Community justice social work: inspections of community payback orders
Between September 2018 and November 2020, we completed five inspections of justice social work services with a particular focus on community payback orders in these areas:
The inspection guide for these inspections summarises the activities involved.
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The focus of our joint inspection
The focus of our joint inspection - children and young people subject to compulsory orders and living at home with their parents
Over the past four years, the Care Inspectorate and scrutiny partners have undertaken 15 joint inspections of services for children and young people at risk of harm. We will shortly be publishing an overview report. Aside from joint inspections, we also undertook a series of thematic reviews on specific topics including secure care; cross border placements; services for disabled children and young people and services for care experienced young people.
The last time that we carried out joint inspections of services for children who are looked after was between 2018 and 2020, in our joint inspections of services for children in need of care and protection. In our overview report we noted that:
- Children and young people subject to compulsory supervision orders and living at home with parents experienced the least improvement in their wellbeing, when compared to children looked after away from home in kinship, foster or residential care.
- Partnerships struggled to find the evidence to demonstrate tangible improvements in the wellbeing of looked after children and young people and in understanding performance trends concerning different looked after groups.
- There had been some progress in narrowing the educational attainment gap between looked after children and their peers, however, it remained too great.
- Not all care experienced children and young people had the same opportunities to share their views and meaningfully influence service delivery.
- The collaborative leadership of child protection was much more robust and embedded than that for corporate parenting.
There are also a range of other evidence sources that indicate there is a need for further exploration of the impact of services for children and young people subject to compulsory supervision orders and living at home with parents. In particular, Scottish Government’s publication, Educational Outcomes for looked after children 2022/23, evidences lower school attendance rates, higher school exclusion rates, lower positive destination rates and poorer attainment rates for children looked after at home, when compared to the wider group of looked after children.
By considering the experiences of children who are subject to compulsory supervision orders and living at home with their parents, we aim to better understand what is helping to improve outcomes for children and young people and what is getting in the way.
Our three key lines of enquiry are:
- Children and young people are well supported to live with their families. This support helps to keep them safe, overcome difficulties and makes a positive difference in their lives.
- The services children and young people receive are well planned and delivered in a way which is compassionate and by staff who put children and young people at the heart of decision-making. People in the workforce ensure that children, young people and parents are meaningfully listened to, heard and included.
- Leaders and managers work well together to create and maintain a joined-up system of care which delivers the right services to each child at the right time. This provides children and young people, their parents and the workforce with help, support and accountability.
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Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors
The Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors is available on the Education Scotland website.
It is important to note that the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland will begin to use the new framework for inspection from 22 September 2025. This will allow settings to become familiar with its content and structure. The final version of the framework will be formally launched in autumn 2025.
Read more about this in our latest joint statement, published on 24 June.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) we have compiled to accompany the framework. These address some of the key points raised with us so far, via stakeholders and during our recent workshops and webinars. We will keep these FAQs updated as new questions arise. We have also produced these FAQs on self-evaluation.
When is the framework being launched and where can I find it?
In January 2025, the Quality improvement framework for early learning and childcare sectors, was released to give settings an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the content before it is used for inspection.
The framework is currently under refinement and we will communicate any changes made when the final version is published.
The framework is available online and the refined version will be launched on 18 September 2025 and used in inspection from 22 September 2025. It can be accessed here.
Have recent inspections been done using the old framework or the new one?
Inspections by the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate have been carried out using the previous frameworks up to and including 18 September 2025. Thereafter, all inspections will be undertaken using only the new framework.
The Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors undertook pilot visits/inspections to test the quality indicators of the new Quality improvement framework for early learning and childcare sectors. In total, 75 pilot visits/inspections took place across 28 local authorities between February and April 2025.
Piloting the new framework allowed the Care Inspectorate inspectors and HM Inspectors to test it in live settings – from exploring the use of individual quality indicators to gathering feedback.
Thank you to every setting that volunteered to be part of these pilots.
HM Inspectors will undertake a small number of pilot inspections in September and October 2025 to further refine the inspection methodology for their single inspections using the new framework.
I am a primary school headteacher with a nursery class. Will my nursery class be inspected using the Quality improvement framework for the early leaning and childcare sectors?
Yes, HM Inspectors will begin using the Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors in their pilot inspections from the 22 September 2025. From October 2025 the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors will both use the Quality improvement framework in all shared inspections.
