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Inspector (early learning and childcare)

Published: 30 April 2021

Join us and make a difference – for you, for everyone

It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. If you are as passionate about high-quality care and learning as we are, and you’re experienced in the field, we’d love to hear from you. We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference.

About you

You’ll have recent experience of supporting the delivery of high-quality care and learning for children and you will have significant knowledge of current developments and challenges within the sector. With your expertise in ELC, including school age childcare and childminding, you’ll share our determination that care services should work well for children – every time.

We’re currently recruiting for vacancies in our inspection teams. We welcome applications from candidates across mainland Scotland, particularly Aberdeenshire areas, along with applications from applicants who are fluent in the Gaelic language or willing to develop their skills in this area.

About us

We are different because of our great benefits, our investment in learning and development, and the opportunity this role will give you to help shape high quality experiences in childcare across Scotland.

What you will be doing as an inspector

Making a difference through working with services delivering care and learning for children. You’ll listen carefully to children, and their families to understand what is important to them. You will evauate their experience of ELC, childminding or school aged childcare services. You will engage with care service providers, managers and staff and be confident in advising on improvement to support services to deliver improved outcomes for children.

Click here to watch a short video on what one of our inspectors has said about their role. 

The skills you need

If you think this job is where you can make a real difference to children’s experiences, there are a few things you need. Whilst it’s important to have the basics, we will support you in developing your skillset as an inspector throughout your journey with us.

You’ll be confident about what good-quality care and learning looks like and how to deliver it across the ELC sector. You’ll be resilient and adaptable, can work on your own initiative or as part of a team, manage competing priorities, build effective networks with partners, and have strong communication skills. Equally, you’ll be good at analysing information and evidence, and you’ll have excellent writing skills to produce reports that are clear, concise, and focused on outcomes. You will have a sound and insightful understanding of the challenges facing the ELC sector and be an advocate for children recognising what is important to them.

We need you to have a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9) and be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or General Teaching Council (GTC). Please see further information at the bottom of this advert on recent updates to the registration process for the SSSC.

All new entrants will start on the grade minimum for the role however we have a generous benefits package which is highlighted below.

Salary and benefits

  • Salary: £46,569 - £54,975 plus excellent benefits.
  • Network of offices across Scotland.
  • Flexible Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period.
  • Up to 37 days annual leave (after 5 years’ service) + 6 fixed public holidays.
  • Contract: Permanent, two-year secondment, or locum (where candidates have previously worked for us as inspectors).

We desire to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. Our hybrid working policy gives you the flexibility to mix working from home with attendance at your base office and other work locations, spending no more than 60% of your working time working from home, measured over a 4-week period. 

In addition to our excellent benefits package, we also pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness. We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer, and equality, diversity and inclusion are important to us.

This is an exciting time to join the Care Inspectorate, with an opportunity to be at the heart of change as we consider the impact of the ELC expansion and the future expansion of one year old care and the Scottish Government’s commitment to school aged childcare. Playing our part in delivering on the Promise to Scotland’s children and young people.

We’ve recently changed our recruitment process and how we assess new people and now is the perfect time to come and join us.

What next?

Click here to find out more on our careers site. You can also contact the recruitment team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information.

If you’re ready to apply now, please click here to access our gateway questions and application form. access the application form. Your application should be received no later than Monday 3 March 2025 at 08:00.

The Care Inspectorate is committed to recruiting, retaining and developing a workforce that reflects the diverse communities that we serve. It is vital that we monitor and analyse diversity information so that we can identify how we can improve the way we meet the needs of our applicants and staff. To assist us to monitor the effectiveness of our equality and diversity practices, we would encourage you to complete the equalities monitoring form at the end of the application form.

We anticipate holding Stage 1 of our assessment process between Friday 14 - Monday 17 March, and Stage 2 no earlier than Monday 7 April 2025 over a 2 week period at one of our main offices.

If you successfully complete our selection process, we’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies that would be suitable for you.

Registration information and process

As an Inspector you will support the Assurance and Improvement Directorate to ensure that the Care Inspectorate meets its responsibilities as defined by the Public Services Reform Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.

The successful applicant must be registered with a professional body (this can be NMC, GTCS, NMC, HCPC, SSSC), within three months of appointment.

For SSSC registration, there is a specific registration category for Care Inspectorate Authorised Officers (AO). Regulated Care Inspectors who register with SSSC will do so as a Primary Authorised Officer under both types of work (Social Care and Children & Young People). Primary Authorised Officers will require to complete a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement Practice within 5 years of initial registration.

