Different types of care experience

  • At home: living with parent(s) but with involvement from services
  • Kinship: living with friends or relatives
  • Foster: living with another family
  • Residential: living in a children’s unit/house
  • Other: a different community with prospective adopters.
A pie chart showing the percentages of looked after children in each type of accommodation
Scottish Government (2018)
Graph 2 Percentage of children looked after at 31 July 2018, in each type of accommodation
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This is a pie chart showing the number of looked after children in scotland between 2007 and 2017, broken down into each type of accommodation. It shows that during this 10-year period, 34% were in foster care, 28% were in Kinship, 26% were at home, 10% were in residential accommodation and 1% were listed as ‘other’.

Graph 2 Percentage of children looked after at 31 July 2018, in each type of accommodation

Most looked after children fall into two categories:

  • Looked after at home – where the child or young person has been through the Children's Hearings system and is subject to a Supervision Requirement (regular contact with social services) with no condition of residence.
  • Looked after away from home – where the child or young person has either:
    • Been through the Children’s Hearings system and is subject to a Supervision Requirement with a condition of residence
    • Is subject to an order made or authorisation or warrant granted by virtue of chapter 2, 3 or 4 of Part 2 of the 1995 Act
    • Is being provided with accommodation under Section 25 (a voluntary agreement)
    • Is placed by a local authority which has made a permanence order under section 80 of the Adoption and Children Act 2007.

Supervision Order

Where a child is considered to be ‘at risk’, and it is not possible for public services to address that risk in cooperation with the child and/or their parents/carers, a Children’s Hearing can make a Compulsory Supervision Order (or an Interim Compulsory Supervision Order).There is a list of reasons (in law referred to as ‘grounds’) why a child may be considered ‘at risk’, and therefore referred to a Children’s Hearing.

Children’s Hearing Act (2011)

The Children’s Hearings System is Scotland’s unique care and justice system for vulnerable children and young people. It operates a decision-making lay tribunal made up of members of the Children’s Panel. Their website [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] provides information about the System and the different types of orders and agreements that looked after children may be subject to.

Who are Care-Experienced people?

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