Digital social care
Access guidance, tools, research and good practice materials related to digital social care. This section brings together useful documents to support services in strengthening digital readiness, culture, safety and practice.
Good practice guide
This document is general good practice guide and applicable to all service types across early learning and childcare, children and young people and adult services. Watch the launch webinar, including presentations from the SSSC and the care sector, below.
Digital self-evaluation toolkit
A practical resource to help services embed a rights-based approach to digital social care. This toolkit supports self-assessment and improvement planning, ensuring technology is used in ways that uphold rights and enhance care quality.
Supporting video
Watch our short bitesize video for practical guidance on using the digital self-evaluation toolkit. This video walks through key steps and tips to help services embed a rights-based approach to digital social care.
A range of opportunities are available to develop knowledge, skills, experience and accredited training through the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), the Open University, NHS Education Scotland (NES), Connecting Scotland, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and local or smaller providers.
Click on the drop downs below to find out more.
The following resources can help social care staff develop digital skills, stay updated with best practices, and enhance service delivery.
Turas - Digital Skills - Turas Learn supports social care professionals in developing essential digital skills. It covers key areas like communication, handling information, problem-solving, and online safety. By improving these skills, social care workers can enhance service delivery, streamline tasks, and securely manage sensitive data.
Turas - Digital assessment tool – This tool offers an interactive way to work through the Digital and Data Capability Framework to review your current levels of digital capability.
Turas – Telecare – Provides training for care professionals to integrate telecare solutions into service delivery.
Turas - Thriving in a Digital Age Pathways – A structured learning programme to help social care staff adapt to digital transformation.
Education Scotland DigiLearn – Assists care and support staff working in educational settings to enhance digital teaching and learning.
Skills for Care – The Digital Leadership Guide from Skills for Care provides practical resources to support leaders and managers in developing digital confidence, strategy, and innovation within social care services.
Skills for Care - Tool – This tool offers practical digital training tools for staff development and service improvement.
Choosing Digital-toolkit – Guides organisations in selecting and implementing digital solutions effectively.
Digital Champion Training (co-designed) — Mental Health Co-designed training assets for staff supporting people with mental health needs to access digital services.
Digital Champion Training (co-designed) — Housing Practical materials to help housing-related services embed digital inclusion in everyday support.
The following resources support social care providers support digital access for service users, reducing exclusion and improving quality of life.
Digital ethics and inclusion – The Scottish Government's Digital Inclusion and Ethics page outlines policies and initiatives to promote digital access, skills, and ethical digital practices, ensuring technology benefits everyone in society.
Digital Inclusion Charter – The Digital Inclusion Scotland website provides resources and support to help individuals and organisations improve digital access, skills, and confidence, ensuring everyone can benefit from digital technology.
Mhor Collective – Offers free workshops for organisations on the importance of digital inclusion and how to integrate it into care services.
'Pillars' for digital inclusion – A framework that assists care providers in embedding digital support into their service offerings.
Good Things Foundation – Provides funding, training, and resources for organisations to improve digital access, including schemes for free devices and connectivity.
SCVO - Digital – Supports charities and social care organisations in developing digital capabilities.
Mental Welfare – Decisions about technology. Provides guidance for social care and professionals on making ethical, person-centred decisions about using technology in care, particularly for individuals with mental health conditions.
From pillars to practice: developing a framework for embedding digital inclusion in health and social care (2023) A succinct foundation paper that explains why digital inclusion matters in health & social care and what needs embedded across services.
Pillar 1: Motivation (2024) Practical insights to understand and support people’s motivation to engage digitally (e.g., perceived benefits, trust, relevance).
Pillars 2 & 3: Devices & Connectivity (2024) What good looks like for getting the right devices and affordable, reliable connectivity to people who need them.
Pillar 4: Skills & Confidence (2025) Approaches and examples for building people’s skills and confidence to use digital health & care safely and independently.
Digital Inclusion in Health & Social Care — Practice Guide (for practitioners) A practical, day-to-day guide to weave inclusion into frontline interactions, signposting and support planning.
Stakeholder engagement summaries (Mental Health & Housing, 2023; Embedding DI, 2024) Short evidence syntheses capturing needs, barriers and what helped across settings — helpful for quick context or to cite in business cases.
The following resources provide information about safeguarding data, protecting individuals online, and upholding digital rights.
Digital Human rights principles: SSSC Open Badge – The Digital Human Rights Principles badge from SSSC recognises understanding of how digital technology intersects with human rights, promoting ethical and inclusive digital practices in social care.
Human Rights Charter for Technology and Digital in Social Care – The Technology Charter for Adult Social Care in Scotland sets out principles for using technology to enhance care, promoting person-centred, ethical, and inclusive digital practices.
