Health Visiting Action Plan 2025-2035 sets out how the Scottish Government intends to strengthen health visiting in Scotland.
The Pregnancy and Parenthood in Young People Plan (2016-2026) will be implemented, and its principles and actions will inform work beyond that date.
National programmes: BabyBox, Bookbug, PlayTalkRead, Ready Steady Baby/ Toddler, Parent Club.
The Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding Strategic Framework, 2025-2030.
Scotland’s Universal Health Visiting Pathway offers support to all of Scotland’s young families from pre-birth until a child starts school. Where additional help and support is required, the pathway provides a gateway to other levels of Health Visiting provision and specialised healthcare services when needed. Health Boards provide more flexibility with the numbers of children and families health visitors work alongside in areas of socioeconomic deprivation. This allows health visitors more capacity to provide dynamic and responsive support and advice to those most in need, over and above the Health Visiting Pathway core visits. For young, first-time parents, the Family Nurse Partnership programme is provided pre-birth until their child reaches two (Scottish Government Keeping The Promise implementation plan update). The Scottish Government has committed to assessing the quality and consistency of the implementation of the Universal Health Visiting Pathway.
Early Learning and Childcare expansion to 1,140 hours.
Up to 4,000 families per year are supported by the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP), and over 13,000 have benefitted since the programme began in 2010 (Scottish Government Keeping The Promise implementation plan update).
The Scottish Government is progressing actions to support early years and under 5s through two major programmes: Early Child Development Transformational Change Programme and Early Learning and Childcare (Keeping The Promise implementation plan update).
Voice of the Infant Best Practice Guidelines and Infant Pledge published in 2023.
The Money Guiders Programme has been rolled out nationally and provides ongoing professional development for Health Visitors to support families with money advice.
Getting It Right for Every Child underpins the delivery of high-quality, universal and targeted support through a single, shared approach to planning across education, social work, health and social care, and between community partners.
Early Years- Speech, Language and Communication Action Plan (2025).
The Best Start programme for maternal and neonatal services in Scotland provides a continuity of carer for women with the most complex needs, developing trusting relationships throughout their pregnancy and birth.
Parental Engagement Strategy Framework.
Funding for Aberlour Intensive Perinatal Support Service and Perinatal Befriending Service
Play Vision Statement and Action Plan 2025-2030
In 2019 the Scottish Government established the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund (PIMH), which is administered by Inspiring Scotland. This fund supports third-sector organisations delivering vital mental health services during pregnancy and the early years.
Scottish Government launched the Wellbeing for Wee Ones Hub on the Parent Club website, which supports parents to gain an understanding of their infant’s emotional and mental wellbeing from an early stage.
The Promise Scotland's Local Visibility Report and COSLA's 'Local Government and The Promise' Report describe a wide array of activity lead by local areas, including examples of how councils are innovating to support children, young people and families at the earliest possible opportunities.
Ongoing commitment to and delivery of the Scottish Government's Whole Family Wellbeing Fund Programme, as per the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund Investment Approach, published in September 2024, including increase of allocation to Children's Services Planning Partnerships from £32m to £38.1m per annum.
Programme for Government commitment to work with partners to introduce additional local flexibility in how existing budgets and services can be reconfigured in pursuit of a whole family approach, as pat of the Scottish Government public service reform programme.
Establishment of Whole Family Support Unit within the 'public sector reform' directorate in Scottish Government to support work on systemic barriers to local delivery of holistic family support, in particular funding flexibility for core services.
Establishment of a Whole Family Support Unit within the 'public sector reform' directorate in Scottish Government to support work on systemic barriers to local delivery of holistic whole family support, in particular funding flexibility for core services.
Ongoing work to strengthen policy connections between the Whole Family Support public sector reform work, Whole Family Wellbeing Fund and the Fairer Futures Partnership Programme.
February 2025: Publication of Children's Services Plan review 23-26.
June 2025: First whole family support event hosted by First Minister, Scottish Government.
Sept 2025: The First Minister announced an extension to the Fairer Futures Partnerships programme, with support now available in 16 regions. The Partnerships bring together a range of services, across childcare, education, health and social care, housing, employment and beyond, to provide whole family support.
Sept 2025: Second whole family support event hosted by First Minister, Scottish Government.
