Archived updates (2022)
Changes to Covid-19 guidance for adult and older people care homes (Added 31 March)
The Scottish Government has written to services with updates to guidance for Adult and Older People care homes following a review of remaining pandemic recommendations.
All guidance will continue to be kept under review. It is anticipated that the remaining protective measures such as self-isolation periods for residents (cases and contacts), and restrictions on care home visits by community groups will be reviewed again in April.
You can read the letter here.
We are aware that the information we released in a provider update yesterday (31 March) regarding asymptomatic testing for social care staff has caused some confusion.
We stated that all changes were to take place from Monday 18 April. The below text is a clarification to explain which changes should be undertaken as soon as it is possible and which changes will take place from 18 April.
Letter to all registered childcare providers and childminders (Added 29 March)
The Scottish Government has issued a letter to all registered childcare providers and childminders with information on:
- How to watch last Thursday’s event on the updated guidance and testing programme;
- How practitioners can provide input to a forthcoming event on vaccination;
- A point of clarification on the use of refillable cleaning products.
Updated Guidance for childcare settings regarding Covid-19 (Added 17 March)
The Scottish Government has issued a letter to all all registered childcare providers and childminders with an update on a unified approach across chldcare settings regarding routine protective measures and testing.
Childcare Sector Omicron Impacts Fund (Added 11 February)
On 10 February 2022 the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy announced a further round of financial support for sectors of the economy impacted by the Omicron variant. This package of support includes a new £6.5 million Childcare Sector Omicron Impacts Fund to provide one-off grants to the childcare sector this financial year.
The Scottish Government has issued a letter with more information.
Letter to all registered childcare providers and childminders (Added 4 February)
The Scottish Government has issued a letter to all all registered childcare providers and childminders with an update on the following:
- ELC Covid safety guidance suite
- Testing and Vaccination Communications Toolkit
- LFD Kits: Orders and Deliveries
- Fact-sheet on the self-isolation policy for contacts of positive Covid cases aged under 5 (Annex A)
- Publication of the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill.
Changes to self-isolation and visiting for adult care homes (Added 20 January)
The Scottish Government has reviewed policy with Public Health Scotland and ARHAI Scotland and made updates outlined in a letter to the sector.
In summary, the updates are:
- Self-isolation periods for residents who are contacts of Covid-19 positive case or are themselves Covid-19 positive has now changed from 14 days to 10 days.
- Precautionary 14 days self-isolation of residents following discharge from hospital to a care homes has now been removed for residents on the non-respiratory pathway and has reduced from 14 to 10 days for residents on the respiratory pathway (the respiratory pathway is determined by the Respiratory Screening Tool as per the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual: Winter (21/22), Respiratory Infections in Health and Care Settings Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Addendum. To summarise, if you are on the respiratory pathway this means those that have answered ‘yes’ to the screening tool, that is they are Covid-19 positive or a close contact of someone who is Covid-19 positive within 10 days).
- Removal of guidance on limiting the number of households that can visit a care home resident at any one time to two. This follows the First Minister’s announcement on changes to guidance for the general public.
- Named visitors should be supported during outbreaks unless there are exceptional circumstances.
- Named visitors who visit a resident who is Covid-19 positive can visit the resident again during their isolation period.
Further details on these changes including any conditions that may be attached to them are detailed in the letter. The Scottish Government webpages will be updated by the end of the week to fully reflect these changes and Public Health Scotland will update its guidance to incorporate these changes.
Updated guidance on self-isolation exemption (Added 18 January 2022)
The Scottish Government has updated the self-isolation exemption guidance for health and social care staff. The updated guidance will be shown on this webpage in due course: Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates
The guidance means that staff who are identified as contacts and are fully vaccinated no longer need to undertake a PCR test before returning to work. They should take an LFD test instead. If the LFD test is negative and they don’t have a fever or other symptoms, they can continue to work following a risk assessment by their line manager. They should also continue to take an LFD test every day for a 10-day period.
The guidance clarifies that staff who test positive should pause their workplace LFD testing for 28 days (from day 1 of symptom onset or asymptomatic test date). If they are also required to PCR test weekly, they should also pause this for a period of 90 days. Please note that the guidance highlights that the likelihood of a positive LFD test in the absence of a high temperature after 10 days is low, so further testing is not advised unless they have renewed symptoms.
The Scottish Government will produce a flowchart and FAQ document in the coming days to support the guidance.
Adult to child ratios and new notification during Omicron (Added 11 January 2022)
Like all services, early learning and childcare settings are operating under unprecedented circumstances due to the pandemic. The Omicron variant will be extremely challenging, particularly in terms of staffing.
To support continued delivery of safe, high-quality childcare for children and families as we move through this stage of the pandemic, we have temporarily adjusted our policy position on adult to child ratios and introduced a new notification.
