Age assessment practice guidance for Scotland

Acknowledgements

This Guidance is a second revision of the original Age Assessment Practice Guidance: An Age Assessment Pathway for Social Workers in Scotland produced in 2012 by Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Refugee Council with contributions from COSLA, Edinburgh City Council, UK Border Agency and Legal Services Agency amongst others. The sections which have been revised in this second (2025) update are set out in the introduction at page 2.

With special thanks to the following agencies and representatives who have supported the 2025 updates of this Guidance:

COSLA (Will Tuladhar-Douglas)

Glasgow City Council (Joanne Garrett, Laura Bouch, Janet McCulloch)

Perth & Kinross Council (Jenni McRae)

Renfrewshire Council (Martyn Campbell)

Inverclyde Council (Joanne Reekie)

JustRight Scotland (Andy Sirel)

Social Work Scotland (Vivien Thomson)

Guardianship Scotland - Aberlour (Catriona MacSween)

With continuing thanks also to the following agencies and representatives who drafted the updated 2018 Guidance, much of which remains in place following the 2025 revision:

Children & Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (Megan Farr) COSLA (Mirren Kelly)

Edinburgh City (Sean Bell, Becky Dunn)

Glasgow City Council (Joanne Garrett, Keith Moore-Milne, Diane Cabrey) JustRight Scotland (Andy Sirel)

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Rachel Morley) Police Scotland (Elaine Galbraith)

Scottish Government/ Social Work Scotland (Belinda McEwan) Scottish Guardianship Service - Aberlour (Catriona MacSween) South Lanarkshire Council (Debbie Kennedy)

Stirling Council (Michael Grassom)

United Kingdom Visas & Immigration (UKVI) (Joanne Pierce)

Special thanks is given to the following groups for their contributions:

Members of the Child Trafficking Strategy Group in Scotland

COSLA Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children Working Group

Chief Social Work Officers Group

Scottish Association of Social Workers for additional review and revisions

Young people with experience of the age assessment process

Claire Houghton from Edinburgh University.

The 2018 partnership group would like to acknowledge the contribution of guidance published for England and Wales to the shaping of this document.