Thank you for your interest in this post

Published: 27 August 2021

Thank you for your interest in this post. 

Unfortunately you do not meet the essential qualification and registration requirements for the role and we are unable to take your application any further at this stage. 

Downloads: 1293

The Promise

Published: 26 August 2022

Our commitment to The Promise 

Playing our part to deliver on The Promise by 2030 is an important part of our organisation’s strategic objectives.

The Promise is the work of change that intends to strengthen Scotland’s care system to become more caring and collaborative.

It outlines the belief that, to do this, children’s services across Scotland need to transform. This process of transformation must be built on the experiences, views and voices of children and young people at its core.

As we outline in our corporate plan, we want babies, children, young people, and their families to

  • experience high quality, trauma informed, compassionate care and support  
  • have improved holistic outcomes (enabled by the services which support them)
  • feel that their voices are heard in decision making about them and that their rights have been protected, respected and realised.

We are aligning our current and future organisational activity with the messages of the Promise in how we regulate in support of babies, children and young people on the edges of care and with care experience. Our existing work in the areas of participation, equalities, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and corporate parenting is mutual and complementary to this.

In applying national best practice and upholding the Health and Social Care standards we are keeping the Promise.  

We are implementing an organisational Promise Development Model across 6 workstreams (3 internally facing and 3 externally facing). This is helping each of us working on behalf of children to reflect and act, individually and collectively on ‘What does the Promise mean for me in my role in the Care Inspectorate?’  Internally we are applying Promise thinking across our methodology, participation and learning and development activities. Externally we are working to ensure that we can contribute to the evidence and influence needed to enable national transformational change through the lens of our scrutiny and assurance role and in collaboration with other scrutiny bodies.

Promise Development Model graphic

Image: Our Promise implementation model. 

As part of our Promise commitment we have signed the national trauma leadership pledge and appointed four senior leaders as internal Trauma Champions. Here is what our Trauma Champions said.

Context

We are working to fulfil our commitments to Promise Change Programme ONE.  This programme of work follows on from Plan 21-24, which mapped and sequenced the calls to action from the Independent Care Review’s conclusions, identifying five priority actions.

We are a key partner in several areas of this detailed programme.

Our work with partners

The Promise has recommended comprehensive change to how care and support for children and young people is commissioned and provided.  It also recommended improvements in how we regulate and inspect our current system. 

It is one of the big drivers of change for us. 

We are shaping our scrutiny practice across service level regulation, strategic inspection and quality improvement, to ensure that our focus is on hearing and acting on what children and their families tell us makes a positive difference to children’s experience of care.

This work involves creating a common understanding, value base and approach across scrutiny and regulation in Scotland. 

We are committed to working collaboratively with our partner external regulators and other scrutiny bodies to: 

  • improve access to early preventative help for children on the edges of care
  • improve support for care experienced children and young people   
  • lower barriers to employment caused by bureaucratic approaches to regulation
  • counter discrimination.

For more information on #KeepingthePromise at the Care Inspectorate please contact:

Aileen Nicol

Children’s strategic inspector and Promise Lead

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


THEPROMISE 

 

 

Downloads: 5639

Total rewards package

Published: 03 April 2024

We offer an excellent total rewards package - it’s a comprehensive and strategic approach to employee compensation and benefits, that aligns with the Care Inspectorates’ aims. It encompasses various elements that will contribute to your overall employee experience, including compensation, benefits, work-life balance, and development.

Competitive salary

We offer competitive salaries for each job role with incremental pay progression for most roles. Salaries are reviewed annually and reward skills, qualifications and contributions to the Care Inspectorate’s success. New entrants will normally start on the minimum of the pay range.

Continuous service

Continuous service is recognised either where there are no breaks in service or if there is a break, it does not exceed 7 calendar days.

Continuous service is currently recognised with the following employers for the purpose of calculating statutory entitlements e.g. notice periods and redundancy entitlements: Local Authorities, National Health Service and all employers listed on the Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government, etc) (Modification) Order 1999 (as amended).

Continuous service with the following sectors in addition to the above, is currently recognised for the purposes of calculating entitlements to occupational sick pay, maternity leave and annual leave: further and higher education sector and the voluntary and private providers of the care sector.

Hours of work

We have a standard working week of 35 hours for all employees and managers and 40 hours for senior manager roles. Inspectors work 140 hours over each 4-week period.

Flexible working

We have several policies in place that support flexible working and time off when you need it, such as flexitime, flexible hours, carers leave and special leave.  Most of our people work flexibly and value how this supports their work-life balance. 

