Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland (VPF) End of programme report

4. Update on actions

Action 1 – We will fund the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to lead on work with partners to identify opportunities to ensure that our evening economy remains safe and free from violence.

Over the past three years, the SVRU has responded to emerging trends in youth behaviour within the early evening and early night‑time economy. While most young people socialise safely, increased gatherings around transport hubs and retail areas have created heightened risks of antisocial behaviour, violence and exploitation. In partnership with national and community organisations, the SVRU has delivered a series of targeted initiatives aimed at safeguarding young people, building community resilience and strengthening early intervention.

Glasgow Guardians (Common Ground)

During 2024/25, the SVRU continued this work by developing the Street Guardians approach. This approach is primarily concerned with the safety of young people and in providing increased guardianship to improve the safety and well-being of young people.

The approach is a collaboration of several organisations: YMCA Scotland, Action for Children, Glasgow Street Pastors and G20 Youth Project. The SVRU used data and evidence to create the pilot. Initially scheduled for 12-weeks, it aimed to enhance the safeguarding of the large amount of young people congregating in and around the 'Four Corners' area of Glasgow City Centre (Union Street / Argyle Street / Jamaica Street / St Enoch Square), during Friday and Saturday late afternoons/early evenings, an area and a time renowned for violence and antisocial behaviour. It sought to do this through a street team of 'safe adults / capable guardians' who patrol the area and take an early intervention approach – a key component was to increase their visibility and create a feeling of safety in areas where there had been problems with violence and antisocial behaviour.

Due to the success of the pilot, it was initially extended in June until September 2025 and will now run until the end of March 2026. The programme has now been incorporated into the wider Common Ground approach, as this additional support and extra level of specialism ensures that even the most vulnerable young people can be supported and demonstrates how safeguarding procedures can be implemented.

The SVRU is undertaking discussions with Barnardos (the lead organisation for Common Ground) and partners in academia, to independently evaluate the approach. Key highlights for the first 25 weeks are as follows:

• 1,863 young people engaged across 627 interactions;
• 177 young people attended the Hub for in person support;
• Around 80% of all interventions remain early, relational, and preventive;
• Children travel to the ‘Four Corners’ from all over Scotland - the geographic reach now spans 16 local authority areas;
• Increased self-referrals and earlier engagement from younger adolescents (14–16 years).

Young people are travelling significant distances to socialise in Glasgow; this confirms the city centre’s role as a magnet for young people across the west of Scotland and the need for cross-boundary safeguarding. Common Ground’s pan-authority partnerships (with Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire councils and others) could therefore be essential to maintaining joined-up responses, when risks cross local boundaries.

Safe Horizons

The Safe Horizons workshops is a joint approach from SVRU, Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Prevention Hub partners. The workshops brought together the public, private and third sectors with community members and young people, to discuss some of the issues and challenges that exist.

50 participants attended the workshop in Edinburgh, with discussions focused primarily on serious youth violence, with concerns and conversations raised around gangs and exploitation.

60 participants attended the workshop in Aberdeen, where the overall theme was inclusion and how the city could be more welcoming for young people, encouraging positive behaviour and reducing violence/anti-social behaviour (as well as the perception of antisocial behaviour and violence).

The Safe Horizons series is an example of the public health approach in action. The SVRU plays a convening role, using both police intelligence as well as multiagency published data to understand where there are significant challenges across Scotland. Areas are then approached, ensuring multiagency representation and that the key people are present, with a level of seniority and influence high enough to explore the issues and agree to a local action plan. The SVRU supports the local areas to generate and deliver their local action plans, identifying opportunities to leverage resource from other sources to support, where required.

A further workshop is in development for 2026, as well as a national workshop for system leads and national organisations in 2026/27.

One Community Scotland (OCS)

One Community Scotland (OCS) is an award-winning, youth-led organization that supports young people aged 14-24 from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities as they settle as New Scots in Scotland. The organization is dedicated to combating prejudice, overcoming language barriers, and addressing financial illiteracy. They provide a range of training and support services, including gaining work experience, learning Scottish laws, receiving first aid and mental health awareness training, and connecting with apprenticeship opportunities. One Community Scotland aims to empower and support young people in Scotland, particularly those who are new to the country, by providing a welcoming community, mentorship, and resources that help them overcome challenges and achieve their personal and professional goals.

