Kerry Paterson

With a strong foundation in mental health and wellbeing for children and young people, extensive frontline experience working with children, young people and families, and a proven record of developing participation projects, I believe I bring the skills, values and creativity required to excel in the role of Participation Manager (Scotland) with Save the Children.

Through my academic studies in mental health and wellbeing for children and young people, I gained in-depth knowledge of child development, safeguarding, policies and procedures, and best practice in participation and co-production. This learning has guided my professional practice, ensuring that all engagement with children and families is evidence-informed, safe, and empowering. Alongside my studies, I have worked directly with multi-agency partners including police, social work, occupational therapists, and mental health nurses to ensure that children and families received the right support at the right time.

In practice, I have always prioritised building trusting and meaningful relationships with children and families. As a Safeguarding Assistant Manager in an SEMH school, I worked closely with children with complex emotional needs and their parents, ensuring their voices shaped our support and that all safeguarding procedures were rigorously followed. Later, in a family support role, I worked one-to-one with children who had been out of education for a year or more, and with parents experiencing mental health and financial challenges. By fostering positive, person-centred relationships, I was able to help families re-engage with education and build more stable home environments.

I also bring strong experience in designing and delivering participation initiatives, informed by my academic understanding of best practice in child participation. I developed and project-managed a mentoring programme across all high schools in East Lothian, co-designed with young people to ensure their voices were central. By evidencing the programme’s impact using the children’s own experiences, I successfully secured ongoing funding, demonstrating how participation can directly influence decision-makers.

In addition, I have supported young people with mental health challenges to transition into higher education. This included working one-to-one on practical and emotional preparation, such as supporting them with university or college applications, liaising with admissions staff to arrange visits and tours, and creating video resources so the young person had a reference point to return to when needed. We also mapped bus routes together and carried out practice journeys to relieve anxieties around independent travel. This experience demonstrated the importance of tailoring support to each individual, ensuring their voices, worries and aspirations shaped the process.

My background also includes working as an outdoor instructor in Cornwall, where I supported children and young people to conquer their fears, develop resilience, and build confidence in themselves through challenging and rewarding activities. This experience reinforced my academic learning around child development and empowerment, highlighting the importance of creating opportunities where children can thrive.

Collaboration has been at the heart of my work. Whether in schools, local authorities, or through voluntary projects abroad, I have consistently worked to place children’s voices at the centre. In Malawi, I volunteered in an orphanage, supporting children with their daily care, education, and wellbeing. In Lapland, I worked during the period when children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation were visiting, where I was involved in supporting and interacting with the children and their families as part of creating safe, memorable, and inclusive experiences. These opportunities further strengthened my understanding of working sensitively with children and families from diverse and often vulnerable backgrounds.

My approach is always innovative, inclusive, and child-centred, adapting to engage a diverse range of children and families from low-income backgrounds and those with additional needs. I am committed to ensuring that children’s voices are not only heard but acted upon, informing practice, shaping campaigns and influencing policy.

Safeguarding and protecting children has been at the heart of all my roles, and my academic learning underpins this approach, ensuring that my interventions are always safe, ethical, and evidence-based.

Having grown up in a single-parent household with my mum, I have a personal understanding of some of the challenges that families face, particularly in relation to financial pressures and access to support. This lived experience gives me empathy and insight, which I bring to my professional practice, ensuring that the families and children I work with feel understood, respected, and genuinely supported.

I also have deep personal and familial ties to Glasgow. My grandmother has lived all her life in a small flat in a high-rise building in Clydebank, raising a large Catholic family, and through her, I have seen firsthand the resilience of families and the challenges they face in local communities. All of my father’s family are from Glasgow, giving me a lifelong familiarity with the city and its diverse communities. I also have a close family connection to local governance through my cousin, who is a councillor for Dunbartonshire and actively involved in community initiatives. These experiences and connections give me a strong understanding of Glasgow’s communities and a solid foundation to engage meaningfully with children, young people, and families, supporting participation in line with Save the Children’s objectives.

Since leaving school, my entire career has been dedicated to supporting children, young people and families in different settings, whether in education, family support, outdoor learning or international volunteering. This lifelong commitment, combined with my academic knowledge and personal experience, has given me a broad and practical understanding of the challenges children and families face, as well as the creativity, resilience and empathy needed to empower them to have their voices heard. I am deeply passionate about this work and committed to placing the child’s perspective at the centre of everything I do.

I am deeply motivated by Save the Children’s mission to end child poverty in Scotland and to create opportunities for children and families to shape the decisions that affect their lives. With my experience, academic background, personal insight, and dedication to meaningful participation, I am confident I would make a strong contribution to your team and to the voices of children and families being placed at the centre of change.