Our flexitime system gives you the flexibility to temporarily change your times of work each day to meet your personal requirements. You can use or accrue up to half a day as flexi on any day without requesting time off from your manager, further time off should be planned in discussion with your manager.

Hybrid working

You’ll be able to work from home and the office, as part of our hybrid working approach. Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. We expect all staff to work in person for at least 40% of their working time. This is two days a week for those on a standard 35 or 40 hour contract.

Annual leave

You’ll receive a generous 37 days annual leave (after five years’ service) as well as six fixed public holidays. Also, our offices are closed over the Christmas period!

Family focussed

We have a family friendly policies in place including maternity, adoption and shared parental leave. We also aim to create a supportive working environment for carers in the workplace.

Wellbeing

Should you become ill or be unable to work due to an injury we will continue to pay sick pay for authorised periods of absence dependent on your level of service allowing you to focus on getting better.

We supply an employee assistance programme, supplying unlimited access to a range of specialist support and information on finances, relationships, health, legal and family care and you’ll have access to healthcare insurance plans.

We also offer a wide range of wellbeing initiatives, including specialist webinars, counselling, and a listening service. 

Employee development

We are committed to the development and learning of all our staff. Everyone takes part in regular supervision through our LEAD (learn, experience, achieve and development) performance and development process. We provide training and support so you’ll be the best you can be and provide opportunities to learn, develop and share your skills and experience with others.

  • Secondments - Secondments help develop and nurture talent and help colleagues to reach their full potential. We offer three types of secondment opportunities: 1. Internal assignment, where existing Care Inspectorate employees undertake work for a fixed period that is not their usual job. 2. Incoming secondment, where a person comes from another organisation to fill a post. 3. Outgoing secondment, where a Care Inspectorate employee undertakes work for another organisation.
  • Career Breaks - Your circumstances may change, for a variety of reasons, and you may need to take time out or take up another development opportunity. Our Career Break Policy allows eligible employees to take an unpaid break, of between six months and two years. Our career break scheme enables employees to take an extended period of unpaid leave and provides a guaranteed return to work later.

Travel expenses

We have access to a nationwide network of offices. Where your role includes travel, you will be able to claim up to 45 per mile (per the policy) and subsistence allowances where you must stay overnight. Overnight stays and public transport bookings (which are preferable) can be made and paid in advance by the organisation.

Saving schemes

My Lifestyle provides our cycle to work and childcare voucher schemes along with discounts to a huge range of retailers including supermarkets, restaurants, holiday operators, cinemas and much more.

All staff can claim a financial contribution of up to £70 towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses where needed for Display Screen Equipment (DSE) purposes.

There is also access to credit union membership (a community loans and savings organisation, an alternative to a high street bank usually with helpful terms).  

Pension

We offer a defined benefit pension scheme on a career average basis. Employee contributions range between 5.5% and 10%, depending on earnings, and are matched by employer contributions of 17%.

The scheme is administered on our behalf by the Tayside Pension Fund where you will find full details of the scheme and how benefits are calculated.

Flexible retirement

If you are age 55 (or over) and you have at least 2 years membership with the Tayside Pension Fund you can request flexible retirement. This is a choice where you can access all, or a proportion of your pension earned to date but at the same time as receiving your pension you can continue working for the Care Inspectorate. Flexible retirement is an attractive way it can help with work life balance and the transition into full retirement.

To qualify you must reduce your working hours and/or grade to the extent that your revised salary is no more than 80% of your current salary.

Downloads: 783

Transactions Assistant

Published: 06 September 2019

Role: Transactions Assistant

Location: Flexible – Any Care Inspectorate office (Expectation to work from the Dundee office for your 40% office collaboration per week and for office-based tasks)

Hours: 35 hours per week

Salary: £27,696 - £30,357

Contract: Temporary to 31 March 2025


About us

We are the independent scrutiny and improvement support body for social care and social work services in Scotland. We provide assurance for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public, as well as supporting delivery partners to improve the quality of care for people in Scotland. Our vision is for world-class social care and social work in Scotland, where everyone in every community experience high-quality care, support and learning, tailored to their rights, needs and wishes.   

We inspect individual care services, and we also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in their local areas. 

Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. We are moving towards the expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week. 

About the role

A temporary opportunity has arisen within the Care Inspectorate team that provides services to the Scottish Social Services Council.

As a member of the team, you will undertake a range of general administrative tasks to support the Transactions Manager. Duties will include processing invoices in the financial system, raising purchase orders, providing administrative support in collating banking, receipting income, receipting payments and services and responding to enquiries received.

