Scottish Throughcare & Aftercare Forum

What Scottish Throughcare & Aftercare Forum does

Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (trading as Staf) is a Scottish charity and Company Limited by Guarantee founded in 1998 and headquartered in Glasgow. It operates as Scotland's national membership organisation for individuals, organisations, and policymakers involved in the lives of young people leaving care. Its stated objective is to ensure the wellbeing and success of care-experienced young people is indistinguishable from that of their peers across housing, education, employment, health, justice, and relationships. The organisation delivers its mission through a portfolio of programmes rather than a unified technology product. Core offerings include The Real Toolkit (relationship-based practice guides funded by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation), Youth Justice Voices (a participation project for care- and justice-experienced young people run with CYCJ), the Moving On Change Programme (a transitions route map to 2030), Project Return (trauma and adversity co-production work), and the National Leadership Network. Supporting services include trauma-informed practice resources, policy and practice briefings, training and consultancy, and the WeLearn online learning platform. The organisation also produces creative outputs such as the Friendship Anthology and convenes a national conference and quarterly summits.

Staf generates revenue through three streams: recurring membership subscriptions from organisations and individuals in the care sector, fees from training and consultancy engagements, and registration fees for its annual conference and quarterly summits. It does not disclose pricing publicly and is not a venture-backed entity. Its reach is strictly domestic — Scotland only — with no parent company, subsidiaries, M&A activity, or external funding rounds evidenced. The organisation's competitive position rests on its convening role with Scottish Government, COSLA, NES, and the wider third-sector care ecosystem, alongside a content library and methodology (REAL — Relationships, Empathy and Love) built over more than two decades. Partnerships include the Open University (for trauma-informed online courses), the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and One Community Scotland (on the Let's Talk stop-and-search project), and a coalition producing the Care Experience Trauma Companion Pack.

The operating model is community-led: recruitment of members and influence flows through the website, social channels (X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram), email newsletters, a podcast ('The Forum'), events, and word-of-mouth within the care sector. Staff count is documented as 11-50, consistent with a small but established national third-sector body. Strategic direction is shaped by The Promise (the Independent Care Review) and Scotland's Keep the Promise 2030 ambition, with the Moving On Change Programme serving as Staf's contribution to that national reform agenda.

Name

Scottish Throughcare & Aftercare Forum

Legal name

Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum

Website

https://staf.scot

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (Staf) is Scotland's national membership organisation supporting individuals and organisations working with care-experienced young people, delivering training, policy advocacy, and participation programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Care and Aftercare Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Care leaver support
• Youth advocacy services
• Membership organisation
• Trauma-informed practice
• Policy influence

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Staf operates as a membership organization, charging membership fees to organizations and individuals involved in the care sector. Membership provides access to resources, events, training, and participation networks.
2. Training and Consultancy Services: The organization provides training and consultancy services to members and other stakeholders in the care sector, generating revenue through professional development offerings.
3. Event Fees: Staf hosts various events including an annual national conference, quarterly summits, and other gatherings. Revenue is generated through event registration fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Staf is Scotland's national membership organisation for those involved in the lives of young people leaving care. It delivers membership services, training and consultancy, policy influence, events, and a portfolio of projects and resources focused on trauma-informed, relationship-based practice and amplifying the voices of care-experienced young people.

Product overview

Staf (Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum) is Scotland's national membership organization for those involved in the lives of young people leaving care. The organization offers a portfolio of programs and resources rather than a unified technology product. Core offerings include The Real Toolkit (relationship-based practice guides), Youth Justice Voices (participation project with regional groups), the Moving On Change Programme (transitions support with route mapping to 2030), Project Return (trauma and adversity support), and the National Leadership Network. Additional services include Trauma Informed Practice resources, Policy and Practice briefings, Training and Consultancy, and WeLearn online learning platform. The organization also facilitates national conferences, summits, and produces creative resources including the Friendship Anthology. The vision is that the wellbeing and success of young people leaving care across Scotland is indistinguishable from that of their peers in the general population.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Real Toolkit: A collection of guides for young people in care and the workforce that support them. REAL stands for Relationships, Empathy and Love.
• Youth Justice Voices
• Moving On Change Programme

