[Note 1] Excludes emergency or short-term beds.

[Note 2] Bed complement dropped to 12 between July 2025 and December 2025 due to temporary closure of a house. Registered capacity remained at 18.

Capacity and usage

During 2024-25, there were 128 admissions to secure accommodation - down 14% from the previous year (Table 2). This continues a longer term trend in decreasing admissions and is the lowest number of admissions recorded since 2016 (256). On average there were 58 residents, a 3% decrease on the previous year. There has been an overall decrease in the average number of children in secure care since 2020 (82). During 2024-25, the maximum number of residents in secure care was 65 and the minimum number of residents was 51.

Of the 58 residents, an average of 53 residents were from within Scotland (up from 48 in 2024) and 6 were from outside Scotland (down from 12 in 2024), as seen in Chart 1. Since 2023 there has been a marked decreased in the proportion of residents in secure accommodation from outside of Scotland.

Chart 1 Average number of residents in secure accommodation during the year, 2014-25 [Note 1]

[Note 1] Children can be admitted and discharged more than once during the year.

Emergency beds were used for a total number of 145 nights between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025 (Table 2). This is a significant increase compared to recent years and the highest number of nights since 2020, though the figure remains much lower than between 2017 and 2020. In total, 12 residents used an emergency bed during the year for an average of 12 nights.

Table 2 Secure accommodation usage during the year, 2014-25 [Note 1]

[Note 1] Children can be admitted and discharged more than once during the year.

Resident characteristics and length of stay

On 31 July 2025, there were 52 residents in secure accommodation (Table 3). This continues the downward trend seen since 2019 and the lowest number of residents at year end since recording began in 2010. Of these, 40 (77%) were male and 12 (23%) were female. Over half of residents were aged 16 or over (58%), a slight increase from 52% in 2024. 15-year-old residents made up just under a quarter (23%) of all residents. A total of 15% of residents had a recorded disability, a drop from 37% in 2024. Of the 52 residents in secure accommodation on 31 July 2025, just under two thirds had a length of stay of less than 6 months (65%), 25% of residents had a stay of between 6 months to under 1 year and a further 10% stayed for a year or more. There is considerable year-to-year variation in both the length of stay in secure accommodation and resident age. Those aged 16 or over have made up the highest proportion of residents in all years since 2014, with the exception 2018 where there was a higher proportion of 15 year olds.

Table 3 Children in secure accommodation by sex, age, disability and length of stay on 31 July 2014-25 [Note 1]

[Note 1] For cells shown as "-", figures are not available. Cells containing "*" represent small numbers that are suppressed to maintain confidentiality. Other cells may be suppressed to avoid calculation of other suppressed values.

[Note 2] Since 2016, the binary question was asked: "does the young person have a mental or physical impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities?". Prior to 2016, additional support needs categories were asked for.

Placement prior to admission

In 2024-25, 24% of children admitted to secure care had a prior placement in a residential school (Table 4). 40% had a prior placement with relatives, friends or in the parental home. A further 17% were from foster care or a children’s home. This pattern has shown considerable variation over time. The previous year, 40% of children had a prior placement in a residential school, 30% had a prior placement with relatives, friends or in the parental home, and 21% were from foster care or a children’s home.

Table 4 Number of children admitted to secure care during the year by sex and placement prior to admission, 2024-25 [Note 1]

[Note 1] Children can be admitted more than once during the year.

[Note 2] Where Male or Female sex was not specified these children have been included in the total.

[Note 3] 'Other' placement prior to admission may include supported accommodation, independent living, hospital, assessment centre and close support.

Destination on discharge

A total of 136 children were discharged from secure care during 2024-25 (Table 5) a 9% decrease from the previous year. This is the lowest number of discharges since 2017 (257) and follows a longer term trend of declining numbers of discharges. Of these the most common destination after discharge was to a residential school (32%) or to a parental home, relatives or friends (30%). A further 12% were discharged to a Young Offender Institution and 12% to foster care or a children’s home (Table 5). The previous year, the most common destination after discharge was similarly to a residential school or parental home, relatives or friends (35% and 25% respectively). The percentage of young people discharged to a Young Offender Institution was only 3%. Since 24 August 2024, under the Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act 2024, 16- and 17-year-olds who require a period of detention can no longer be placed in a Young Offender Institution. This is likely to explain the increased number of young people moving from secure care to a Young Offender Institution when they turned age 18 in the last year.

Table 5 Number of children discharged from secure care during the year by sex and destination on discharge 2024-25 [Note 1]

[Note 1] Placement immediately after discharge during the year. Children can be discharged more than once during the year.

[Note 2] 'Other' placement after discharge includes supported accommodataion, independent living, hospital, assessment centre or close support.

Medical care during stay

Of those discharged, a total of 133 (98%) children received medical care during their stay (Table 6). Common types of medical care were: general physical health care or treatment (94%), general health discussions or advice (90%) and care or treatment to assist mental well-being (91%). Further to this, 87% received dental treatment or check-ups, 68% received sexual health care and 44% received mental health care or treatment during their stay. These proportions are broadly in line with figures reported for the previous year, with the largest differences being for sexual health care (75% in 2023-24) and mental health care or treatment (38% in 2023-24) .

Table 6 Number and percentage of children discharged from secure care who received medical care during their stay, 2024-25 [Note 1]

[Note 1] Children can be discharged more than once during the year.

Secure accommodation services in Scotland, England and Wales

Secure Care data for Scotland, England, and Wales can be found below (Table 7).  Please note that Scotland totals include children who are from elsewhere in the UK. Similarly, the totals for England and Wales may include some children from other parts of the UK.  It should be noted that these nations operate under different legislative frameworks, and as such figures are not directly comparable.

Table 7 Number of secure care services, places approved and children accommodated, Scotland, England and Wales, 31 March 2014-25 [Note 1], [Note 2], [Note 3], [Note 4], [Note 5]

[Note 1] Please note that the legal routes into secure care can vary between the UK countries.

[Note 2] Source for England and Wales available from Statistics: secure children’s homes.

[Note 3] For Northern Ireland, official/national statistics are not produced on secure care accommodation.

[Note 4] The figures from outside Scotland include children placed on welfare grounds only.

[Note 5] To allow for comparison with England and Wales, Scotland's data within this table is at 31 March for all years with the exception of 2020 for which it is at 29 February.