Route map: Listening

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 ongoing engagement approaches and efforts to embed listening into everyday practice rather than one-off consultation. There is growing recognition that sustained, meaningful listening builds trust, improves decision making and reduces the need for future large-scale reviews. Next steps focus on improving consistency in how feedback is gathered, acted on and shared, particularly where engagement is challenging. Further work will strengthen links between listening, decision making and documenting decisions so people can see how their views lead to change. Sustained collaboration across partners is essential to embed listening within a relational, rights-based system.

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 outcome in Listening is:

Children, young people, and care experienced adults are listened to continuously and meaningfully, in ways that are relational, creative, and appropriate to age, stage, and circumstances. The workforce and decision-makers are given the time, emotional space, and resources to listen well, with the expectation that what they hear leads to change. Listening and participation underpin service delivery, regulation, and continuous improvement, embedding learning in everyday practice and removing the need for future large-scale reviews.

The route map to get there

Efforts are ongoing across systems and services to embed listening into practice and co-design rather than one off consultation. Examples include the work of Our Hearings, Our Voice which supports children and young people to inform improvements and reform of the Children’s Hearings System. In 2025, Our Hearings Our Voice (OHOV) launched the “Seeing beyond the surface” guide is an interactive, youth-led resource for adults and professionals who work with care-experienced children and young people (including within the Children’s Hearings System), and it aims to help them better understand what matters to care-experienced children—using young people’s own words and creative contributions—to improve day-to-day practice, relationships and decision-making.

The UNCRC Incorporation Act 2024 provides the important legal context for listening to children and young people. Looking ahead, it is vital that the workforce are adequately resourced to implement the UNCRC and equipped with the skills to build trust, listen well, protect and champion the rights of all children and young people.

Champion Boards provide opportunities for care experienced children and young people to share their views and experiences, and to ensure the rights of the care community are upheld by corporate parents.

The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill was informed by a number of consultations including moving on and transitions from care, the redesign of the children’s hearing system, the future of foster care and the definition of care experience. As part of the consultation process, Who Cares Scotland and Barnardo’s hosted a series of roadshows to listen to the views of care experienced children and young people. It is essential that what matters to children and young people underpins the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill throughout its development and parliamentary scrutiny.

NHS, COSLA and Scottish Government will review improvement frameworks to require evidence around how children, young people, families, care experienced adults, and communities have been listened to.

Across Scottish Government, alignment and sequencing of consultation activities will be undertaken so that organisations and communities are not overwhelmed and are listened to authentically.

Regulatory and practitioner education bodies will review education and training offers to identify how culturally sensitive approaches to listening are developed.

Corporate parents will support practitioners to translate language guides into personalised, relational communication with children, young people and care experienced adults to show that their needs and communication styles have been responded to.

Where organisations report challenges engaging with people or communities, they will implement and evaluate peer support and family-driven improvement activities, building confidence and skills.

By the end of 2027, all NHS, Scottish Government leadership development frameworks will include systemic listening competencies.

Organisations, people, and communities will experience government consultations as aligned, and not report duplication of effort.

All those working to support infants will be able to evidence through case recording and relational practice the use of the good practice tool for listening to young children.

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, NHS Scotland, Local Authorities, Third Sector, Corporate Parents

What matters to children, families, and care experienced adults

My experiences have been sought out, listened to, valued, and acted on.

I am nurtured and supported to explore and develop my identity; people who support me think about what my identity could mean for the help I might need at different times and places in my life.

People who support me spend time getting to know me and responding to my specific strengths, likes, relationships and needs.

Find out more about what matters here