Fewer children and young people are being placed in foster care, independent residential school care and secure care services in Scotland, according to a new report.

But at the same time, there has been an overall increase in children placed in care home services, the Care Inspectorate has said.

The findings were published in a review which looked at a wide range of data collected by the Care Inspectorate over a three year period.

In their report, inspectors said: “Trusting relationships between staff and the children and young people they cared for led to more person-centred planning, support and improved experiences and outcomes.

“Consistent staff teams enabled positive experiences for children and young people through the development of secure relationships based on empathy, compassion, love and fun.”

But inspectors also noted that “within some care homes, school care accommodation services, and fostering services, we found that a small number of children and young people had been inappropriately placed.

“This was either because of their young age, the emergency nature of the placement, or because the location of the service was a restricting factor in terms of achieving the aims of children’s plans. This was limiting the quality of their experience, choices and future potential.”

Peter Macleod, chief executive of the Care Inspectorate said: “We want to help make Scotland the best place for every child to reach their full potential.

“This review shines a spotlight on the success of services that have been creative in promoting better outcomes for children and young people.

“When experiencing care, the relationships that children and young people have with those caring for them is vital. We were pleased to note that trusting relationships between staff and children and young people were leading to better outcomes for those children and young people.

“This review also highlights the challenges that lie ahead in reducing the inequalities that looked after children and young people continue to experience in accessing their rights to family life or full-time education.

“The way that services are commissioned and delivered across Scotland has been changing. For example, this review shows that fewer children and young people are being placed in foster care, independent residential school care and secure care services but at the same time, there has been an overall increase in children placed in care home services.

“Since 2015, we have been changing the way we work with services. As well as continuing to try to ensure that services act in accordance with legislation and standards, we are collaborating more with services and partners to support improvements which result in positive experiences and outcomes for individuals, families and carers. Moving forward we will continue to use the health and care standards in our work with providers and commissioners to give an even greater focus on the needs, rights and choices of people who experience care.”

The review is available here: http://bit.ly/reviewofservicesforchildrenandyoungpeople