The Guide - key terms
The Guide provides information for community planning partnerships (CPP) about the process for the joint inspection of services for children and young people at risk of harm. This includes services for children under the age of 18 years, or young people up to 26 years if they have been previously looked after. It should be read in conjunction with the quality framework for children and young people in need of care and protection (QIF).
This section provides definitions of some of the key terms that may be used during the course of an inspection, or that may be included in inspection reports. If partnerships being inspected have any queries about any part of The Guide they should consult with their inspection lead, or with their link inspector if not being currently inspected.
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What do we mean when we say? |
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Term |
Definition |
Source |
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Additional support needs
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When we say child or young person with additional support needs, we mean that a child or young person needs additional help to benefit from school education and reach their full potential. |
Defined in Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004.
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are stressful events occuring in childhood including:
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Public Health Scotland and the Scottish ACEs Hub
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Advocacy
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Advocacy is about supporting a child to express their own needs and views and to make informed decisions on matters which influence their lives. Advocates do not make choices for children – instead, they support children and young people to make their own choices. Advocacy will most often be required where a child is engaging with a service, such as health, education, police, ir social work. |
Scottish Government publication Children's advocacy guidance.
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Aftercare
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When we say aftercare, we are referring to the legal term. Aftercare means the advice, guidance and assistance that local authorities provide to care leavers (who are not in continuing care) up until their 26th birthday. |
Defined in Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014
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Care and risk management (CARM)
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Care and Risk Management (CARM) are processes which are applied when a child between the ages of 12 and 17 has been involved in behaviours which could cause serious harm to others. This includes sexual or violent behaviour which may cause serious harm. CARM processes are also applicable when an escalation of behaviours suggests that an incident of a seriously harmful nature may be imminent. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021
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Care experienced
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When we say care experienced, we mean a child, young person or adult who is, or who has been, looked after at some point in their childhood. We recognise that this term is not defined in law but is increasingly used in Scotland. |
Our definition
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Care Inspectorate |
The Care Inspectorate is the national independent regulatory body for social work and social care services in Scotland. It is also known by its legal entity, Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland. |
CI website
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Care leaver |
When we say care leaver, we are referring to the legal term. Care leaver means any young person who ceased to be looked after on, or at any time after, their 16th birthday and is no longer looked after. All looked after children may become care leavers including children looked after at home. |
Defined in Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014
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Champions Board
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Champions Boards allow young people to have direct influence within their local area and hold their corporate parents to account. They also ensure that services are tailored and responsive to the needs of care experienced young people and are sensitive to the kinds of vulnerabilities they may have as a result of their experiences before, during and after care. Young peoples’ views, opinions and aspirations are at the forefront in this forum and are paramount to its success. Champions Boards build the capacity of young people to influence change, empower them by showing confidence in their abilities and potential, and give them the platform to flourish and grow. |
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Chief officers
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When we say chief officers, we mean the chief constable and chief executives of health boards and local authorities who are responsible for ensuring that their agencies, individually and collectively, work to protect children and young people as effectively as possible. |
Defined in ‘Protecting Children and Young People: Child Protection Committee and Chief Officer responsibilities 2019’. |
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Chief Officers Groups (COG)
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The collective expression for the Local Police Commander and Chief Executives of the local authority and NHS Board in each local area. Chief Officers are individually and collectively responsible for the leadership, direction and scrutiny of their respective child protection services and their Child Protection Committees. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) |
NHS Scotland Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are multi-disciplinary teams that provide:
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Scottish Government publication Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services: national service specification |
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Child, or children and young people |
When we say child or children, we mean a person or persons up to the age of 18. We recognise that throughout Scottish legislation this term can differ, but our definition is based on Article 1 of the UNCRC. We use the term children and young people to refer to children up to the age of 18 and care leavers up to the age of 26. |
