Care homes for adults design guide
This updated design guide describes and illustrates what good building design looks like for care homes for adults. It provides guidance for those designing a new building or registering a premises that was previously registered as a care home. We recognise that some new care homes were already in the design process at the point that this guidance was published previously. Therefore, new build care homes will only be expected to comply with this guidance where the design and planning phase commenced following the publication of this document.
Annual return deadline approaching
There’s less than a week left for you to complete your annual return. You can complete this on our eForms system. The deadline for completion is Tuesday, 17 February 2026. Remember, even if your service is inactive, you must submit an annual return.
Our contact centre will be open:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 09:00 to 16:00
- Wednesday, 09:00 to 14:00
- every Thursday from 16:00 to 19:00 during the live period only
You can call us on 0345 600 9527. Alternatively, you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Further information about annual returns is available on our website.
Short survey: safe staffing programme
Blake Stevenson Ltd, an independent social research company, is supporting the Care Inspectorate's safe staffing programme to review how the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 is continuing to be embedded in everyday practice.
This short survey aims to help us understand:
- what support from the safe staffing programme you have used in the last 12 months and how you accessed it
- your confidence in implementing the Act and meeting its duties
- awareness and use of the Staffing Method Framework
- the main risks you face, what helps in practice, and where clearer guidance is needed
- priorities for support from the safe staffing programme over the next 12 months
- (for commissioners) confidence and challenges in preparing for the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act annual report.
The survey is anonymous, no identifying information will be collected and results will be reported as a whole. Taking part is voluntary; by completing the survey you consent to your anonymised responses being used for analysis and reporting.
You can access the survey here or by using the QR code below.
The deadline for the survey is Friday, 20 February 2026.
Do you work in a care at home service in Ayrshire and Arran?
If so, you may be interested in this free training/learning session for social care staff focused on actively listening. This builds on the work of a network focused on supporting people to live well with a neurological condition at home.
We are holding some sessions to explore what good support means:
- how do we listen with empathy to really understand what is important to someone?
- how do we keep a persons views and wishes at the centre amongst many other competing demands?
- how can a persons life journey and their health journey be given equal priority?
Come along to ONE of the following meetings:
- Monday 2 March, 10:00-12:30 at Fullarton Connextions, Irvine
- Monday 2 March, 14:00-16:30 at Fullarton Connextions, Irvine
- Tuesday 3 March 10:00-12:30 at Saltcoats Town Hall, Saltcoats
- Tuesday 3 March 14:00-16:30 at Saltcoats Town Hall, Saltcoats
The sessions will be facilitated by experienced facilitators, some of whom are living with neurological conditions. These events are being organised as part of a Scottish Government funded project to develop a network to improve care at home for people living with neurological conditions.
To reserve a place contact Dr Jenny Preston on 01294 323040 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Webinar: Caring for Smiles - update on oral health
The health and social care improvement team is hosting a webinar with Caring for Smiles to provide key updates on oral health.
Towards the end of 2025, the national oral health improvement programmes for adults in Scotland were rebranded to come under a single umbrella as the Caring for Smiles programmes. The webinar will introduce the new branding and discuss opportunities for joint working across the priority group populations - adults with additional care needs, people experiencing homelessness, people with experience of the justice system, and dependent older people.
With a particular focus on adults with additional care needs and dependent older people, the webinar will provide a refresher on the importance of good oral care and best practice in providing support with oral care. There will also be an opportunity to discuss the withdrawal from using oral swabs with a foam head and suitable products for oral soft tissue care.
We will be joined by Leigh Deas, programme manager for the Caring for Smiles programme for dependent older people, and Morag Muir, consultant in Dental Public Health and clinical lead for the Caring for Smiles programme for adults with additional care needs.
The webinar will cover the following learning outcomes:
- describe the newly-rebranded adult oral health improvement programmes
- discuss the importance of oral care and best practice in providing support with oral care
- explain the risks associated with sponge swabs and employ suitable products for oral soft tissue care.
Date: Friday, 13 February 2026
Latest news and information from other organisations
The Scottish Government is seeking views on whether the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) should apply to private and third sector operators of care home and care at home services. The consultation closes on 30 March 2026. You can read the consultation document and find information about how to respond here. There are two online public engagement events to provide more information about the consultation and as opportunities for discussion. You can sign up for these via Eventbrite, at the links below
For further information please email the Scottish Government FOI policy team at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Have Your Say Workforce Wellbeing Survey 2026
Everyone working in social work, social care and children and young people’s services is invited to share their views in this survey commissioned by the SSSC, which closes on 20 February 2026. Complete the survey here.
SSSC Open Badges for care home activity
Scottish Care has launched two brand-new SSSC Open Badges designed to empower care home managers and activity leads across Scotland. These badges celebrate professional growth, creativity, and the vital role of meaningful activity in care settings. Find out more here.
Meet the SSSC registrant event, Glasgow, Thursday, 19 February 2026
The SSSC is holding two free in‑person events in Glasgow for registrants to meet staff, get support with registration, fitness to practise and learning and development. There’s also a marketplace with the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about learning resources. The event is primarily for SSSC registrants, though managers and employers may also be interested. You can book for a morning or afternoon session.
Changes to charity law
In early 2026 (exact date of the change of law to be confirmed), OSCR will begin publishing accounts, including annual reports, for all charities as part of each charity’s entry in the Scottish Charity Register. We will publish all accounts received on or after the date the law changes, regardless of which financial year they relate to, but not older accounts held by OSCR prior to the change. We therefore encourage charities that are overdue with submitting accounts to send them to us promptly to avoid older accounts being published. In time, each Register entry will include a published record of accounts for the five most recent accounting periods. The accounts will be published exactly as they are received from charities, without any redactions. The responsibility will therefore rest with charities to ensure that the documents they send us are fit for publication and do not include information that might constitute a data protection breach. For example, charities should consider carefully whether to include in their accounts and reports:
- names, photographs or other information that might identify the charity’s beneficiaries, especially children, vulnerable adults or those sharing a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Where such information is to be included, the charity should gain express consent from the individuals concerned.
- names or other information that might identify individual donors or supporters unless they have given express consent to be identified.
- personal (wet) signatures of trustees or examiners of the accounts. OSCR accepts typed signatures and electronically signed documents.
OSCR will have the ability to take down from the website documents that were clearly sent to us in error, on the request of a charity, but a data breach may have been committed during the time a document was published and we cannot retrieve information from viewers who accessed it prior to removal.
Trustees who have been granted an exemption from having their name published on the Register will similarly be entitled to have their name excluded from the administrative details in the annual report.
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Care News features a mix of news, updates and stories about inspection, regulation, good practice, improvement, developments in the health and social care sector and more. Sign up to our Care News newsletter here.
You are receiving this newsletter as we have an obligation to share relevant information and guidance with you as a registered service with the Care Inspectorate. Find out more about our work at www.careinspectorate.com
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