Employees will be expected to maintain registration with the same professional body throughout their employment in the Care Inspectorate. This includes employees working in authorised officer roles who are recruited to the Care Inspectorate based on their registration with the NMC, GTCS, HCPC or other recognised professional body. It is a contractual requirement to maintain registration with the same professional body and employees should not transfer their registration to the SSSC from another recognised professional body, including the NMC, GTCS or HCPC.

Job profile

Person specification

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Equality and diversity

Published: 05 December 2014

At the Care Inspectorate, we believe that people in Scotland should experience a better quality of life as a result of accessible, excellent services that are designed and delivered to reflect their individual needs and promote their rights.  We are committed to advancing equality of opportunity, eliminating unlawful discrimination and fostering good relations between all protected characteristics.

Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion

  • We ensure that the voice of people who experience care is reflected in all our work
  • We promote fairness, equality, diversity and inclusion in all that we do
  • We promote dignity and respect and human rights for all
  • We recognise and value individual differences and the contributions of all
  • We treat people fairly and according to their needs
  • We have a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation
  • We have a culture where everyone feels valued and included.

As an organisation, our work, has a focus on people’s rights, choices and individual outcomes, the things that matter most to people. We continue to strive to put equality and diversity at the heart of all we do and that’s why we made equality and diversity a key principle of our Corporate Plan.

Equality, diversity and inclusion statement of intent

At the Care Inspectorate we’re committed to creating a culture that embraces equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging for everyone.

At the Care Inspectorate we value, celebrate and fully embrace to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. This requires us all to recognise and respect each others’ differences. Creating an inclusive work environment where we all feel a sense of belonging helps us to do our best work, which results in the best possible outcomes for people who experience care.

We are a values-driven organisation, which means our values inform and guide everything that we do. Our key values of equity, being person-centred and respectful are the most relevant to equality, diversity and inclusion. We expect everyone to follow the principles that are set out in the Health and Social Care Standards as well as any relevant individual codes of practice.

As an employer, we want to increase the diversity of our workforce and would especially welcome applications from disabled people, people from a minority ethnic background, people of all ages, men (as we have a 81.78% female workforce) people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community and people with care experience. We want a workforce that reflects the wider Scottish population that we serve.

Photo of the Care Inspecotrate's strategic leadership team.

Signed by our strategic management group

The strategic management group have signed this statement to demonstrate our commitment to leading inclusively and to show accountability on making equality, diversity and inclusion integral to the way we do things around here.

Meeting our Equality Requirements

Like other public bodies in Scotland, we are required to meet the requirements of the General and Specific Public Sector Equality Duties, as set out by the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. We report on our equality obligations under the legislation every two years.  

Publications

In our dual role as a scrutiny and improvement body and a public sector employer, we are committed to meeting our legal obligations in all aspects of our work. We are covered by general and specific equality duties arising from the Equality Act (2010) which helps us to integrate equality into our day-to-day work. We report on our equality obligations under the legislation every two years. Here are our publications:

Our policies and strategic workforce plan 

We appreciate and value our workforce and have a range of family friendly and flexible working policies available. We are proud of the range of inclusive work practices we offer colleagues.

We offer equalities training to our workforce and this is built into our induction and includes our managers and leaders. We have a supportive and respectful organisational culture that values equality and diversity and promotes inclusion for our workforce. Our robust people management policies and processes ensure people are treated with dignity and respect in an environment where bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation are not tolerated.

Our staff networks 

We make time to listen to our colleagues and give them a voice to share their experiences, listen to their ideas and involve them in our work. We have the following:

  • Accessibility network – championing inclusion and accessibility for colleagues with disabilities/long-term health conditions and or neurodivergence.
  • Care experience network – supporting colleagues who have lived experience of the care system (i.e. spent time living with and being cared for: by family members other than your parents (formal or informal kinship care); as part of a foster family; in a residential or secure care setting or are adopted.)
  • The Corporate Equality Group drives the delivery and progress of the actions from our Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report. A group of our leaders meet on a quarterly basis to support the mainstreaming of equality in relation to all the protected characteristics listed under the Equality Act (2010).
  • Equally Safe at work working group – advancing gender equality and actively working to prevent violence against women in the workplace.
  • Improving Race Equality network – celebrating cultural diversity, anti-racism and promoting racial equality.
  • LGBT+ Charter Champion Group – supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT+) colleagues and promoting inclusion. We attend Pride events to increase visibility about LGBT issues and to be more proactive about LGBT+ inclusion. You can email the group using this address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Menopause network – supporting colleagues going through peri/menopause and raising awareness across the organisation.
  • Unpaid carers network – recognising and supporting colleagues who care for loved ones alongside their work. We are a Carer Positive Established Employer and are committed to supporting our colleagues who are carers. We have recently made changes to our Carers Policy which means we offer up to five days (35 hours) paid time off to support carers.