As a key delivery partner with the SVRU, OCS is providing specialised support and services to minoritised communities in Glasgow and surrounding areas. Working with families and communities and providing a mix of youth work and family support, OCS has supported the SVRU to work with, and alongside, communities that otherwise would be difficult to reach. For example, the 2025 yearly participation in the Glasgow Spirit of Christmas saw the distribution of over 600 gift bags for the children of New Scots communities struggling with financial pressures. Its support to the Glasgow Guardians has been invaluable, with OCS youth workers helping to engage with the significant numbers of young men and women from the Sudanese and Ghanian communities frequenting Glasgow city centre.

MAV

Through their MAV Academy and On the Edge programmes MAV has contributed indirectly to this Action by engaging with young people in schools to help them make safer choices when out in the nighttime economy.^[10]

PSYV

PSYV has been showcasing good citizenship and pro-social activity of young people in communities, ranging from local interactions and events to large scale National Events and Campaigns. Some National Highlights include the It’ll Cost You Campaign. Most recently, 16 PSYV Groups participated in the 2025-26 campaign. This included 97 Youth Volunteers, who were supported by 48 Adult Volunteers.

Action 2

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will continue to monitor and improve their service engagement processes and procedures to identify and support vulnerable and high risk people in their homes and communities to help keep people safe from harm. (SFRS)

As noted in the previous annual report, SFRS have revised their Home Fire Safety Visit programme, expanding on the risk criteria and visit content considered during a visit.^[11]The visits concentrate more on those deemed vulnerable in society and will include the contributory health and lifestyle factors, as it is recognised that health and care issues, when coupled with fires in the home, result in worse outcomes including a much higher likelihood of fatalities.

SFRS are continuing to review their policies for staff and communities to help build safer communities across Scotland.

Action 3

To complement implementation of this Framework, we will work with Police Scotland to support the development of their Violence Prevention Strategy during 2023/2024. (Police Scotland)

Police Scotland’s Violence Prevention Strategy is likely to be published later in 2026 and will align closely with the anticipated successor to this current Violence Prevention Framework as well as with the anticipated new Justice Vision for Scotland. It will also align with Police Scotland’s national 2030 vision: safer communities, less crime, supported victims, and a thriving workforce^[12].

Action 4

The Scottish Violence Reduction Unit will lead on work with partners to use the learning from their place-based pilot in Wallacetown, Ayr, to share the learning and, through 2023-2024 and beyond, develop the approach into further additional areas of need in Scotland. (SVRU)

Over previous years, Scotland has witnessed several high-profile mass disturbances and organised violence within disparate communities across the country, in specific areas of Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayrshire. Since the VPF was published in May 2023, the SVRU has been working with partners and communities in areas of the country to build social cohesion to reduce violence and anti-social behaviour.

SVRU contribution

In 2024/25, by adapting learning from previous work in Levenmouth, the SVRU has developed a trade hub project connected to Castlebrae High School, Niddrie. This provides access to specialist employment training, as well as mentoring and support to those who are at risk of getting involved in violence.

The SVRU and local policing has also delivered the ‘Punching Up’ initiative in Niddrie, engaging 92 young people (aged between 11-15 years) from the local community in a boxing initiative. In addition to taking part in the programme, attendees also participated in workshops regarding social responsibility and local community empowerment.

Given the disproportionate impact that the bonfire associated disorder has on the Niddrie/Craigmillar area, SVRU supported the Edinburgh Divisional Commander in the development of a prevention plan. Significant youth engagement/diversionary work saw key vulnerable individuals assess as having the potential to engage in disorder, attending Topgolf alongside mentors in November 2025. Given the sensitive nature with residents and the previous history, the SVRU (through local housing and other partners) worked with the local people to reduce the fear and help to maintain a sense of normality. In 2025, for the first time in many years, Bonfire night passed without any injury to officers.

In 2025, after feedback from the community around the importance of pride in the local area, the SVRU have identified an opportunity to create a community garden, where the development and ownership of the space will sit with the community.

In 2025, the SVRU project lead supported the newly established, community-led group for the Hays area, in the heart of Niddrie. This aims to provide a forum to support and drive community-based activity, ensuring sustainability beyond SVRU’s direct involvement. With the creation of the new planning strategic group in the area, with access to extra funding to support the development of the Niddrie area, the SVRU priority is to ensure adequate and effective community involvement to support true co-production and sense of ownership.