Our definition |
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Childs network of support |
A child’s network of support is the group of practitioners, family members and carers who are collectively responsible for giving effect to a child’s plan. |
Our definition |
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Child’s plan |
When we say child’s plan, we mean the plan for an individual child that sets out desired outcomes identified in any assessments and the actions needed to achieve these outcomes. |
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Child protection |
When we say child protection, we mean the processes involved in consideration, assessment and planning of required action, together with the actions themselves, where there are concerns that a child may be at risk of harm from abuse, neglect or exploitation. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Child Protection Committees (CPC) |
Child protection committees (CPC) are the locally-based, inter-agency strategic partnership responsible for child protection policy and practice across the public, private and Third Sectors. Working on behalf of Chief Officers, its role is to provide individual and collective leadership and direction for the management of child protection services in its area. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Child protection register |
All local authorities are responsible for maintaining a central register, known as the child protection register, for all children who are the subject of an inter-agency child protection plan. This includes unborn babies. The register has no legal status. This is an administrative system for alerting practitioners that there is sufficient professional concern about a child to warrant an inter-agency child protection plan. Local authority social work services are responsible for maintaining a register of all children in their area who are subject to a child protection plan. Some authorities may choose to maintain a joint register with other authorities. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Children and young people in need of care and protection |
When we say children and young people in need of care and protection, we mean:
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Our definition |
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Children at risk of harm |
When we say children at risk of harm we mean the extent to which children and young people are safer because they have received the right help at the right time to reduce risks. We will consider how the partnership has prioritised nurturing relationships to ensure children and young people experience a loving and stable home environment. |
Our definition |
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Children’s services plan, or Children and young people's services plan (CSP) |
A Children’s Service Plan is a strategic plan prepared by local authorities and relevant health boards. It sets out the provision of children’s services and related services in a local authority area. |
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Chronology |
A chronology sets out key events in sequential date order, giving a summary timeline of child and family circumstances, patterns of behaviour and trends in lifestyle that may greatly assist any assessment and analysis. They are a logical, methodical and systematic means of organising, merging and helping make sense of information. They also help to highlight gaps and omitted details that require further exploration, investigation and assessment. |
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Community Planning Partnership (CPP) |
A community planning partnership is the local community planning forum for a local authority area. It is formed from representatives from key agencies and organisations from the public, community, voluntary and private sector. The partnership works together to plan and deliver services across the local authority area. |
Our previous reports |
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Confidential |
When we say confidential, we mean that we remain vigilant about how we use sensitive or personal data in line with legislation and good practice. We will not attribute comments made during inspection to individuals in our public reporting of inspections. However, all members of the inspection team have a duty to pass on concerns to a relevant service if a child or adult may be at risk of harm or being unsafe. |
Our definition |
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Continuing care |
When we say continuing care, we are referring to the legal term. Continuing care means that subject to a welfare assessment, a care leaver is enabled to remain in the same accommodation (i.e. in foster care, kinship care or residential care, but not secure care) and with other assistance as was being provided by the local authority, at the time they ceased to be looked after. |
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Corporate parent |
When we say corporate parent, we mean the organisations listed as corporate parents in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. Corporate parents have duties to uphold the rights and secure the wellbeing of looked after children and care leavers. |
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Education Scotland |
Education Scotland is the national scrutiny body in Scotland for inspecting and supporting quality and improvement in learning and teaching. |
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Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) |
Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) is a national policy designed to make sure that all children and young people get the help that they need when they need it. |
Scottish Government Policy GIRFEC policy |
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Harm |
Harm is the impairment of the health or development of the child, including, for example, impairment suffered as a result of seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another. Risk in this context refers to the probability of harm given the presence of adverse factors in a child’s life. There is no statutory definition or uniform defining criterion for significant harm, which refers to serious interruption, change or damage to a child’s physical, emotional, intellectual or behavioural health and development. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) |
Health and Social Care Partnerships, (HSCPs) are the organisations formed as part of the integration of services provided by Health Boards and Councils in Scotland under the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. Each partnership is jointly run by the NHS and local authority. HSCPs manage community health services and create closer partnerships between health, social care and hospital-based services. |
