Scotland's Redress Scheme – 2025 Combined Annual Report

4.5 Charity Trustees of the Church of Scotland (CrossReach)

This report is issued on behalf of the Charity Trustees of the Church of Scotland (the Unincorporated Entities), Scottish Charity SC011353, including the Church of Scotland Social Care Council (also known as CrossReach) and its predecessors. The Church fully supports the Scottish Government Redress Scheme in its aspirations to recognise the historical abuse which occurred in children’s residential care settings prior to 2004, and to acknowledge the harm this abuse caused.

While we have committed financial support to survivors of historical abuse through the Redress Scotland Scheme, this is only one aspect of the many ways in which we have offered support to survivors over the past year.

Apology

We recognise that there have been times when our practice has fallen short, and people have, regrettably, been harmed in our care. CrossReach has offered a public apology to survivors as well as individual apology, written or oral, where that has been sought. The public apology was made again in 2024.

Care records

We understand the importance of historical records to those who have been in care, as these are often the only documents which capture information about their young lives.

In the past year, CrossReach has responded to 67 data subject access requests from people who have previously been in our care. However, there are times when survivors seek very specific information that is important to them. Following discussions with a survivor, a newspaper article containing a photograph of the person as a child was searched for in the newspaper’s archive, located and shared with the person. The person remembers the significance of featuring in the newspaper and appreciated seeing the article again and having a copy to retain.

To support access requests when they are received, it is important that our records are appropriately catalogued and stored. To that end, CrossReach has employed an Archivist since 2017.

In 2024, we responded to 45 verification requests relating to our participation in the Redress Scheme.

We have fully co-operated with Police Scotland, in their investigation of allegations of abuse in care services run by the Church, by providing records and other information as appropriate.

Engagement

CrossReach has a protocol in place which is followed when survivors contact the Church and raise issues about their time in care. We recognise that everyone is seeking something different, however, and therefore we respond with an individualised approach. This may be through offering counselling, signposting to relevant external supports, or making people aware of the Redress Scotland Scheme.

At their request, we have supported a survivor to visit our education campus so that they could understand the differences in approach between their own experience of education and current practice. They were pleased to see how the service operates and the positive outcomes that are being achieved today.

In the past year CrossReach has not received any requests from anyone who has advised us they are seeking assistance in tracing or being reunited with their family. CrossReach is not specialised in this area of support and therefore when such circumstances arise, we provide any records we hold and signpost the person to appropriate agencies such as Birthlink and Scottish Adoption who can offer professional specialist support and also hold many of the Church of Scotland adoption records.

Many people want to reach out through social media; therefore, we support two Facebook pages for Ballikinrain and Geilsland residential schools, both of which are now closed. The Ballikinrain page is active and provides a mechanism for former pupils to exchange memories, good and bad and share experiences. This is carefully moderated and supported by a group of senior managers within our Care and Education service.

There are times when people who have been in our care in the past and who find themselves in financial hardship or other difficulties contact CrossReach. The response provided to them is individualised to the person’s needs at that time. They may be looking for practical or emotional support and this can be provided by the most appropriate staff members. The same support is provided to through the Geilsland Facebook page, but its members are less active at this time.

There is an individual who reaches out to talk to someone every few months and will phone to speak with an identified employee with whom they have built up a relationship over the past few years.

In 2024 we had the opportunity to partner with the Glasgow School of Art on a research project to explore the potential for peer/pupil support from people who have previously used care services. Initiatives such as this allow us to engage, listen and learn from those who have used our services in the past as well as with current pupils and their families. The research has now been published, and we will report on learning in our next report.

Safeguarding Policy and Training

It is important to CrossReach that we have robust Adult and Child Protection policies in place which promote best practice. As a result, our Safeguarding Policies are updated on an annual basis by our specialist Safeguarding team. Staff are trained in Safeguarding in both face to face and virtual learning platforms. The culture in our services is to positively recognise and report any potential safeguarding issues at the earliest opportunity.

Staff receive regular supervision which allows any practice issues to be discussed or addressed. Staff know that they can speak to their line manager at any time and issues of concerns would be raised straightaway. Posters are displayed within all CrossReach services detailing the name and contact details of the external manager and the Business Partner for Quality, Compliance and Improvement. This means that if someone doesn’t feel they can raise an issue within the service they can raise it with a more independent and appropriate person. CrossReach Children and Families staff members work with Who Cares, an independent organisation who regularly come in and advocate for the young people. CrossReach are working towards being a trauma-informed organisation, the first step of which is to ensure that all staff have undertaken introductory training on trauma-informed practice. Many frontline specialists have undertaken trauma specialist training.

Regulation

The children’s residential services we run are all registered with the Care Inspectorate, and we ensure that we meet the requirements of safe care and focus on achieving positive outcomes for our young people. This is reflected in the high Care Inspectorate grades we hold, with one service being awarded a six – excellent, under the theme of wellbeing.

Our workforce is also professionally registered with the Scottish Social Services Council with all staff holding or working towards a relevant qualification.

Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry

2024 was a year of listening and reflecting for CrossReach. Significant time has been spent undertaking further research for the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry to ensure that the information shared and submitted by the organisation was as accurate and as detailed as possible.

Phase 8 of the Inquiry presented several witness statements which provided details of how people who used our services had been treated by the Church at various establishments over the years. While some spoke of the good care and support they had received, the majority described poor levels of care and abuse. This was painful to hear and falls far below the standards of care expected to have been provided. Systemic failures, where they had occurred, were recognised by CrossReach and it was accepted that those contributed to the abuse which otherwise may not have occurred in our services.

Church representatives were present at every session where Church of Scotland evidence was being heard, with statements being read in or survivors giving their evidence in person.

We understand that The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is separate from Redress Scotland but that the organisational learning from either has wider application. As a result of the Inquiry, we have held internal review meetings with the Children’s Services managers to discuss key themes arising from the evidence and assess whether any further actions need to be taken to ensure that the historical abuse reported is unlikely to occur today. While times have changed, there is no room for complacency when it comes to the protection and wellbeing of children placed in our care.

Moving Forward

We recognise there is always more we could do to support survivors and will continue to explore ways in which they can be appropriately supported.