 A new corporate plan pointing towards a sustainable future for social care and social work in Scotland
 Earlier this week, we published a bold and refreshed corporate plan to guide our work over the next five years.
The new corporate plan has our vision even more firmly at its core: that everyone in Scotland experiences high-quality, compassionate care, support and learning when they need it, delivered in a way that respects their rights and choices.
To achieve this, our mission sets out how we will provide public assurance about the quality of social care and social work - supporting improvement and collaboration.
The corporate plan is built around three strategic outcomes that reflect what stakeholders expect from a modern, rights-focused regulator.
Each strategic outcome and enabler will be supported by clear performance measures. These were developed to ensure they reflect shared priorities and can drive accountability across the organisation.
Enchanted intergenerational visits
 Children from the Enchanted Tree Nursery in Glasgow have been enjoying weekly visits to local care homes. The nursery started their intergenerational journey in December 2022, spreading some cheer to residents of Keane Premier Healthcare care homes by performing Christmas carols.
After receiving positive feedback from the care homes, staff from the Enchanted Tree wanted to make these visits a regular occurrence. The nursery children now visit Greyfriars care centre every week, and Ashton Grange care home and Croftbank House every few weeks. At Christmas time, they also visit other care homes and day care centres in the local area for carol singing.
The services make sure not to upset any residents who do not want to get involved by clearing the hallway that leads to the area where the children meet the residents. The children have also learned how to be patient and respectful when they enter, as they understand this is people’s home.
Megan Cameron, care home coordinator and early years practitioner, said: “It is an honour to be the care home coordinator, and I am so proud to be part of something so special. Watching all the children grow such a beautiful relationship with the residents is amazing to witness. The children show respect towards all residents from the moment we enter and enjoy speaking to the residents about their day. The children are kind, respectful, understanding and caring in the care home and make us so proud.”
Geraldine, activities coordinator from Keane Premier Healthcare, has stated that when the children leave the home, the memory recall of certain residents increases in the hours after. Some residents have also attended children’s nursery graduation events.
The children get excited as soon as they hear they are going to the care homes and talk endlessly with their parents about their visits. A child made a card for one of the residents in Croftbank House, bringing the resident to tears of joy. The child’s mum was moved by the lady's reaction, she took her two children back to give the lady flowers.
Annie Cameron, nursery manager, mentioned that there is one resident who has a doll that she calls “the wean”. Nursery staff were concerned a child would point out that her baby is not a real child and what her reaction would be. On one occasion one child did say: “That’s not a baby, that’s a doll”. Staff explained quietly that if we just pretend it’s a baby, it would make her happy. "It’s really lovely to see when she introduces the baby to the children, they touch it gently and ask its name and how old it is.” These visits help children recognise the feelings of others and gain empathy.
Annie said: “I would absolutely encourage others to do this. It brings joy, not only to the children and the residents, but also to our staff team, the care home staff team and the families of the residents. It’s so heart-warming to see the relationships the children build with the residents. Some of these people don’t get any visitors and when the children arrive, you can see their faces light up.”
Jenna Baker, early years practitioner, said: “I love going to the care home with the children. I feel that it benefits the children and residents so much. Their faces light up when the children walk in and they love doing the activities with them. I also feel that it brings on the children so much, developing their social skills and confidence as they chat to the residents.”
Sharon, relative of a resident, said: “It was absolutely fantastic that the nursery school came round to pay my mum and all the other residents a visit, it was thoroughly entertaining.”
Lucy, relative of a child said: “I just wanted to share how much the care home visits mean to us. N (4) absolutely loves going and it’s such a joy to see his excitement when he talks about the residents. He comes home with stories about their time together, the songs they sing, and the little moments that make him feel proud, happy, and important. He’s learning about kindness, empathy, and caring for others in ways that are hard to put into words. He often asks about the residents when he’s at home, wanting to know how they are and if they’re happy, and it’s so lovely to see how much he genuinely cares. He feels part of something bigger, a community where giving a little love can make a huge difference. We’re incredibly grateful that you can facilitate these visits as I know it’s not easy to organise but they are shaping him in the most wonderful way, and we can see the positive impact on him every single day. Also, he loves a wee care home party bag”.
The promise in practice
Netherton Farm is Greenleaf House’s residential children’s home in Perthshire. At a recent inspection we found significant strengths in how the service supported young people’s meaningful connections and family relationships. The promise states: All children must be supported to continue relationships that are important to them, where it is safe to do so.
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Blog by Ashley McKinlay, registered manager, with contributions from Kirsti Bridgewater, area manager and Sharron Reilly, head of psychology
The care team at Netherton Farm firmly believe that all young people should be supported to maintain meaningful relationships with their family members and is committed to encouraging and promoting these connections at every opportunity.