Race Equality in Employment

In November 2020 the Scottish Parliament Equality and Human Rights Committee published a report on Race Equality, Employment and Skills.  

The Public Sector Leadership Summit on Race Equality in Employment took place in March 2021. At the summit, the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee highlighted the persistent issues that impact on outcomes for minority ethnic people in Scotland moving into, staying in and progressing in employment. 

To help us with this vital work we are pleased to be working with CEMVO Scotland.

Recommendations 

The Committee have asked all public sector bodies to accept their recommendations and commit to taking them forward. 

  1. The Committee recommends those in public authority leadership positions undertake an assessment of their organisation’s understanding of racism and the structural barriers that may exist within their organisations. Public authorities should integrate their ambitions into their next strategic plan. Their strategic goal should be underpinned by specific outcomes and supported by timely monitoring. Public authorities should be transparent about their targets and their progress in delivering their outcomes.
  2. The Committee recommends public authorities should review their recruitment procedures and practice against the Scottish Government’s toolkit and make the necessary changes.
  3. The Committee recommends that all public authorities subject to the Scottish specific Public Sector Equality Duty should, as a minimum, voluntarily record and publish their ethnicity pay gap and produce an action plan to deliver identified outcomes.

Our commitment to the recommendations 

The Care Inspectorate pledge to implement the key recommendations of the Scottish Parliament's Equalities and Human Rights Committee’s Race Equality, Employment and Skills: Making Progress? Report.

As public sector leaders, we will be bold and transparent. We will embed the recommendations into the strategic objectives of our organisation and the performance objectives of our senior leaders. We will use equality data to provide insights on race equality within the Care Inspectorate and we will take responsibility to assess our organisation’s understanding of institutional racism and proactively challenge and change practices that disadvantage minority ethnic communities. Vitally, we will ensure that minority ethnic communities are involved in shaping this change. We recognise that taking forward the recommendations represents not a final, but a further step, and therefore this work will form part of the continuum of activity and training to tackle racial inequality in employment, which will be aligned with the key principles of the Scottish Government Race Equality Framework 2016-2030. It is important that we make this commitment clear, not just to each other, but to our staff and people who experience care, who will hold us to account. We have therefore published this commitment on our website and social media.

We are pleased to share we are a signatory of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. We know that ethnic minorities still face significant disparities in employment and progression, and that is something we need to change. The Charter is composed of five calls to action for leaders and organisations across all sectors.  We signed up to taking practical steps to ensure their workplaces are tackling barriers that ethnic minority people face in recruitment and progression and that their organisations are representative of British society today. 

LGBT Charter Champion Group 

We attend Pride events to increase visibility about LGBT issues and to be more proactive about being inclusive for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people as an organisation. Our commitment to inclusion and diversity, and to the LGBT community, has been recognised externally.

In 2018 we were awarded LGBT Youth Scotland’s Foundation Charter award and we are the first regulator in Scotland to receive this award. In July 2020 we were shortlisted for the Proud Scot Employer Award Large Business.

In 2020 we became a Stonewall Diversity Champion as we wanted to ensure that all LGBT staff are accepted without exception in the workplace. In February 2022 we achieved the Bronze Employer Award in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. In June 2022 we were delighted to be awarded the Large Employer Award by Proud Scotland.

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Click here to watch a short film ‘Return to the Closet?’ by Luminate Scotland. Older members of the LGBTQI+ community worked with artist Glenda Rome to create a film which illustrated their thoughts and feelings around ageing, being part of the community and what care means to them and the support they’d want from care providers – whether at home or in care homes. Luminate commissioned the film with support from LGBT Health and Wellbeing. Luminate’s Principal Supporters are Creative Scotland, The Baring Foundation and Age Scotland. LGBT Health and Wellbeing’s LGBT Age Community Action Project is funded by Comic Relief.

First Minister’s National Advisory Council on women and girls (NACWG)

We are a circle member of the First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG). The NACWG was set up to advise the First Minister on what is needed to tackle gender inequality in Scotland and you can read their latest report here. We are now part of a group of supporters and advisors who help generate ideas and solutions that will inform NACWG’s work. 

Our position statement on Modern Slavery

What is Modern Slavery?

We recognise that workers recruited from overseas are a hugely valuable and important part of Scotland’s social care workforce.

Modern slavery is complex; but simply put, it describes a situation where someone is made to do something, and another person gains from this. Modern slavery is about being exploited and completely controlled by someone else, without being able to leave or belief that you cannot leave through threats by person in control. It includes
human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced compulsory labour.

Modern slavery is the deception or coercion of a person for the purpose of exploitation.

