East Ayrshire Council’s social work services praised

EAST Ayrshire Council has been praised in an in-depth report into its social work services. The Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) published the report based on an inspection from August to November 2008.

Out of 10 assessment areas, East Ayrshire was classed as being ‘adequate’ in five, ‘good’ in four areas, and in the area of ‘impact on the community’ the council was classed as being very good.

The report also identifies positive trends which indicate that any issues will be addressed in the near future.

One of East Ayrshire’s key strengths was the level of engagement with the community. According to the report, people “were mainly positive about the differences social services had made to their lives”.

In a survey conducted by SWIA, 77 per cent of people who received regular services said social work helped them lead a more independent life.

The department was found to be effective in meeting targets, with evidence that 90 per cent of care plan objectives had been achieved.

It was also praised for “working hard to shift the balance from residential care to care at home”, and for a “marked improvement in staff morale”.

The report provides recommendations for future development, especially within child services which is the area where most improvement is needed. The report does stress, however, that children’s services “trends are moving in the right direction”.

Among the recommendations are calls to have more effective engagement with children and young people, and increasing the number of reports to the children’s reporter.

The council’s schools chief Graham Short said: “We are particularly pleased about the response from service users, carers and our partners where the inspection found that most people agreed they could rely on East Ayrshire Social Work Services and a majority agreed they were of high quality.

“As with all inspections it is only natural that areas are identified that could be improved upon and we fully accept these recommendations.”

Councillor John McKay, spokesperson for community wellbeing said: “This report demonstrates real positive outcomes for service users and families.

“I want to thank and commend all employees involved in the service for their professionalism and dedication. I also want to make special mention of the service users and family carers who have contributed significantly to the inspection, meeting with inspectors and sharing their stories, and views.

“We look forward to working together to implement the recommendations contained in the report and build on this positive position.”