Children and Families National Leadership Group minutes: March 2026

Attendees and apologies

• Kathryn Lindsay, Co-Chair, SOLACE
• Alison Gordon, Social Work Scotland (SWS)
• Hannah Axon, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Tracy Davis, Child Health Commissioners
• Lynda Fenton, Public Health Scotland
• Sheena Devlin, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• Laura Lamb, Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
• Mike Burns, SWS
• Neil Hunter, Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA)
• Neil McKenzie, Police Scotland
• Claire Burns, Centre for Excellence in Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS)
• Jane Scott, CELCIS
• Jude Turbyne, Children in Scotland
• Mary Glasgow, Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland
• Morag Burnett, The Promise
• Andrew Watson, Co-chair, Scottish Government
• Angela Latta, Scottish Government
• Gavin Henderson, Scottish Government
• Eilidh McCreath, Scottish Government
• Sharon Macdonald, Scottish Government
• Rachel Bell, Scottish Government
• Graham Macleod, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Introduction and minutes of last meeting

Kathryn Lindsay welcomed members to the meeting. The minutes of the previous meeting on 21 October 2025 were cleared by members with no comment. 

Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) sub group update

The GIRFEC team gave a presentation on the National Leadership Group (NLG) priority for 2025/26 which was to strengthen GIRFEC implementation. An update was provided on the four priorities identified by the NLG’s GIRFEC sub group: workforce confidence; leadership and culture; review and evaluation; and policy alignment and recommitment to GIRFEC.

They also shared some of the findings from research undertaken by Dr Alex McTier, CELCIS, on the impact of GIRFEC over the last 20 years.

Members were invited to provide comments on the updated narrative, which was circulated in advance of the meeting (and there is an opportunity for members to provide further feedback by email until the end of March). Reflections included:

• strengthening working in partnership with families and including the voices of parents
• making explicit connection to Getting It Right For Everyone (GIRFE)
• positioning of GIRFEC as a foundational framework, as opposed to a ‘golden thread’
• recognition of the on-the-ground challenges practitioners and service leaders face in delivering GIRFEC

Andrew Watson stated the importance of GIRFEC remaining prominent in engagements with incoming Ministers following the scottish parliament elections.

Children’s Services Workforce

Angela Latta opened this agenda item by providing an update on the National Social Work Agency (NSWA), including its policy responsibility for the social work workforce with the Scottish Social Work Partnership. New statutory duties on NSWA will include reporting on social work services nationally, including in relation to the workforce.

Kathryn Lindsay then drew attention to papers and 2 and 3 circulated in advance of the meeting and invited reflections on the group’s role in relation to children’s services workforce, as part of wider proposals to review the purpose of NLG following Scottish Parliament elections in May 2026.

Reflections included:

• agreement that the NLG’s workforce development sub-group will not be reconvened as contemplated in previous meetings, in light of the wider landscape of workstreams and groups set up to address various aspects of children’s services workforce issues
• agreement that the elections, and the priorities of an incoming government, provide a useful point to review the requirement – and purpose, future priorities and membership - of a national leadership group
• lessons learned from the current group’s ability to influence policy, including the need to set clearer outcomes, expectations, and accountability for delivery, should be considered as part of future planning
• sense that a ‘national culture’ of setting up siloed working groups has resulted in NLG its current format having multiple, fragmented conversations without clear tasks, timescales or outcomes which can influence policy development

Scottish Government policy updates

Andrew Watson gave an update on:

• the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill which will be going through stage 3 next week
• the recently-closed consultation on the scottish government’s vision for kinship care, which was subsequently published and can be found here
• the forthcoming child poverty delivery plan, which was subsequently published and can be found here, including proposals around whole family support

Any other business

No other business was raised by members.

Kathryn Lindsay referred again to paper 3 setting out proposals for the future of the NLG. It was agreed that no further meetings would be scheduled, subject to a review of the group in line with post-election priorities and in the context of other groups, boards set up for key policy priorities.

Kathryn thanked members for their time, expertise and commitment to NLG in its current format, since its shift from the COVID-19 collective leadership group in 2023.