Route map: Recruitment and retention

This route map was last updated in December 2025 with all information that is known about work underway and still required. It is not yet fully populated and work continues to identify what still needs to happen. Route maps are shared planning tools to support delivery of the promise and as progress is made and the rest of the route becomes clearer, this route map will continue to be updated.

Where is Scotland now?

Progress is being made toward a more coordinated national approach to workforce planning and capacity building. Early activity includes establishing the National Social Work Agency and strengthening understanding of workforce supply, demand and skills. There is growing alignment between national and local partners around shared challenges, including workload pressures and long-term sustainability. Next steps focus on developing clearer career pathways, improving the quality and use of workforce data, and strengthening alignment between national and local recruitment. Ongoing collaboration is essential to address continuing pressures, ensure sufficient capacity, and support a skilled and confident workforce to meet current and future demand.

Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?

All of the promise's calls to action have been grouped into delivery-focused outcomes that make clear what Scotland must deliver to keep the promise. The route map then identifies who must take responsibility for action by when for each outcome. This means the outcomes are fully aligned to what children, young people, and care experienced adults said must happen and the actions required are in a format that supports delivery, accountability, and monitoring.

The outcomes in Recruitment and Retention are:

There are enough skilled, confident and well-supported people, both unpaid and paid, to meet the needs of Scotland’s children, young people, families, and care experienced adults. The paid and unpaid workforce have the time, resources, and capacity to provide the care and support required.
Recruitment, induction and development of the unpaid and paid workforce prioritises values, relational qualities, and ability to care, ensuring that those working with and caring for children, young people, families, and care experienced adults can act with compassion and create nurturing, loving relationships.
Employment conditions across the workforce supporting children, young people, families, and care experienced adults enable people to flourish, feel valued, and remain committed to their roles. This means they have fair pay, manageable workloads, and supportive environments that promote wellbeing and retention.
The number and quality of kinship, foster, and adoptive carers exceeds the needs of Scotland’s children and young people, ensuring they, particularly brothers and sisters, are cared for in families that can meet their needs and sustain relationships.

The route map to get there

The National Social Work Agency (NSWA) will be established as an executive agency of the Scottish Government in spring 2026. The National Social Work Agency will lead a national approach to monitoring the social work workforce and will form part of the Scottish Social Work Partnership. Working in collaboration with COSLA and Social Work Scotland, the National Social Work Agency will contribute to ensuring a skilled, supported and sustainable social work workforce in Scotland.

SSSC introduces new Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) requirements in June 2024, including defined essential skills and knowledge for each register group and proposed learning pathways, including specialist routes.

New Continuous Professional Learning framework implemented, consisting of seven core learning elements supported by suggested learning topics.

Trauma-informed care and training on distressed behaviour included as recommended learning topics across the Continuous Professional Learning framework.

Child protection, adult protection and trauma-informed practice established as mandatory learning for all register groups.

Updated Continuous Professional Learning requirements strengthen the workforce’s capacity to deliver care in line with The Promise.

Revised SSSC Codes of Practice published in 2024, with enhanced emphasis on workforce wellbeing.

Children’s Services Planning Partnership (CSPP) Strategic Leads Network completes workforce exploration through improvement and peer-learning networks, enabling mapping of service provision, workforce capacity and budgets against local needs to inform the 2026–2029 planning cycle.

Scottish Social Work Partnership is developing a national workforce strategy.

National Social Work Agency will be established in spring 2026.

SSSC will launch the annual “Have Your Say” workforce wellbeing survey to collect experiences across social work, social care and children and young people’s services. Next survey results expected April/May 2026 to inform national policy, workforce strategies and national workforce planning.

Social Work Partnership begins a review of workforce capacity across children and family services, supported by annual SSSC workforce data, to inform development of a national workforce strategy.

National workforce strategy developed, setting out clear and achievable ambitions for recruitment, retention and professional development to ensure a sustainable and skilled workforce nationwide.

Children’s Services Planning Partnership (CSPP) 2026-2029 planning cycle begins.

Social Work Partnership embeds improved workforce supply and demand monitoring at both national and local levels.

