Secure care
Secure accommodation is a form of residential care that restricts the freedom of children under the age of 18. It is for the small number of children who may be a significant risk to themselves, or others in the community. Their needs and risks can only be managed in secure care's controlled settings.
Secure care aims to provide intensive support and safe boundaries to help these highly vulnerable children re-engage and move forward positively in their communities.
Secure care provision
Secure care in Scotland is provided by four independent charitable organisations:
- Good Shepherd Centre, Bishopton
- Kibble Safe Centre, Paisley
- Rossie Secure Accommodation Services, Montrose
- St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs
The Secure Accommodation Network is updated daily and provides contact details as well as information on current vacancies.
Further information on capacity and usage can be found in Children's Social Work Statistics: Secure Care 2023 to 2024 (April 2025).
Secure care pathway and standards
The Secure Care Pathway and Standards, Scotland set out what support children should expect from professionals when in the community or secure care. Implementation of the Standards will ensure that support is provided before, during and after a stay in secure care and that the rights of children and young people are respected.
Children and young people in care and with care experience were involved in developing the standards along with secure care staff, local government and the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ). The Secure Care Standards website gives information on why these Standards matter to children and young people and includes links to guidance and legislation.
Reimagining secure care
The ‘Reimagining Secure Care: A Vision for the Future’ report, published by the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) in September 2024, outlined a bold and transformative vision for the future of secure care, and broader children’s care, in Scotland.
Our response outlines our position and intended actions, both in the short-term, to continue capacity restoration, and in the longer-term, to strengthen resilience and sustainability of secure care. These committed actions will continue to evolve over time, in response to changing contexts and ongoing engagement, and will be delivered over two phases:
- phase 1 (2025-26 – 2027-28): capacity restoration and reinforcement
- phase 2 (2028-29 – 2029-30): road-testing / readiness for ‘reimagining’
The response includes a summary of the actions we will be taking over these two phases, including:
- restoring secure care capacity – addressing current capacity challenges and ensuring long-term resilience
- consulting, testing and evaluating change – exploring and piloting new approaches where evidence and consultation are currently limited
- reforming commissioning and funding – exploring opportunities to strengthen the secure accommodation funding and commissioning models to ensure transparency and efficiency
- improving data and enhancing system integration – strengthening data and policy cohesion
STARR
STARR provides a space for people of all ages with lived experience of secure care to come together, spend time with peers and friends, and share ideas of how to improve the secure care journey. If you are interested in joining STARR, please contact cycj@strath.ac.uk.
Court appearances and sentencing
Scottish Ministers are responsible for placing and managing the sentences of children under the age of 18 who have been convicted of murder or on indictment (i.e. under solemn procedure, not summary) by the courts and sentenced to detention.
If a local authority has a child or a young person due to attend court on a solemn matter, they should notify the Scottish Government’s Child Placement Manager as soon as possible:
Alison Melville
Child Placement Manager
Children’s Rights, Protection and Justice Division
Area 2-C (South)
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Tel: 07867 390282 (office hours)
07554 332310 (out of hours)
Email: childplacementmanager@gov.scot
More information can be found in the custody of convicted children and young people practice guidance.