About you

To succeed in this role, you will:

  • Understand financial controls and financial environment
  • Have excellent customer service skills and telephone manner
  • Provide a range of administration and clerical support to a high standard including database administration
  • Organise, process, record and file information and correspondence both electronically and manually
  • Be accurate and show attention to detail
  • Have a thorough knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
  • Maintain high standards of confidentiality
  • Work flexibly as part of a team to support the organisation

Experience of using Oracle financial system and knowledge of debt recovery is desirable.

Next steps

You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.

For an informal chat about the role, please contact the Transactions Manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you believe that your expertise and motivation, make you suitable for this post, please download and complete an application form and return by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by no later than 08.00 on Monday 15 July 2024. Please also complete the equal opportunities form and return this along with your application.

The interviews for this post will be no earlier than 23 July 2024. 

Downloads: 6011

Using our logo

Published: 05 December 2014

Using our 'Registered by the Care Inspectorate' widget

Services can show people visiting their website that they are Care Inspectorate registered with our widget.

The widget is a logo that can be displayed on any website.  Every service has its own unique coding behind the widget, linked directly to its service information on our website.

So, if you are a care service and you want to show your website visitors that you are registered with us, ask your website administrator to download the widget for free and display it on your website.

Find out how you can use the widget on your website.

Using our standard logo

We don’t allow services to use our standard Care Inspectorate logo as it represents our own brand identity, signifying us and our own work. 

Using the Care Inspectorate logo on any document or in association with any information signifies that the document or information has been prepared or approved by the Care Inspectorate.

Using the Care Inspectorate logo without our permission infringes our copyright.

Our logo is used only on materials generated by the Care Inspectorate or where we have worked in partnership with another organisation.

If you want to use our logo you must ask our permission.

You can contact us by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Downloads: 18408

Volunteering

Published: 05 December 2014

Recruitment banner volunteering

Become a young inspection volunteer

We inspect care and social work services to make sure they are high quality and meet the needs of people who use them.  We believe we can make care better by working with people who have personal experience of care.

Our involvement and equalities charter outlines how we involve people who use care services and informal carers in our work.

If you have personal experience of using a service or you have cared for someone close who has used a service, there are many ways you can get involved with us.  You do not have to have any qualifications. You must be aged between 18-27 to apply. 

Training dates 

We are holding training on the followiung dates: 

Week 1:

  • Tuesday 13 August
  • Wednesday 14 August
  • Thursday 15 August

Week 2:

  • Wednesday 21 August
  • Thursday 22 August

Applicants must be available to attend all training dates. 

How to apply

You can apply to become a young inspection volunteer by completing our application form:

  • online (Microsoft Forms)
  • by printing a paper copy (PDF) and posting it to Participation and Equalities Team, Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY
  • or we can support you to submit an application. 

For more information you can download our information leaflet.

Hear what some of our young inspection volunteers said below.

If you would like to find out more about becoming a young inspection volunteer, need help to complete the application form or would like us to post you an application form - please email Julie Brown at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Downloads: 56291

We are recruiting a new chief executive

Published: 06 April 2022

The Care Inspectorate is recruiting a new chief executive. You can find out more about the role below and make an application here.


The Care Inspectorate is the independent scrutiny, assurance and improvement support body for social care and social work in Scotland. We provide public confidence in the quality of care delivered to people by individual services and across local communities and collaborate and take action where experiences and outcomes are not meeting individual needs.

To achieve our vision of world-class social care and social work in Scotland, where everyone, in every community, experiences high-quality care, support and learning, tailored to their rights, needs and wishes, we require an exceptional Chief Executive to lead us through the next phase of our exciting change journey and to drive us forward.

Leading the Care Inspectorate and effectively navigating and responding to the ever-changing health and social care landscape to ensure a person centred, human-rights based and outcome-focussed social care provision across Scotland, the successful candidate will effectively promote the Care Inspectorate as a high-profile, risk-based, problem-solving organisation.

The Chief Executive must act as an outstanding ambassador for the Care Inspectorate, and in response to the intensified level of public and media scrutiny, ensure the organisation’s reputation is protected and enhanced, whilst also building and sustaining credibility with the public and service providers and working in strategic and operational partnership with other scrutiny bodies.

We are seeking a strategic thinker and an experienced values-based leader who has a strong understanding of both scrutiny and improvement. Able to work effectively in a highly politicised environment, our new Chief Executive will also be able to demonstrate the ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, creating alliances and establishing professional credibility.