Human Rights Principles for Digital Health and Social Care – Provides a framework for ethical digital practices in health and social care.
Human Rights Charter for Technology and Digital in Social Care: Guidance Document – Offers practical steps for implementing human rights-based digital care.
SSSC Online Safety and Security Open Badge – This Open Badge supports social care professionals in understanding online safety and security.
NSPCC Keeping children safe from online abuse – Guidance and resources which support care services protect children in their care from online risks.
Child exploitation and online protection (CEOP) – A reporting tool and resource for safeguarding children from online exploitation.
Information Commissioner’s Office – This website provides guidance on data protection, ensuring care services comply with GDPR and privacy regulations.
Cyber resilience - SCVO provides cyber resilience resources to help voluntary and social care organisations protect data, prevent threats, and ensure secure digital services.
Cyber Scotland – Cyber Scotland provides guidance and resources to enhance cyber resilience across Scotland, benefiting sectors like social care by helping protect sensitive data, prevent cyber threats, and ensure secure digital services.
The following resources support care services to integrate digital tools to improve care quality, communication, and service delivery.
The Health and Social Care Standards – National care standards to ensure high-quality support and services. Sets out expectations for digital care and person-centred approaches.
Care Workers' Compendium of digital resources 2021/2022 edition – A comprehensive guide to digital tools and resources available for care professionals.
The Care Inspectorate: Meaningful Connection Literature Review – The review explores how digital tools can support social connection in care settings.
Care Inspectorate personal planning guides for providers – Supports providers in using digital tools for personalised care planning.
Digital Health Care – Offers resources to help care providers integrate digital healthcare solutions.
Digital Health Care - Information sharing toolkit – This toolkit provides best practice guidance on safe and effective information sharing.
Find TEC services – Provides best practice guidance on safe and effective information sharing.
TEC modules – Training modules to help social care staff use technology-enabled care effectively.
Technology Guides – Practical guidance on implementing technology in care settings.
Digital Office – Supports public sector organisations, including social care providers, with digital transformation strategies.
Alzheimer - Virtual resource centre - Online hub providing information, support, and digital tools for people living with dementia, their families, and care professionals. It offers guidance on dementia care, activities, and wellbeing resources.
‘Digital Inclusion’ Programme — Evaluation (Blake Stevenson, 2025) Independent evaluation of the Scottish Government & SCVO programme: what worked, what didn’t, and recommendations you can lift.
‘Digital Inclusion’ Programme — Case studies (2025) Real-world examples you can reference in improvement projects, training and workshops.
Digital Pioneers Fund — Impact Report (2024) Evidence and learning from funded initiatives supporting digital inclusion across health and care.
Connecting to Care / Digital Pioneers Progress Fund — Impact Reports (2025) Follow-on impact and insights from organisations delivering inclusion in practice (link via SCVO Knowledge Bank hub).
These resources explore innovative digital solutions, such as AI and virtual reality, to enhance care.
The Alliance - Good practice in AI – Offers guidance on using AI ethically and effectively in social care.
NotebookLM - AI-powered tool that helps care staff organise and summarise information efficiently.
Centre for Care – The Centre for Care’s Digital Care page explores the impact of digital technology in social care, providing research, insights, and resources to support digital innovation and inclusion.
AI app to detect pain – Helps care staff assess pain levels in people who have difficulty communicating.
ADAM – AI-driven support tool for people with dementia and their caregivers.
InspireD– Provides digital resources to support individuals living with dementia.
Pif online-AI – A hub exploring the use of AI in health communication and social care.
Digital Care Hub - Exploring AI in social-care – A resource centre for understanding AI’s role in social care.
Care Home Assessment tool Executive summary – A research paper about a digital tool assessing care home needs.
Virtual reality party – An article about using VR technology to create interactive experiences for care home residents.
Showcase Digifest 24 – A digital health and social care event highlighting innovation.
Magic Notes – AI-powered note-taking for care professionals to improve documentation and care planning.
Working with OpenAI - A Guide for Social Workers - This guide introduces the responsible use of OpenAI in social work practice. In what follows, we explain some frequently used terms, provide some insights into what it can and can’t do, offer advice for effective, ethical and responsible use of OpenAI in the workplace and provide working examples of it in action.
These tools support care organisations in assessing and improving their digital capabilities.
Digital maturity assessment – Helps care services evaluate their digital progress and identify areas for development.
Care Inspectorate - Digital Social Care; Good practice guide - It provides best practice recommendations for evaluating and implementing digital care solutions, ensuring services adopt Digital Social Care effectively and sustainably.