Where children live

Scotland in 2024

Across Scotland, there is recognition children may live in many places and that irrespective of this, the needs and aspirations of care experienced children and young people must be met and their relationships maintained.

In 2023, the number of children in the ‘care system’ reduced - 20% lived at home, of those living away from home, the majority lived in kinship care and foster care, with only a smaller proportion of children in residential care. Yet, the experiences of these children and their families is not known which is critically important to understanding progress.

Numbers of children and young people experiencing secure care are reducing, with over a third of young people in secure care in Scotland in 2023 coming from outwith Scotland. In addition, there continue to be young people who experience this due to a lack of appropriate alternative accommodation and support.

While addressing adoption breakdowns has seen some progress, with reported cases of adoption breakdown decreasing since the conclusion of the Independent Care Review - indicating ongoing efforts in this area, inconsistent data collection remains a challenge, highlighting the need for better planning and resource allocation to strengthen support services and prevent adoption breakdowns effectively.

Despite an overall reduction in children and young people in care, a declining number of foster carers and a lack of suitable housing, and reducing numbers of approved adopting households coupled with growing pressures on already stretched social work teams and an increase in numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving is resulting in system challenges around the places where children live.

Scotland is experiencing rising numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people, support services are working to be responsive to a growing number of different cultures, languages and unique experiences of trauma. This requires the development of new skills and requires a learning period for both caregivers and those responsible for the strategic development of care services to meet the needs and uphold the rights of all children.

Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?

By 2030, fewer children and families will have interactions with the ‘care system’. Where living with their family is not possible, children will stay with their brothers and sisters where safe to do so and belong to a loving home. The focus of their care will be on building childhoods underpinned by loving, consistent relationships, fun, play, education and opportunity (Pg 59).

This means:

There will be strategic, needs based planning for children so that they are provided with warm, relational, therapeutic, safe, loving homes when they are required (Pg 111).
There will be sufficient availability of safe, loving homes for children removed from their families, and these must be able to accommodate sibling groups where it is safe to do so (Pg 67).

For children cared for by family or friends

Children living in kinship care will get the support they need to thrive (Pg 74).
Kinship is actively explored as a positive place for children to be cared for (Pg 74).
Kinship care is valued. Families will have access to the support and services needed, which is offered freely without kinship carers having to fight for it, including financial support to provide the best care (Pg 74).
Kinship carers will not need to professionalise their role in order to access support. They will be considered part of the broader workforce with access to ongoing supervision, space for reflection and support (Pg 74).

For children who are adopted

Prospective adopting families will have access to all available information and will be supported to make sure children receive the best environment for them to grow up and thrive (Pg 75).
Time and care will be taken to place children appropriately (Pg 75).
Adoptive families will receive the support and attention required to love and care for their children, particularly where the ongoing impact of trauma and broken attachment is felt by the child and the family (Pg 21/ 76). This includes reflective practices, supervision and peer support (Pg 76) so that, wherever possible, adoption breakdown is avoided.
Families who experience an adoption breakdown are supported and the impact of this is recognised (Pg 76).

For children living with foster carers

Foster care is valued. Foster families will have access to the support and services needed. Foster carers are cared for and supported to care, including financial support (Pg 77).
Foster carers know that their primary purpose is to develop nurturing, patient, kind, compassionate, trusting and respectful relationships so that the children in their care feel loved and safe (Pg 77).
There will have been consideration of a national register for Foster Carers (Pg 77).

For children living in residential homes

Residential settings will operate with a cohesive set of values that uphold the rights of the children they are caring for. Those values will be therapeutic, recognising that children require thoughtful, supportive relationships as a basis on which to heal and develop as young adults (Pg 79).
The needs of the children living in a residential home at the time will inform rules as opposed to a blanket set of instructions and restrictions (Pg 79).
Children and young people will have supportive, kind relationships with all staff. The residential provider will be supported in finding the right balance between having consistent core staff along with the flexibility of additional support that works for the children and young people (Pg 79).

For children and young people living in secure care

The purpose, delivery and infrastructure of secure care will change. Scotland’s response to the small number of children who need this level of security, care and protection will look radically different in 2030 compared to 2020 (Pg 81). The contradictions between settings and in the overall provision of Secure Care will have been collectively addressed (Pg 80).
Fewer children will live in Secure Care. Children will only be placed in highly restricted environments when necessary and not simply as an escalation when other interventions have failed (Pg 81).
Planning and provision of Secure Care will reflect the needs of children in Scotland to ensure there are sufficient places for those that need them (Pg 82). Children will not be held in Secure Care due to inadequate community options, as there will be accessible and available alternative community-based support, aligned with the principles of intensive family support (Pg 83).
The underlying principle of Secure Care will be the provision of therapeutic, trauma-informed support (Pg 81). A range of therapeutic interventions will be available within Secure Care in Scotland and all children will receive all that they need to support healing and rehabilitation (Pg 80). This will include access to support for the high numbers of children who have additional support needs to achieve the highest possible standard of health (Pg 83).
Children in Secure Care will have access to education services to support and enhance their learning, rather than disrupt it.
Where safe to do so, children in Secure Care will be supported to maintain good contact with their family (Pg 83).
The use of Secure Care will always uphold children’s rights. Children will be involved and listened to. They will be given the chance to express their views and are told about their legal rights of appeal through a culture of care that meets their needs and helps them understand their legal protections (Pg 83).
Specific residential, therapeutic settings will be available for girls who have been sexually abused and exploited (Pg 81).
All children who have been sexually abused and exploited will have the specific, therapeutic care and support they need to recover and be kept safe. Their rights are recognised and upheld in a trauma informed way, so that their pain is not exacerbated by where they live (Pg 81).
There will be greater scope to remain in Secure Care for those who have turned 18. Children leaving Secure Care will receive support. There is investment in supportive intermediate settings so that young people leaving Secure Care are able to access the support they need (Pg 81/82/84).

For unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will have their rights upheld and receive the same care and support as any other child. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children will be treated as ‘looked after’ children and they are placed in caring, supportive settings with access to education, health services and other appropriate services as required. There are no barriers to their participation (Pg 65).
When the age of an unaccompanied child is unclear there may be circumstances where a health assessment is required. This should only be when necessary and done so in a way that limits trauma and distress. (Pg 65).
The workforce supporting asylum seeking children will understand their religious and cultural contexts. Those traditions and cultural needs will be respected by all those involved in their care to ensure their rights upheld (Pg 65)
The workforce will be alive to the issues of human trafficking. When a child is suspected of being the victim of trafficking they will be given protection (Pg 65).

These statements and the page numbers referenced are taken from the promise report, published when the Independent Care Review concluded in 2020.

The route map to get there

Focus must be on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people, as the number entering Scotland’s ‘care system’ has meant that an already stretched system is not well equipped to meet their needs. For the needs of all children and young people to be met consistently, work to reform the 'care system' must prioritise improving current processes and increasing resources to ensure unaccompanied children and young people, and those removed from their families, are given all they need to thrive.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children:

March: Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council jointly developed the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy

July: New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy Delivery Plan 2024-2026 launched and set out an action plan against each of the following six outcomes:

New Scots live in safe, welcoming, inclusive communities, where everyone’s dignity is respected and everyone is able to build diverse relationships and healthy intercultural bonds.
New Scots are able to access well-coordinated services, which recognise and meet their rights and needs.
New Scots understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements in Scotland and are able to exercise these to pursue full and
independent lives. New Scots can pursue their ambitions through education, employment, culture and leisure activities in diverse
communities.
Communities in Scotland understand integration interculturally and respect the diversity and strengths that New Scots bring.
Policy, strategic planning, and legislation, that have an impact on New Scots, are shaped through their participation and informed by their rights, needs and aspirations.
The principles of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy guide all future responses to crises that bring forced migrants to Scotland and seek to ensure all such migrants will be treated equitably

August: The youth-led advocacy group 'Young People's voices' launched the Your voice matters report supported by The Scottish Refugee Council and Aberlour Children's Charity. Your Voice Matters, a youth-led report by asylum seekers, highlights critical challenges and offers recommendations to spur decisive action from policymakers and stakeholders.

Secure Care

September: The Reimagining Secure Care report was published by the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice.

Ongoing: The Hearings for Children report recommended an 'exit plan' for children leaving secure care and the Hearings System (recommendation 11.21) which will be considered as part of the ongoing work of the Children's Hearings Redesign Board.

Guidance

March: Updated guidance was published on kinship care, relating to the Children and Young People (Scotland) Action 2014 - part 13. This covered consistency of definition, application of legislation and good practice, and reflects growing knowledge of the particular needs of kinship families.

November: The Scottish Government publish new national assessment framework for assessment of kinship carers caring for children, to improve consistency of practice across local authorities.

Consultation and Legislation

June: Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act comes into place, which can enable improvements to youth justice, secure care, aspects of the children’s hearings system, victims’ services and the criminal justice system.

October: The Scottish Government consultation, The Future of Foster Care, was released.

November: The Scottish Government publish their supporting adoption: vision and priorities statement, which contains a vision for adoption in Scotland, the importance of support for the adoption community, and strategic priorities to achieve this.

Supporting adoption: vision and priorities - statement

Support

September: Scottish Government said they will continue to invest in the PATHways programme in 2024-25 to allow adoptive families, kinship and permanent fostering families to benefit from therapeutic support and a peer support parenting group

September: Scottish Government's Keeping the Promise Implementation Plan states that they will develop and promote a package of financial and practical support for foster carers.

Autumn: A review of the Scottish Recommended Allowance for kinship and foster carers began to identify areas where improvements can be made

Autumn: Scottish Government working towards having their HR leave policy updated so that all employees who are foster and kinship carers will have access to dedicated foster and kinship leave to support their roles are carers. They also announce they will support employers across Scotland to support them to support their foster and kinship carers.