Ashley McKinlay, the home’s registered manager, said: “It is our role to find solutions and creative ways to overcome any barriers that may prevent our young people from staying connected to those who matter most to them.
“In line with the promise, we are dedicated to ensuring that children and young people stay connected to the people who are the most important in their lives.
“We recognise that transitioning into a residential home can be a traumatic experience, particularly when a young person has been separated from their family or placed far from home. Wherever possible, we involve family members in the transition process to provide comfort, continuity and a sense of belonging. We strive to ensure that a familiar and trusted face is there to welcome each young person upon arrival at Netherton Farm.
“We are strong advocates for our young people maintaining these vital relationships and actively welcome family members into the home for visits and overnight stays".
 At Netherton Farm, special celebrations are thoughtfully prepared to mark birthdays, achievements and any other meaningful occasions, allowing young people to share these moments with their brothers and sisters and all family members.
The team takes great care to create positive experiences and lasting relationships and reinforce each young person’s sense of belonging.
During these times, our team observes from a respectful distance to ensure that family time is not disrupted and ensuring privacy and natural interactions while still maintaining appropriate oversight to safeguard and protect everyone involved.
The team also works to support regular quality time with families outside of visits and ensures that family members are included in all aspects of the young person’s care.
Greenleaf House also provide wrap-around psychological support, with direct and indirect input from their in-house psychology team.
Sharron Reilly, head of psychology, said: “We offer therapeutic support to family members to promote consistency, stability and positive outcomes for the young person and their wider support network.
“This ensures that all support provided is beneficial for the family as a whole – together we build strong, lasting relationships that help our young people and their families thrive.”
"Greenleaf House ensures families are provided the opportunity to engage with the psychology team, allowing them access to therapeutic parenting theory and practice that Greenleaf’s care teams practice.
“This consistent approach allows parents to embed these principles within their own parenting style and family dynamic. This actively encourages application of structures, boundaries and routine alongside therapeutic responses with their children.”
Knowledge on attachment and developmental trauma are also provided to ensure that the environment and the adults regulate, relate and then reason through an interlink of applying PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy).
By working as a team around the child, Greenleaf House actively promotes children rejoining their family home.
Kirsti Bridgewater, area manager, said: “Whilst carrying out an unannounced visit, when I entered Netherton Farm, I was greeted with many ‘Happy 16th Birthday’ decorations and a house full of young people, with lots of fun and laughter. Family had arrived the previous night to share our young person’s 16th birthday as a family unit, and it was beautiful to watch.
“I felt as though I had walked into their family home and felt absolutely privileged to be part of this.”
Anne's Law update
The regulations about care home visiting that are commonly known as Anne’s Law, will come into force on Tuesday 31 March 2026. The regulations strengthen the rights of people living in adult and older people’s care homes to maintain contact with those who are important to them. They do this by introducing duties for care home providers in relation to visiting arrangements, identification of Essential Care Supporters, and transparency where visiting is restricted for any reason.
Code of Practice
A Code of Practice has been developed to provide guidance for care home providers, managers and staff on applying the legislation consistently and fairly. It will also support care home residents, families and friends to know what they should expect from care homes.
Notification of visiting restrictions
From 31 March 2026, when care homes restrict visits for any reason, they must notify:
- residents, if appropriate, their representatives, and essential care supporters
- the Care Inspectorate
- the chief social work officer for the relevant local authority.
Further information about notifications to the Care Inspectorate can be found here.
Implementation period
A three-month implementation period (31 March – 30 June 2026) will apply to support providers to fully embed the new arrangements. The legal duties under Anne’s Law will apply from 31 March 2026. The Care Inspectorate will continue to take a proportionate and supportive approach, recognising that providers are implementing new requirements during this period. During this time, providers should take steps to ensure their policies, processes and staff awareness align with the legislation and Code of Practice. However, the new notification requirements will apply from 31 March 2026.
Further information and guidance will be shared shortly.
Other news
We are changing the way we issue our electronic care standard questionnaires (eCSQs)
From March 2026 our eCSQs will be hosted on a different platform, we will no longer be using MS Forms for this process. This will support our transition to new systems during our digital transformation in 2026. As the transition progresses and we go live with the new system, further guidance and support on this process will be made available. Find out more here.
New provider portal
We are undertaking a major initiative to modernise our regulatory systems. Our Stage 2 Digital Transformation project is creating a new, single, unified provider portal. Designed with a people-centred approach, the new system will be user-friendly, provide a single source of information and significantly improve the efficiency of our interactions with services. This will ensure both the Care Inspectorate and providers can dedicate more time to delivering high-quality care across Scotland. Find out more here.
Recent publications
Webinars and events
Stay up to date with all our webinars and events on The Hub. You can watch recordings of our webinars on YouTube.
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