Contextual Safeguarding – Glasgow Guardians and Common Ground

In 2025, as part of the ‘contextual safeguarding’ approach, the SVRU has delivered training to security teams and retailers in the Glasgow ‘Four Corners’ and St Enoch Centre area. As a result of the training and ongoing activity, early feedback from retailers indicates a more positive experience in engaging with young people who visit, with less fear.

Wider Levenmouth

Although the initial involvement in Levenmouth was connected to levels of recorded violence in the high school, it was quickly established that for the approach in the school to be a success, the prevention work had to be extended out into the whole community. The Community Trade Hub has become a key partner in Levenmouth, providing support and training both at their base and through their mobile service (a STEM bus), which was used to reach young people at various locations.

Think Equal (TE) is a social-emotional learning programme designed to support children aged 3–6 years, in building emotional awareness and regulation^[13]. Following a successful implementation across the Paxton cluster, the Care Inspectorate examined the programme during a full inspection of Paxton Nursery. Due to the programme's evident success and the positive inspection report, the Local Authority has now decided to extend Think Equal to all nurseries in the area.

Action 5

During 2023, the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit will lead work in partnership with YouthLink Scotland, Police Scotland and other partners, to deliver possible solutions specifically aimed at targeting weapon carrying amongst some young people, and older people with histories of violence. (SVRU)

Previously, in 2024/25, the SVRU initiated research looking at weapons data, which informed its approach to tackling weapon carrying, working in partnership with MAV and YouthLink Scotland^[14]. During 2025/26, this has resulted in additional training and development for teachers in schools across Scotland; and additional training to improve Police Scotland’s stop and search practice. Complementing this work, YouthLink Scotland has also delivered various online and face to face NKBLs training sessions with practitioners working with young people; and MAV have worked with young people to highlight the consequences of knife carrying and knife injuries in primary schools, youth clubs and secondary schools.

The ‘Let's Talk’ project by STAF (Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum) focuses on stop and search and its impact on young people. A group of young adults (the Youth Just Us team at STAF) collaborated with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to explore the topic and produced animations and a learning guide. The project aims to educate young people about the reasons for police stop and search and to help police officers understand young people's perspectives, building improved relationships between communities and Police Scotland. The animations and learning guide are available for free and can be used for training sessions to enhance understanding of young people's rights^[15].

Joint Training and Improving Service Delivery

During 2025/26, the SVRU has continued to support the NKBL-led training by delivering sessions at all the local seminars. The SVRU Training and Development officer delivered training to over 3,000 educators across all sectors (nursery, primary, secondary and FE), covering topics such as contextual safeguarding and relationship-based practice.

Violence Anonymous

The Violence Anonymous (VA) programme has been sustained over 2025/26. The VA approach is now in three groups (size varies from 5 -16, on a session-by-session basis).

Supporting Opportunities for Life

Since the project started in March 2025, 58 young people in West Lothian have been referred to the Supporting Opportunities for Life (SOL) Project, which has been part funded and incepted by the SVRU. Currently SOL are working with 18 young people. With approximately two thirds of the participants diagnosed as neurodivergent, the mentors and other staff have adapted their approach to meet the needs of the individuals they support. Since, their involvement with SOL, 62.5% have stopped offending.

Community Navigator Programme

The Community Navigator Programme was initiated in 2024/25 and launched in April 2025 to help support young people in the Niddrie area, who were registered as students at Castlebrae High School. Many of these young people had poor levels of engagement with the school and were frequent non-attenders, identified as being at particularly high risk of violence.

The two Community Navigators (Peer Mentors) provided intensive support to 12 young people at any one time. The school reported a noted improvement in attendance and viewpoint towards schooling, with attitudinal shifts, especially with their outlook.

Safety Planning Training

During 2025/26, the SVRU developed safety planning training and workshops, for delivery to practitioners for onward cascading. This training was developed from the contextual safeguarding approach and has been delivered to over 900 young people and teachers; and more intensive workshops to groups of vulnerable young people identified by local partners (approximately 40 young people).

Community Trade Hub (CTH) – STEM Bus

CTH and local policing have visited 12 feeder primary schools for Levenmouth Academy with 325 Primary 7 pupils participating in the activities, to enhance their transition to High School.

