The Protecting People team at the Improvement Service has had a busy and impactful month in supporting the continued development of trauma-informed services across Scotland.
Highlights include the continued development of the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Needs Assessment Tool and the sharing of learning from across Scotland on progress in embedding trauma-informed and responsive approaches.
Needs Assessment Tool
The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Needs Assessment Tool has been developed by the Scottish Government and COSLA, with support from the Improvement Service, to support a more robust, evidence-informed understanding of need across Scotland.
During 2025/26, 10 local VAW Partnerships from across Scotland participated in a test phase to explore how the draft tool could be applied in practice. The test areas generated valuable insights into the strengths of the tool, challenges encountered, data and evidence considerations, and the support required for future implementation.
This learning is now being used to refine the tool, guidance and supporting resources ahead of wider rollout and adoption. The second test phase will begin on 1st October 2026 with a new cohort of 10 local VAW Partnerships and will build on the initial learning, and continue to refine the approach with a new group of local areas.
The Improvement Service, COSLA, Scottish Government and local partners are hosting a learning event exploring the development and testing of the Needs Assessment Tool. The event will share emerging learning from local test areas, highlight practical approaches to understanding local need, and provide an opportunity to discuss future implementation.
Register for more information.
National Learning Report and Event 2026
On the 15th of September 2026, the Improvement Service shared learning from the National Learning Report 2025/26 on the progress and impact of work to embed a trauma-informed and responsive approach across local areas in Scotland.
The event was attended by 400 colleagues across the public and third sector and offered an opportunity to share some of the learning from local areas across Scotland identified by the report, and on the progress and impact of work to embed a trauma-informed and responsive approach across organisations, systems and workforces.
Attendees had the opportunity to hear directly from local areas and reflect on recommendations and next steps for this work.
Recordings from the event, as well as a learning report and executive summary will be made available on the National Trauma Transformation Programme website over the next few weeks.