Who we are

A little history

Established in 1815, Carolina House Trust is one of Scotland’s oldest children’s charities. We provide safe and nurturing homes to vulnerable children and young people. We support carers to offer family-based care to children and young people who cannot live with their own family for as long as it is needed.

We have been supporting children and young people in Scotland for over 200 years and in that time society’s attitudes to caring for vulnerable children and our knowledge of the effects of trauma on children have evolved. We evolve with the times and contribute our knowledge and experience to change policy, practice and promote better outcomes for care-experienced young people and care leavers.

Our Mission

Making homes to nurture children and young people’s potential

Carolina House Trust works to the highest standards with children and young people to create homely nurturing environments where they are supported to grow, develop and achieve their individual potential.

Our Vision

Our vision is that all children and young people irrespective of their background can grow up to be the best they can be

We do this by:

  • Ensuring that if a child or young person can’t live at home we offer a safe and nurturing home to them.
  • Giving our community especially our children and young people a voice and hearing it.
  • Promoting growth mindset and individual potential.
  • Recruiting high-quality carers and supporting them to offer a secure base to children.
  • Supporting the needs of and advocating on behalf of the children and young people we work with.

Our Values + Principles

Respect: mutual respect is the basis of all interaction within the CHT community.

Leadership: leadership is practiced and encouraged at all levels within the CHT community.

Teamwork: working together collaboratively to achieve our shared outcomes to deliver the organisation’s vision. 

Reflective: in line with our growth mindset culture, we learn from experience both good and not so good, with the aim to continuously improve. 

Partnership working: we will work with other agencies to provide services that meet their needs and the needs of vulnerable children and young people.  

Equality and Diversity: we strive to offer equal opportunities to all while recognising and valuing differences in our people and the children and young people we support.  

Build capacity: we build on the individual skills of our community and offer opportunities to develop new skills and opportunities through shared learning and experiences to enhance the sustainability of the organisation.

Innovative: we seek to develop as an organisation by pushing the boundaries of what is possible while acknowledging national and local policies.

Asset-based: build on existing community-based assets aiding and enhancing social capital to increase productive potential.

Interested in fostering with us?