High-quality experiences for children should be paramount. Adjusting adult to child ratios must only be used when all other options for additional staffing have been exhausted and a risk assessment has been undertaken. Our guidance gives information on the approach to risk assessment and the required notification.
Updated policy on self-isolation for social care workers (Added 6 January 2022)
Scottish Government has issued an updated policy framework setting out self-isolation guidance for health and social care staff. This is as a result of changes to the Covid-19 self-isolation guidance for the general population, which applies from 6 January, following the First Minister’s announcement on 5 January.
The policy framework sets out the conditions that will enable health and social care staff who are Covid-19 index cases (confirmed as positive cases), or contacts of a positive Covid-19 case to exit isolation early, in line with updated guidance for the general population.
As health and social care workers provide care and support to people for whom a Covid-19 infection can present a higher level of risk, additional safeguards will continue for care staff. These include testing regimes, infection prevention and control measures and personal protective equipment. This updated framework replaces the previous version dated 24 December 2021.
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The Promise
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.
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.
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A few changes to visiting made all the difference – a care home manager shares their experience
A few changes to visiting made all the difference – a care home manager shares their experience
On a recent call with my inspector, we were discussing how my service was managing visiting – it has been stressful trying to achieve a good balance between supporting and encouraging good quality visiting while keeping our residents as safe from Covid as possible. I was disappointed when she highlighted that our visiting arrangements were too rigid and not in line with guidance, but she was supportive and encouraging and I came away with some really constructive and practical advice.
We’ve now made some changes based on our inspector’s advice and I’m so glad we did. With some simple adjustments, we’ve really improved the visiting experience for residents and their loved ones. It feels better for me and my staff too; being able to make visiting more welcoming, homely and accessible is helping us make a positive difference for residents and that’s something we’re really passionate about.
I’d like to share a few key highlights of the changes we made.
- The booking system has been removed, with only a request from families to notify us if possible, prior to the visit so we can ensure the resident is not busy in another activity when they arrive.
- We have created an additional visiting area downstairs so that two visits can take place in a communal visiting area at the same time if the family/residents are not keen on a visit in the bedroom.
- We will be offering one of the toilets at the main entrance as a primary visitor toilet with further enhanced cleaning in place.
- We have removed the need to distance or wear a mask outdoors in line with the guidance too and reduced the social distance back to 1m indoors (not overtly marked in any way, just subtle and homely positioning of the chairs).
- Children were always allowed to visit indoors and outdoors for some time now, but we hadn’t made that clear – we have made sure everyone is aware of this now.
- We had been encouraging outings, but we are now highlighting that these can be to local cafes or to the relative’s household for a visit and so on.
- We are ensuring that any risk assessments we undertake now demonstrate less rigidity and a greater level of warmth.
I also had a person-centred discussion around visiting with one family that had raised concerns to discuss all the changes we were making and answer any queries. It was a really productive and positive discussion. Not long after, they came to visit their loved one and brought their daughter and two grandchildren too. They all went for an outdoor visit to the loch and the play park together since it was a quite bright and mild day. I spoke to them afterwards and they were very complimentary, saying “We had a wonderful time. It was the best visit we have had since Covid began. Mum was on great form”. (We always encourage staff to engage a resident in a person-centred stimulating activity pre-visit so the resident is able to engage really well during a visit or video call and the resident had been playing Simon Says with the staff and also had a short walk in the garden for some fresh air before the family arrived, which hopefully helped her engage well on the visit.)
I encourage fellow care home managers and providers to get in touch with your inspector if you’re concerned about visiting. I was met with positivity, encouragement and constructive advice, and with a few quick fixes, we were able to make a big difference.
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We are recruiting a new chief executive
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.
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Solicitor
Salary: £42,954 - £47,505 pro rata
Location: Flexible
Hours: 21 hours per week
Contract: Temporary until 20 February 2024
About us
We are the national regulator and scrutiny body responsible for providing assurance and protection 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 that people across Scotland experience high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.
We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. 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.
About the role
Reporting to the Head of Legal Services, you will have the opportunity to play an influential role in the regulation and improvement of care services. You will provide legal advice to operational staff within the Care Inspectorate. You will provide legal support for a wide range of team based corporate projects and contribute to the development of policy and guidance. You will also undertake some appearance work, representing the Care Inspectorate at Court hearings and inquiries.
About you
The ideal candidate will be confident, articulate and have excellent communication skills. You will have at least 2 years’ post qualifying experience but could be an experienced solicitor interested in a challenging and varied post. You should have Sheriff Court experience, preferably in relation to statutory licensing or regulatory matters and you will hold, or be entitled to hold, a full Practising Certificate issued by the Law Society of Scotland.
To apply
You’ll find more information in the:
For an informal chat about the role please contact Kenneth McClure, Head of Legal Services on 07979 060716 or email to 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 an equalities monitoring form where you are an external applicant) and return by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by no later than 8am on Monday 14 November 2022.
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