Campus Officer Training

The SVRU continues to support Campus Officers by delivering CPD training and providing access to best practice. In 2025/26, there were two CPD sessions delivered, training up to 100 attendees at a time. These officers are a key frontline delivery resource, interacting with over 100,000 young people per year.

‘The Way We See It’

In partnership with Police Scotland’s Youth Engagement Team, the SVRU has had conversations with 210 High School students and 35 primary pupils to discuss their hopes, fears and attitudes to violence and other associated behaviours. Across Scotland, there were some major differences in perceptions to issues such as gangs - with some areas being more aware of ‘youth gang’ activity, whereas other communities didn’t consider it to be an issue. This work is ongoing and a full report will be available later in 2026.

One Community Scotland

The SVRU funded the OCS led ‘Pathway to Success’ programme which was delivered throughout summer 2025. In total, the project has supported 24 of the most at-risk new Scots in Glasgow, with ongoing work continuing to help the most recent participants reach positive destinations.

MAV

Through the MAV Academy and On the Edge programmes, MAV has been supporting this Action by giving young people knowledge and information and by having discussions with them to allow them to make safer choices. The lessons specifically focus on the dangers of using weapons. This year, MAV developed an interactive app that is available on the Google Play Store to convey some of the consequences associated with blunt force trauma to the head and neck. The app is free to download, and use includes a quiz that allows young people to test their knowledge after working through the content.

Additionally, through MAV’s Navigator programme, it continues to work with older people who have been involved in violence often associated with addiction.

PSYV

PSYV groups were requested to create a community event and bring together community groups and emergency services to showcase pro-social activities and groups that young people could access and become involved with. The PSYV events provided pro-social alternatives to anti-social behaviour and violence, for example:

• PSYV Glasgow (Bonfire Night event) Focused on violence prevention themes, including Fearless and knife crime awareness. Volunteers led workshops on knife crime prevention during a period of known ASB.
• PSYV West Lothian (Artwork for schools) A workshop designed materials promoting Fearless to encourage young people to share information anonymously to prevent violence and ASB.

These events increased awareness of knife crime consequences and reporting pathways and encouraged reporting and information sharing to prevent violence.

Action 6

The Scottish Violence Reduction Unit will lead work with YouthLink Scotland and with other partners to identify opportunities over the next year to develop a collaborative plan with actions for harm reduction and violence prevention specifically targeting the effects of social media on violence. (SVRU)

Following the successful launch of the Quit Fighting for Likes campaign in September 2024, it was repeated in early 2025/26 (to coincide with the Easter holidays). This has been led by the SVRU but has involved input from a range of partners, including MAV.

With the successful re-run of the campaign, SVRU will reschedule the campaign two or more times per year for subsequent periods, in agreement with all partners.

NKBL

Separately, during 2025/26, NKBLs has delivered the Scottish Knife Crime and Violence Prevention Survey, to gain new learnings and research in relation to young people’s experiences of violence and knife carrying and views on prevention across Scotland. This includes the impacts of social media on violence. Over, 2,500 young people completed the survey, and results will be disseminated later in 2025/26, to shape and influence the work from 2026/2027 onwards.

Action 7

By August 2023, we will review the findings from our stakeholder engagement with the Scottish Community Safety Network, to consider the next steps for work to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Community Safety Network completed widespread engagement to examine the challenges posed by antisocial behaviour across Scotland.

This culminated in the joint publication of Reviewing Scotland’s Approach to Antisocial Behaviour in November 2023. Subsequently, the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour, commissioned by the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, undertook a comprehensive review of Scotland’s approach to preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour. The group engaged with over 250 stakeholders and published its final report on 25 February 2025. The report sets out 45 recommendations including reviewing current legislation, definitions, and guidance on antisocial behaviour. In December 2025 the Scottish Government responded to this report and as part of this November 2025 and thereafter commenced a comprehensive review of ASB legislation and guidance. This is underway and building on existing work – such as consideration of enforcement powers to tackle ASB on the railways - is expected to provide advice to Ministers early in the next Parliamentary session. A legislative review is in progress and is currently carrying out engagement work with stakeholders to inform the review.

