We are CELCIS

CELCIS is a leading improvement and innovation centre in Scotland.

We improve children’s lives by supporting people and organisations to drive long-lasting change in the services they need, and the practices used by people responsible for their care.

Button link to our strategy
The home for Protecting Children

The home for Protecting Children

Find out more about child protection policy and practice in Scotland.

Visit Protecting Children

News

Scottish Government

New national campaign to find more foster carers launched

12 May 2025
The Scottish Government has today (12 May) launched a new national campaign - Ordinary can be extraordinary for a child in foste…
Scottish Government

Latest statistics published on children in care in Scotland

22 April 2025
The Scottish Government has today (22 April) published the latest official annual Children's Social Work Statistics for Scotland…
Scottish Government

Latest child protection statistics for Scotland published

26 March 2025
The Scottish Government has today (26 March 2024) published the latest official annual Children's Social Work Statistics for Sco…
Scottish Government

New information guides to help children, young people and families understand child protection processes

20 February 2025
New guides to help children, young people and parents and carers in Scotland to learn about child protection have been published…

Read all news

Resources

Supporting planning for the future of foster care in Scotland

CELCIS, the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection, was asked by Scottish Government in 2023 to compile a review of relevant literature to assist future planning for foster care in Scotland, for the gov…

Response by CELCIS to the Scottish Government’s consultation on developing a universal definition of ‘care experience’

Our response is underpinned by research evidence, practice experience, and extensive insight and intelligence from people with lived experience and from professional practice. This has been gathered through our long-stan…

New research highlights the need for increased support for Scotland’s kinship families

A new report – Growing Up in Kinship Care – published by CELCIS, the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection based at the University of Strathclyde, for SCADR, the Scottish Centre for Administrative Dat…

Children's Services Reform Research Concluding report

This concluding report, published in December 2023, brings together key themes and learning from across the study’s findings and determines that there are a range of elements which contribute to creating the optimal cond…

Blog

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Why face-to-face support matters to foster carers

In this blog post for Foster Carer Fortnight 2025, Anne Currie, Assistant Director for Scotland at The Fostering Network, discusses why the theme of ‘the power…

May 2025
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Is the picture getting any clearer?

CELCIS’s Data Lead, Micky Anderson, considers the latest children’s social work statistics in Scotland, looking at newly available data, and why additional…

May 2025
How the Scottish Child Interview Model is improving experiences for children and young people

How the Scottish Child Interview Model is improving experiences for children and young people

The Scottish Child Interview Model is a new model of practice for interviewing children who are victims or witnesses of crime, abuse, neglect or exploitation…

April 2025
New indicators and new insights. What do the latest child protection statistics tell us?

New indicators and new insights. What do the latest child protection statistics tell us?

In this blog post, Dr Alex McTier, Evidence and Evaluation Specialist at CELCIS, takes a closer look at Scotland’s Child Protection 2023-2024 Statistics to…

March 2025
Family pictures on the wall and a strong sense of self – growing up in kinship care

Family pictures on the wall and a strong sense of self – growing up in kinship care

In this blog post for Kinship Care Week 2025, CH, a CELCIS Consultant with lived experience discusses the importance of maintaining links to family and the…

March 2025
My port in a storm – the relationship that helped to shape who I am today

My port in a storm – the relationship that helped to shape who I am today

In this blog post for Care Day 2025, Beth-Anne McDowall, a CELCIS Consultant with lived experience, discusses the power of long-lasting relationships and the…

February 2025