Mixed Report For Clackmannanshire Children Service

Progress is being made to children’s services in Clackmannanshire following a highly critical report, inspectors have said.

A follow-up visit by HMIe inspectors found significant improvements had taken place but said more work was still needed.

The service was severely criticised in February last year for failing to meet the needs of vulnerable children.

The council said it had restructured the department and hired more staff.

Inspectors who visited in November found that staff were involving children and families more in the decisions about their lives and assessing the risks to vulnerable youngsters.

‘Staff sickness’

They also said staff reports into individual cases had improved along with joint planning to meet the needs of children.

However, the report found more work was needed to involve health and other medical professionals when there were early concerns about a child’s welfare.

It also found that there should be follow-up assessments of care plans to ensure arrangements were improving a child’s life.

In a statement Clackmannanshire Council said: “The child care social work service has been restructured and more staff recruited, with staff also staying with the council longer.

“Staff sickness absence in the service was below the national average. Social workers are now seeing children more regularly and children are more able to build a relationship with a dedicated worker.”

Local councillor Sam Ovens added: “We will build on this progress by making sure we work closely with health and medical staff, particularly where there are child protection concerns.”