Our previous reports and NHSGGC website |
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Health and Social Care Standards |
The Health and Social Care Standards set out what everyone should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland. They seek to provide better outcomes for everyone; to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and that the basic human rights we are all entitled to are upheld. |
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Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) |
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national independent scrutiny body which aims to promote better quality health and social care for everyone in Scotland. |
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His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) |
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) is the national independent scrutiny body which holds powers to look into the state, effectiveness and efficiency of Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. |
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Independent advocacy |
When we say independent advocacy, we mean that the person providing advocacy is not involved in providing the services to the individual, or in any decision-making processes regarding their care. |
Our definition |
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Independent Care Review |
The Independent Care Review refers to the independent review of the care system in Scotland between 2017 and 2020 which looked at the underpinning legislation, practices, cultures and ethos. The review prioritised listening and heard over 5,500 experiences. The Care Review published seven reports in February 2020. |
Our definition |
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Initial referral discussions, inter-agency referral discussions or initial referral tripartite discussions (IRD) |
An initial referral discussion is the start of the formal process of information sharing, assessment, analysis and decision-making following reported concern about abuse or neglect of a child or young person under the age of 18 years, in relation to familial and non-familial concerns. This may include discussion of concern relating to siblings or other children within the same context, and can refer to an unborn baby that may be exposed to current or future risk. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Integration Joint Board (IJB) |
An Integration Joint Board, or IJB, plans and commissions integrated health and social care services in their areas. IJBs are local government bodies, as defined by Section 106 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. They are responsible for overseeing the local HSCP and managing social care and health services in their area. |
Scottish Government publication Integration Joint Board: roles, responsibilities and membership |
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Integration of health and social care |
Across Scotland, NHS boards and local authorities are legally required to integrate the governance, planning and resourcing of adult social care services, adult primary care and community health services and some hospital services. They also have the option to integrate children’s health and social care services as well as criminal justice services. |
Defined in Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014
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Joint inspection of children and young people in need of care and protection |
When we say joint inspection of children and young people in need of care and protection, or joint inspection, we mean the current model of joint inspection led by the Care Inspectorate and supported by scrutiny partners. Joint inspections take a focused look at the provision of services in community planning partnerships for children and young people in need of care and protection. |
Our definition |
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Joint Investigative Interviews (JII) |
Joint Investigative Interviews (JII) are formal interviews of children conducted by trained police officers and social workers where there is a concern that a child is a victim of, or witness to, criminal conduct, and where there is information to suggest that the child has been or is being abused or neglected, or may be at risk of significant harm. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Kinship care
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When we say a child is in kinship care, we mean a child who lives away from their parents with an adult who has a pre-existing relationship with the child (i.e. is a family member or friend). |
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Lead professional |
When we say lead professional, we mean a staff member who is identified to take on a coordinating role where concerns about wellbeing require intervention from more than one service or agency. |
Scottish Government Policy GIRFEC policy |
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Leaders |
When we say leaders, we mean chief officers and chief executives including chairs of the child protection committee, community planning partnership, integrated joint board and children's services planning group; child protection lead officer; chief social work officer; relevant heads of service in Education, Health, Police and Social Work and locality reporters’ manager; elected members and non-executive NHS board members; and any other relevant service senior leads. |
Our definition |
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Learning Review |
A Learning Review brings together agencies, individuals and families in a collective endeavour to learn from what has happened in order to improve and develop systems and practice in the future and thus better protect children and young people. The process is underpinned by the rights of children and young people as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). NB. Until the updated national guidance for child protection was published in 2021 the term ‘significant case review’ (see below) was more commonly used. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection Committees undertaking Learning Reviews 2021 |
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Looked after |
When we say looked after, we are referring to the legal term. A looked after child or young person must fall into one of the following categories:
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Multi agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) |
