Residential child care in Scotland
All children have the right to grow up safe and cared for.
In Scotland, there are clear responsibilities and duties to ensure that every child can be supported and cared for whatever their circumstances, and to also protect children from any potential harm and neglect.
Local authorities in Scotland must work with children, young people and their families to put in place the support that is needed. Where children’s welfare is safeguarded under the care of a local authority in Scotland, the legal phrase ‘looked after’ is used. There are many reasons why children and young people can become ‘looked after’ by their local authority. When this happens they may be ‘looked after’ at home with their family and supported by the local authority, or cared for by foster carers or kinship carers (who are family relatives or close family friends). Or they could be cared for in places where children can stay supported by live-in carers, or they could be supported in secure care to protect their wellbeing and safety.
Residential child care houses provide children and young people with a safe place to live, either together or without other children, away from their families. These homes are designed to provide care, accommodation, support, and sometimes, education, in nurturing environments, to meet the individual needs of each child. This type of care for children and young people is supported by a workforce of trained carers, who provide round-the-clock care. The reason for a child or young person being cared for in residential child care and how long they will live there will be different for each child or young person and depends on their own individual needs. Around 11% of all children in care, or just over 1,300 children and young people are currently living in residential children’s homes in Scotland.
In Scotland, young people have the legal right to remain where they are living while in care until they reach the age of 21, only if this is right for them and what they want to do.
Relevant legislation
In Scotland there are key legal provisions in place to protect the rights, care, safety and wellbeing of all children and young people.
Two pieces of this legislation underpin the provision of children’s residential care in Scotland:
- The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, which is the legislative framework for all children’s services, with an emphasis on the care, wellbeing, and welfare of children in Scotland, and
- The Children and Young People(Scotland) Act 2014, which was introduced to strengthen and support children’s rights, including establishing in law roles and responsibilities of public authorities and bodies to be ‘Corporate Parents’ for children in care.
The decision for any child or young person to be cared for in residential child care is taken by a court in emergency circumstances, or otherwise through a Scotland’s Children’s Hearing System process.
Other relevant legislation includes the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which provides important protection for the human rights of children and young people in Scotland. This makes it unlawful for public authorities, including the Scottish Government, to act incompatibly with the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 makes changes to the law relating to the care of children and the involvement of children in the criminal justice system.
In addition, in Scotland, young people have the legal right to remain where they are living while in care until the age of 21, if it is the right thing for them and this is what they want to do. This is called ‘Continuing Care’ and is enshrined in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions
When might children be cared for in residential child care?
Children are cared for in residential care when it has been assessed that this might best meet their needs and:
- their care is subject to a Compulsory Supervision Order decided by a Children’s Hearing
- there is a non-compulsory agreement made for their care between a local authority and their parents under Section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995
- it has been assessed that they are unable to return to the care of their parents and so a local authority holds a Permanence Order for their care.
All children being cared for by their local authority have the right to be consulted about what is happening to them and their needs, and their views should be taken seriously and included in a non-statutory, personalised Child’s Plan which is written for them and designed to help to identify and provide the right kind of help, when they need it.
Frequently asked questions