I am due to have a further inspection from HM Inspectors or a follow up inspection from Care Inspectorate. What will the focus of my inspection be based on?
The further inspection or follow up inspection will focus on the areas for improvement and or requirements from the previous inspection. These will have been noted in previous letters and/or inspection reports.
What changes are being made to inspection methodology?
Both inspectorates have reviewed shared inspection approaches to increase collaboration and reduce unnecessary duplication. One of the changes being made to help reduce pre-inspection workload is that we will not ask for a self-evaluation paper in advance of inspection.
Is the ‘digital framework’ the same as the ‘shared framework’?
Yes, when we say the framework is digital, we are referring to the Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors (a shared framework) being hosted online.
The digital nature of the framework offers several advantages: it simplifies searching for individual quality indicators, provides easy access to best practice guidance and ensures you always have the most current version when accessed online.
Will there be a printable version of the framework?
There is an option to download a printable PDF copy of the quality framework directly from the framework itself.
For those who prefer a printed PDF version of the framework, it's important to be alert to framework update communications so you can keep your printed PDF version up to date.
The framework is currently under refinement and we will communicate any changes made when the final version is published. We recommend that you wait until the launch of the framework in September before you print any sections.
Is the shared framework replacing How good is our early learning and childcare and A quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school-aged childcare?
Yes. From 22 September 2025, the Care Inspectorate a nd HM Inspectors w ill be using the new ‘Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors’ only. This framework replaces both How good is our early learning and childcare and A quality framework for daycare of children, ‘childminding and school-aged childcare.
Can we start using the new framework now?
Yes, many settings have already begun to use the Quality improvement framework for early learning and childcare settings to support their self-evaluation.
Is it ok to continue to use the current framework until September?
We understand that settings will adopt the new quality improvement framework when it best suits them, and that there will be a transition period as settings move away from How good is our early learning and childcare and A quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school-aged childcare.
From 22 September 2025, the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland will be using the new ‘Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors’ only.
Not having numbered quality indicators makes referencing throughout multiple documents quite challenging/time consuming. Can we create our own coding system?
To meet user accessibility requirements, quality indicators are not numbered, and we encourage using their full titles.
We encourage you to focus on the wording of each quality indictor, for example, 'nurturing care and support'. However, if developing a coding system is helpful in your setting, you are free to do so.
We understand the framework may still feel unfamiliar, making it challenging to grasp initially. To help, we have created visual tables of the framework's headings and quality indicators. We hope these visuals support you in seeing the holistic nature of the framework and how all the different quality indictors contribute to quality practice.
Early learning and childcare
Heading |
Leadership |
Children thrive and develop in quality spaces |
Children play and learn |
Children are supported to achieve |
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Childminding
Heading |
Leadership |
Children thrive and develop in quality spaces |
Children play and learn |
Children are supported to achieve |
| Quality indicators |
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School-aged childcare
Heading |
Leadership |
Children thrive and develop in quality spaces |
Children play and learn |
Children are supported to achieve |
| Quality indicators |
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Will we be inspected on all quality indicators? Will we be told which quality indicators are focused on prior to inspections taking place?
The Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland issued a joint statement on 24 June 2025, specifying the quality indicators each inspectorate intends to inspect against. The complete statement is available here.
How many themes will be covered under each quality indicator?
All themes under each of the inspected against quality indicators will be considered.
Will reports reflect the new framework?
From22 September 2025, reports from both Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate will reflect the ‘Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors’.
What willshared inspection reports look like?
Inspection reports are being updated to align with the Quality improvement framework for the early learning and childcare sectors. They will continue to offer a summary of inspection findings to support your continuous improvement journey.
Will the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors carry out separate inspections?
Yes, both organisations will continue to undertake their own inspections, as well as shared inspections.
Which service types will be inspected by Care Inspectorate, and which will be inspected by HM Inspectors?
Both organisations will retain their current roles and responsibilities. The Care Inspectorate will continue to inspect all early learning and childcare (ELC) settings, including childminders and school-age childcare, regardless of whether they provide funded ELC or not.
HM Inspectors will inspect settings providing funded ELC (excluding childminders).
Both organisations will use the new framework for single and shared inspections from 22 September 2025.
