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Route map: Scrutiny and inspection

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?

Work underway includes shifting inspection to be more supportive, reflective and improvement focused, rather than primarily compliance driven. There is growing recognition that effective scrutiny enables learning, builds trust and aligns with a rights-based, relational system. Next steps focus on aligning inspection frameworks across sectors, improving consistency in expectations, and ensuring scrutiny reflects outcomes, experiences, and culture as well as performance. Further work will strengthen collaboration between regulators, reduce duplication and burden, and support workforce confidence and service improvement. Close alignment with wider governance, workforce and cultural change priorities will ensure scrutiny enables, rather than constrains, delivery of the promise.

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Scrutiny and inspection

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 Scrutiny and Inspection are: 

  • Scotland’s regulation and inspection systems are centred on relationships and children’s rights. Regulators work collaboratively to implement a single, coherent framework that reflects what children and families value.
  • Scrutiny is supportive, reflective and developmental. Inspection and regulation promote continuous improvement, upholds relational practice, and values care over compliance.
  • All inspection and investigation focuses on children’s lived experiences. Children’s voices are integral to how quality is defined, assessed, and improved.
Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?

The route map to get there

In 2024 Scottish Social Services Council published revised Codes of Practice setting out the standards of practice and behaviour expected of everyone who works in social services in Scotland.

The launch of the Scottish Governments Public Sector Reform Strategy in June 2025, 'Delivering for Scotland', commits to a review of the scrutiny and inspection landscape and outlines various actions aimed at driving a shift toward enabling Improvement.

August 2025 - Care inspectorate published the Joint inspections of services for children and young people at risk of harm: Review of findings from the joint inspection programme 2021-2025.

November 2025 - The Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 strengthens safeguarding by allowing the Care Inspectorate to bypass improvement notices and directly propose cancelling a service’s registration where providers are unfit or have repeatedly failed to sustain required standards. SSSC in partnership with the Scottish Government launched the Supporting Scotland’s Children: Core Knowledge and Values.

In February, Care Inspectorate published a quality framework for care  homes for children and young  people and special residential schools.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education in Scotland working to incorporate United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and ensure children and young people are more active in inspections. The Inspectorate will be developing new frameworks and self-evaluation tools.

Scrutiny and inspection public bodies must work together to enable a shared understanding of a holistic framework that applies to the entirety of the care journey, including advocacy, moving on from care, and underpinned by relational practice.

Scrutiny and inspection bodies alongside Scottish Government must discuss how the landscape of reporting, professional codes and processes could be streamlined.

The Promise Scotland will work collaboratively with the Strategic Public Sector Scrutiny Network to develop and publish joint statement of intent by Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and Education Scotland outlining shared ambition to re-centre scrutiny on relationships and rights.

Embed consistency through Education settings by ensuring all establishments have SEED numbers, including Virtual headteachers. This will enable consistent inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education.

Implement streamlined professional codes (Scottish Social Services Council and partner regulators) aligned to relationship-centred values; 

Carry out an evaluation/impact assessment of Virtual Headteachers to ensure continuous learning and improvements are captured from the model.

All scrutiny bodies will work to embed shared evidence standards to prevent duplication and ensure proportionality.

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.

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:

Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council, Scottish Government, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education in Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, COSLA, Local Authorities, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland 

Other route maps this links to:

Governance

Rights and Restraint

Rules, processes and culture

Workforce support

Decision making

Data and information

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

The Public Protection Scrutiny Group - The Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and his Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (Scotland) are working together to develop how they contribute to improving local and national public protection systems. In line with the National Public Protection Leadership Group’s Work Plan, this focuses on how they support those who are most vulnerable to harm and those who need support from several parts of the system (across child protection, adult support protection, MAPPA, alcohol and drug partnerships and suicide prevention).

August 2025 - Care Inspectorate and His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education published the new shared inspection framework for the early learning and childcare sectors. 

September 2025 - Joint strategic inspections on the wellbeing of ‘children subject to compulsory supervision orders living at home with their parent(s)’ underway. The Care Inspectorate, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education, Health Improvement Scotland and His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary are using the same joint framework and are working together as one inspection team for these inspections. 

The Care Inspectorate Pilot of new 'Promise Assurance' inspections started for well performing residential care homes for children and young people. The pilot runs from November 2025 to March 2026.

In December 2025 the Scottish Government asked the Care Inspectorate and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (HMIE), to conduct a national review into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Public Protection Scrutiny group will move into phase 2 of their work to develop a public protection methodology. 

As part of the 'Recommitting to Crerar' project the Improvement Service are supporting the Solace transformation programme. The Solace/IS Transformation programme is supporting all councils in Scotland to work together towards a blueprint for the council of the future.

The Care Inspectorate (CI) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) have been asked by Scottish Government Ministers to lead a joint inspection working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (HMIE) into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.

February 2026: The overview and scope of the National review of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation was published setting out the approach and key phases of the 18 month review:

  • Phase one: assessment - evaluation the Chief officers group's understanding and oversight of group-based child sexual abuse,
  • Phase two: assurance - risk-based, flexible and targeted scrutiny  approach to identify strengths and areas for improvement in the prevention, identification and response to group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation and group-based child criminal exploitation.
  • Phase three: improvement - Scrutiny partners will identify areas for improvement and highlight where these are national or may require a national response to promote improvement in experiences and outcomes for children and young people. We will provide a national report for the Scottish Government to consider in terms of response and an improvement programme

February 2026: Care Inspectorate to publish a 'promise lens' refresh of the Quality Framework for care homes for children and young people. 

Mid-2026: SSSC and Care Inspectorate to publish a joint relationship-based practice resource for residential care workers.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council, Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education in Scotland, Scottish Government, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland 

Other route maps this links to:

Governance

Data and information

Rules, processes and culture

Workforce support

Relationships

Decision making

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

Progress has been and continues to be made around centring the voices and experiences of children and young people within scrutiny and inspection processes. 

The Care Inspectorate published their joint inspection of services for children and young people at risk of harm 2021-2025. The report emphasises the importance of children and young people being heard, having access to accessible information and receiving meaningful feedback following an inspection into services.

August 2025: The Care Inspectorate published the Learning Reviews for children and adults in Scotland Summary report 2025  

August 2025: Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Education published the shared quality improvement framework for early learning and childcare services, including childminding and school aged childcare.

In January 2026, Care Inspectorate published a report of a joint inspection of services for children and young people subject to compulsory supervision orders living at home with their parents in Na h-Eileanan an Iar - the Western Isles.

Review Young Inspection Volunteer programme and identify opportunities for enhanced training and safeguarding support- co-design required training.

Pilot participation-based inspection methodologies involving direct feedback loops with children and families.

The Promise Story of Progress will support the embedding of experiential evidence in scrutiny, strengthening and normalising how lived and living experience is sought, valued, and used alongside other evidence when assessing progress and the work of change. Over the coming years, the aspiration is that this becomes a clear milestone in Scotland’s approach to scrutiny, moving from intention to routine practice, and ultimately becoming embedded as standard.

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.

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.

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:

Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council, Scottish Government, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education in Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland

Other route maps this links to:

Workforce support

Rules, processes and culture

Relationships

Governance

Rights and Restraint

Data and information

Documenting decisions

Listening

Participation and engagement

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

What matters to children, families, and care experienced adults

When organisations and people who support me are given feedback about what they need to be doing better, that feedback is based on what ‘good’ looks like to me, my family, and what matters to us.

Find out more about what matters here

Foundations