Safe staffing improvement programme
The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 (not yet enacted) was passed in 2019. The Care Inspectorate has been commissioned by the Scottish Government to lead on a national quality improvement programme to support care services in preparation for the enactment of the legislation.
Our vision
Working in collaboration with people who experience care, relatives, representation groups and other key stakeholders, our vision of the programme is to:
‘Ensure that in care services in Scotland there are the right people, in the right place, with the right skills at the right time working to ensure people experience the best health and care outcomes.’
We regularly publish programme updates and resources on The Hub.
To find out more information about the programme or you would like to get involved email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Bairns’ Hoose (Barnahus)
Bairns’ Hoose, based on an Icelandic model ‘Barnahus’, will bring together services in a ‘four rooms’ approach with child protection, health, justice and recovery services all made available in one setting. Bairns’ Hoose aims to ensure that every child victim or witness has consistent and holistic support, access to specialist services and receives ongoing therapeutic care from services coordinated under one roof.
The overall vision of a Bairns’ Hoose (Barnahus) in Scotland is that:
All children in Scotland who have been victims or witnesses to abuse or violence, as well as children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse, will have access to trauma informed recovery, support and justice.
The key values through which this vision will be achieved are that:
- we are child centered, trauma informed and respect the rights and wellbeing of the child at all times
- we provide consistent and holistic support, which enables children to have their voices heard, access specialist services and recover from their experiences
- we aim to prevent children being re-traumatised and to improve the experience of the criminal justice process for children and families, and
- we demonstrate connectedness and national leadership to uphold children’s rights to protection, support, participation and recovery.
In 2019, the Scottish Government commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate to jointly develop standards which will provide a blueprint for a Scottish Barnahus (Bairns’ Hoose). Also in 2019, a Standards Development Group with representatives from across social work, police, health, justice and children’s voluntary organisations began developing the standards. In March 2020 Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate paused the development of the standards in order to reduce undue strain across the system and prioritise resources to support the national response to Covid-19. A refreshed Standards Development Group recommenced work on the Bairns’ Hoose standards in January 2022.
The final standards are now available to download. We have also developed a version of the standards for children and young people. The standards will help to support a consistent national implementation of the Bairns’ Hoose model.
For further information regarding the project, see other reports published to date:
- Consultation summary report
- Joint impact assessment
- Children’s rights and wellbeing impact assessment
- Bairns’ Hoose Standards: Phase 1 engagement pack
- Standards Scoping Report Bairns’ Hoose (Scottish Barnahus)
- The Foundations for Bairns’ Hoose (Scottish Barnahus)
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Learning reviews, Initial Case Reviews (ICRS) & Significant Case Reviews (SCRS) – Adults
Initial Case Reviews and Significant Case Reviews
National Guidance for Adult Protection Committees Undertaking Learning Reviews was published on 26 May 2022. This sets out that Adult Protection Committees will inform the Care Inspectorate of the decision to proceed with a learning review, or the reasons for not doing so. On completion of a learning review, an anonymised copy of the review report should be sent to us, and a notification of completion submitted.
There will be reviews ongoing that pre-date 26 May 2022. As such, there will be an overlap in submission of learning reviews and of Initial and Signficant Case Reviews which commenced on or after 5 November 2019, and before 26 May 2022.
For the foreseeable future we will accept all reviews, regardless of their structure.
The relevant online notification system for learning reviews, ICRs and SCRs should be used for all submissions. The forms have in built prompts and guidance to support completion.
Please note online submissions require to be completed in one sitting – they cannot be saved when partially completed and then returned to. There is work ongoing to develop this system.
Learning Reviews
For all situations considered under the learning review guidance, a decision notification form should be completed. This electronic notification form is to be completed at the point when a decision has been made to conduct a learning review, or to detail the reasons for not doing so.
A word version of the notification form has been provided here. This could be used to develop the submission, and then be copied into the online version.
Learning review decision notifications should be submitted here: learning review decision notification.
On conclusion of the learning review, an outcome notification form should be completed within seven days of ratification of the outcome of the learning review by the Chief Officers Group.
A word version of the learning outcome notification form has been provided here. This could be used to develop the responses, and then be copied into the online version.