Modern slavery can be present in any social care setting and victims could be either staff working in a service or people who are using a service.

Our strategic aim

We will constructively work with partners to end modern day slavery in Scotland’s social care system.

Our regulatory response

Our purpose is to ensure registered care services provide people with safe, high-quality care and to encourage services to improve.

We will be alert to potential cases of modern slavery and to listen sensitively and compassionately when people raise issues with us. We will respond in the following ways:

  • If we receive or discover information that may indicate modern slavery, we will identify and record this threat. We will do this even if the person contacting us does not refer to it as modern slavery.
  • We will refer identified and potential victims through our established safeguarding referral routes.
  • We will monitor registration applications to check for warning si-gns of potential exploitation of skilled workers from overseas.
  • We will seek out early indication that sponsor licenses are being exploited by working closely with Home Office and other partners.
  • We will not hesitate to take action including proportionate regulatory and enforcement action where modern slavery and unethical recruitment practises pose a potential risk of harm.
  • We will work with other organisations to prevent, disrupt and reduce the likelihood of modern slavery in social care.
  • We will monitor the modern slavery situation by submitting reports and updates to SMG and ET quarterly or yearly.
  • To support our work, we will develop staff awareness/training and procedures.

Carer Positive Employer 

We are a Carer Positive Established Employer and are committed to supporting our colleagues who are carers. We have recently made changes to our Carers Policy which means we offer up to five days (35 hours) paid time off to support carers.

Fair Work Framework 

The goal of the Fair Work Framework is to ensure that by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society. 

The Care Inspectorate can support this vision by ensuring the fair work values run through the organisation and embedding fair working practices into everything we do.  We are committed to building a Scotland which champions fair work practices and a diverse workforce.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 

Our work also supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Convention sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children are entitled to. As a public body, we are required to publish a report on how our work supports the various articles of the UNCRC. 2020 is the first year we have been asked to report on the UNCRC. Our next report will be published in 2026.

Contact us

If you would like to contact us, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us directly by using contactSCOTLAND-BSL.

2023: Equalities Mainstreaming Progress Report April 2021- March 2023.

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Inspector recruitment

Published: 02 September 2021

Recruitment banner inspector recruitment process 01

How we recruit inspectors

Our inspector recruitment process also follows the same model as our other roles with the addition of a two-step selection stage, detailed below. 

Selection assessment 1

If you’re shortlisted, we’ll invite you to complete our online selection assessment. This is a written exercise designed to test your potential to be an inspector.    

Selection assessment 2

If you successfully complete the online assessment, you’ll be invited to attend an interview and to speak to your written exercise response on how you would give feedback.

If you’re successful at this stage, we’ll let you know and confirm next steps.  We’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies. 

We accept CVs from prospective inspectors throughout the year.  We will note your interest and will contact you during the next recruitment period, following your CV submission, to complete the online application form. We also have guidance available that may assist you in completing your CV:

For more information about our talent pool please see the FAQs below.

FAQs about inspector recruitment

What qualifications do I need to become an inspector?

To become an inspector, you must be registered with, or able to register, and hold a qualification that meets the registration requirements of one of these regulatory bodies:

  • Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
  • General Teaching Council (Scotland) (GTC)
  • Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 
  • General Medical Council (GMC) Health and Care Professions Council (applies to the following roles only: occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and practitioner psychologists)
  • Other equivalent professional bodies for the UK nations

Inspectors eligible to apply for registration with the SSSC must hold a suitable practice qualification at SCQF level 9. For more information on the list of suitable qualifications please see the section below.

Inspectors must also hold or undertake one of these appropriate regulator's awards:

  • Regulation of Care Award
  • PDA Scrutiny and Improvement Practice (Social Services) SCQF level 10

Qualifications that meet the Scottish Social Service Council’s (SSSC) registration requirements

Care inspectors eligible to apply for registration with the SSSC must hold a suitable practice qualification. 

Main practice qualifications

  • BA Childhood Practice
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Childhood Practice
  • BA Social Pedagogy (University of Aberdeen)
  • BA (Hons) Social Work (or equivalent)
  • PDA Childhood Practice at SCQF Level 9
  • SVQ Social Services and Healthcare at SCQF Level 9
  • SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People) at SCQF Level 9 

Qualifications also accepted

  • SVQ 4 Children's Care Learning and Development at SCQF Level 9
  • SVQ 4 Health and Social Care at SCQF Level 9

Qualifications that meet requirements of other regulatory bodies

  • A qualification meeting the registration requirements of the General Teaching Council (Scotland), Nursing and Midwifery Council or the General Medical Council.
  • A qualification meeting the registration requirements for the following professional groups regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council:
    • Occupational Therapists
    • Physiotherapists
    • Speech and Language Therapists
    • Practitioner Psychologists
  • Degree/Diploma in Community Education as recognised by the Standards Council for Community Learning and Development for Scotland Approvals Committee.

