About

Why the Hub?

The Care Inspectorate is a scrutiny body which supports improvement. That means we look at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards. Where we find that improvement is needed, we support services to make positive changes.

Our vision is that everyone experiences safe, high-quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.

We not only register and inspect individual care services but we also inspect how care is provided across areas. On the Hub you won’t find Care Inspectorate inspection reports, or the eForms system for service providers, or information on registered services. Go to careinspectorate.com for that kind of information on the work of the Care Inspectorate.

The Hub provides access to a range of resources aimed at supporting improvement in the social care and social work sectors through the use and knowledge of research skills and evidence-led practice. We want to act as a catalyst for change and innovation to help improve the quality of care in Scotland by working with services, offering advice and guidance and sharing good practice.

This means that on the Hub you will find improvement resources from the Care Inspectorate, as well as other partner bodies such as the Scottish Social Services Council, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland, and the Scottish Government, amongst others; information on national policy and legislation, and subjects relevant to the social care and social work sector in Scotland and further abroad.

Using the Hub

The Hub is organised into sections which include:

• Starting your improvement journey – Read our Improvement Strategy, learn about improvement tools and how you can use them to improve the care experience
• National policy and legislation – Developed and updated by our policy team, this section of the site will help you maintain awareness of the latest national policy developments affecting social care and social work services, as well as relevant legislation and the National Health and Social Care Standards
• Care Inspectorate programmes and publications – Care Inspectorate produced or co-produced publications, including guidance, good practice resources and sector overview reports
• My library – An online library to save the most important documents for guidance that you need on a regular basis, save news bulletins to remind yourself to read them later, or create an online library ready for use as an induction pack for new colleagues
• Events – Upcoming conferences, training, seminars and online courses relating to social care and social work in Scotland
• Weekly bulletins – The latest weekly updates on key news, research and policy developments concerning children and young people, and adult social care and health
• Research resources and skills – Check the latest evidence, research and practice examples to enrich your knowledge and help your decision making by accessing resources through the Social Services Knowledge Scotland (SSKS) library and learn skills to search online more effectively 
• Resources – If you are interested in resources linked to your workplace or care setting, or a specific topic, you will find all the publications, research, and information you need there
• Self-directed Support library – A library of tools and resources to support the implementation and delivery of Self-Directed Support in Scotland
• Directory of Continuous Professional Learning for Early Learning and Childcare – A directory of local and national training and development opportunities available to the early learning and childcare workforce

You can find a more detailed guide to using The Hub here. In this you will find an explanation of how to search for resources, set up and use My library, and more generally the overall layout of the Hub.