Passionate about the quality of social care and social work services in Scotland, the successful candidate should also bring direct experience of effectively managing resources and budgets, delivering long term financial sustainability and value for money and a strong commitment to best practice coupled with a drive for continual improvement.

NB: The Care Inspectorate embraces agile working and whilst our headquarters are in Dundee, the successful candidate would not necessarily need to be based in Dundee full time.

For more information on this exciting opportunity please contact Douglas Adam at Livingston James, our retained recruitment partner.

The Care Inspectorate is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status or pregnancy and maternity.

Downloads: 4871

We’ve agreed to investigate a complaint

Published: 28 May 2024

Introduction

This leaflet tells you how we will deal with the complaint that has been raised with us now that we have decided it meets our criteria as a complaint that requires formal investigation.

It tells how you can support our investigation and the important role you play in giving us information.

We hope you find this useful but if any of this is not clear to you, please discuss with the inspector who is investigating the complaint.

Our investigation

We aim to establish all the relevant facts and give complainants and those complained against a full, objective, and proportionate response that represents our final position.

It is important that we gather all relevant information about the complaint from the complainant and the complained against. Therefore, it is important that you give our investigating inspector all relevant information and any documents that have a bearing on the areas of the complaint.

Please tell the investigating inspector if you think you have relevant information that they have not asked for.

Where it’s appropriate, we will interview staff members and observe practice within the service. We will need a private space somewhere in the service to speak confidentially with relevant staff and we will ask the service to make this available. We will try to minimise any disruption to the service, but we do recognise that there will be some disruption of the normal day.

We aim to complete our investigation within forty working days. If this timescale needs to be extended, we will tell you why and give you an expected completion date.

Outcomes of investigations

When we have completed our investigation, we will speak to the complainant and the complained against. We will tell them our findings and the conclusion that we have reached. This is an important part of the process as it allows both parties to tell us about any issues, they feel we have not taken account of in reaching our conclusions.

We will then send a report to both the complainant and the complained against giving our findings and stating whether or not the complaint has been upheld.

There are two possible outcomes for a complaint investigation.

Upheld

We say we have upheld a complaint where we have investigated and found evidence to substantiate the allegations made. We may also uphold a complaint when we believe that on the balance of probability the issues raised in the complaint are valid. Where we have upheld a complaint, we may identify action for the service to take. We will also tell the person who has made the complaint about any requirements or areas for improvement we have made of the care service they have complained about.

Not upheld

We say we have not upheld a complaint where we have investigated and found there is a lack of evidence to validate the complaint.

Post investigation review

Once we have sent our complaint report to the complainant and the complained against, each party has ten working days from the date we sent the report to ask for a post investigation review if they have concerns about the outcome. We will not consider a request for review if we receive it after this period of ten working days has expired.

If you believe we have made a mistake in our findings or that we have come to the wrong conclusion, you can ask for a post investigation review by completing the relevant form.

You can ask for a post investigation review if you consider that:

  • we made our decision based on important evidence that was inaccurate and you can show this using readily available information
  • you have new and relevant information that was not previously available about the complaint we investigated, and which affects the decision we made

If you ask for a post investigation review, we will let the other party know we have received a request.

Outcome of the review

Once the ten working days are up, we will consider any request for a review.

We will decide whether to:

  • investigate further
  • update the report to reflect comments received
  • update or change the outcomes of the complaint
  • not make any changes to the outcomes.

We will write to you to explain the outcome of the review and the decision we have reached. If the complaint outcomes have changed, we will issue an amended complaint report and if no changes are made, we will confirm the report you received as final. Both the complainant and complained against will receive this information regardless of who has requested the review. 

Once we have concluded our review and informed you of our final position, no further appeal or review is possible.

We aim to do this within 20 working days of the final date for submission of a post investigation review request.

Once the review has taken place, we will reach our final position and you cannot appeal the complaint outcome.

Once all the relevant steps in the processes described above are completed, and if we decide the service needs to improve, it will have to give us an action plan within fifteen working days, which details how they will improve outcomes for the people who use their service.

We may also regrade a service following a complaint. Where a complaint has been upheld, we will post a summary of the complaint and any requirements or area for improvement that we have made on our website alongside the service’s other information. You can search for individual services by clicking on the Find care tab at the top of our homepage at careinspectorate.com

Downloads: 394

Subcategories

The early learning and childcare expansion… 

Role: Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)

Location: Forth Valley, Borders, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh & Glasgow

Salary: £31,083 - £39,069 plus excellent benefits

Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period

Contract: Permanent or 2-year secondment (would be considered)

Join us and make a difference – for you, for everyone

It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. If you are as passionate about high-quality care as we are, and you’re experienced in your field, we’d love to hear from you.

