Feeling safe and nurtured

Scotland’s looked after children and young people live in a wide variety of home settings.

Broadly speaking they fall into the following groups:

• At home with their birth parent(s)
• With friends and relatives of their family
• In foster care
• In a residential unit/children’s unit
• In a residential school
• In secure accommodation.

Protecting children in substance-abusing households

The Scottish Government's Hidden Harm report identifies a range of actions and initiatives to improve support and protection for young people living in substance-misusing households.

The Government is working to align Hidden Harm with its early intervention agenda, which includes a strong focus on preventative actions and support for families and capacity building, while strengthening protection for children in situations of immediate risk. 

This approach builds on the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child, and will fully integrate with wider Government strategies on drugs and alcohol.

Impact of the living environment on education

The Extraordinary Lives report noted that 'children and young people’s esteem and behaviour can be enhanced by good quality surroundings, furniture and decoration'.

The environment in which they live does appear to have a direct bearing on the educational outcomes of Scotland’s looked after children and young people, according to information gathered for the Children’s Social Work Statistics and Scottish Government National Statistics publications:

• Children and young people who are looked after at home with their parents do least well, as a group, in terms of attendance and achievement when compared to other groups of looked after children and young people.
• Children and young people who are looked after and accommodated in foster care do best, as a group, in terms of attendance and achievement when compared to other groups of looked after children and young people.
• Children and young people who are looked after and accommodated in residential units do least well, as a group, when compared to other groups of looked after and accommodated children and young people.