Training

September Scottish Government's Keeping the Promise implementation plan update states that: The Development of trauma training and resources to support alternative caregivers (kinship, foster and adoptive parents) to provide trauma-informed care for their children and young people is currently being considered as part of the long term delivery plan for the National Trauma Transformation Programme

December - NHS Education Scotland provided an update on the National Trauma Transformation Programme's ongoing Transforming Connections', ‘Trauma-Skilled’ level training and coaching package. This is for people who work alongside children and young people with care experience in priority sectors, including school nurses, health visitors, secure and residential care providers and Children’s Hearings Scotland. 223 staff went through the training through the period to the end of 2024.

Restraint

September - The Scottish Government say they are working with partners to reduce, and where possible stop, the use of restraint in respect of children in care.

Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children:

Ongoing: New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy Delivery Plan 2024-2026 sets out specific actions relating to the support and rights of unaccompanied asylum seeking children including:

Continue to provide a specialist guardianship service to all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, victims of trafficking and children vulnerable to trafficking in Scotland, to:

Support young people to navigate trafficking, asylum, welfare, criminal justice and age assessment processes
Uphold children’s rights and ensure decisions are taken in their best interests by listening to young people, advising and acting as advocates on their behalf
Build trusting relationships and support young people to make informed decisions about their future
Work collaboratively with other professionals to safeguard children
Provide practical and emotional support

This work is supported by the Guardianship Scotland: National Child Trafficking Support Service

Ongoing: Invest in community initiatives which build on existing good practices and address key priorities identified through the community consultation and/or which support those groups whose needs have already been highlighted, including women, children and young people, older people, disabled people, and members of the LGBTQI+ community.

Reports

February: The Oversight Board Report THREE was published, highlighting issues around housing, adoption services and a lack of foster care provision, the calls for action to address the issues.

Foster Care

May: A national recruitment campaign for foster carers launches.

Guidance

Summer: The Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption Scotland (AFKA) have been commissioned by the Scottish Government to produce a series of three Good Practice in Permanence Guides to promote, support, and safeguard the wellbeing of children and young people who need permanence within family settings of Kinship Care, Foster Care and Adoption. These three guides will focus upon Contact (Keeping in Touch), Supporting Birth Families, and Supporting Families in Permanence. The guides are due to be piloted in summer.

Ongoing: Scottish Government are considering the findings of the Care Inspectorate review of the secure care pathway and standards.

Groups

Ongoing: The Scottish Government continue to work with the Children’s Services Planning Partnerships and the Kinship Care Collaborative to improve delivery of holistic whole family support.

Reports

Ongoing - Statistics will provide detailed analysis of the numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children; numbers of those entering or leaving care; types of care setting; time spent in care and destinations upon leaving care will be published.

Guidance

March - Final versions of the Good Practice in Permanence Guides are due to be published.

Learning

Ongoing - The Scottish Government are working with partners, such as CELCIS and Scottish Physical Restraint Action Group (‘SPRAG’), to understand whether existing supports and tools for the residential care workforce remain fit for purpose.

What is helping?

The roll-out of the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA) as a standard national allowance for all eligible foster and kinship carers in Scotland to support them in caring for the children and young people they look after has been welcomed. Implementation challenges have been highlighted by carers and must be fully considered.

There is an increasing recognition of the importance of kinship care and the role it has in supporting sibling and other family relationships, alongside the support needed for kinship carers. The Kinship Care Collaborative, established in 2020, has been pivotal in identifying the necessary support for kinship carers. Their efforts include developing an assessment framework for kinship carers that aligns with the national practice model and children's plan, as well as revising the kinship care guidance for Part 13 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. Work to progress this must be reflective of the experiences of children and young people.

Some Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) are using Whole Family Wellbeing Funding to support kinship care as part of a wider approach to reduce the number of children in residential and foster care arrangements. Learning from this and the impact it has on children and young people must be widely shared and used.

There is also work to increase awareness of support for families. The Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland (KCASS) provides free, confidential, impartial advice to kinship families and professionals working alongside them, and The PATHways programme enables adoptive families, kinship, and permanent fostering families to benefit from therapeutic support and a peer support parenting group.

Collaborative work to better understand the number and needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has provided greater understanding: this understanding translating into action and delivery will prove vital.

Who must act?

Here is what matters to children and families

People who support me are working together to make sure that if I ever need to live away from home, I'll still be living close by, and/or in a place that I have meaningful connections with.

People who support me are working together to make sure that no matter where my family and I are, we'll always get the same, high quality, help and support.

The people in my life who support me genuinely care about me and aren't just using my circumstances to make money.

Find out more about the what matters questions here.

Also connected to this theme

Documenting decisions

Listening

Participation and engagement

Intensive family support

Moving on and lifelong support

Stability

Health

Justice

Mapping

This is how Plan 24-30 relates to other frameworks and plans

Independent Care Review conclusions	Plan 21-24 priority area
the promise pgs. 74-84	Planning
	A good childhood
	Supporting the workforce

UNCRC	GIRFEC
Articles 3; 19; 20; 39	Safe
	Healthy
	Achieving
	Nurtured
	Included

Where children live

Scotland in 2024

Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?