MARACs are regular, local meetings where information about domestic abuse victims at risk of the most serious levels of harm (including murder) is shared between representatives from a range of local agencies to inform a co-ordinated action plan to increase the safety of the victim and their children. |
Scottish Government publication Improving Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and interventions for victims of domestic abuse |
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Named person |
Named persons are a core component of the GIRFEC approach, and are a professional point of contact within universal services, if a child, young person or their parents need information, advice or help. Local arrangements and the term used to describe this role or function may vary from area to area. |
Defined in National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 |
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Parent / carer |
Whilst we recognise that the terms ‘parent’, ‘carer’ and ‘relevant person’ are all defined in legislation, when we say parent or carer, we mean this in a broader way to describe someone who takes on a parenting role. |
Our definition |
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Participation and engagement |
When we say participation and/or engagement we mean the act of ensuring the right of a child or young person to take part, and be involved actively and meaningfully throughout the processes of assessment, decision-making, actions and interventions which relate to them and which lead to tangible outcomes and improvements in their lives. |
Our definition |
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Partnerships |
When we say partnerships, we mean groups of services and organisations who have joint responsibilities for improving services for children and young people in need of care and protection. See also our definition of community planning partnerships above. |
Our definition |
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Pathways |
When we say pathways, we mean the paperwork and processes available to assist local authorities to carry out assessment, planning and co-ordination for (prospective) care leavers. |
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Permanence |
When we say permanence, we mean the process by which looked after children are provided with a settled, secure and permanent place to live. We recognise that there are four routes to permanence: returning permanently to the care of a parent; being adopted; being in a long-term care placement secured by a permanence order; or being in a kinship placement secured by a kinship care order (residence order). |
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The Promise |
The Promise is the main report of Scotland’s independent care review published in 2020. It reflects the views of over 5,500 care experienced children and adults, families and the paid and unpaid workforce. It described what Scotland must do to make sure that its most vulnerable children feel loved and have the childhood they deserve. |
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Scottish Care Leavers Covenant |
The Scottish Care Leavers Covenant supports corporate parents to deliver changes in action and practice to bring improvement and consistency to the care of these young people. It offers clear guidance on how to meet the needs of young people who are often disadvantaged as a result of their care experiences. |
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Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) |
The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration is a national body which focuses on children most at risk. Its role is to decide when a child needs to go to a Children’s Hearing, help children and families to take part in hearings and provide accommodation for hearings. |
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Scrutiny partners |
When we say scrutiny partners, we mean the scrutiny bodies that take part in joint inspections. This includes the Care Inspectorate, Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland. |
Our definition |
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Self-directed support |
When we say self-directed support, we mean a way of providing social care support that empowers individuals and carers to have informed choice about how support is provided. The aim of self-directed support is to promote independence, informed choice and flexibility. |
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Self-evaluation |
When we say self-evaluation, we mean services taking a close look at what they have done and evaluating themselves and their progress against a prescribed set of standards. It is important because it helps services to see clearly what they are doing well and where they need to make improvements. |
Our definition |
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Seven minute briefing |
When we say seven minute briefing we are referring to an approach based on research which suggests that seven minutes is an ideal time span to concentrate and learn. Most local safeguarding boards in England and Wales have embedded this approach to deliver short briefings to staff on key topics and are used to support reflective discussion. |
Our definition |
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Significant Case Review (SCR) |
A significant case review (SCR) is carried out where a child has died, or has been significantly harmed, or where they have been at risk of harm. SCRs aim to find out if anything could have been done to prevent harm, and what could be done to stop a similar event happening in the future. NB. This term was in common usage until 2021 when it was replaced by the term ‘learning review’ (see above) in the updated national guidance. |
Care Inspectorate Learning from Significant Case Reviews in Scotland 2018 to 2021 Report |
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Staff |
When we say staff, we mean people who are employed or volunteer to work directly or indirectly with children, young people and their families. |
Our definition |
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Staying Put |
When we say Staying Put we are referring to the Staying Put Scotland approach. The central elements of this philosophy of care being the importance of relationship-based practice, extended and graduated transitions, as well as post-care accommodation options. Care planning decisions should be based on the assessed needs of individual care leavers. |
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Stakeholder |
