Safe Staffing Programme poster for CYP services asking: Are you ready for the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019

Safe Staffing: Information for CYP services

The safe staffing programme was commissioned by the Scottish Government to support care services to prepare for enactment of The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019. This is the first legislation in the UK to set out requirements for both health and care services and will affect legislation that guides the requirements of the services you currently provide.

Enacted on 1 April 2024, the Act is applicable to all health and care staff in Scotland. Statutory guidance has been published alongside the Act. The aims of the Act are to enable safe and high quality care and improved outcomes for those experiencing health care or care services through the provision of appropriate staffing. This means:

Having the right people, in the right place, with the right skills, at the right time.

The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 is in four parts.

Guiding principles for staffing
Staffing in the NHS
Staffing in care services
General provisions

Part 1 and 3 are applicable to children and young people's services. You can read more information about these parts in the drop down areas below.

Bitesize video - Part 1: Guiding principles

Bitesize video - Part 3: Staffing in care services

Webinars

Explore the implementation of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 (children and young people services) - 11 September 2024

presentation slides

The Promise

Learning resources

Find below some useful resources.

We created a poster to raise awareness of the Act for services and their staff. Please download the poster for CYP services and display in your service.
Use Safe Staffing cards sway for a deeper understanding of the Act and the implications for your service. The cards can be used as part of a self-evaluation exercise, to identify strengths and raise awareness for areas for improvement.
We have collated the voice of the sector which we gathered during in person events and webinars. Please find the word cloud for children and young people services which incorporates the 8 main principles.
FAQs
The See Me video below highlights the importance of stigma in the work place and highlights further resources to support staff wellbeing.

A series of six information guides

These guides have been produced to support managers and senior staff in registered care services who are engaged in workload assessment/planning and inspectors evaluating services:

Guiding principles
Appropriate staffing
Staffing method framework
Staff training qualifications and registration
The wellbeing of staff
Planning commissioning reporting

Get involved

To keep up-to-date with the enactment and to get the most out of our resources, please sign up to our mailing list.
You can also email our programme team with any queries you may have.