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Route map: Documenting decisions

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 activity through the Hearings Redesign Board to improve how decisions within the Children’s Hearings System are written and shared. There is growing recognition of the impact that language, tone and framing have on children, young people and families, and the role of good documentation in building trust. Next steps focus on embedding a relational, strengths-based approach across systems, improving consistency, and supporting the workforce to apply these principles in practice. Sustained collaboration is essential to ensure documentation upholds children’s rights and improves experiences.

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Documenting decisions

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 Documenting Decisions are: 

  • There is a shared, consistent and human language of care across services, free from overly professionalised and system-based terminology, ensuring that children, young people, families and care experienced adults are understood and supported with dignity. All reports and care records use simple, caring and plain language, written with the assumption that the child or young person will read them. The tone and content reflects respect, empathy and inclusion.
  • Decisions, particularly within the Children’s Hearings System, are recorded with accuracy, clarity and relevance - evidencing reasoning, respecting sibling relationships and avoiding unnecessary or historic detail.
  • Those with care experience hold and own the narrative of their stories and lives, shaping how their experiences are understood and represented, and have control over how their information is shared. Decision makers are able to access the right information at the right time, with digital tools supporting ownership, and workforce knowledge recognised as key to effective decisions.
  • Public discussion of care is free from stigma and sensationalism. Society and media portray care experience accurately and positively, celebrating love and belonging.
Where does Scotland need to be by 2030?

The route map to get there

The Children's Hearings Redesign Board has multiple relevant workstreams underway and in planning stages. Work is continuing on scoping out the four future workstreams:

Language and Communication- will consider the current language of grounds and the processes and practice involved in communication approaches in the hearings system.

Babies and Infants in the hearings system- work will explore whether this should be a specific project or be mainstreamed across the other workstreams.

Processes During the Hearing- this will be shaped by the passage of the legislation and so cannot be fully scoped until later in the programme of work.

After the Hearing- this workstream will consider what can be improved after the hearing takes place and the key connections with other processes.

All corporate parents will be able to demonstrate that stigmatising language is not used, through the use of existing language guides or the incorporation of learning and listening into local practice.

The Hearings Redesign ‘Language and Communication’ workstream will be scoped. It will consider the current language of grounds and the processes and practice involved in communication approaches in the hearings system. The plan will be made public by end 2026.

All corporate parents will review the recommendations from Framing Report Writing Guidance With Each and Every Child and begin to translate them into local practice.

In 2026, Social Work Scotland historical abuse subgroup will progress work to support the recommendations made in Accessing Records in Scotland: What people with care experience tell us about the Right of Access.

Local practice will be seen to demonstrate framing recommendations from Framing Report Writing Guidance With Each and Every Child in reports and documents in the public domain, and individual children, young people and adults will see this reflected in their stories.

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:

Hearings Redesign Board, Our Hearings Our Voice, Scottish Government, Each and Every Child, all corporate parents, Social Work Scotland 

Other route maps this links to:

Workforce support

Rules, processes and culture

Decision making

Where children live

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

The Children's Hearings Redesign Board has multiple relevant workstreams underway and in planning stages. Work is continuing on scoping out the 4 future workstreams:

Language and Communication- will consider the current language of grounds and the processes and practice involved in communication approaches in the hearings system.

Babies and Infants in the hearings system- work will explore whether this should be a specific project or be mainstreamed across the other workstreams.

Processes During the Hearing- this will be shaped by the passage of the legislation and so cannot be fully scoped until later in the programme of work.

After the Hearing- this workstream will consider what can be improved after the hearing takes place and the key connections with other processes.

The Culture workstream of the Children's Hearings Redesign Board will continue its work to provide a set of principles and standards of practice, approach and behaviour to be adopted by all participants across the children’s hearings system; identify and address the factors which would support delivery of a positive culture; and develop a plan to embed agreed principles and standards across all agencies that are involved in children’s hearings system.

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:

Hearings Redesign Board, Our Hearings Our Voice

Other route maps this links to:

Decision making

Workforce support

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

Our Hearings Our Voice (OHOV) Guide: Seeing beyond the surface: What children and young people wish all adults knew

This interactive guide is for all adults who work with children and young people who have care and Children’s Hearings experience or are/have been on the edge of care. The guide is aimed at adults who work with children in any capacity, teachers, healthcare workers, care providers, police, social workers, and more. Its purpose is to help professionals listen to, learn from, and act on the voices of children.

This guide explores six key themes, brought to life through the voices and creative expressions of children and young people with lived experience of the care system, and the Children’s Hearings System. Their insights, shared through written quotes, videos, artwork, poetry, voice recordings, and more, shape and drive this resource. It offers powerful and honest accounts of the barriers and facilitators to delivering effective, child-centred care and support, as identified by those whose voices matter most: children and young people. Emotions run deep throughout: from frustration and disappointment to hope, resilience, and love.

The Family Group Decision Making in Scotland report highlighted the impact of this approach in hearing and responding to the voices of children and families. The work also noted family relationships with a focus on the importance of expanding the family network, empowering children and families, its child-centred nature, ensuring the voices of children and families are heard.

Social Work Scotland will begin collaborative work to progress the recommendations within Accessing Records in Scotland: What people with care experience tell us about the Right of Access.

Scottish Government and COSLA will develop and publish a refocussed approach to Care in the Digital Age, so that people have access to, and greater control over, their own health and care data.

From 2026 organisations will support the Information Commissioner's Office's 'Better Records Together' campaign by incorporating the Standards into their local practice. They will circulate 'My right to better records' guide for individuals as well as continuing to engage with events and further guidance.

In 2026 The Promise Scotland will host collaborative workshops on information sharing, and publish the outputs of the Information Sharing Project.

In 2026 the Scottish Government will produce and publish an action plan to support the digital strategy for Scotland vision statement published in 2025.

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:

Social Work Scotland, Our Hearings Our Voice, Scottish Government, COSLA, Information Commissioner's Office, The Promise Scotland

Other route maps this links to:

Workforce support

Rules, processes and culture

Decision making

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

The launch of the Framing Report Writing Guidance With Each and Every Child provides clear direction on how to ensure all writing is strengths based and non stigmatising.

As part of the development of the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government will ensure that language used reflects what the Independent Care Review heard about stigmatising language and reflect framing recommendations in Framing Report Writing Guidance With Each and Every Child.

Each and Every Child report on Language Shifts will be published.

Corporate Parents and/or the Scottish Government should take on responsibility for ensuring care experienced children and young people have access to the three pillars of digital inclusion: kit, connection, and confidence. This could be achieved through a multi-agency programme of work. Children and young people should be involved in the design and implementation of digital training and staff within the care system should be supported to assist young people to develop their digital skills. This training should improve digital competence, but also digital confidence, to engage in online spaces with young people.

All further and higher education journalism courses will include Framing Report Writing Guidance With Each and Every Child on their key reading lists.

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:

Each and Every Child, Scottish Government, all corporate parents

Other route maps this links to:

Education

Rules, processes and culture

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

What matters to children, families, and care experienced adults

My views and experiences, and the views and experiences of people who are important in my life, are recorded, included and acted on in a meaningful way. 

The words people use when they are speaking or writing do not make me feel different, embarrassed, singled out or blamed.

The language used about and around me is kind and understandable to me.

Those who support me have listened to and recorded who I consider to be my family and the people and things that matter to me.

Find out more about what matters here

Foundations