Action 8

We will consider the findings from our forthcoming Behaviour in Schools Research, which is due to be published in late 2023, and will work with partners to develop a response to any emerging issues relating to violence. (SG)

The Scottish Government held three relationships and behaviour in schools' summits between September and November 2023 and published the research on Behaviour in Scottish Schools^[5] in November 2023, which provided robust national evidence on teacher and school staff experiences of pupil behaviour. Whilst this evidence suggests behaviour in our classrooms and around the school is generally good, it reported increases in most low level disruptive, serious disruptive and other negative behaviours in school.

We have produced national guidance for local authorities and schools to promote positive relationships and manage behaviour through the National Relationships and Behaviour in Schools Action Plan, published in August 2024. This plan outlines 20 key actions to be delivered between 2024 and 2027, in response to the findings of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2023. Jointly owned with COSLA, recognising councils’ statutory responsibility for education delivery, the Action Plan includes measures to reduce violence in schools and improve relationships and behaviour. It also addresses wider issues such as attendance, mental health, exclusion, and staff empowerment.

Since November 2023, we have made good progress against all 20 actions set out in the Joint Action Plan, including the introduction of new guidance on:

• Consequences;
• Risk assessments for violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviour;
• Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in schools;
• Use of restraint and seclusion in school;
• updated guidance on mobile phones;
• updated anti-bullying guidance
• interim guidance on racism and racist incidents.

Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), named in the Action Plan, is a secondary school peer education programme that uses a bystander approach to explore ways to reduce and prevent violence, particularly violence linked to gender. Due to ongoing staff training and support, by December 2025, 232 schools were delivering the programme with 7378 mentors delivering around 9836 MVP lessons to 73770 younger learners. Eighty-eight per cent of staff in an MVP impact survey felt that MVP had contributed to building positive relationships in their school community. The annual reports explore the impact of MVP in more detail.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills also asked the interim Chief Inspector to ensure that inspections are gathering enhanced evidence on relationships and behaviour to help support improvement. We have provided £900k of funding to directly address a need identified by support staff themselves that they would welcome more training.

Over the next year, we will deliver actions to support schools, young people, and their families, as set out in the Joint Action Plan. We have begun work to improve recording and monitoring of behaviour alongside updating our national guidance on exclusions and developing new guidance for schools on vaping. We are also updating our national attendance guidance to support improvements in attendance and have delivered a national marketing campaign to support parents with children who are struggling with attendance.

Finally, as part of the action plan, we have committed to publishing the results of the next Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research by the end of the action plan period in 2027. Fieldwork for the research is now underway.

Action 9

During 2023-2024, we will fund the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to work with partners to explore further roll out of situational Bystander training to more organisations and communities, to improve the effectiveness of the approach and promote existing resources for wider use across Scotland. (SVRU)

During 2024/25, the SVRU initiated the development of practical contextual safeguarding training for different communities, working closely with Scotland’s National Contextual Safeguarding Lead.

The learning from this enabled the SVRU and partners to begin to address the issue of violence and anti-social behaviour in transport hubs – a significant and emerging issue. Training was provided to the teams in Lothian Buses (Edinburgh) and Stagecoach/Levenmouth Bus Station in Fife. In 2025/26 training from this has subsequently been shared to other transport providers, resulting in early discussions with Scotrail to explore future work together.

Action 10

The Scottish Violence Reduction Unit will deliver a pilot, based on our Suicide Prevention principles of Time, Space and Compassion. This will be in place in 2023 and will help connect people and reduce the risk of harm and violence. (SVRU)

No further update. The SVRU completed this work in 2023/24.

Medics Against Violence’s Navigator and Youth Navigator services work to the Suicide Prevention principles of Time, Space and Compassion. Both of these services work with vulnerable people who are at risk of or who have attempted suicide.

Action 11

In 2023-2024, we will fund the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and Medics Against Violence to extend their Navigator-style approaches, to help support more people with multiple complex issues, including problematic drug and alcohol use, to access and engage with appropriate services, to stop the revolving cycle of harm. In partnership between Medics Against Violence and the NHS, this will include further roll out of the Hospital Youth Navigator pilot, to ensure more young people will be able to access the help they need at an earlier stage in their lives. (SVRU)

Since the publication of the VPF, SVRU and MAV have rolled out or extended the Navigator approach in different settings across the country.