Why are there not weak illustrations for all QIs?
In response to stakeholder feedback, the inspectorates have developed weak illustrations for all of the quality indicators. These will be included in the framework's launch version this September.
Why is there no separate transitions QI?
Both inspectorates recognise the importance of transitions at all stages of development and learning. We are currently refining the framework, and transitions has been considered. It is a key focus as we develop the final version, which will launch on 1 September 2025.
We will provide further support and guidance on how this is exemplified in the framework in future communications and engagement sessions.
Will the Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors use shared evaluation criteria?
The Care Inspectorate and HM Inspectors worked together to develop shared criteria. The criteria has been refined following the pilot inspections and will be integrated into the framework for its launch in September.
While we will share an evaluation criteria, the frequency of inspections based on evaluations will continue to differ based on each inspectorate roles and responsibilities. For example, if a funded provider of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) does not achieve "good" or higher evaluations from the Care Inspectorate, the Care Inspectorate will aim to revisit the service within the following inspection year. This approach is designed to align with the Scottish Early Learning and Childcare National Standard.
Will there be support for settings with their own self-evaluation using the new framework?
The Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland delivered sessions on self-evaluation using the new framework in May 2025. A recording of one of the webinars is available on our YouTube channel, and plans for further engagement around self-evaluation are being developed. Details of future sessions will be shared through the usual communications channels
Is there a Gaelic version of the new framework?
We aim to make a Gaelic version of the framework available when the framework is launched in September 2025.
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Learning reviews
The Care Inspectorate, on behalf of the Scottish Government, acts as a central repository for all learning reviews carried out by child protection, adult protection and public protection committees in Scotland.
As part of our general duty of furthering improvement in the quality of social services, the Care Inspectorate is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of the processes for each learning review and providing observations to individual chief officer groups and protection committees. This forms part of the Care Inspectorate’s improvement remit. The key aim in relation to learning reviews is to assist the sector in its continual development and improvement of the learning review approach.
National Guidance for Adult Protection Committees; Undertaking Learning Reviews was published in May 2022. The revised National Guidance for Child Protection Committees for Undertaking Learning Reviews was published in 2024. Both guidance documents clearly set out that adult and child protection committees should inform the Care Inspectorate of two things. Firstly, the decision about whether they are proceeding with a learning review and if not, the reasons for not doing so. Secondly, the outcome of the learning review, including an anonymised copy of the review report which should be sent to us.
For all situations considered under learning review guidance, a decision notification form should be completed. This electronic notification form should be completed at the point when a decision has been made whether to conduct a learning review, or to detail the reasons for not doing so. Committees are required to notify the Care Inspectorate of their decision to proceed, or not to proceed, to learning review using the learning review notification forms below.
In circumstances where protection committees agree to carry out an alternative review approach for learning they should submit anonymised completed reports or minutes that record learning and recommendations to the Care Inspectorate via secure e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This will enable the Care Inspectorate to use the learning from these alternative approaches to inform the content of annual national overview reports. The Care Inspectorate will not provide observations to partnerships on these types of submissions.
Submission of learning review reports
Please submit the full learning review report via secure email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Any queries can also be directed to this address.
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Joint inspections of adult support and protection
Background
Phase 1 of our programme of joint inspections of adult support and protection took place during 2020-2023. Twenty-five joint inspections were carried out, and individual partnership reports were published. An overview, summarising the findings in these reports was also published, and is available here. This shaped our subsequent phase 2 approach.
Phase 2
In June 2023, the Scottish Government asked the Care Inspectorate to lead further joint inspection work with our inspection partners including, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland. This commenced on 1 August 2023 and is scheduled to conclude in July 2025, and blends scrutiny activity with improvement support. There has been close collaboration with adult protection partnerships throughout.
The programme provides assurance on the quality of adult support and protection services in Scotland and promotes improvement activity through the development of a quality indicator framework and supported self-evaluation. Phase 2 of the programme comprises four workstreams.
Workstream 1
The joint inspection of the six adult support and protection partnerships first inspected in 2017.
The first year of our phase 2 programme included reviewing the progress of the six adult protection partnerships that were subject to adult support and protection inspections in 2017/18. The joint inspection team used the inspection methodology employed in Phase 1. These inspections focused on key processes and strategic leadership.