If your qualification does not appear on either of these lists, you can email the SSSC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and provide a copy of your qualification certificates.  The SSSC will confirm if your qualification meets the SSSC registration criteria.  Further information is also available on the SSSC website and can be accessed by following the link here.

What experience do I need to become an inspector

To become an inspector, we need you to have senior professional experience, expertise and knowledge of adult social care or health care, early learning and childcare or children and young people sectors.

You should also have experience of lead responsibility for complex professional practice through case management, managing people, projects or resources. We welcome applications from candidates with these professional backgrounds.

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What support will I get to maintain my professional registration?

Maintaining your registration with your professional body is a core requirement for all inspectors.  To support this, we’ll provide you with access to a range of learning activities for your continuing professional and personal development.  Our learning management system automatically records all of your learning and we’ll support your re-validation with your professional body.  You’ll also participate in regular supervision and peer learning activities through our LEAD (learn, experience, achieve and development) performance and development process. 

All inspectors are also expected to undertake our Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10.

What is the salary and grade for the role of inspector?

The role is on an Inspector grade 7. Starting salaries are non-negotiable and all new staff start on the grade minimum for their role. Please see the current starting salary on the advert for the current recruitment campaign.

Following six months service, you will receive an annual increment on 1 April each year until you reach the top of the grade.

How much flexibility is there in terms of working hours and location?

Our inspectors work flexibly and you’ll work 140 hours over each four week period. This equates to 35 hours per week.

We have offices across Scotland and we support a range of flexible working arrangements including homeworking and hybrid working.

Once I apply, how long will it be before my application is considered?

We accept applications from prospective inspectors all throughout the year. We have two recruitment periods each year and your application will be considered during the next recruitment period, following your application submission. 

How long does the selection process take?

Our selection process is based on a two-stage assessment. Depending on the volume of applications we receive, we aim to complete each recruitment period within three months of the adverts closing date. Our recruitment team will communicate regularly throughout the recruitment period to ensure you’re up to date on the status of your application and you have all of the information you need to participate in our selection process.

What happens after I've been offered a role?

We’ll carry out pre-employment checks so we can confirm your offer of employment. These include:

  • proof of ID / right to work in the UK
  • two successful references, where one is from your current or most recent employer
  • a PVG check
  • occupational health questionnaire and referrals where appropriate
  • registration and qualifications check

Once all checks are complete, we’ll agree a start date and formally confirm your offer of employment by providing you with a contract outlining your terms and conditions.

I've been invited to join the inspector talent pool. What does this mean?

If you successfully complete our selection process, we’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies.

Our talent pool is our bank of candidates who have successfully completed the inspector selection process and are available to be appointed to suitable vacancies, based on their specialism and location.

As a member of our talent pool, you’ll be a valued candidate and we’ll:

  • monitor and identify suitable vacancies that we can offer you based on your specialism and location
  • share regular updates about our vacancies, recruitment plans and other relevant Care Inspectorate news.

You don’t need to reapply for future inspector vacancies for up to two years.

Unfortunately, depending on our vacancies, we may not always be in a position to offer a role to all talent pool candidates.

If you would like to chat to us about our recruitment process or a particular job, please get in touch with our HR team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Equality impact assessments

Published: 16 December 2015

Equality impact assessments 

As a public body, we are required to assess the equality impact of applying policies, practices, systems and processes. The purpose is to improve outcomes for those who may experience discrimination and disadvantage. This is often referred to as equality impact assessment.

Details of our completed equality impact assessments can be found below.

Current

2025

2024

2023

Work in progress

  • 1

Pre 2023

All equality impact assessments pre 2023 can be found here. 

 

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Customer Support Adviser

Published: 06 September 2017

Job title: Customer Support Adviser x2

Salary: £30,495 - £32,052

Hours: 35 hours per week

Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)

Contract: Temporary (9 months fixed term)

About us

We are the national regulator and scrutiny body responsible for providing assurance and protection for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public, as well as supporting delivery partners to improve the quality of care for people in Scotland. Our vision is that people across Scotland experience high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.

We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect individual care services, and we also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in their local areas.

Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. Our hybrid working policy gives you the flexibility to mix working from home with attendance at your base office and other work locations, spending no more than 60% of your working time working from home, measured over a 4-week period.

Starting salary

Please bear in mind that new entrants start on the grade minimum for the role. However, we have a generous benefits package which you will find on our website.