MAV have several programmes using the Navigator approach. MAV’s main hospital Navigator service currently working across 8 hospital Emergency Departments continues to be very active with 2002 patients offered support during this year to date. Over 60% of those leaving the programme go on to positive destinations. The Youth Navigator services in Glasgow and Aberdeen have supported 151 new patients in 2025/26. The Glasgow Family Navigator has supported 89 vulnerable families in Glasgow with emotional and practical support.

During 2025/26, SVRU ensured that two community navigators supported the young people at risk of becoming involved in violence and disorder in the Niddrie and Craigmillar areas of Edinburgh. Working with 20 young people, the approach has been well received in Edinburgh as has been highlighted as one of the key drivers of success in the most recent Operation Moonbeam.^[16]

The SVRU’s Custody Navigator programme has been running for 3 years in Fife and 18 months in Saltcoats. Over a 12-month period the Saltcoats service supported 118 clients.

Action 12

During 2023-2024, Medics Against Violence will lead work, co-ordinating with other partners, to test out delivery of a new model of support for young people based within the community to prevent harm from violence escalating. (MAV)

In 2024/25, MAV placed a School Navigator within a school community in North Lanarkshire to test the use of Navigators within such a setting. This was refined into the On the Edge programme.

During 2024-25 delivery of the programme was completed in one school in Lanarkshire and then moved to two schools in the East end of Glasgow the same year and two further schools and a community venue in 2025-26.

A short report^[17] on the programme in Lanarkshire pointed to the positive outcomes from the programme, including a safe space for discussion allowing young people to talk through situations.

Action 13

We will fund the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit during 2023-2024, to work with partners to develop an approach to tackle repeat violent victimisation, linking in with the Victims Task Force. This will be informed by the findings from the Scottish Government funded Repeat Violent Victimisation Research, which is being conducted by researchers at the University of Glasgow and is due to be published later this year [2023].

The Scottish Government published the Repeat Violent Victimisation Research in September 2023^[18]. In response to this research, the SVRU has established a Violence Anonymous (VA) group, creating the very first group of its kind in Scotland. The programme – which works with individuals with significant problems with violence to help them turn their lives around – has been sustained through 2025/26. The VA approach is now in three groups and there is an opportunity to grow this now well-established approach from 2026 beyond the timeframe of the current Violence Prevention Framework.

The SVRU has also been taking forward work to target the prevalence of violence amongst those experiencing homelessness. Together, with the Simon Community, the SVRU has co-designed a training programme which will be delivered to employees and attendees of community cafés. The initial training was conducted over the summer in 2025.

Separately, MAV’s Navigator and Youth Navigator have been contributing to the delivery of this action. Both services regularly see patients who have been repeat victims of violence and are aimed at reducing the likelihood of these patients becoming victims of violence in the future.

Action 14

During 2023-2024, the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit will lead work to identify opportunities to intervene earlier to reduce and prevent harm by those that have been, or at risk of being, care experienced. (SVRU)

Several SVRU projects have supported the achievement of this action. During 2025/26, for example, the SVRU strengthened their relationship with some of Scotland secure homes, including The Good Shepherd Centre and Kibble, during which time the team provided training and guidance to the staff teams, for areas such as relationship-based practice and safety planning.

Operating in the Glasgow City Centre on a Friday and Saturday evening, the Glasgow Guardians team engage with thousands of young people every year. The team provide specific support for those young people who have care experience.

During 2025/26, the SVRU also established an Advisory Board of Lived Experiences (ABLE), with several members having experience of care. This has meant that people with care experience are working alongside the SVRU to shape its projects and strategy.

Separately, in September 2025, the SVRU convened a roundtable involving 25 key partners from a range of related sectors to help ensure the Promise recommendations relating to justice are being taken forward at pace.

MAV have also continued to support the delivery of this action with their Youth Navigator service. During 2025/26, for example, the service in Glasgow has supported 10 young people with care experience and the service in Aberdeen has supported 3.

NKBL has also engaged with young people in care settings during 2025/26 through the ‘Nae Danger’ multi-player game and VR game to help raise awareness of the dangers of of violence. This is now available as open source for practitioners to download directly from the website.

PSYV have supported this action through the delivery of the programme. Recent data analysis highlights that out of the respondents to a recent survey, 7% (compared to 2% average more widely) self-identified as having been or currently care experienced.