Reflections from the 2025 secure care census

In this blog, Participation, Engagement and Policy Advisor Julia Swann reflects on the findings of the recently published secure care census results. 

 

The landscape of secure care in Scotland has seen many changes since 2018 when the first secure care census was undertaken. With the recent publication of the 2025 secure care census, it’s timely to look back at the things that have progressed – and the things that have arguably stood still or worsened. Some key milestones stand out, including the co-production of the Secure Care Pathway and Standards, the Independent Care Review and the promise, the UNCRC Incorporation (Scotland) Act 2024, and the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024. These changes (among many others) to legislation, policy and practice have taken place within a period of uncertainty, adaptation, and crisis within the wider sociopolitical and economic context of Scotland and the UK. So perhaps unsurprisingly, there have also been changes to the demographic of children accommodated within secure care in Scotland. These changes are analysed and discussed within ‘Changing faces and heightened ACEs: results from the 2025 secure care census’ which was published last week. This new report provides valuable quantitative evidence which supports changes that have been observed throughout CYCJ’s participation work in secure care centres since the removal of under-18s from Young Offenders Institutions (YOI) under the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024.

Almost 2 years on from the implementation of this new regulation, our participation work with children in secure care often looks and feels different. As the census points out, the overall number of children in secure care has decreased: 51 children were recorded in the 2025 census, with 53 currently living in secure care at the time of writing (SAN Scotland, 2026). A marked reduction in cross-border placements coupled with reduced capacity in some centres have contributed to this change. The typical demographic of children in secure care also looks quite different. As observed in our work, and reflected in the census, there is now a significantly higher proportion of boys, 79% of whom are aged 15-17. The proportion of 17 year olds in secure care has increased from 14% in 2019 to 39% in 2025.

With secure care centres now frequently providing support and education to older boys, are the same practices that have been designed around the needs of a different cohort still suitable?
Everyday practice in secure care should be based around nurture, safety, and holistic approaches to promoting children’s welfare. The care provided in these settings, alongside the decision to legislate for the removal of children from YOI, are rooted in the principles outlined in the Kilbrandon Report that have now come to shape Scotland’s approach to care and justice for children. As discussed in the census, the actual distinction between the backgrounds and experiences of children entering secure care through ‘welfare’ and ‘justice’ routes is at least fuzzy – perhaps arguably non-existent. The census clearly points out that across the secure care population, regardless of the reason for entering secure care, children face similar risks and adversities. With this in mind, the changing population within secure care should not give reason for increased focus on risk, nor should it negate the need for that same nurture and safety that has typically been offered.

From my experience of working with children in secure care through a wide range of participation opportunities, older children tend to highlight the need for more age appropriate support, education, and activities during their time in secure care. These children – whilst each having individual needs, skills, and interests – frequently discuss their wishes for things like better access to vocational training, better support for substance use issues, and ultimately to be treated in a way that they feel is appropriate to their age. All of these things involve nurture and safety. This is clearly pointed out in the Secure Care Pathway and Standards, which outlines that all children in secure care should feel that the adults working with them can relate to them, understand their needs, and provide meaningful opportunities for development.

Shifts in overall demographic as evidenced in the census might lead some practitioners to focus on potential risk. Legislative changes like those seen in the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024 might also lead some practitioners to perceive (consciously or unconsciously) 16 and 17 year old boys in secure care as children who ‘would have been in YOI’ (though, as pointed out in the census, it was not uncommon for 16 and 17 year old children to be placed in secure care through justice measures prior to this enactment). The census also highlights the marked increase in adversity faced by children who have entered secure care. Regardless of the route by which a child has come to need secure accommodation, it is a cause for concern that the amongst the children who were known to have been living in relative poverty, some 94% had encountered four of more adverse childhood experiences. The census suggests that the children who have caused the most serious levels of harm in Scotland are facing a range of interconnected personal and systemic challenges.

Whilst the demographic of children in secure care is changing, it is imperative that those principles of care, nurture, and safety are protected. What children are frequently saying does need to change however, is the way in which these principles are put into practice. Taken together with the picture of increasing adversity children are facing, it’s more important than ever that we get it right for children in secure care so they can thrive now and in the future – and we will only do this by listening to what children need.

And so it is reassuring for me as someone who regularly works with children in secure care that the census recommends many of the things that children are repeatedly asking for. It brings me hope that collectively we can support children of all ages in secure care to find safety, feel respected, and develop sustainable skills and interests that they can carry with them into their future.

Read Changing faces and heightened aces: results from the 2025 secure care census here.