About the role

Due to maternity leave and a secondment, we are looking to recruit two temporary Customer Support Advisers. The posts include handling customer inquiries, providing support, and resolving issues related to the Care Inspectorate. The role will involve managing complaints, offering support and guidance, and ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction.

About you

The successful candidate will work in a small team to deliver responsive and value-based services. The post will be rewarding to anyone who values delivering a quality service and a strong customer-focused approach.

Next steps

You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.

If you would like more information or an informal chat about the role, please contact Angela Kerr at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

If you believe that your skills, experience and motivation make you a suitable candidate for this post, please complete an application form and also our equal opportunities form to help us monitor and evaluate the diversity of applicants applying for our roles, by 08:00 on Monday 21 July 2025.

It is anticipated that interviews will be held no sooner than 11 August 2025 at our Dundee office, Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY.

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Consultations

Published: 05 December 2014

We are committed to consulting with all our stakeholders about our work.  We value your thoughts and welcome any comments that you have. 

Sign up to our consultation platform to stay up to date with all our open consultations. 

Open consultations

Help shape our new Corporate Plan

We are now developing our new Corporate Plan, taking into account into account the changing landscape of health and social care. We want everyone with an interest in care and in what we do, to have the opportunity to share their views about our strategic outcomes and help shape our new Corporate Plan. Take part in this consultation here.

Closed consultations

Help us improve our equality outcomes

We want to extend our thanks to everyone who provided feedback on our draft equality outcomes 2025-2029, as well as those who shared, liked, and engaged with our posts to help spread the word. Your input, through surveys and conversation cafés has been invaluable in refining our outcomes. We are delighted to share that these updated outcomes have now been approved by our Board and have been published alongside our Equalities Mainstreaming Report. 

Shared inspection framework for ELC services including childminding and school-aged childcare

The Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland are working together to progress the development of a shared inspection framework. We would like to thank all those who took time out of their very busy schedules to complete the consultation and provide valuable feedback to support the ongoing development of the shared inspection framework. We are working to address the feedback and issues raised in the consultation as we move forward in developing the shared framework. We remain committed to delivering a shared framework for the sector in September 2024.

Depriving and restricting liberty for children and young people in care home, school care and secure accommodation services

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the above consultation. We recognise that services are treading a delicate balance between taking necessary action to keep children and young people safe, whilst not unnecessarily restricting liberty.  Our new position paper aims to set out our attitude, expectation, and actions around the restriction and deprivation of liberty in care home, school care and secure accommodation services.  This includes circumstances where children and young people may be deprived of their liberty, where their liberty is restricted, or where this is a risk through environmental design and/or care practices. You can see the paper here.

Staffing method framework

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the above consultation. We will review this feedback and issue a repsonse shortly.

Mainstream Boarding Schools and School Hostels Design Guide

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the above consultation. We will review this feedback and issue a repsonse shortly.

Review of our Technology and Digital Opportunities Guide

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the above consultation between March 21 and April 11 2021. You can review the feedback from this consultation here.

Corporate Plan 2022-25

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the above consultation between October 26 and November  28 2021. We will review this feedback and issue a repsonse shortly. 

Draft policy position in relation to registration, and variation of existing conditions, for services for adults with learning disabilities and/or autistic adults where support is linked to accommodation

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the above consultation between November 8 and December 5 2021. You can review the feedback from this consultation here.

Care Homes for Adults – The Design Guide and Care Homes for Children and Young People – The Design Guide

We would like to thank everyone who responded to the above consultation between 21 June and 19 July 2021. You can review the feedback from this consultation, and our response to the feedback below:

 

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Procurement

Published: 05 December 2014

Supplier payments

We are committed to the ‘Confederation of British Industry Prompt Payment Code’ for the payment of bills for goods and services we receive. It is our policy to make payments in accordance with the Scottish Government’s instructions on prompt payment and a target payment within 10 days. 

National Fraud Initiative (NFI) 

We participate in the NFI under powers introduced by the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 and incorporated in Part 2A of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. The information we provide can be found here.  

The exercise uses computerised techniques to compare electronic data held within and transferred between public and private sector, to identify the existence of possible fraud or error.    

Our overarching privacy notice also provides details of your rights in relation to data processing, including the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner. If you have any queries about Data Protection in the Care Inspectorate, please contact our data protection officer via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Procurement has a significant role to play to achieve the Care Inspectorate’s objectives, and our seven key principles are reflected in our procurement strategy.

Our 2023-2026 Procurement Strategy:

  • sets out our priorities and proposals for procurement over the planning period

  • identifies those factors that will influence the way in which we manage the procurement process 

  • describes the arrangements for monitoring and evaluating the strategy.