This programme of inspections was completed in May 2024 and included the North Ayrshire, Highland, Dundee, Aberdeenshire, East Dunbartonshire and Midlothian partnerships. Individual reports of the inspections have been published and can be accessed using the links above.
A joint inspection of adult support and protection overview report took account of the key findings from these six reports. This was published and can be accessed here.
Workstream 2
Development of a multi-agency quality improvement framework (QIF) for adult support and protection partnerships in Scotland.
Design of the QIF was undertaken in collaboration with The Scottish Government National Implementation Group self-evaluation subgroup. Four consultation workshop events took place, to which representatives from all health and social care partnerships across Scotland were invited. This included events in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee, as well as one online session. These were held to provide an opportunity for the sector to comment on, refine, and enhance the draft framework. The sessions were attended by approximately eighty-four delegates representing almost all Health and Social Care Partnerships and the feedback gathered was then used to inform the final document.
- A working group was established that included joint inspection partners and representation from the national implementation group.
- The working group took careful consideration of the views from people with lived experience to ensure it was trauma informed.
- A communication plan was designed and implemented and four well attended engagement sessions were arranged
- The joint inspection team undertook a ‘you said, we did’ exercise with the national implementation self-evaluation subgroup to review the key themes from the four engagement sessions. We refined the QIF following their feedback.
- The QIF was published on 15 October and can be accessed here.
- This document will be promoted widely across the sector after its launch at a series of national events.
- This includes a formal launch at the Aspire event that took place on 28 November 2024
- This framework will support partnerships multi-agency self-evaluation of their adult support and protection arrangements and is designed to lead to improvement in services.
Workstream 3
This review of progress activity provides assurance of improvement in those partnerships where areas of weakness outweighed strengths in phase 1. This programme involves the South Ayrshire, Moray, West Lothian, Edinburgh, Orkney, and Western Isles partnerships.
Our file reading tool had previously been updated to reflect the changes in methodology and take account of the Scottish Government revised code of practice for adult support and protection (July 2022).
Completed workstream 3 progress reviews include South Ayrshire, West Lothian, Edinburgh and Moray. Individual reports will be published in due course for all six partnerships.
In these progress reviews we are using the following evaluations to measure progress.
Minimal progress: Improvement is minimal. The partnership’s overall approach to improvement is not comprehensive or put into practice. Its deployment and implementation are limited. It has not embedded improvements or they are still at the planning stage. It does not communicate improvements effectively and they are not well understood by staff. It does not assess and review the effectiveness of its improvement progress.
Some progress: Evidence of some improvement. The partnership’s approach to improvement is moderate. Its implementation and deployment of improvements are structured. It is beginning to embed improvements in practice. It communicates improvements partially and staff understand them reasonably well. It has limited measures to evaluate and review impact and outcomes for adults at risk of harm. It periodically assesses and reviews its improvement methodology.
Significant progress: Significant improvement. The partnership’s approach to improvement is comprehensive and embedded. Its deployment of improvements is well structured, implemented and effective. It communicates improvements purposefully, and staff understand them fully. It has effective measures to evaluate and review impact and outcomes for adults at risk of harm. It continually assesses and refines its improvement methodology.
The joint inspection team will also be re-visiting the Renfrewshire partnership to complete their phase 1 inspection that was interrupted by Covid-19 restrictions coming into force in March 2020.
Workstream 4
The joint inspection of adult support and protection team aims to work with volunteer partnerships, using the quality improvement framework developed in workstream 2, to undertake a programme of supported self-evaluation. Our focus will be on quality illustration 5.7 and those cases where it is difficult to determine the three-point criteria. During phase 1 activity some partnerships had promising initiatives aimed at developing their early intervention, prevention, and trauma informed approaches to this complex group of adults at risk of harm. We will work jointly with partnerships to assess the strengths of these initiatives.
This is an opportunity for partnerships to work alongside the joint inspection team to develop and implement the methodology. We will share learning and promote a deeper understanding about self-evaluation approaches and its impact on improvement work.
We have invited all adult support and protection partnerships to formally express a confirmed interest in this opportunity week commencing Monday 11 November 2024. We will look to confirm the partnerships selected prior to the end of December 2024 and commence work with them in January 2025.
A communication and engagement plan will be put in place once we have identified the partnerships we will be working with.
Related links:
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