Oct 2025: applications open to the third round of the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund (worth over £1.8m. Applicants will receive grants of up to £100,000 over two years to improve local services. The Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund strengthens collaborative efforts to tackle child poverty between the Scottish Government and local partners).
Oct 2025: Announcement of a £90m investment in devolved employability services for 25-26, intended to ensure that every local authority area in Scotland offers an all-age employability service. The announcement included specific funding to support parents to help them enter employment and increase earnings.
November 2025: publication of the refreshed Whole Family Wellbeing Fund Toolkit for local areas.
Publication of Scottish Government Public Service Reform Strategy- Delivering for Scotland, June 2025 and creation of seven 'early adopter' areas to test new approaches to delivering public services and understand local issues.
The Promise Scotland will convene stakeholders with knowledge and delivery expertise in supporting families to review and refine this universal family support route map, including local and national government, third sector organisations and other partners.
The Scottish Government, COSLA, the third sector and The Promise Scotland, will discuss whether and how to strengthen governance mechanisms to ensure cohesion and clarity between all the various strands of work aiming to better support families in Scotland.
COSLA and the Scottish Government will convene a discussion with Directors of Children and Family Services and third sector leaders to discuss referral pathways into universally accessible family support from universal services (health visitors, GPs, education, etc). This will include making family support easier to access for those in need and consideration of the Early Help/ Best Start work in England and other available learning.
The 20th anniversary of GIRFEC will provide an opportunity to reaffirm its role as a shared framework and approach to support children and young people's wellbeing needs.
Scottish Government and Children's Services Planning Partnerships partners will consider proposals relating to a 'national front door' service for family support, including innovative digital solutions and support.
An approach to sharing of good practice and what is working well will be developed, building on the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund team's Learning into Action Network. This will include in relation to services that connect across multiple agencies and services that work in different local contexts.
The Scottish Government, COSLA, the third sector and The Promise Scotland, will work with representatives from across health, housing, education, justice and social care/ social justice to consider the following areas that are repeatedly raised by those working for change. This includes (but is not limited to):
- Access to early help and support in ways that make sense to families rather than the system. This includes considering accessibility to whole family support through universal services (e.g. health visitor, GP, nursery and school) and access to more intensive, specialist, accessible support on offer within days of families needing it.
- Agreement over what should be funded nationally and what is best to be funded locally to allow for clarity over the balance between nationally funded services and supports that are accessible in all areas, and local flexibility in order to address child poverty and ensure access to holistic, whole family support.
- Sharing learning and scaling up what works in addition to stopping what is causing harm and reinforcing stigma.
As per the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund Investment Approach (September 2024), evidence based recommendations will be made about where funding should best be deployed in 2027-28 and beyond. Evidence to be considered should include that relating to the value of expanding existing community support and community hubs, depending on what children, families and communities say they need.
The Scottish Government will progress work to understand the different levels of preventative spending through the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund and how this can help inform Scotland's understanding of holistic whole family support.
This will align with the work of the Scottish Government's Public Service Reform team who will lead work to:
- Address and streamline the siloed Scottish Government policy areas and funding that are sitting across multiple Directorates and seeking to achieve the same things for the same families.
- Simplify reporting requirements relating to supporting families so that they are not duplicated and what is being reported on helps to drive change.
- Develop and publish data that improves Scotland’s understanding of how families are being helped and what matters to them.
As per the WFWF Investment Approach (September 2024), evidence based recommendations will be made about where funding should best be deployed in 2027-28 and beyond. Evidence to be considered should include that relating to the value of expanding existing community support and community hubs, depending on what children, families and communities say they need.
The Scottish Government will progress work to understand the different levels of preventative spending through the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund and how this can help inform Scotland's understanding of holistic whole family support.
At local level, the Scottish Government’s permission to merge and integrate funds at local authority level will mean that all Directors of Children and Family Services and Finance Directors of early adopter areas will have discussed what funds can be merged and begun the process to do so.
Work should begin to ensure that Children's Services Plans for 2026-29 build on work to date in relation to improving holistic whole family support and are more specific about what resource, governance and implementation requirements to deliver their local vision for whole family support. This will help inform clarity at national and local level about how the promise's conclusions on universally available practical, emotional and financial help and support will be realised; how progress towards preventative spend and family support can be measured in accordance with what matters to children and families; and clear policy alignment that declutters the landscape of care.
