Welcome to our strategy
"All children, young people and their families can face challenges in their lives, and the world today exacerbates the continuing necessity to ensure that the rights to support, care and protection are upheld and met. It is in this context that the work of CELCIS remains vital. We exist to challenge and address how this is done and to support improvement in the quality of help that children and young people receive. We do this by facilitating and enabling change, based on best practice."
"Engagement with local, national and international partners holds the key to the possibilities before us all. CELCIS’s work and approach shows us time and again how working together results in real change. This is essential to our delivery on The Promise of Scotland’s Independent Care Review, and to embedding children’s rights, and reshaping support for children, young people and families in need of care and protection. Our new strategy will further take forward this important work for the next five years, continuing CELCIS’s unique contribution now and in the future."
Professor Alexis Jay OBE, Chair of CELCIS Strategic Advisory Board and Visiting Professor, University of Strathclyde
"At CELCIS, we continue to develop an understanding of both the challenges and solutions to addressing the needs and realising the rights of children and young people in need of care and protection, and the support that families, carers and all those working to help children and families need. Our multi-disciplinary approach and steadfast commitment to generating and sharing evidence-based learning offers real opportunities for transformational change through our work with partners across Scotland and further afield."
"Our new CELCIS strategy has been developed with our colleagues, our consultants with lived experience, our stakeholders, and reflects the important role CELCIS can continue to play in improving outcomes for children, young people and their families. We share the ambitions of practitioners, policy makers, campaigners and many others, while also recognising the resources, skills, investment and leadership required."
"Through this strategic approach and our commitment to collaboration, I know we have the right way forward to enable CELCIS to address existing and new challenges and we welcome the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Claire Burns, Director, CELCIS
Welcome to our strategy
"All children, young people and their families can face challenges in their lives, and the world today exacerbates the continuing necessity to ensure that the rights to support, care and protection are upheld and met. It is in this context that the work of CELCIS remains vital. We exist to challenge and address how this is done and to support improvement in the quality of help that children and young people receive. We do this by facilitating and enabling change, based on best practice."
"Engagement with local, national and international partners holds the key to the possibilities before us all. CELCIS’s work and approach shows us time and again how working together results in real change. This is essential to our delivery on The Promise of Scotland’s Independent Care Review, and to embedding children’s rights, and reshaping support for children, young people and families in need of care and protection. Our new strategy will further take forward this important work for the next five years, continuing CELCIS’s unique contribution now and in the future."
Professor Alexis Jay OBE, Chair of CELCIS Strategic Advisory Board and Visiting Professor, University of Strathclyde
"At CELCIS, we continue to develop an understanding of both the challenges and solutions to addressing the needs and realising the rights of children and young people in need of care and protection, and the support that families, carers and all those working to help children and families need. Our multi-disciplinary approach and steadfast commitment to generating and sharing evidence-based learning offers real opportunities for transformational change through our work with partners across Scotland and further afield."
“Our new CELCIS strategy has been developed with our colleagues, our consultants with lived experience, our stakeholders, and reflects the important role CELCIS can continue to play in improving outcomes for children, young people and their families. We share the ambitions of practitioners, policy makers, campaigners and many others, while also recognising the resources, skills, investment and leadership required."
"Through this strategic approach and our commitment to collaboration, I know we have the right way forward to enable CELCIS to address existing and new challenges and we welcome the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Claire Burns, Director, CELCIS
Our ambition and purpose
We are a leading improvement, innovation and research centre for children and young people’s support, care and protection, based at the University of Strathclyde.
Through our engagement with the workforce, we help build confidence, resilience and capability, ensuring that people who support children, young people and families are empowered to create real, lasting change.
- We challenge inequality; we believe the pressures which families and the workforce face because of poverty should not be inevitable.
- We bridge the gap between the reality of what children and young people, families and carers experience and what they need to flourish.
- We push for cultural changes and systems that work with and for them - not against them.
- We turn knowledge and evidence into action, ensuring decisions are rooted in what matters to children and their families and what truly makes a difference.
Our ambition and purpose
We are a leading improvement, innovation and research centre for children and young people’s support, care and protection, based at the University of Strathclyde.
Through our engagement with the workforce, we help build confidence, resilience and capability, ensuring that people who support children, young people and families are empowered to create real, lasting change.
- We challenge inequality; we believe the pressures which families and the workforce face because of poverty should not be inevitable.
- We bridge the gap between the reality of what children and young people, families and carers experience and what they need to flourish.
- We push for cultural changes and systems that work with and for them - not against them.
- We turn knowledge and evidence into action, ensuring decisions are rooted in what matters to children and their families and what truly makes a difference.
Our vision:
All children, young people and families who need support, care and protection have the help they need to navigate life and to thrive.
