and respected and care experienced adults have what they need to thrive.

Want to get involved?

The Community of Practice for Siblings is a welcoming network, working to nurture lifelong loving sibling and sibling-like relationships.

The next event will take place on 13 May 2026 at Siblings Reunited – STAR. You can sign up for it here.

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