The learning review outcome notification should be submitted here: learning review outcome notification.
Following completion of the learning review outcome notification, an anonymised copy of the learning review report should be sent via secure email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ICR and SCR
A word version of the ICR notification has been provided here. This could be used to develop the responses, and then be copied into the online version.
Adult Protection Committees should note the word version is to support the development of the submission. The submission should however be returned through the online tool.
Adult Protection Committees are required to submit the full ICR report to the Care Inspectorate along with the completed ‘Form B’ (ICR notification) within seven days of ratification of the outcome of the ICR by the Chief Officers Group.
The ICR notification should be submitted here: ICR notification.
The Care Inspectorate, on behalf of Scottish Government, acts as a central collation point for all Significant Case Reviews completed across Scotland at the point at which they are concluded. Further to agreeing the Final Report, in accordance with the steps detailed in The Guidance (2019), Adult Protection Committees should timeously agree a dissemination approach, including submission to the Care Inspectorate.
A word version of the SCR notification has been provided here. This could be used to develop the responses, and then be copied into the online version.
SCR notifications should be submitted here: SCR Reporting Form.
Adult Protection Committees can request to receive a pdf version of the information they submit via the online submission mechanism.
The Care Inspectorate is the central repository for all ICRs and SCRs as a way of supporting learning from these reviews to be shared and implemented more widely. As such, it is important that all reviews that are similar in purpose though not labelled as an ICR, SCR are also submitted.
Following completion of the ICR or SCR, an anonymised copy of the ICR and SCR report as applicable should be sent to us via secure email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The main contact for this work is:
Caroline Doherty, Strategic Inspector
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Serious Incident Reviews
Serious Incident Reviews
The Care Inspectorate assumed responsibility for the oversight of learning from serious incident reviews when it was established in 2011. The function is underpinned by the Care Inspectorate’s statutory duties under the Public Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. The national guidance for serious incident reviews was developed in partnership with the Scottish Government and Social Work Scotland. The guidance outlines what is expected of local authorities when a serious incident comes to their attention.
The reporting of serious incidents currently pertains to people who have received a final disposal from court following conviction. This includes people made subject to the various requirements of a community payback order or a drug treatment and testing order. It also relates to everyone released from custody subject to statutory social work supervision. Guidance on the management and delivery of these orders and licences is contained within a variety of national outcomes and standards - Scottish Government collection of justice social work guidance.
When a serious incident occurs the local authority should notify the Care Inspectorate within five working days. The Care Inspectorate provides a quality assurance role in Serious Incident Reviews, by looking at how reviews have been conducted and whether these have been carried out in a robust and meaningful way. The Serious Incident Review guidance with appendixes to submit a notification and review can be found here.
If there are any queries in the meantime please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please submit the relevant forms/reports through secure email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The notification and review templates can be found here:
- Serious Incident Review: Notification
- Serious Incident Review Part One: Case Review
- Serious Incident Review Part Two: Reflective Learning Review
The main contact for this work is:
Mike Hendry, Strategic Inspector
Mobile 07388 709834
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Learning reviews (children and young people)
Learning reviews (children and young people)
The Care Inspectorate, on behalf of the Scottish Government, acts as a central collation point for all learning reviews carried out by Child Protection Committees (CPCs) in Scotland.
The Care Inspectorate is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of the processes for each learning review and for providing feedback to individual Chief Officer Groups and CPCs.
All learning reviews reports will be shared with the Care Inspectorate. The National Guidance for Child Protection Committees for Undertaking Learning Reviews published in September 2021, clearly sets out that CPCs will inform the Care Inspectorate of their decision on whether to carry out a learning Review. On the completion of a learning review, a copy of the full report should be sent to us.
Notifications
CPCs are required to notify the Care Inspectorate of their decision to proceed or not to proceed to a learning review using the Care Inspectorate’s eform system. To do so, the CPC needs to have a user account to log into the system.
Submission of Learning Review Reports
Please submit the full Learning review Report through our secure email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The main contact for this work is:
Maureen Wylie, Strategic Inspector
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mobile: 07717 423154
Other information
- National Policy and Legislation - Child Protection
- Learning reviews for children National overview report
- Code of practice for the review of learning reviews of children and young people in Scotland
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