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.

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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

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Ten years of impact for care experienced learners celebrated with launch of new national job profile for Virtual School Head Teachers

05 June 2025
Scotland’s Virtual School Head Teachers are today (5 June) marking ten years of positive impact for care experienced children an…
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…

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Resources

Towards modernising adoption in Scotland: A focused mapping review

This review of current adoption legislation, policy and practice considers what works well, what challenges and issues there are, and what factors should be considered in thinking about the future of adoption. It identif…

Children's Services Reform Research study: Scotland’s Children’s Services Landscape: The Views and Experiences of the Children’s Services Workforce

This final part of the Children’s Services Reform Research study explores the experiences of people working to support children, young people and families in communities across Scotland to help answer the question ‘What …

Children's Services Reform Research study: Case Studies of Transformational Reform Programmes

For the second strand of the Children's Service Reform Research study, we have developed six cases studies of a range of approaches to transformational reform programmes in different places.

Children's Services Reform Research study: Mapping Integration and Outcomes Across Scotland: A Statistical Analysis

For the third strand of the Children's Services Reform Research study, we have looked at whether there is an association between the approaches taken towards structural integration over the last decade in Scotland throug…

Blog

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Looking beyond the data at Continuing Care and Aftercare

The recently released Children’s Social Work Statistics for Scotland includes data about children in care and data on care leavers. Here, Kirsty Doull, CELCIS’s…

July 2025
What has fostering for 20 years taught me about relationships?

What has fostering for 20 years taught me about relationships?

In this blog post for Foster Care Fortnight, Amy , an intensive foster carer who provides care and support to children and young people with significant and…

May 2025
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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