Kibble Annual Conference
An event for those who support young people, shaped by their direct involvement.
Mental Health in Mind
Date: Tuesday 3rd November 2026
Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel, Argyle Street, Glasgow
Kibble’s Annual Conference is a 5-star rated event drawing record attendance year after year and is returning in 2026. We want to bring people together and encourage everyone to keep Mental Health in Mind.
Increasingly trauma-informed and recognised by National Autistic Society, Kibble exists to give every young person a chance at life and invites like-minded individuals to join us on Tuesday 3rd November 2026 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow.
“I think people need to realise kids are all different and have different needs and we need support not labelled.” – Young person of Kibble
Meet Our Keynote Speakers
Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland
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Nicola Killean became the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland in August 2023. She and her team are responsible for protecting and promoting the human rights of everyone under 18 in Scotland, or up to the age of 21 if they have care experience.
Nicola has spent the majority of her career supporting children and young people from communities facing particular challenges and disadvantages.
Before becoming Commissioner, she was the founding CEO of the charity Sistema Scotland which uses music and nurturing relationships to support over 3,500 children and young people across Scotland.
Steven Russell, Dual Perspective Leader, Author and Creator of the Ripple Effect: Every Moment Matters
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Steven Russell brings a rare and powerful understanding of the care system, shaped by both lived experience and professional practice. He has been the child it was built to protect, and the professional asked to make it work. That dual perspective is not a tagline. It is the lens through which he reads a room, a policy and a child who has learned that adults leave.
For two decades, he has advocated for children and young people, equipped the professionals around them, and built environments where relationships come before compliance, believing that connection is not the soft option; it is the whole job.
Steven unsettles the comfortable and steadies the overwhelmed. He challenges the assumptions that quietly shape practice: about behaviour, belonging, and which children are seen as worth the effort. People leave with their thinking shifted and something practical they can use the next morning.
Educators, social care professionals and foster carers describe his work as honest, unflinching and hard to walk away from unchanged.
Don’t miss the chance to hear Steven Russell in Scotland, following his mental health work with students at risk of permanent exclusion and professionals across the UK. Book your early bird tickets now.
Ryan McCuaig, Lawyer, Award-Winning Advocate and Speaker
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Ryan McCuaig brings an honest, powerful, and relevant voice to Kibble’s Annual Conference 2026.
He is a construction lawyer, social mobility advocate, and experienced charity leader from Glasgow. Ryan turned early adversity into a successful legal career through resilience, ambition and the support of people who believed in him. Alongside his legal career, he now consults with organisations and mentors individuals to help those from underrepresented groups enter and succeed in the professions.
Hear directly from Ryan about his upbringing in Easterhouse, Glasgow, and how he overcame significant personal, financial and social challenges to pursue a career in one of the UK’s most socially exclusive sectors. After leaving school without any Highers, he went on to graduate with a first-class law degree from the University of Strathclyde; complete a postgraduate diploma at the University of Glasgow; and qualify as a solicitor in two separate jurisdictions. He is now a Senior Associate at one of Scotland’s oldest and largest commercial law firms.
As former Chair of Who Cares? Scotland, Ryan brings professional insight, lived experience and a clear message about what helps young people move forward.
Book now to join us and Ryan and be reminded you could be the person to change a young life.
Rob Holland, Director of National Autistic Society (NAS)
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Director of National Autistic Society (NAS), Rob Holland leads the way in supporting autistic children, adults and families across Scotland. A driving force for influencing change and creating a society that works for autistic people, Rob Holland oversees the delivery of life-changing services. Alongside campaigning for improved rights and offering help, extensive training is available for organisations and professionals aiming to vastly improve the experiences of those who are neurodivergent.
Hear directly from Rob Holland about the importance of relationships and discover ways to strengthen connections between autistic people, families, and the systems around them.
Clare Allely, Professor of Forensic Psychology at the University of Salford
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Professor Clare Allely is a leading voice in forensic psychology, autism and pathways to serious violence. Based at the University of Salford, with affiliations to the University of Glasgow, The Children’s and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) at the University of Strathclyde and the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre in Sweden, her work brings vital insight into how neurodevelopmental needs can intersect with vulnerability, justice and risk.
Clare’s research focuses on two key areas. First, she explores how features of autism spectrum disorder may create contexts of vulnerability linked to a wide range of offending behaviours, including lone-actor terrorism, extremism, viewing indecent child imagery, sexual offending, cybercrime and more. Second, she investigates the pathways to intended violence among perpetrators of extreme acts, including lone-actor terrorism, serial homicide and more. Hear from an internationally connected researcher whose expertise spans autism, offending behaviour, radicalisation, courtroom experiences and secure care.
Hear from an internationally connected researcher whose expertise spans autism, offending behaviour, radicalisation, courtroom experiences and secure care.
Attend a Variety of Powerful Workshops
Hear from leading organisations and young people as they share practical tools, evidence-informed ideas and lived experience. Explore a selection of workshops from this year’s conference programme.
Kibble
Kibble brings together workshops shaped around Mental Health in Mind, where young people and relationships sit at the centre of care, education and mental health support. Discover how integrated services can create safe, nurturing environments where young people build trust, strengthen wellbeing and move towards a more positive future.
Venture Trust
Workshop title: Taking Therapy Outdoors: Nature-Based Practice for Trauma, Connection and Wellbeing.
Venture Trust highlights the impact of outdoor therapy as a more accessible, trauma-informed approach for young people and adults who may find indoor or face-to-face settings challenging.
Experience how nature-based practice can create safer, less stigmatising therapeutic spaces for people affected by trauma, adversity or neurodiversity, with practical outdoor therapy ideas that can be adapted across care, education and community settings.
Relevant themes: Mental health and wellbeing; Trauma; Innovation in childcare services.
Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ)
Workshop title: Caring for Distress through Play-based, Individualised Support: A Developmental Wellbeing Approach.
Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) introduces a developmental wellbeing approach rooted in healthy development and play-based, individualised support.
Try a practical taster session that supports practitioners, children, young people and families to co-create safe strategies for home, school and community settings, with insight into developmental trauma, intersectionality and strength-based interventions.
Relevant themes: Mental health and wellbeing; Child development; Trauma; Innovation in childcare services; Equality, diversity and inclusion; Youth violence.
Staf – Youth Justice Voices
Workshop title: Youth Justice Voices: Mind and Matter.
Staf’s Youth Justice Voices brings lived experience to the centre of an interactive workshop led by young people.
Join a lively session led by people aged 16 to 25, exploring how participation can strengthen mental health and wellbeing while shining a light on the realities of lived experience-led projects.
Relevant themes: Mental health and wellbeing; Trauma; Youth violence.
Glasgow Clyde College
Workshop title: Our Nurture Approach to Stay Well and Thrive.
Glasgow Clyde College offers a practical look at how its nurture-led approach has helped staff and students stay well and thrive.
See how this approach has reduced withdrawal rates, improved outcomes and increased satisfaction across the college community.
Relevant themes: Mental health and wellbeing; Trauma; Neurodiversity; Equality, diversity and inclusion.
Generations Working Together
Workshop title: Did You Know That ‘Youngism’ is the New ‘Ageism’?
Generations Working Together challenges age discrimination against young people by showing the value of intergenerational practice.
Consider the rise of youngism and its impact on mental health, work and community relationships, while looking at how intergenerational practice can reduce stereotypes and create more age-friendly communities.
Relevant themes: Equality, diversity and inclusion; Mental health and wellbeing.
Education Scotland
Workshop title: UNCRC Article 12 – A Lever for Curriculum Decisions.
Education Scotland spotlights the power of children and young people’s voices in shaping services.
Reflect on cross-sector learning from education, and how listening beyond data or labels can lead to more meaningful engagement and service design.
Relevant themes: Mental health and wellbeing; Child development; Equality, diversity and inclusion; Vocational and skills training.
Social Enterprise Academy
Workshop title: Creating Impact through Community Connection
Social Enterprise Academy shows how connecting young people with communities and workplaces can open positive pathways.
Explore how meaningful local partnerships can build confidence, develop skills and create new opportunities, with practical ideas for shaping positive futures through cross-sector collaboration.
Relevant themes: Values-led leadership; Social enterprise and innovation; Community empowerment; Inclusion and equality.
NurtureUK
NurtureUK brings a powerful Nurturing Schools workshop to Kibble’s Annual Conference, presented by Arti Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, and Wendy Roden, Education Content Manager.
Discover how a whole-school nurturing approach can strengthen relationships, support wellbeing and help children and young people feel safe, valued and ready to learn.
Relevant themes: Mental health and wellbeing; Child development; Trauma; Inclusion.
National Autistic Society Scotland
Workshop title: Highlighting Learnings from Our Support Programmes for Children and Young People
National Autistic Society Scotland draws on learning from programmes for autistic children and young people.
Gain practical insight into approaches that help services become more responsive, inclusive and relationship-centred for autistic children, young people and families.
Relevant themes: Neurodiversity; Mental health and wellbeing; Inclusion; Child and young person support.
Sponsor and Exhibit
Email: communications@kibble.org
About Kibble
Kibble is one of the most prominent children’s charities in the UK and has cared for young people for over 170 years. Over time, Kibble has evolved in line with the ever-changing needs of young people and has become increasingly trauma-informed. The extensive list of services includes residential care, secure care, education and young workforce development, fostering and adoption, mental health services, community-based support and more.
Our long history and list of essential services puts us in the unique position to host a one-of-a-kind event for social services, the youth justice, education and mental health sectors. Known to be powerful, previously with a special opening from a young person, the large conference welcomes practitioners, educators and young people themselves.
Why Attend Kibble’s Annual Conference?
Kibble exists to give young people a chance at life and we understand this requires a collective effort. If you share our ambition of ensuring every child has access to the support, resources and love needed to thrive, our event is for you.
Hear from influential speakers, get fresh perspectives from young voices, join interactive workshops and connect with like-minded professionals.
100% of previous attendees would attend another Kibble Annual Conference
Welcoming all key sectors
Educators, practitioners, psychologists, therapists, government officials, decision-makers and all who play a role in the life of young people attend.
Young voices are heard
Young people lead the way, opening the event and sharing their own authentic lived experiences.
Acclaimed keynote speakers
Expertly chaired by Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland with keynotes from: Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise and Bestselling Author, Graeme Armstrong and more.
Workshops for every focus
Practical sessions designed for learning and interaction, which are relevant to schools, residential care, secure care, fostering and adoption, local authorities and beyond.
Join over 90 organisations
NSPCC Scotland, Education Scotland, Who Cares? Scotland, Children in Scotland plus others meet to discuss solutions and act in the best interests of young people.
5-star event rated by attendees
Organisers use genuine feedback to improve the event every year, enhancing the value to you.
Watch Our Video
Feel the energy of the day as everyone comes together for captivating keynotes, thought-provoking workshops and inspiring exhibitors.
Reflect on Past Events
Over 260 of You Joined Us for Kibble’s Annual Conference 2025 in Partnership with Safehinge Primera.
Our annual conference returned to Glasgow with record attendance and a special opening from a young person, making this year’s event our most impactful yet. Read the full story.
Kibble’s Annual Conference 2024 Welcomed Over 200 People from Across the World for Learning.
Experience a day that sparked progress and helped motivate us to transform lives, families and communities. Continue reading about 2024’s event.