Mixed report for Clackmannanshire children’s service
A joint inspection of services for children and young people in Clackmannanshire has highlighted areas of good performance and also made recommendations where further improvement can be made.
The report follows a joint inspection led by the Care Inspectorate.
It identifies key areas for improvement including the process for assessing risks to vulnerable children and young people.
The report follows a programme of joint inspections carried out by teams of inspectors from the Care Inspectorate, Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland.
They looked at services across Clackmannanshire in January and February 2014.
Across nine quality indicators, three were found to be ‘good’ and five ‘adequate.’
One indicator, “assessing and responding to risks and needs,” was found to be ‘weak’.
The report notes: “There are still important weaknesses in the initial response to children and young people in need of protection and processes to assess risks and needs.
“As a result some children and young people may be left in situations which place them at risk or without sufficient support to improve their wellbeing.
“Stronger, collaborative leadership is needed to increase the capacity for improvement and to deliver planned changes at the pace needed to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.”
The inspection report also highlighted a number of key strengths in important areas.
It noted: “Staff across all services are highly committed to improving the lives of children, young people and families and overall this is making a positive impact on children and young people in Clackmannanshire.
“Many families are receiving helpful support from a range of services to strengthen their parenting skills and increase their confidence.”
Annette Bruton, the Care Inspectorate’s Chief Executive, said: “Protecting young people and ensuring that the services they and their families access are of the very highest standard is a crucial part of the work we do as Scotland’s care regulator.
“By working with our partners we can ensure we build up an accurate picture of how services are performing.
“We want to answer the key question ‘how well are these services improving the lives of children, young people and their families’?
“Where there is room for improvement we do not hesitate to report on this and expect partnerships take the necessary action so that everyone in Scotland can access services which meet their needs and respect their rights.”
The full report is available here:
