Bairns' Hoose Pathfinder Phase – Research Report
This report shares key learning gathered as part of the Bairns' Hoose Pathfinder Phase in Scotland. The mixed-method research explores the operation of six Bairns' Hoose partnerships, highlighting successes and areas for development.
4. Progress on Standards
This chapter presents an overview of progress towards implementing the Bairns’ Hoose Standards. The findings in this section are based only on the information included in the StART1 (February 2024) and StART2 (August 2025) submissions made by Pathfinders (Affiliates were not asked to use this tool).
As part of their StARTsubmissions, Pathfinders were asked to collectively score each of the Bairns’ Hoose Standards. StARTscores range from 1 to 6, with 1 being poor achievement, where few or none of the elements are addressed, and 6 being full achievement, where all elements are addressed.
Table 4.1 shows the average score for each Bairns’ Hoose Standard for each Pathfinder, as well as the average StART1 and StART2 scores for each Standard across the partnerships that had submitted at both time points. The Standards with comparatively low average scores are shown in red, the middle scoring Standards are in yellow, and the highest scoring Standards in green. It is important to bear in mind that these scores were self-assessed, so Pathfinders with similar progress may have scored themselves differently. Therefore, StART scores are not directly comparable across Pathfinders. They should be taken as a general indication of progress towards each Standard.
| Bairns’ Hoose Standard | StART2 scores from six Pathfinders | StART2 average | StART1 average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard 1: Key principles | 5.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 3.6 |
| Standard 2: Collaborative leadership & governance | 5.1 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 2.9 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 3.3 |
| Standard 3: Inclusive Access | 5.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| Standard 4: Design and environment | 5.6 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 3.4 |
| Standard 5: Planning for children | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.8 |
| Standard 6: Interviews in the Bairns’ Hoose | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.4 |
| Standard 7: Support through the court and legal process | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| Standard 8: Health and wellbeing | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| Standard 9: Therapeutic recovery services | 4.3 | 5.8 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.1 |
| Standard 10: Multidisciplinary staff training and support | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.4 |
| Standard 11: Prevention, sharing knowledge and learning from good practice | 5.0 | 5.3 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 2.4 |
Higher scoring Standards
Standard 6: Interviews in the Bairns’ Hoose was the Standard with the highest average score, with an average score of 5.3 out of 6. It was also the highest scoring Standard at StART1. Across all Pathfinders, progress towards Standard 6 was facilitated by the national rollout of the Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM), an interview model that improved the quality and experience of interviewing for CYP. However, there were still areas for improvement, including increasing access to interpreters and improving soundproofing within the interview spaces (see Chapter 9 for more detail).
The second highest scoring Standard at StART2 was Standard 4: Design and environment, with an average score of 4.7 out of 6. This Standard saw progress for several Pathfinders. Two Pathfinders renovated and opened their Bairns’ Hoose sites in 2025 and one Pathfinder prepared its site to open soon. This meant that by the time of StART2, all Pathfinders had identified a site, with four Pathfinders delivering services from Bairns’ Hoose sites. In working towards this Standard, Pathfinders ensured that spaces were designed to be child-friendly, safe, and welcoming, with private spaces for each family. Areas for improvement for this Standard included developing collaborative working space within the Bairns’ Hoose for multi-agency staff and incorporating health, police, social work, recovery and justice services under one roof (see Chapter 7 for more detail).
Lower scoring Standards
The two lowest scoring Standards, Standard 7: Support through the court and legal process and Standard 11: Prevention, sharing knowledge and learning from good practice, were also the lowest scoring standards at StART1. However, they were also the two Standards on which the most progress had been made since StART1.
Standard 7: Support through the court and legal process was the lowest scoring Standard, with a score of 3.8 out of 6. However, progress since StART1 had been made on ensuring the support from the Bairns’ Hoose was consistent with legal restrictions on information sharing and observed the independent roles of the police, Children’s Reporters, prosecutors and the judiciary. Progress was also made in creating a Bairns’ Hoose coordinator responsible for sharing information with CYP and families as they progressed through the court process. Progress towards establishing a court link for remote attendance was more mixed. This remained a key area for improvement (see Chapter 10 for more detail).
The second lowest scoring Standard was Standard 11: Prevention, sharing knowledge and learning from good practice, with a score of 4.0 out of 6. Although this Standard scored low overall, it was one of the higher scoring Standards for two partnerships. Areas of strength included commitment to continuous improvement and self-evaluation, contributing to national practice development, and promoting staff learning and development. Key areas for improvement were establishing a system to monitor progress towards the Bairns’ Hoose Standards, increasing wider prevention of child abuse, and raising awareness of the Bairns’ Hoose service.
Standards with the most and least variation
As noted previously, StARTscores are not suited for direct comparison across Pathfinders. This is particularly true for Pathfinders at different stages of implementation, for example, scores were affected by whether Pathfinders had yet secured a physical site. However, taking account of the variation linked to having or not having a physical site, Standard 9: Therapeutic recovery services had the largest range in StART2 scores. This suggested that recovery may be an area where Pathfinders had the most mixed experiences. It is true that the types of therapeutic support available varied a lot across Pathfinders, including holistic family support, practical support and a range of therapeutic support services. Furthermore, at the time of writing, there was no single definition of what therapeutic recovery is in the context of Bairns’ Hoose. For many Pathfinders, the process of commissioning support was lengthy and challenging with short-term funding. However, those partnering with Children First tended to think this was working well (see Chapter 12 for more detail).
The Standard with the least variation in scores was Standard 8: Health and wellbeing. All Pathfinders’ scores ranged between 4.2 and 4.7 for this Standard. Areas for improvement within this Standard included establishing a healthcare professional within the Bairns’ Hoose team, ensuring CYP were fully informed about their health and wellbeing and supported to share their views, and having examinations take place within the Bairns’ Hoose (see Chapter 11 for more detail).
Progress on Standard 1: Key Principles
Standard 1: Key Principles was unique in that many of its sub-standards were cross-cutting and the scores were tied to scores across other Standards. However, there are some sub-standards that sit solely within Standard 1 and have seen progress. All those with physical Bairns’ Hoose sites established had progressed towards ensuring that CYP who have experienced, witnessed, or whose behaviour may have caused significant harm are referred to the Bairns’ Hoose. Additionally, ensuring that CYP and families were treated with kindness and respect and that processes were designed around the needs of CYP were seen as areas of strength. Pathfinders also scored highly on meeting statutory requirements to prevent discrimination under the Equality Act (2010) and the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. One area for improvement noted was ensuring Pathfinders can demonstrate adherence to the relevant provisions of the UNCRC.
While Standard 1 is not analysed separately in this report, the principles that are cross-cutting or relevant to other Standards are explored in further detail in the relevant chapters.
Contact
Email: dafni.dima@gov.scot