The Route Map to a Rights Respecting Scotland

The Promise Scotland and Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights) have written a join blog on children's rights for Care Experience Week, as the organisations work together in developing the Rights Route Map.

Scotland must respect, uphold, champion and defend the rights of care experienced children, young people, adults and their families.

This is central to keeping the promise and is a really important part of creating meaningful change.

Rights in the law

In 2024, Scotland introduced a new law, which meant that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was incorporated into Scottish law. This was a major step in embedding children’s rights across Scottish decision making, culture, and practice. It means that children in Scotland can seek legal help if their rights are not being upheld, where decisions and laws are made under Acts of the Scottish Parliament. Older UK laws, and any Scottish laws that amend those, are not yet included within the scope of the Act.

The UNCRC and the promise are closely tied. The Independent Care Review concluded that the UNCRC must be incorporated and that it should be the foundation for all laws which aim to ensure that children’s rights are upheld.

Both the UNCRC and the promise aim to ensure that every child in Scotland grows up loved, safe, and respected. Both put the voices, dignity, and wellbeing of children and young people, at the very centre of the drive for change.

Keeping the promise is an opportunity to make children’s rights real, for example working to ensure that:

• children are supported to stay connected to brothers and sisters where it is safe to do so
• children and young people’s views are taken into account and shape decisions affecting their lives
• care experienced children and their carers have access to information about their rights and entitlements at any point in their journey of care.

As well as the UNCRC, there are other changes to the law which are currently being considered in parliament. This includes the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill; and further regulations and guidance for cross-border placements in residential care, in line with the Children (Care and Justice) Act 2024. These will help to further the rights of children, young people, their families and care experiences adults, and make sure they know, understand and can access their rights when they are involved in Scotland’s ‘care system’.

To ensure all children in Scotland know, understand and access their rights, there must be laws, policies, practice, and guidance in place. More needs to be done to embed rights through all parts of the ‘care system’ so it is consistent, and so help and support is available in a way that works for everyone, individually.  

Rights in practice

There is important local work happening across the country to uphold, champion, and defend the rights of children and young people in care. For example, efforts continue to reduce restrictive practices like restraint and seclusion, with a focus on trauma-informed care and relationship-based approaches in residential childcare.

The Promise Scotland, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland, Equality and Human Rights Commission and Scottish Human Rights Commission have called for a stronger statutory framework to be in place. The Scottish Government has now set out steps for this to the Children and Young People’s Commissioner.

This work will continue so that the rights of children and young people are better protected, and instances of restraint are monitored properly.

Collaboration is happening across organisations and sectors to provide better training and understanding of the workforce’s responsibilities in upholding children’s rights. Working groups are ensuring that information and good practice is shared and progress continues.

However, more work is needed to ensure consistency and continuity across care settings and local areas with a clear national direction.

Rights in Plan 24-30

The Plan 24-30 route maps will outline the steps currently underway and where further action is needed to deliver the promise from now until 2030. By December 2025, all 25 of the route maps, including the Rights route map, will be updated.

The Promise Scotland is working with partners to develop and take forward this work. Next year, the focus will be on translating these national route maps into local delivery.  

By reinforcing the rights and voices of care experienced children, young people, adults and their families through the route maps, Scotland will build rights-respecting protections, pathways, and practice and keep the promise.