For some looked after young people, residential care is the most appropriate placement and local authorities should make sure that they have a range of provision to meet the needs of individual young people.
Residential childcare establishments provide care for young people who are generally of secondary school age, although some may be younger.
Most young people who live in a residential establishment will have been assessed as needing to be cared for outwith their family home. They are placed in residential care by the local authority, usually after a children's hearing.
Young people living in residential establishments are usually educated in schools nearby. At some establishments, however, education is provided on site.
Residential care homes are inspected by the Care Commission to ensure they meet the national care standards.
The latest statistics show that on 31st March 2008, 1,613 children were living in residential care, representing 11 percent of all looked after children. The proportion of looked after children in residential care is now at its lowest since data has been available.
You can view the full statistical report here.
Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care
The Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC) is a partnership of educational institutions - Robert Gordon University, University of Strathclyde, Langside College - and Who Cares? Scotland, a young people's advocacy organisation. SIRCC was established in April 2000 and is funded by the Scottish Government. SIRCC's aim is to influence and improve the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people living in residential care in Scotland. It provides specialised professional development training, certificate and degree courses and consultancy services, and undertakes a wide range of research projects. SIRCC also hosts a variety of events and conferences, provides opportunities for the sector to come together to share best practice, and aims to offer support and leadership to staff, managers, training officers, heads of care, and policy makers in the field.
National Residential Child Care Initiative
The Scottish Government would like every care home to be the first and best choice for children who need residential care, not a place of last resort. To make this happen, the government has asked the Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care (SIRCC) to lead a multi-agency National Residential Child Care Initiative (NRCCI), aimed at shaping the future direction of services to suit children's needs. The NRCCI will focus on key questions:
- how well the residential resources we have match the needs of children and young people;
- the skills required of the residential childcare workforce;
- how to ensure more effective commissioning of services; and
- how to address the challenges facing the secure care sector (N.B. Securing Our Future Initiative reported in February 2009).
The NRCCI will make recommendations to the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) by the end of 2009.
You can find out more about the initiative on SIRCC's website.
Getting it right for every child
The Scottish Government has set out its vision for children that means they should be safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, respected, responsible and included.
GIRFEC is the major programme for how this vision can be achieved.
It is the job of councils and their community planning partners to ensure that looked after children, young people and care leavers have a positive experience of growing up, with every effort made to turn around their early experiences which have brought them into the care system.
Getting it right for every child promotes action to improve the well-being of all children and young people. Eight areas of well-being have been identified as areas in which children and young people need to progress in order to do well now and in the future.
Getting it right for every child reflects an approach to working with children and young people that is underpinned by shared principles and values. It recognises children's rights and builds on the strategic pillars of Scottish Government policy for children and young people and the concordat.
Assessment is at the heart of GIRFEC and how services can best match a child's needs.
Who Cares? Scotland
Who Cares? Scotland is the consumer voice for children and young people who are looked after and accommodated in Scotland.
Its remit is:
- to provide an advocacy service throughout Scotland, accessible by all young people with experience of being looked after in public care;
- to provide information to them about their rights and responsibilities;
- to enable these young people to come together to identify issues of importance to them and to campaign for improved policy and practice; and
- to ensure that their opinions are included in all consultations and discussions which affect their lives.
Since it was formed, the organisation has been involved in campaigning and promoting the views and experiences of young people at a local and national level.
Young people form half of the membership of the board of directors, including the position of chair and vice-chair.
Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (the Care Commission)
The Care Commission was established in April 2002 under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 to regulate all adult, child and independent healthcare services in Scotland. Scottish ministers developed the national care standards to ensure everyone in Scotland receives the same high quality of care no matter where they live.