When we say stakeholder, we mean any individual, group or organisation with an interest in the work of services for children, young people and families. |
Our definition |
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Strategic commissioning |
Strategic commissioning is the term used for all the activities involved in assessing and forecasting needs, linking investment to agreed outcomes, considering options, planning the nature, range and quality of future services and working in partnership to put these in place. |
Scottish Government publication Health and Social Care Integration Strategic Commissioning Plans Guidance 2014 |
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Strategic Needs Assessment |
A joint strategic needs assessment is a shared approach to assessing the needs of children and young people, with systems and processes in place to gather and analyse relevant quantitative and qualitative information, providing indicators of current and future need across different localities, ages and groups (e.g. looked after children). |
Scottish Government publication Statutory Guidance on children services planning |
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Team around the child |
A Team around the child is a single multi-agency planning process around the child’s plan with involving those practitioners who support the child and family, and are likely to be participants at a child’s plan meeting. |
Our definition |
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Third sector |
Third sector includes voluntary and community organisations including both registered charities and other organisations such as associations, self-help groups and community groups, social enterprises, mutuals and co-operatives. |
Our definition |
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Throughcare |
When we say throughcare we mean the advice and assistance provided to looked after children with a view to preparing them for when they are no longer looked after by a local authority. Local authorities are under a duty to provide such assistance to all looked after children who continue to be looked after on or after their sixteenth birthday. |
Scottish Government publication Statutory Guidance on Part 10 (Aftercare) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 |
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Trauma informed practice |
When we say trauma informed practice we mean a strengths-based framework in children’s services grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, that emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for everyone, and that creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. |
Our definition |
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Trauma-informed workforce |
The Scottish Government ambition is for a trauma informed and trauma responsive workforce across Scotland, ensuring that services and care are delivered in ways that prevent further harm or re-traumatisation for children, young people or adults affected by psychological trauma, and supports their own unique journey of recovery. |
Scottish Government publication Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Trauma |
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Vulnerable young people's processes |
When we say vulnerable young people’s processes, we mean processes that are designed primarily to support young people by working effectively to promote, support and safeguard the well-being of young people and vulnerable adults. This is relevant for those working in situations where concerns about the wellbeing of young people particularly those working with young people transitioning between child and adult services. The vulnerabilities can be because of the young person’s own behaviours or that of others towards them placing them at risk of significant harm. |
Our definition |
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Wellbeing |
Section 96(2) of the 2014 Act describes wellbeing in terms of eight indicators. A person assessing a child or young person's wellbeing is to do so by reference to the extent to which the child or young person is or, as the case may be, would be:
These eight wellbeing indicators are sometimes known collectively by the acronym ' SHANARRI'. While each indicator is separately defined, in practice they are connected and overlapping. Taken together the eight indicators offer a holistic view of each child or young person, identifying strengths as well as barriers to growth and development. |
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Young inspection volunteers |
When we say young inspection volunteers, we mean young people (aged 18 - 26) with experience of care services who are specifically trained to support the Care Inspectorate with our inspections. They are part of the inspection team. |
Our definition |
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The Guide - week by week guide
Phase One - Preparation
Phase Two - On-site
Phase Three - Reporting
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The Guide
The Guide provides information for community planning partnerships (CPP) about the process for the joint inspection of services for children and young people at risk of harm. This includes services for children under the age of 18 years, or young people up to 26 years if they have been previously looked after. It should be read in conjunction with the quality framework for children and young people in need of care and protection (QIF).
The Guide contains a number of hyperlinks. These may be to references within the guide itself or to external sources. If partnerships being inspected have any queries about any part of The Guide they should consult with their inspection lead, or with their link inspector if not being currently inspected.
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The Guide - introduction
A. Background
The Guide is aimed at community planning partners (CPP) and staff participating in joint inspections. It is complementary to a quality framework for children and young people in need of care and protection (QIF) which supports joint self-evaluation and continuous improvement.
Joint inspections include representatives from Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), Education Scotland (ES) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), as well as young inspection volunteers. They take account of the full range of work within a CPP area including services provided by social workers, health visitors, police officers, teachers and the third sector.
Whilst details of the approach to each joint inspection may vary in response to local circumstances, the core elements of the process remain consistent and comparable.
