Unannounced inspections
Unannounced inspections
Records reading
The systematic review of records during the first phase of the inspection provides a window into the quality of operational practice, particularly about processes such as assessment and planning which underpin safe and effective practice for children at risk of harm. Inspectors review children’s records over three consecutive days including those from social work, health, education, police and SCRA.
Building on the successful inclusion of local file readers in the previous joint inspection models, inspectors will continue to work collaboratively with community planning partnerships (CPPs), building capacity and bringing added value to the scrutiny process wherever possible. Usually, six local records readers are included in each inspection. Each local records reader is matched with an inspector for the duration of the file reading activity. This is to provide a higher degree of moderation and discussion to promote learning through this process.
We have developed guidance for CPPs about this. Training for local records readers takes place before the records reading activity commences and can be extended to include other staff from the CPP who have a quality assurance role and would benefit from this input, up to a maximum of 15 people including the six taking part in the subsequent records reading.
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Recording
All inspection team members have a professional responsibility to maintain accurate records during inspections and we take our recording responsibilities seriously. We record using agreed tools and templates. We use the evidence gathered to reach conclusions and findings and record our rationale.
We do not record the names and identifying details of children and families unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as where we need to do so to ensure that a concern about the child’s safety or welfare is passed on. We do not record individual staff member details other than by designation.
We keep all written material securely and only share it between inspection team members for the purposes of the inspection. We record, store, share and retain information in line with the Care Inspectorate’s policy.
Please also refer to the Care Inspectorate’s core privacy notice.
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Link inspectors and relationship managers
The Care Inspectorate provides a designated link team for local authorities and strategic partnerships. This is because there are multiple services of different types and a need for regular planned contact to discuss emerging issues across the breadth of their work. Link teams consist of a strategic inspector, who is responsible for scrutiny carried out at authority or strategic partnership level; a relationship manager for adult care services and complaints about care services; and a relationship manager for children’s care services and registration.
Relationship managers also provide a designated point of contact for larger providers who operate multiple services.
Managers responsible for services for children also link to each of the six regional collaboratives that have now been established across the country.
Named strategic link inspectors and relationship managers can be found here.
Find information on the link inspector role for council and partnership staff here.
You can get information about the link inspector for a particular local authority area by e-mailing the strategic support team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Continuing care for young people
We have been supporting the Staying Put agenda since 2013 and our role as corporate parents under the Children and Young people (Scotland) Act 2014 includes supporting young people moving from care to adulthood and independence.
We have updated our rules for adult placement services, with changes to fees and combined service status. These changes support young people to remain in their family placement and support providers.
Where a fostering service and an adult placement service operate as one service solely in order to support young people who have been cared for in the family on a fostering basis and who now wish to remain with the same family on a continuing care basis, this will be treated as one service, for the purposes of fees. The level for application and continuation fee will be set at the fostering agency service level. (‘Solely in order to support young people who have been cared for in the family on a fostering basis’ means that the adult placement service does not provide throughcare or aftercare.)
This supports the legislation which states that the accommodation and service should be the same for the young person as they move from being a looked after child to continuing care. On this basis, we are able to treat the services as one. This will mean one fee and one inspection, with a single report published under both categories on our website.
The updated guidance for care services, which includes the policy statement and guidance for staff is available here.
Pre-inspection return (PIR)
This return provides information needed during the preparation phase of the inspection. It includes contextual information in terms of key personnel and structures in relation to:
- CPP members.
- staff involved in integrated children’s services planning.
To enable us to develop the statistically valid case file sample we request information about children and young people receiving services on an agreed date. This will include all children and young people:
- who have been subject to a child protection investigation that has not led to child protection registration. This includes instances where child protection involvement has ended at the initial referral discussion, investigation or child protection planning meeting (previously known as the initial child protection case conference). This excludes instances where concerns have been reported for children, but these have not led to the commencement of a child protection investigation.
- whose names have been placed on the child protection register.
- involved in vulnerable young person’s processes (or equivalent protective process, varying nationally)
- involved in care and risk management processes (or equivalent process, varying nationally)
The request is sent in the form of an excel spreadsheet to be completed electronically. The return should be made in association with all relevant parties (ie. local authority, health, police and Scottish Children’s Reporter).
The PIR will be sent to the identified Inspection Co-ordinator shortly after the notification with return requested within three weeks.
To comply with DPA 2018 and GDPR, the CPP must ensure that any personal data that they send to the Care Inspectorate is:
- adequate - sufficient to properly fulfil our stated purpose;
- relevant - has a link to that purpose; and
- limited to what is necessary - for example, we do not need personal identifiers.
Any personal material that is sent over and above that which is required for the purposes of the inspection may constitute a data breach by the CPP and may be reportable to the Information Commissioner.
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How the framework links to How good is our early learning and childcare
The following table shows how our quality framework for children, childminding and school-aged childcare link to Education Scotland’s ‘How good is our early learning and childcare’ quality indicators.
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Care Inspectorate quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school aged childcare |
Links to How Good Is Our Early Learning & Childcare |
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Quality indicator 1.1 Nurturing Care and Support |
2.4 Personalised support 2.6 Transitions 2.7 Partnerships 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion |
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Quality indicator 1.2 Children are safe and protected |
2.1 Safeguarding and child protection |
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Quality indicator 1.3 Play and learning |
2.2 Curriculum 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessment 2.6 Transitions 3.2 Securing children’s progress 3.3 Developing creativity and skills for life and learning |
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Quality indicator 1.4 Family engagement |
2.5 Family learning 2.6 Transitions 2.7 Partnerships 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion |
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Quality indicator 1.5 Effective transitions |
2.5 Family learning 2.6 Transitions 2.7 Partnerships 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion |
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Quality indicator 2.1 Quality of the setting for care, play and learning |
1.5 Management of resources to promote equity. |
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Quality indicator 2.2: Children experience high quality facilities |
1.1 Self-evaluation for self-improvement 1.4 Leadership of management and practitioners 1.5 Management of resources to promote equity |
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Quality indicator 3.1 Quality assurance and improvement are led well |
1.1 Self-evaluation for self-improvement 1.3 Leadership of change 1.5 Management of resources to promote equity |
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Quality indicator 3.2 Leadership of play and learning |
1.2 Leadership of learning 1.3 Leadership of change 1.4 Leadership and management of practitioners |
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Quality indicator 3.3 Leadership and management of staff and resources |
1.5 Management of resources to promote equity |
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Quality indicator 4.1 Staff skills, knowledge, and values |
1.3 Leadership of change 1.4 Leadership and management of practitioners |
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Quality indicator 4.2 Staff recruitment |
1.3 Leadership of change 1.4 Leadership and management of practitioners |
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Quality indicator 4.3 Staff deployment |
1.3 Leadership of change 1.4 Leadership and management of practitioners |
Engagement with children and young people
The Care Inspectorate is committed to purposeful engagement with children and young people, strengthening how we listen to and act upon their views and experiences. We want to put their perspective at the heart of the inspection. Based on our work with our young inspection volunteers, we have developed a range of approaches which enable us to reach out to children and young people and hear about their experiences of services and the differences that these have made to their life chances. See our approach to engagement.
We want to gather information that tells us about impact and outcomes, and how services have improved the well-being of children and young people in need of support and extra help to keep safe.
We recognise that efforts are made across CPPs to listen to the views of children and young people. A meeting between the Care Inspectorate’s inspection lead and the CPP’s co-ordinator at an early stage in the inspection planning process is invaluable in helping to identify individuals and groups of children and young people as well as the key services that support them.
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