Public Contracts Scotland

Our contracts register for all competitively advertised contracts exceeding £50,000 is published on the Public Contracts Scotland portal. We publish high value tenders on the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) advertising website.  We encourage businesses to register for free on this site. It will give you access to a large number of high and low value public authority contract opportunities across Scotland, including the Care Inspectorate.  You can also view our profile.

We do not maintain an internal register of suppliers or have an approved supplier list.

It covers lower value contract opportunities but also those above the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) threshold. 

Our conditions of contract

Our procurement practices - values and promotion of tenders

As a public sector organisation our procurement activity is guided by legislation and best practice, with the route being determined by the potential total value of the contract.

Supplier opportunities, guidance and support - useful websites

  • A national Dynamic Purchasing reserved for Supported Businesses has been established to provide products and services to the Scottish public sector. 

  • The Online Supplier Journey makes it easier for Scottish companies to bid for work in the public sector.

    • The website guides firms, large and small, through each step in the process – setting out what to expect from buyers and what is expected of them, simplifying guidance, making it easier to understand.  It is particularly useful for small businesses. 

    • The journey guides businesses through the process of applying for contracts, making the system more streamlined and easier to understand and has been developed with the help of Scottish companies who have already gone through the process. 

  • The Single Point of Enquiry is an independent, impartial and confidential service for suppliers to the public sector in Scotland.  The service offers advice on the procurement rules which must be followed by public bodies in Scotland and information on how contracts are advertised and awarded.   If you have concerns about a specific tender exercise, they can work with you and the buying organisation to try and resolve your concerns.  They do not have formal powers to investigate suppliers’ concerns or change decisions made by buying organisations. Feedback from suppliers contributes to improvements in public procurement practices in Scotland.

  • Scottish Enterprise Net Zero Accelerator Tool – this is designed to help businesses work towards a net zero future using practical, inclusive and data-led solutions.

The Supplier Development Programme (SDP)

Scotland’s free tender training service for SME’s is a programme of tender training events.

The programme has been designed to ensure that SME’s can easily progress through the various different course levels with free events in or near their business location, plus many of the courses can be accessed online via webinar, reducing the time burden on small businesses being out of the office.

The programme includes a wealth of courses, including “hot topics” such as Community Benefits and Sustainable Procurement, as well as core issues such as finding contracts and completing ESPDs. So whether you are just starting out and wish to find out about how to work with the public sector or need to improve your tender skills, SDP will have a course for you. Please click on the following link to browse and book a course and get tender ready: https://www.sdpscotland.co.uk/events-training/

Supplier Cyber Security

Cyber-attacks (such as phishing, ransomware, hacking, etc.) are becoming an increasing threat to our economy and society. No internet-connected organisation, however large or small, is immune.

Cyber-attacks may be targeted at specific organisations or individuals, or untargeted, where attackers indiscriminately attack as many vulnerable machines or users connected to the internet as possible. These attacks are as real a risk to the small business that relies on a database of customers to distribute its goods as they are to multinational banking organisations.

 As part of the Scottish Public Sector Action Plan on Cyber Resilience Scotland’s public sector organisations are encouraged to adopt a common approach to supplier cyber security. Links to authoritative sources of advice and support can be found at the Scottish Government Cyber Resilience website.  

The NCSC’s small business and charities guides can be found at National Cyber Security Centre - NCSC.GOV.UK

You can get a free digital health check and 1:1 support at Business Gateway's Digital Boost.

Annual Procurement Report

Our progress towards achieving our strategic procurement priorities has been published in our CI Annual Procurement Report 2023-24. This report also provides information on our regulated procurement activity for 23-24 and our planned procurement activity for the two year period 2024-26.

 

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Using our logo

Published: 05 December 2014

Using our 'Registered by the Care Inspectorate' widget

Services can show people visiting their website that they are Care Inspectorate registered with our widget.

The widget is a logo that can be displayed on any website.  Every service has its own unique coding behind the widget, linked directly to its service information on our website.

So, if you are a care service and you want to show your website visitors that you are registered with us, ask your website administrator to download the widget for free and display it on your website.

Find out how you can use the widget on your website.

Using our standard logo

We don’t allow services to use our standard Care Inspectorate logo as it represents our own brand identity, signifying us and our own work. 

Using the Care Inspectorate logo on any document or in association with any information signifies that the document or information has been prepared or approved by the Care Inspectorate.

Using the Care Inspectorate logo without our permission infringes our copyright.

Our logo is used only on materials generated by the Care Inspectorate or where we have worked in partnership with another organisation.

If you want to use our logo you must ask our permission.