Embedded in our approach is a strong emphasis on listening to, and taking account of, the views of children and young people as well as their parents and carers. The young inspection volunteers, who have relevant experience of services and are trained and supported to be members of joint inspection teams, play a key role in this. These inspections provide public assurance on the quality and effectiveness of services for children and young people and seek to assist partnerships in continuous improvement.
The methodology for joint inspections, as well as our quality framework, is informed by the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. It looks at:
- key outcomes
- stakeholder’s needs
- delivery of services
- management
- leadership
- capacity for improvement.
Our quality framework outlined in the diagram below contains 22 quality indicators.
B. Joint inspection focus
In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Care Inspectorate, along with its scrutiny partners, has agreed a revised programme of joint inspections focussed on children at risk of harm. Starting in August 2021, these inspections take account of the experiences and outcomes for children and young people at risk of harm.
Looking ahead to the implementation of The Promise and the changes that will be required in both practice and scrutiny, the intention of these inspections is to achieve assurance about how children and young people at risk of harm are being kept safe. We are keen to establish how well protection processes to identify, assess and plan for the management of risk are enabling children and young people to experience sustained loving and nurturing relationships, to keep them safe from further harm and promote their well-being.
We will take account of the impact of Covid-19 and how partnerships have continued to deliver services throughout the pandemic. We will consider the extent to which children and young people are safer because they have received the right help at the right time to reduce risks. We will consider how the partnership has prioritised nurturing relationships to ensure children and young people experience a loving and stable home environment. We will seek to understand the experiences of services from the perspective of children and young people at risk of harm as well as their families and carers. We will examine how well leaders fulfil their collective responsibilities for child protection. We will consider the extent to which CPPs make a difference to the well-being and life chances of children and young people at risk of harm and reduce outcome gaps.
Evidence gathered under the quality indicators of our quality framework for children and young people in need of care and protection (QIF) will enable inspectors to address the four following aims:
- Children and young people are safer because risks have been identified early and responded to effectively.
- Children and young people’s lives improve with high quality planning and support, ensuring they experience sustained loving and nurturing relationships to keep them safe from further harm.
- Children, young people, and families are meaningfully and appropriately involved in decisions about their lives. They influence service planning, delivery and improvement.
- Collaborative strategic leadership, planning and operational management ensure high standards of service delivery.
These will, in turn, form the basis of the published report, which will include key messages, strengths and areas for development for the partnership.
In addition, we will evaluate Indicator 2.1 (Impact on children and young people) using the six point scale.
For more information on how we use the quality indicators in relation to the inspection, see evaluating quality indicators in the resources and documents section.
C. Joint inspection process
Each joint inspection begins with a position statement submitted by the CPP. The position statement outlines partners joint practice relating to children at risk of harm. The information it includes will provide the inspection team with valuable evidence and will be used to identify and prioritise areas of practice which would benefit from further scrutiny. This is a key document and will inform the focus of the initial meeting with the senior leaders in the partnership. For more information refer to the position statement guidance in the resources and documents section.
Other meetings will be held with partners at set intervals throughout the inspection process at which we will share information about the scope of the inspection and the rationale for this. We will also discuss which scrutiny activities will best help us to clarify any areas of uncertainty. Key messages and an evaluation on the six-point scale of one selected quality indicator, as outlined above, will be shared with partners prior to publication of the inspection report.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, inspections are likely to involve a combination of remote on-line activity and some on-site activity. Record reading will be undertaken remotely, whilst engagement with children and young people and focus groups with staff and leaders is likely to be a blend of approaches. Although these activities are likely to be over 10 days in total, each joint inspection spans a period of approx. Eighteen weeks’ worth of activity from notification being issued to publication of the inspection report. However, these may not be consecutive weeks and inspection leads will advise local areas of the actual time frame for their inspection. Our partnership key dates guide in the resources and documents section gives more information about what to expect.
All the activities during the inspection will be carried out proportionately to clarify areas of uncertainty and to support confident evaluations about the quality of services and outcomes for children and young people at risk of harm.
