Bairns' Hoose - project plan: progress report and pathfinder delivery plan 2023 to 2025

Ministerial Foreword

On behalf of the Scottish Government, we are pleased to share this report which outlines the progress made towards delivering Bairns' Hoose (Barnahus) for children, young people and their families across Scotland. This report sets out some of the key achievements to date, outlines our current trajectory and our future plans for the Pathfinder phase.

Since the publication of the Bairns' Hoose Project Plan in February 2022, we have taken a number of positive actions towards realising our ambition to ensure all children in Scotland who have been victims or witnesses to abuse or violence, as well as children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour has caused significant harm or abuse, have access to trauma-informed recovery, support and justice.

The Bairns' Hoose Standards were a key component of the Bairns' Hoose Project Plan and so we are pleased to welcome their publication which marks a significant step towards establishing Barnahus in Scotland. The Standards will facilitate consistency and quality in the delivery of Bairns' Hoose across Scotland, helping to ensure that all children can access the high standard of support that they deserve and to which we have committed.

Building upon this, we are introducing a three-phased approach for the development of Bairns' Hoose in Scotland, which will build in the necessary stages for learning and evaluation to enable the achievement of our ambition. The first phase, the Pathfinder phase, commences this year and will lead into a Pilot phase, ahead of national rollout. The Pathfinder Delivery Plan provides details of the coming stage, which will test the Bairns' Hoose Standards across a range of partnership areas to inform the development of a 'Bairns' Hoose Blueprint'. Close collaboration and stakeholder participation will be a key focus to help ensure that the Pathfinder phase generates as much quality learning as possible.

The lived experiences of children, young people and their families have been fundamental in Bairns' Hoose development and these contributions will continue to shape Bairns' Hoose throughout all three phases. Details of the approach can be found in our Bairns' Hoose Children and Young People Participation and Engagement Plan.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners for their huge contributions towards reaching this point in our Bairns' Hoose journey; a multi-agency, coordinated approach is critical to bringing our shared vision to life and we are looking forward to continuing this work with you through to national rollout and beyond.