Aberlour Children’s Houses Host Inspiring Visit from International Colleagues

Last week Aberlour Children’s Charity extended a warm welcome to four esteemed colleagues from Fondazzjoni Sebh and The Salesians Don Bosco. The visitors journeyed from Malta to take a tour of Aberlour’s children’s houses in Fife and Tayside.

The purpose behind this visit was to foster a spirit of collaboration and knowledge-sharing, enabling these organisations to enhance their own residential care services. Recognising Aberlour’s expertise in the field, colleagues from CELCIS recommended this unique collaboration.

Our guests visited five of our houses in Fife and Tayside and spent time with our staff as well as our children and young people.

Love, Relationships and Growth

Yvonne Mallia, Director of Fondazzjoni Sebħ and the driving force behind the Maltese delegation, shared her admiration for Aberlour after visiting our children’s houses:

“Love, relationships, and growth are the key values underpinning the Children’s Residential Homes within Aberlour. The love, passion and dedication radiate in the day to day work carried out aiming to give children a warm and secure childhood and helping them build brighter futures.

We are grateful for the warm welcome we received from Aberlour’s staff and residents. Thank you for sharing with us your knowledge and expertise. We are filled with enthusiasm to continue to develop further our services… we will not stop dreaming and striving to give our residents the best they deserve.”

Leading the visit was Andy Finlay, Aberlour’s Head of Admissions and Programmes. He regarded the two days spent with his Maltese counterparts as an absolute privilege. He said, “It was an honour to provide them with the opportunity to visit our children’s houses and meet our amazing children and adults.”

Embracing Expertise

In addition to the house visits, Aberlour introduced the visitors to other highly respected professionals working within residential care in Scotland. Sarah Deeley and Gemma Watson from CELCIS’ Improving Care Experiences Team were present to share their wisdom and insights. Dr. Shona Quin, a Clinical Psychologist, also contributed her expertise of working with Aberlour to provide reflective supervision and training to Aberlour children’s houses.

Aberlour’s recent collaboration with Fondazzjoni Sebħ and The Salesians Don Bosco stands as a shining example of the importance of providing support to organisations caring for children. By working together, fostering connections, and sharing knowledge, we can strive to provide all children with a brighter future. Our shared commitment to love, relationships and growth aligns with the vision of our children’s houses: to provide warm, loving homes where everyone laughs, learns, grows into their future, and is treasured always.