Scotland's vision for kinship care: our offer of support for families

2. Strategic Context

The Scottish Government believes that every child in Scotland should grow up feeling loved, safe and respected, with rights upheld and relationships nurtured.

Key to this is The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (Scotland) Act 2024 which strengthens the protection of children’s rights in Scotland. In particular, it affirms every child’s right to preserve their identity and family relationships without unlawful interference. This includes babies and infants, whose needs must be actively recognised and evidenced in decision-making about their care.

Our overarching ambition – in line with The Promise – is to keep families together where it is safe, and to provide the support that is needed to make this happen. Where that is not possible, our legislative framework and The Promise is clear that kinship care should be actively explored as a positive place for children to be cared for, along with the right family support in place. This approach aligns with our work on Whole Family Wellbeing and Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26, recognising that resilient family units, with the right support, contribute to improved outcomes and reduce child poverty.

Our work on The Promise is underpinned by Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) which is Scotland’s approach to supporting all children and young people. GIRFEC makes it everyone’s responsibility to ensure children grow up safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible, and included. The GIRFEC National Practice Model helps practitioners assess and respond to the needs of children in kinship care, ensuring support is tailored and holistic. It makes it clear that all children should benefit from a coordinated system where health visitors, mental and physical health services, and local authorities collaborate seamlessly to provide support when needed. For pre-school children, this includes recognition that the Health Visitor is the Named Person for most under-5s.

We also recognise the importance of early childhood development. Positive experiences in the first 1,001 days (conception to age 2) and through the 0–3 stage lay the foundations for later life. Latest ECD analysis indicates looked after children are significantly more likely to present developmental concerns than non-care-experienced peers. Supporting babies, infants and their carers within kinship arrangements early and proportionately is therefore critical.

The link between kinship care and poverty is well established. Many kinship carers, often grandparents or extended family members, step in at short notice, during times of crisis, frequently without preparation or financial support. They may face increased costs, reduced income, complex benefit interactions and limited access to resources, all while providing full-time care.

The broader actions and commitments to deliver The Promise, reduce child poverty and reform public services are set out in our Keeping the Promise Implementation Plan Update, and Plan 24-30. This Vision sits alongside that wider programme of reform.

The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill 2025 is currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament. At Stage 2, the Scottish Government brought forward amendments intended to strengthen support for children and young people with care experience, including those in kinship care. These include provisions relating to improved access to advocacy, extension of eligibility for aftercare, greater transparency in relation to financial support, and clarification of support arrangements across different legal routes. If agreed by Parliament at Stage 3, these provisions will be supported by statutory guidance and phased implementation. This vision and offer is designed to complement and align with the final legislative framework once agreed by Parliament.

We recognise that legislative change alone does not deliver improved experience for families navigating the system. Clear statutory guidance, accessible information and consistent local implementation are equally important. Throughout this vision and offer, where we refer to legislative change, this includes a commitment to strengthening guidance and ensuring that families understand what the law means in practice.

This vision and offer complements our existing adoption vision^[1] and work on the future of foster care. Although many of the principles – especially around intensive family support, trauma-informed practice and community-based help – are shared across all caregiver groups this document focuses on the specific context and needs of kinship families.