Bairns' Hoose: project plan

Progress to date

We have commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate to develop Scotland-specific standards for our approach based on the European PROMISE Quality Standards. In September 2021 they held a Symposium event and published a Foundations report to celebrate the pace and development of children's rights, recovery and justice in Scotland, and to explore the foundations on which we will build Scotland's Barnahus. The Standards Development Group has been reconvened to develop draft standards for consultation next summer. These will be published by the end of 2022.

To coincide with the Symposium event we published our Bairns' Hoose Vision.

Also in September 2021, we announced over £2m funding for the national rollout of the Scottish Child Interview Model for Joint Investigative Interviews. The new model of interviews will represent one of the key functions of the Bairns' Hoose, and will deliver a ground-breaking approach that secures the child's best evidence at the earliest opportunity and minimises the risk of further retraumatisation. Continuous improvement in the quality and professionalism of these interviews can lead to their increased use as a child's evidence in chief in criminal proceedings.

The development of the new Scottish Child Interview Model has been a truly collective endeavour, and a tremendous example of what can be achieved when there is a clear and agreed ambition.