SSSC completes the 2026/27 review of the Codes of Practice, with revised Codes published thereafter.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, National Social Work Agency, NHS Education for Scotland, SSSC, COSLA, Local authorities, Employers

Other route maps this links to:

Workforce support

Rules, processes and culture

Intensive family support

Governance

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

SSSC published an updated version of the ‘Common Core of Skills, Knowledge and Understanding and Values for the Children’s Workforce’ in 2025, now titled ‘Supporting Scotland’s Children – Core Knowledge and Values’. It sets out the essential knowledge and values required for everyone working with babies, children, young people and families, including children’s rights, wellbeing, safeguarding and partnership working.

United Kingdom-wide review of the National Occupational Standards underway, with the SSSC leading the work in Scotland.

Review of the Standards scheduled to conclude in January 2026, providing the basis for updated qualification and learning requirements for the social care workforce.

The SSSC delivered the Codes, Rights and Keeping the Promise learning resource in 2025, equipping workers to connect the Codes of Practice to children’s rights, apply them to real-world practice scenarios, and evaluate and improve their own rights-based practice.

A partnership between the SSSC, Care Inspectorate, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Care and Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) published: "A guide for employers of 16 and 17-year-olds in social care (Scotland)". The publication seeks to myth bust around the challenges in recruiting young people into the social care workforce.

Revised Standards in Social Work Education and Ethical Principles (SiSWE) finalised and scheduled for implementation from August 2026.

The SSSC will complete its review of SVQ Qualifications and Apprenticeship frameworks by the end of 2026, providing an updated foundation for workforce learning and development.

Develop pilot models for values-based recruitment and selection, in partnership with providers and carers.

Before spring, the SSSC and the Care Inspectorate will publish revised ‘Safer Recruitment Through Better Recruitment’ guidance to help reduce the risk of unsuitable individuals working with vulnerable groups.

National review of workforce development frameworks; evaluate the impact of values-based training on practice and culture.

Delivery and rollout of the revised SVQ Qualifications and Apprenticeships frameworks will follow completion of the SSSC’s review.

Scale implementation of values-led recruitment across sectors; evaluate recruitment outcomes, retention, and workforce diversity.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, SSSC, COSLA, Local Authorities, NHS Education for Scotland, Providers

Other route maps this links to:

Rules, processes and culture

Workforce support

Governance

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

Staff wellbeing and mental health initiatives in social work to support positive wellbeing in social work. This is ongoing. Employment conditions and career pathways must be improved to make social care roles more attractive.

Agree and develop improved employment conditions for public and third sector care roles; collaboratively develop and launch career pathway frameworks linking pay, development, and progression.

Evaluate impact of improved conditions on recruitment, retention, and wellbeing.

Embed national workload and wellbeing monitoring via the National Social Work Agency and SSSC.

Achieve full alignment with Fair Work standards across all children’s and family service roles, ensuring equitable pay, career development, and wellbeing support.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

Scottish Government, COSLA, SSSC, Local Authorities, Health and Social Care Partnerships, Social Work Scotland

Other route maps this links to:

Money and commissioning

Workforce support

Governance

Leadership

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.

Ongoing national efforts continue to increase the number of foster, kinship and adoptive carers to meet the needs of children requiring care.

Foster care and adopter recruitment campaigns are necessary to support growth in the carer workforce.

Review current national recruitment and retention campaigns and map gaps in carer availability by region, children and sibling group needs.

Scottish Government and partners will explore options to:

Collaboratively develop and implement national carer support and learning framework.
Align carer recruitment strategies and supports to relational and values-based principles.
Collaboratively develop regional sufficiency planning aligned with identified children and sibling group needs.

Scottish Government will explore options to:

Evaluate carer retention and sufficiency.
Embed carer wellbeing measures and support networks into local commissioning and funding frameworks.

There are no milestones identified for this year yet. Once progress is made in earlier years, the work required in this year will be clearer and milestones will be added here.

Who needs to work on this:

COSLA, Providers of fostering and adoptive services, Scottish Government

Other route maps this links to:

Where children live

Relationships

Money and commissioning

Workforce support

To see which calls to action from the promise sit under this outcome, click here.