The Scottish Government will continue to progress the actions set out in the Health Visiting Action Plan 2025-2035. This will include engaging with Directors of Finance, or an appropriate subgroup, within NHS Boards, to discuss the value of investing in early child development activity including the health visiting service.
The Scottish Government will continue to progress the actions set out in the Play Strategy, 2025-2030. This includes reviewing programmes that support early child development. In collaboration with NHS Education for Scotland's learning questionnaire, the Scottish Government will respond to Health Visitor learning needs.
Publication of new Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, including recognition of role of Whole Family Support in reducing child poverty, delivering the Promise and improving early childhood development.
Annual Whole Family Wellbeing Fund funding to Children's Services Planning Partnerships of £38.1m in 2026-27 for transforming holistic whole family support.
Analysis of Year 3 (2024-2025) Whole Family Wellbeing Funding Programme templates from Children's Services Planning Partnerships.
Children's Services Plans Annual Reports (25-26) and Children's Services Planning Partnership Plans (26-29) published.
The Promise Scotland will work with COSLA and the Scottish Government to consider what additional national measures should be included as part of the Promise Story of Progress in respect of delivery of holistic whole family support, in line with the National Principles.
All Children’s Service Planning Partnerships should develop and put in place a core offer to children and families that is bespoke to their local area that includes:
- Primary help and support for families - universal supports to all children and families and public health approaches
- Secondary help and support for families- targeted community support for those in need of early help and support- emotional, financial, practical and peer support delivered through community spaces.
- Tertiary prevention approach - intensive and targeted support for families to those in crisis or at risk (see intensive family support route map).
This should align with the existing Statutory Guidance relating to the development of Children’s Services Plans.
Children’s Service Planning Partnerships will ensure that Children’s Services Plans are developed alongside and take into account the views of children, families and communities. Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRWIAs) will be completed in all major local decision- making processes relating to supporting families.
Local family panels with children and young people will continue to be established across all local areas, and will be supported to be involved in the design of standards and service support offers.
Learning from ‘cash first’ approaches will be shared.
The Scottish Government will continue to progress the actions set out in the Health Visiting Action Plan 2025-2035.
The Scottish Government will continue to progress the actions set out in the Play Strategy, 2025-2030.
A ‘no wrong door’ approach will be operational in communities Families will be able to access and choose from a wide range of supports according to their unique needs, including peer support, money advice and relationship support to overcome challenges. This will be delivered by trauma sensitive practitioners in spaces and from places that are warm, welcoming and non-stigmatising.
Local areas will collect information to understand what families and communities need and local supporting families delivery plans will adapt according to the information received.
Children's Services Plans Annual Reports (2027-28).
Publication of revisions to statutory guidance on Children's Services Planning (Part 3 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014).
The Scottish Government will continue to progress the actions set out in the Health Visiting Action Plan 2025-2035.
The Scottish Government will continue to progress the actions set out in the Play Strategy, 2025-2030.
The Scottish Government will continue to progress the actions set out in the Health Visiting Action Plan 2025-2035.
The actions set out in the Play Strategy, 2025-2030 will have been progressed.
The Scottish Government will celebrate 20 years of Family Nurse Partnership in Scotland.
Children's Service Plans Annual Reports (2029 - 2030)
Publication of Children's Services Plan review 2029-2032.
The promise will be kept to children, young people and their families. Care away from home will only be used when necessary to keep children and young people safe and kinship care will be understood as the default position unless it is demonstrably not in a child or young person’s best interests.
All families will be able to access support without stigma, easily and through existing, warm relationships.
The statutory child poverty targets will be met, with concerted effort having been made to address the housing crisis. Work will have begun to ensure this progress is sustainable and the child poverty rate continues to decrease.
Children, families will be engaged and part of all decision making at an individual and a community level about what happens in their lives and what supports they need in their community to help them feel safe, happy and loved.
The rights of children and their families are embedded in practice so that all decisions that affect children are made with them and their families.
Family support will be a statutory and universal entitlement with proportionate intensity as need requires.
The design, delivery and accountability for supporting families in each area will be co-produced with families and built with communities who have control over who, where and how support is delivered.
Personal information will be shared with consent and purpose so that impact is measured and focused on what matters to families. Data is collected at local and national level in ways that make sense to families and communities to help improve and sustain change.
