We are CELCIS

CELCIS is a leading improvement and innovation centre in Scotland.

We improve children’s lives by supporting people and organisations to drive long-lasting change in the services they need, and the practices used by people responsible for their care.

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The home for Protecting Children

The home for Protecting Children

Find out more about child protection policy and practice in Scotland.

Visit Protecting Children

News

Scottish Government

Progress report on ministerial Corporate Parenting in Scotland

27 January 2025
On 23 January, the Scottish Government published its third corporate parenting report outlining how Scottish Ministers delivered…
The Promise logo

National framework established to monitor Scotland’s progress on children’s social care

18 December 2024
The first iteration of The Promise Progress Framework, created by The Promise Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Conventi…
End Child Poverty Coalition says the UK Government’s Child Poverty Strategy will need to be assessed against eight key tests

End Child Poverty Coalition says the UK Government’s Child Poverty Strategy will need to be assessed against eight key tests

17 December 2024
The End Child Poverty Coalition - a group of over 120 organisations including child welfare groups, social justice groups, faith…
Scottish Government

Scottish Government publishes vision for adoption in Scotland

29 November 2024
The Scottish Government has published (26 November) a statement setting out its vision and priorities for supporting adoption in…

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Resources

Response by CELCIS to the Scottish Government’s consultation on developing a universal definition of ‘care experience’

Our response is underpinned by research evidence, practice experience, and extensive insight and intelligence from people with lived experience and from professional practice. This has been gathered through our long-stan…

Towards modernising adoption in Scotland: A focused mapping review

This review of current adoption legislation, policy and practice considers what works well, what challenges and issues there are, and what factors should be considered in thinking about the future of adoption. It identif…

New research highlights the need for increased support for Scotland’s kinship families

A new report – Growing Up in Kinship Care – published by CELCIS, the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection based at the University of Strathclyde, for SCADR, the Scottish Centre for Administrative Dat…

Non-compulsory care for children and young people in Scotland: Learning from experiences of Section 25

This final report brings together the findings of how Section 25 arrangements in Scotland are experienced from the perspectives of parents, practitioners - social workers, solicitors, children’s reporters and independent…

Blog

Working together to strengthen practice in residential child care: Key learning from our change journey

Working together to strengthen practice in residential child care: Key learning from our change journey

In the final post in this series, Marc Blyth, Lead Learning Co-ordinator at Aberlour Children's Charity Sycamore Residential Service, which provides residential…

January 2025
Working together to strengthen practice in residential child care: The power of observation, reflection and feedback

Working together to strengthen practice in residential child care: The power of observation, reflection and feedback

In the second in this series of blogs posts Marc Blyth, Lead Learning Co-Ordinator at children’s charity Aberlour Sycamore, which provides residential child…

January 2025
Working together to strengthen practice in residential child care: Laying the groundwork for change

Working together to strengthen practice in residential child care: Laying the groundwork for change

Marc Blyth, Lead Learning Co-Ordinator at children’s charity Aberlour Sycamore, which provides residential child care across Scotland, discusses how developing…

January 2025
Whose experiences are we relying on to explain what the reality of adoption feels like for adoptees?

Whose experiences are we relying on to explain what the reality of adoption feels like for adoptees?

In this blog post, Dr Polly Cowan, a Practice Manager at Scottish Adoption and Fostering, explains how the organisation’s Young Ambassadors developed a new…

November 2024
Developing a new resource to help support adoptive families caring for brothers and sisters

Developing a new resource to help support adoptive families caring for brothers and sisters

In this blog post, Dr Christine Jones, an adoptive parent and researcher who worked to ensure the rights of care experienced brothers and sisters are protected…

November 2024
Taking action to improve the collection of statistics about disabled children in Scotland

Taking action to improve the collection of statistics about disabled children in Scotland

In this blog post, Dr Alex McTier, Evidence and Evaluation Specialist at CELCIS, explains what’s behind a new project to help better understand the needs of…

November 2024