Products and services

• The Real Toolkit A collection of guides for young people in care and the workforce that support them. REAL stands for Relationships, Empathy and Love, providing guiding principles for the transition out of care and beyond. Funded by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
• Youth Justice Voices A youth-led participation project in partnership with CYCJ (Children and Young People's Centre for Justice) for people aged 16-25 with care and justice experience. Facilitates steering groups in Polmont HMP&YOI, Glasgow, and North-East, amplifying voice and influencing change.
• Moving On Change Programme A change programme focused on transitions for young people leaving care, developing Scotland's Moving On and Lifelong Support Route Map showing what needs to be done to keep the promise by 2030.
• Project Return A project ensuring the wellbeing and success of young people leaving care is indistinguishable from their peers. Takes a co-productive approach, bringing together those with care/justice experience, managers, practitioners and trauma professionals.
• National Leadership Network Leadership network that delivers sessions and workshops with young people, exploring core elements of leadership and how it can empower individuals.
• Care Experience Trauma Companion Pack Companion pack developed in collaboration with COSLA, NES, Scottish Government and Resilience Learning Partnership. Focuses on supporting children and young people with care experience with trauma-informed practice.
• WeLearn Online learning platform for continued education and development related to care and aftercare practices.
• Training and Consultancy Training services offered to members and stakeholders interested in work with care-experienced young people.
• Staf Membership Annual membership for organisations and individuals working with care-experienced young people in Scotland, providing access to resources, networks, training, events, and policy influence.
• Trauma-Informed and Relationship-Based Practice Online Course (TIRBP) Trauma-informed and relationship-based practice online course developed in partnership with The Open University. Available on the OpenLearn Create platform.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CYCJ (Children and Young People's Centre for Justice)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCYCJ is a key strategic partner for the Youth Justice Voices project. This is a youth-led participation project for people aged 16-25 with care and justice experience, facilitating steering groups in Polmont HMP&YOI, Glasgow, and North-East Scotland. The partnership aims to amplify the voice of those with care and justice experience and influence change.
• Scottish Violence Reduction UnitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on youth engagement projects including the Let's Talk project around stop and search. Worked together on workshops with young people and the national stop and search team, resulting in animations and learning guides.
• One Community ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Let's Talk stop and search project, working with young people on youth engagement around policing issues.
• Open UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop a new trauma-informed and relationship-based practice online course (TIRBP). The course is available on OpenLearn Create platform.
• Braw TalentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative studio partner working with young people on animations and creative projects, including character development, script writing, prop making, and voicing for Youth Justice Voices projects.
• National Leadership NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on leadership development initiatives, including delivering leadership sessions with the Inside Out group at HMPYOI Polmont.
• COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in producing the Care Experience Trauma Companion Pack, working with NES, Scottish Government and Resilience Learning Partnership to support children and young people with care experience.
• NES (NHS Education for Scotland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the National Trauma Transformation Programme and producing the Care Experience Trauma Companion Pack for the care sector workforce.
• Resilience Learning PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in developing trauma-informed resources and training for the workforce supporting care-experienced children and young people.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: The UK's largest children's charity, running direct services for care-experienced children including leaving-care programmes — overlapping beneficiary base and policy agenda with Staf.
• Action for Children: Large UK children's charity delivering leaving-care services and workforce training programmes across the country — comparable aftercare service and policy footprint from a broader-institution angle.
• The Children's Society: National charity running leaving-care and exploitation programmes for vulnerable adolescents in England — comparable beneficiary population and advocacy/membership-supported model.
• NSPCC: Major UK children's welfare charity with influence on safeguarding, policy and practitioner training — comparable adjacent remit to Staf's workforce training and child-protection focus.

Direct peers

• Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO): Scotland's national membership body for the third sector, providing training, policy influencing and convening for charities including those in the children's services space — directly comparable membership/advocacy infrastructure.
• Who Cares? Scotland: Scotland's independent advocacy organisation for care-experienced children and young people, operating a parallel membership/advocacy model and sharing the same Scotland-only aftercare constituency as Staf.
• Children in Scotland: Scotland's national membership organisation for people working with children and families; overlaps with Staf's convening role, training offer, and policy-influencing remit across the same Scottish workforce.
• Become (formerly BAC): UK-wide charity for children in care and care leavers that also runs membership, policy influencing, and programmes to improve life outcomes — directly comparable mission and member-driven model.
• The Care Leavers Association: Care-leaver-led membership organisation in England providing peer support, advocacy and resources — closely analogous model and constituency to Staf.

Emerging players

• CYCJ (Children and Young People's Centre for Justice): Staf's co-delivery partner on Youth Justice Voices; a policy/practice hub at University of Strathclyde focused on justice-involved children, with shared programmes and overlapping audiences in Scottish aftercare.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StafScot
• Facebookfacebook.com/StafScot
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/staf.scot
• Instagraminstagram.com/stafscot

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scottish Throughcare & Aftercare Forum