How we make our ambitions a reality
For us, real change happens when people come together with compassion, courage and a shared purpose.
How we show up is key to building strong and authentic relationships:
- We actively listen
- Engage with openness
- Respectfully challenge
- And together work through different experiences, power dynamics and perspectives
Our approach builds trust, enables collaboration, encourages learning, and allows us to work alongside the workforce and people with lived experience to create brighter futures for children, young people and families.
Our role
We are a trusted partner, and through our collaborative approach we bring independence, rigour and compassion to all of our work.
By combining our specialist skills and in-depth knowledge of policy and practice across children’s services, we provide holistic support to help navigate and address the complexities and challenges of the systems and services that support children, families and the workforce.
We have three interconnected roles:
- Research, data and learning partner: our work is rooted in research and data, listening to and involving people with lived experiences of support, care and protection services, and listening to and involving practitioners. We produce and share knowledge that is vital and actionable to make improvements for children, young people and families.
- Influencing and advocacy partner: building on our strong foundation of understanding evidence and diverse voices and experiences, we shape the environment that enables and supports the workforce and organisations to meet the needs and rights of children and young people.
- Change and improvement partner: We collaborate with national and local organisations, using evidence-informed approaches to transform systems, services, and practices designed for children and young people who need support, care, and protection.
Our role
We are a trusted partner, and through our collaborative approach we bring independence, rigour and compassion to all of our work.
By combining our specialist skills and in-depth knowledge of policy and practice across children’s services, we provide holistic support to help navigate and address the complexities and challenges of the systems and services that support children, families and the workforce.
We have three interconnected roles:
- Research, data and learning partner: our work is rooted in research and data, listening to and involving people with lived experiences of support, care and protection services, and listening to and involving practitioners. We produce and share knowledge that is vital and actionable to make improvements for children, young people and families.
- Influencing and advocacy partner: building on our strong foundation of understanding evidence and diverse voices and experiences, we shape the environment that enables and supports the workforce and organisations to meet the needs and rights of children and young people.
- Change and improvement partner: We collaborate with national and local organisations, using evidence-informed approaches to transform systems, services, and practices designed for children and young people who need support, care, and protection.
Our strategic priorities
We are persistent in our pursuit of better outcomes and experiences for children, young people, families and carers.
Our priorities set a bold direction for achieving change we all want to see for them, focusing on where we believe we can make the greatest difference.
While we remain steadfast in our purpose and priorities and the value and expertise we bring as a centre for excellence, we are also agile and responsive – continually evolving to meet the changing needs of children and young people, their families and carers, and the people and organisations who support them.
We have three strategic priorities and two cross-cutting priorities. Our cross-cutting priorities - embedding the voices and experiences of people with lived experience and supporting workforces and leaders - are fully integrated into everything we do and deliver on.
Protecting children and supporting families
Our Goal: With partners, we will protect children and young people by supporting the workforce to identify, assess and respond to the risks and harms affecting them. We help keep families together by enabling services to work safely, creatively and in partnership with families to provide support for as long as it is needed.
Driving improvements for care experienced people
Our Goal: With partners, we will work to ensure children, young people and adults with care experience have a loving, stable home, nurturing relationships and high-quality learning.
Strengthening the infrastructure for children, families and the workforce
Our Goal: With partners, we will improve support systems and build the context necessary to enable the workforce to realise children’s rights and provide the support needed for children, young people and families to thrive.
Underpinned by:
Embedding the voices and experiences of children, young people and families
Our Goal: With partners, we will empower the workforce to ensure each child and young person is involved in decisions about their life, and has the opportunity to shape and improve services.
Supporting the workforce and leaders
Our Goal: We will work alongside national and local partners responsible for supporting and developing the workforce to drive meaningful change and ensure the workforce has the support, resources and recognition it needs to grow and develop.
Investing in the CELCIS workforce
As a multi-skilled centre for excellence with a passionate group of colleagues, we are deeply committed to our purpose and bring a unique blend of knowledge, skills and experience from a range of fields and disciplines: social work and social care, research and data, facilitation and training, education and psychology, legal and policy development, communications and leadership.
We are supported to learn, develop and innovate so that our individual and collective strengths are maximised. And we prioritise our relationships with each other so that we can work and learn alongside others to play a lead role in building brighter futures for children, young people and families.
Driving impact with accountability and sustainability
CELCIS is primarily funded by the Scottish Government, alongside a blend of grants and other funded activities, all aligned with our vision, purpose and priorities. We are unwavering in our commitment to delivering high-impact, high-quality, value-for-money work while ensuring robust financial governance.
Through strategic planning, ongoing monitoring, and the diversification of funding streams, we will maintain financial sustainability and accountability, driving both innovation and impact for children, young people, and families.
Published June 2025 © CELCIS
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