You can contact us by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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Subcategories

Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)

The early learning and childcare expansion… 

Role: Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)

Location: Forth Valley, Borders, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh & Glasgow

Salary: £31,083 - £39,069 plus excellent benefits

Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period

Contract: Permanent or 2-year secondment (would be considered)

Join us and make a difference – for you, for everyone

It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. If you are as passionate about high-quality care as we are, and you’re experienced in your field, we’d love to hear from you.

About us

As a national scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect care services and partnerships across Scotland, report on the quality of care people experience, and support improvements in services to facilitate improvements in outcomes for people.

We inspect care services individually. We also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in local areas.

We champion high-quality care whenever we encounter it across the thousands of inspections, we carry out each year, and we work closely with all care providers to support them to improve all the time. We collaborate with other organisations too, supporting improvement across public services. Our work plays a big role in reducing health and social inequalities between people and communities.

We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference - specialists who understand how to put people’s needs, rights and choices at the heart of delivering social services – and how to lead improvement too. Our 600 staff work with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors. We have offices across Scotland and many of our staff work from home.

About you

Whether early or established in your career, you will share our determination that care, social work and justice services should work well for people – every time. You’ll be confident about what good-quality care looks like and how to deliver it. You’ll be good at analysing information and evidence. You will have excellent writing skills for narrative inspection reports that are clear, concise and focused on outcomes. You will be confident in working with a wide range of people and at supporting and advising on improvement.

You’ll currently be working, or have significant experience in, social care, social work, health, children’s services, early learning, child protection, or community learning and development. You will be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the SSSC, NMC or GTC.

About the role

Our care inspectors work with care services: childminders, nurseries, care homes, care at home, housing support and a host of other specialist services. A specialist in your field, you may have helped lead a service and have a strong track record in delivering quality. You’ll be adept at leading improvement and influencing others. You will work with people experiencing care, and care service providers, managers and staff.

Why join us?

We strive to be a great employer, knowing that competitive salary, leave and pension schemes are only part of that. We pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness.

We believe in collective leadership and innovation. You’ll have a lot of autonomy to manage your own work and use the professional skills you’ve honed during your career – but in new ways. Starting on day one, our learning and development support will help you become confident in the craft of scrutiny and in supporting improvement. Because a lot of your role is about sharing effective practice across Scotland, the impact you can have on experiences and outcomes for people is significant. You will draw on management and leadership skills you’ve developed in the past.

We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer – we’re happy to talk about flexible working with you and we’re members of the Disability Confident Scheme, aiming to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.

New appointments will normally be placed on the minimum grade for the role; a higher starting salary may be offered in exceptional circumstances only.

ELC expansion

The Scottish Government is committed to expanding the provision of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) from 600 hours to 1140 hours per year by 2020. The expansion of ELC is aimed to support the reduction in the poverty-related attainment gap and improve long term outcomes for children and families.

Due to the ELC expansion programme we are looking for 7 further ELC Inspectors in addition to the “business as usual” Inspector campaign launched recently.

Principles and aims

The priority for the expansion to 1140 hours is to improve children's outcomes and close the poverty-related attainment gap. In addition, the expansion aims to support parents into work, study or training. The Scottish Government's four principles of the ELC expansion are: quality, flexibility, affordability, and accessibility.

The Scottish Government has stated that quality is 'at the heart' of the expansion and that achieving a high-quality ELC experience for children is a key objective.

Use and provision

A 2018 survey found that the main reason why parents use funded ELC is that they consider it beneficial for their child's learning and development. In addition, parents reported using the funded hours to either work, increase the number of hours they work, or look for work.

Funded ELC in Scotland is delivered by a wide range of providers including nurseries, crèches and playgroups, from across the public, private and third sectors. A small number of childminders also deliver funded ELC, but the Scottish Government hopes this number will increase under the expansion to 1140 hours.

Criteria to apply

  • We require you to hold a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9), register with either the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or any other relevant professional body and undertake PVG checks.
  • You must also be prepared to do a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10 with appropriate support from the organisation.
  • You will have a minimum of three years recent and demonstrable management experience in a relevant field. You must also be willing to travel with overnight stays as required.

Before you apply

  • Please contact the relevant body directly to resolve any queries you have regarding registration or eligible qualifications for registration (SSSC, NMC and so on) before submitting your application.
  • For an informal chat about the job role, please contact (Who?) You or Kim Connolly, Team Manager on 07766133161
  • For all other queries, please contact Human Resources at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To apply

  • If you are interested, please see the minimum criteria to apply as an Inspector and the specific guidance and directions to apply. Thereafter, click on the gateway questions link to apply.
  • Your completed application form (campaign number C39 only forms) and equal opportunities form should be returned to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.no later than Monday, 14 October 2019 at 8.00am.
  • We anticipate that selection days will take place in the week commencing Monday, 18 November 2019.