Reasons to be cheerful - Factors making a positive difference to children in residential care in Scotland

Aug 20, 2026

The Care Inspectorate, the regulator for children’s care homes in Scotland, identifies key factors that strengthen evaluations of high-performing services. Residential childcare providers are helping children and young people experience safe, loving childhoods where needs are met and rights upheld. Shared in an online session in April 2023, the article explains why optimism is warranted, highlighting responses grounded in compassion and love despite staffing, trauma, and wider public-sector pressures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Promise and inspection quality indicators

Relationships

Loving, stable relationships and trust

Knowledge and understanding of trauma

Training, trauma-informed care plans, and co-regulation

Received: 12/09/2023 Accepted: 21/09/2023 Keywords: Relationships, leadership, understanding trauma, well considered matching, optimism, Scotland. DOI: [https://doi.org/1](https://doi.org/1)[ ](https://doi.org/1)[0.17868/strath.0](0.17868/strath.0)[ ](0.17868/strath.0)0087200 Short Article Reasons to be cheerful: Factors making a positive difference to children in residential care in Scotland Mary Morris Care Inspectorate Abstract: The Care Inspectorate, the regulator for care homes forchildren in Scotland, has analysed some of the key factors that contribute to our evaluations of high performing services. These services are making a positive difference to the children and young people living in them. Many residential childcare services in Scotland are helping children experience a good, loving childhood, with their needs met and their rights upheld. This article will outline these factors and hopefully convey a sense of optimism regarding residential childcare in Scotland. These key messages were shared in an online session in April 2023. Introduction There are some serious challenges facing the residential sector in Scotland in 2023. Staff recruitment and retention is complex and difficult. While Scotland has welcomed the arrival of unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people, this work has created additional pressure on the sector. The levels of trauma experienced by many children and young people are high. Residential care operates within the wider public sector resource and cost of living crisis. Despite these very real difficulties, this article outlines that there are reasons to be cheerful and that many residential services are responding to children and young people with compassion and love. The Promise Oversight Board (2023) acknowledges that change is happening, and that progress is being made, with a commitment to keep the Promise embedded in many organisations. The report also highlights the importance of hope and encouragement. This article aims to support that message. The Promise (2020a) highlighted that if children are not able to live with their families, then the focus of their care must be on building childhoods that are underpinned by loving relationships, fun, play, education, and opportunity. The Care Inspectorate has tried to capture these messages in their current inspection methodology with key quality indicators 7.1 and 7.2 (2022b) focusing on the extent to which children and young people are safe, feel loved and get the most out of life, and on leaders and staff having the capacity and resources to meet and champion children and young people’s needs and rights. When we look at services that are doing well in meeting these aspirations, some key messages emerge, some of which this article summarises. The Care Inspectorate believe that these messages celebrate the positive work that is going on in the sector and are hopeful and optimistic. These messages were outlined in a Care Inspectorate webinar (2023) . Relationships In high performing residential services that support children to have a good childhood, stable loving relationships thrive. Staff working with children have time to let loving relationships develop and to be sustained, they are supported to do so, and understand trauma-informed approaches. Children feel safe and trust the adults caring for them. Affection, warmth, fun, empathy, nurturing, anda gentle response to distress are integral to the culture of these services. Children experience relationships as authentic and meaningful. The Pinky Promise (2020b, p. 9) stated: 'What is important to children is that children are loved and feel loved. Children said they want relationships that are important to them to be protected and allowed to grow.’ Positive caring relationships between the adults and children in residential services are not new. The increased awareness of the importance of these relationships and approaches to support them in many services is

FAQs

What does the Care Inspectorate focus on when assessing high-performing residential services?

It examines key factors that contribute to evaluations of high-performing services, emphasizing safety, feeling loved, and how well children and young people get the most out of life.

Why are relationships considered central in residential care settings described as doing well?

In high-performing services, stable loving relationships thrive because staff have time, support, and understanding of trauma-informed approaches, creating a culture of warmth, empathy, and gentle responses to distress.

How does understanding trauma change day-to-day practice for staff?

Training helps staff link behaviour to trauma, tune into how children are feeling, enable co-regulation, and provide care plans that respond with individualized, attuned, non-punitive strategies based on safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, and empowerment.

Aug 20, 2026

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