D. Children and young people’s participation and involvement
During the inspection it is important that we hear as much as possible from children and young people using services. Consequently, we have developed our methodology to enable their views to be prominent. We have produced a survey specifically to hear feedback from children and young people, as well as a separate survey for parents and carers.
We want to hear about how children and young people are involved in all the stages of protection process and the impact that this has had. We are interested to see how children and young people are enabled to take part in discussions about service delivery and improvement and how partners respond to their views. We want to know about information sharing and complaints processes and will be seeking assurance that these are accessible and actively promoted. We will be looking at how partners comply with the broader remit of the UNCRC and their response to children’s rights issues.
We will work closely with trained young inspection volunteers who themselves have had experience of services for children and young people. They will lead much of our direct contact with children and young people during the inspection.
We are particularly keen to hear the views of children and young people about:
- Their personal well-being and outcomes. Perceived well-being is increasingly viewed as the most important element of feedback from service users and can be used for: identifying the needs of groups; evaluating the impact of a specific intervention; or obtaining a snapshot of needs and strengths in communities.
- The staff working with them and their families. We know the importance of children and young people being enabled to experience sincere human contact and enduring relationships. We will therefore explore the extent to which they have confidence in the people who support and care for them.
- Their experiences of the processes that they have encountered – assessment, planning, intervention, review. We are interested in the experience that children and young people have of the processes which are designed to recognise and respond to child protection concerns and keep them safe and well.
- How well services have involved them. We are not only interested in the headline care standard “I am involved in all decisions about my care and support”, but also in the ways that services are involving children and young people in reviewing and improving the work that they do. We want to know how services have sought their views and hear how these views have been used to make changes as necessary.
For more information, see our approach to engagement in the resources and documents.
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Care surveys: How good is your care?
We are developing care surveys that reflect the Health and Social Care Standards. These will replace the old care standards questionnaires and link to our quality frameworks for care services.
We want to include the views of people who experience care, as well as their relatives, friends and carers in our scrutiny and improvement work and these will surveys help us do that.
They have a stronger emphasis on hearing about people’s experiences and outcomes and we hope this will enable more people to tell us about their care.
Care homes for adults and older people: care survey for residents
We want people to be able to engage much more meaningfully with our inspections in care homes for older people, in the way that suits them best. We designed this survey to support this in a flexible way. People can choose to do as much of the survey as they are able to. Some people may wish to focus on the first page with images that describe how they feel, and others may be happy to complete the whole survey.
We offer two ways to complete our care surveys:
- Complete the form that will be issued to the service and return this in the freepost envelope provided.
- Complete the survey online.
We have also produced sets of sentiment and response cards to support people to complete the survey. The images on the sentiment cards mirror the first section and the response cards help people to be clearer in their answers to the questions in the survey.
How services will receive batch surveys
We will send a batch of care surveys and freepost envelopes, along with a set of sentiment and response cards, to your service.
You can also download a copy of the survey below. Please make sure you quote the services registration number (CS number) and name of service on the front page of the document so we can send this to the correct inspector. The CS number will be on the services registration certificate which is displayed in the service.
- Care survey (pdf)
- Sentiment card
- Response card
- Guidance on supporting people with the survey (service version)
Once completed please return these to:
Care Inspectorate
Compass House
11 Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
If you need the survey in an alternative format, such as a different language or easy read, please give us a call on 0345 600 9527 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Online surveys
Throughout the year, we will send electronic survey links directly to managers of care services. We ask that you send these links to the relevant key people within your service who use and support you to deliver care. We anticipate this will be an annual request.
There are four different electronic surveys:
- People who experience care
- Service staff
- Relatives and carers
- and, where appropriate, external professionals such as district nurses and G.P.s
We appreciate some people, especially those experiencing care and some relatives and carers, may need support to provide their feedback and we appreciate any support you can provide to enable them to participate. Advocacy services in your local area may be able to support this.
Please email these survey links to the appropriate groups of people. If your staff are supporting people to complete the surveys, then please give them the most appropriate link for the person giving the feedback.
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