About us

As a national scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect care services and partnerships across Scotland, report on the quality of care people experience, and support improvements in services to facilitate improvements in outcomes for people.

We inspect care services individually. We also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in local areas.

We champion high-quality care whenever we encounter it across the thousands of inspections, we carry out each year, and we work closely with all care providers to support them to improve all the time. We collaborate with other organisations too, supporting improvement across public services. Our work plays a big role in reducing health and social inequalities between people and communities.

We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference - specialists who understand how to put people’s needs, rights and choices at the heart of delivering social services – and how to lead improvement too. Our 600 staff work with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors. We have offices across Scotland and many of our staff work from home.

About you

Whether early or established in your career, you will share our determination that care, social work and justice services should work well for people – every time. You’ll be confident about what good-quality care looks like and how to deliver it. You’ll be good at analysing information and evidence. You will have excellent writing skills for narrative inspection reports that are clear, concise and focused on outcomes. You will be confident in working with a wide range of people and at supporting and advising on improvement.

You’ll currently be working, or have significant experience in, social care, social work, health, children’s services, early learning, child protection, or community learning and development. You will be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the SSSC, NMC or GTC.

About the role

Our care inspectors work with care services: childminders, nurseries, care homes, care at home, housing support and a host of other specialist services. A specialist in your field, you may have helped lead a service and have a strong track record in delivering quality. You’ll be adept at leading improvement and influencing others. You will work with people experiencing care, and care service providers, managers and staff.

Why join us?

We strive to be a great employer, knowing that competitive salary, leave and pension schemes are only part of that. We pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness.

We believe in collective leadership and innovation. You’ll have a lot of autonomy to manage your own work and use the professional skills you’ve honed during your career – but in new ways. Starting on day one, our learning and development support will help you become confident in the craft of scrutiny and in supporting improvement. Because a lot of your role is about sharing effective practice across Scotland, the impact you can have on experiences and outcomes for people is significant. You will draw on management and leadership skills you’ve developed in the past.

We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer – we’re happy to talk about flexible working with you and we’re members of the Disability Confident Scheme, aiming to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.

New appointments will normally be placed on the minimum grade for the role; a higher starting salary may be offered in exceptional circumstances only.

ELC expansion

The Scottish Government is committed to expanding the provision of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) from 600 hours to 1140 hours per year by 2020. The expansion of ELC is aimed to support the reduction in the poverty-related attainment gap and improve long term outcomes for children and families.

Due to the ELC expansion programme we are looking for 7 further ELC Inspectors in addition to the “business as usual” Inspector campaign launched recently.

Principles and aims

The priority for the expansion to 1140 hours is to improve children's outcomes and close the poverty-related attainment gap. In addition, the expansion aims to support parents into work, study or training. The Scottish Government's four principles of the ELC expansion are: quality, flexibility, affordability, and accessibility.

The Scottish Government has stated that quality is 'at the heart' of the expansion and that achieving a high-quality ELC experience for children is a key objective.

Use and provision

A 2018 survey found that the main reason why parents use funded ELC is that they consider it beneficial for their child's learning and development. In addition, parents reported using the funded hours to either work, increase the number of hours they work, or look for work.

Funded ELC in Scotland is delivered by a wide range of providers including nurseries, crèches and playgroups, from across the public, private and third sectors. A small number of childminders also deliver funded ELC, but the Scottish Government hopes this number will increase under the expansion to 1140 hours.

Criteria to apply

  • We require you to hold a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9), register with either the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or any other relevant professional body and undertake PVG checks.
  • You must also be prepared to do a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10 with appropriate support from the organisation.
  • You will have a minimum of three years recent and demonstrable management experience in a relevant field. You must also be willing to travel with overnight stays as required.

Before you apply

  • Please contact the relevant body directly to resolve any queries you have regarding registration or eligible qualifications for registration (SSSC, NMC and so on) before submitting your application.
  • For an informal chat about the job role, please contact (Who?) You or Kim Connolly, Team Manager on 07766133161
  • For all other queries, please contact Human Resources at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To apply

  • If you are interested, please see the minimum criteria to apply as an Inspector and the specific guidance and directions to apply. Thereafter, click on the gateway questions link to apply.
  • Your completed application form (campaign number C39 only forms) and equal opportunities form should be returned to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.no later than Monday, 14 October 2019 at 8.00am.
  • We anticipate that selection days will take place in the week commencing Monday, 18 November 2019.