Secure Care in Scotland
Secure accommodation is among the most intensive and restrictive alternative forms of care available to children in Scotland, whereby children up to the age of 18 live within a locked care setting, having been placed there through the authorisation of the CSWO, the Children’s Hearings system or justice system, as a result of the significant level of risk that they pose to themselves and/or others. Secure care aims to provide therapeutic trauma responsive support, care, education and health to keep children safe and to meet their extremely high level of need and risk.
Robust regulation and monitoring processes are in place to ensure that children are only placed within secure care when absolutely necessary to manage their risk and this should be for the shortest practicable period of time. Children should receive appropriate transition support during and following any period of time in secure care.
Children in secure care have almost always experienced childhood adversity and challenges such as significant loss, abuse, neglect, trauma, and disrupted home and school experiences.
Since January 2026 there have been 74 secure care places in Scotland. Four independent charitable organisations provide this care:
- Good Shepherd Centre (Bishopton) 18 places
- Kibble Education and Care Centre (Paisley) 18 places
- Rossie Young People’s Trust (Montrose) 26 places
- St Mary’s Kenmure (Bishopbriggs) 12 places
For updates of the current availability of vacant places, please visit the Secure Accommodation Network Scotland website here.
Secure Care Transport
There are currently eight private transport providers who operate a service within Scotland. Information on providers is available here.
Secure Care Pathway and Standards Scotland
The Secure Care Pathway and Standards Scotland (referred to as Pathway and Standards) were launched in October 2020. They set out what all children in or on the edges of secure care should expect across the continuum of intensive supports and services. They apply to all children at risk of being placed in secure care irrespective of their route, and to all individuals and agencies supporting these children. The Pathway and Standards comprise of 44 Standards focusing on the areas that children highlighted as the most important to them and had the greatest impact on their experiences. The following resources were developed to support implementation:
- A simple self-evaluation, learning and improvement template
- A half-day workshop session to raise awareness of the Pathway and Standards and to enable participants to contribute local areas or agencies baseline self-evaluation and plans for improvement (CYCJ continue to be available to facilitate sessions)
- A website co-designed with children which includes information on the Pathway and Standards; quotes on why these matter to children and young people; associated legislation, policy and guidance; and illustrative links to the Health and Social Care Standards and How Good Is Our School? Quality Indicators. This resource continues to be updated so please share any feedback or questions.
Secure Care Forum (est. 2026)
Background to the groups facilitated by CYCJ related to Secure Care.
The Secure Care Champions Group was formed in 2018 during the development of the Secure Care Pathway and Standards. This group brought together key stakeholders from the secure centres and local authorities who were immersed in the implementation of the standards. Following the launch of the standards in 2020, the meetings focussed on each of the standards and discussions around how they were being met and any barriers. A review of the Secure Care Standards was undertaken by the Care Inspectorate in 2023, the report is available here Secure care pathway review 2023.pdf.
The Secure Care Practitioners Forum was set up to provide a safe space for practitioners to discuss good practice and challenges. Membership included practitioners working in secure care, in the community with young people on the cusp of secure care and third sector partners who were working in the secure centres.
Attendance at both groups has decreased over the past few years therefore careful consideration has been taken to evaluate both groups. Feedback was gathered from members of each group at the start of 2026, and we are grateful to those who took the time to respond. Going forward both groups will merge to form one group, the Secure Care Forum with meetings taking place on a bi-monthly basis.
The forum aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and expertise among members and key speakers on issues relating to Secure Care. It will provide updates on relevant legislation, standards, and professional practice, while continuing to promote and embed the Secure Care Pathways and Standards across both secure care and community-based services. The forum will encourage partnership working to support rights-respecting outcomes for children, young people, and practitioners. It will also highlights local and international research on issues related to deprivation of liberty and promote multi-agency and innovative approaches to achieving the aspirations of Reimagining Secure Care. In addition, the forum will serve as a consultative platform to offer advice and insight, while providing a safe and supportive space for professionals to share practice challenges.
Dates/times for the Secure Care Forum will be distributed to current members and if you would be interested in joining, contact details are below. Updates will be detailed in our monthly e-bulletin.
Contact
Please contact the CYCJ team at cycj@strath.ac.uk with any related enquiries or to discuss collaborative working opportunities.
Related blogs and resources on the Standards
Secure Care Pathway and Standards: Coproduction process and implementation
plans: Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care
Info Sheet: Secure Care Pathway and Standards Scotland
Launching the Secure Standards in style
Supporting secure care in East Ayrshire
Scotland – time for open hearts and minds
Coming soon…the Secure Care Pathway and Standards Scotland
STARR
STARR is Scotland’s only curated space for secure care experienced children, young people and adults. They are there to help inform, advise, challenge and change the pathways into, during and after secure care. Find out more. Contact julia.swann@strath.ac.uk.
Secure Care in Scotland – background
The Secure Care National Project (2015 to 2018)
Led by Alison Gough, as Secure Care National Advisor, the project worked with a wide range of sector leads, partners and care experienced young people to:
- ensure the effective delivery of service to children in secure care
- review current trends, achievements and risks
- make recommendations to partners about future configuration of the secure estate
Recommendations from the Project led to the establishment of a national Strategic Board to provide leadership and direction, giving a voice to care experienced young people and involving them in driving a long-term programme of transformation for secure care and approaches to young people in and on the edges of secure care in Scotland. As part of this, the STARR (secure care experienced advisory) group was created, bringing together adults and young people with lived experience of the care system.
Find out more about the work of the Secure Care National Project.
Related reports and documents
Secure Care in Scotland: A Scoping Study
Secure Care in Scotland: Looking Ahead
Chief Social Work Officers and secure care
Secure Care in Scotland: Young People’s Voices
Secure Care Strategic Board: report to Scottish Ministers
Secure Care Strategic Board minutes
Secure Care in Scotland: Cross border placements
Secure Care Practice Development at CYCJ (2019 onwards)
CYCJ has continued to work with partners to:
- support and coordinate design, delivery and implementation of the Secure Care National Standards
- support improvements, and transformational change, in response to young people where there are extreme needs, vulnerabilities and actual risk of significant harm to self and/or others
- continue links with the STARR group
- build on research, evidence and data analysis
This work has fed into the Secure Care Group that was established to provide strategic oversight to ensure that the remaining tasks of the Secure Care Strategic Board are completed and that there is no overlap or duplication of effort with the work of the Independent Care Review.
Reports
Statutory Duties in Secure Accommodation: Unlocking Children’s Rights (Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, June 2021)
ACEs, Distance and Sources of Resilience: Results from the 2019 Scottish Secure Care Census
ACEs, Places and Status: Results from the 2018 Scottish Secure Care Census
Quality Framework for secure care accommodation centres (Care Inspectorate)
Submission on behalf of CYCJ to the Justice Committee on Secure Care Places for Children and Young People in Scotland. View the resulting report here.
Blogs and Information Sheets
From little acorns… (Fiona Duncan, Chair of The Promise)
Restorative Practice in the Good Shepherd Centre
Working together to achieve a rights respecting dream
Good deeds from the Good Shepherd Centre
Deprivation of Liberty in Northern Ireland