Integrated Children's Services Report 2017-2020 and Plan 2021-2023
Achieve greater consistency in quality of assessments of risk and need and the formulation of plans to meet identified factors by ensuring that approaches to day-to-day quality assurance of operational practice are robust, systematic and deliver intended improvements.
Our Local Improvement priorities are:
To improve outcomes for children and young people looked after at home, and quality assurance – ensure more consistent quality across: assessments, plans and reviews
What we will do 2017-2020:
Agree process for integrated chronologies
Introduce new comprehensive assessment
Create clear and robust performance measures for assessment and care planning
Develop and deliver training materials for robust assessment and care planning
Further develop single and multi-agency case file audits to measure improvements and maintain quality
Deliver Raising Attainment programme focused on looked after at home children and young people
Develop clear joint working across Community Alliance, Youth Alliance, HSCP and Education quality clusters and Housing Services
What are the plans and structures that will support us to succeed?
Raising Attainment Strategy / Plan
Corporate Parenting Strategy
Integrated chronology building is a significant aspect of our partnership working within multi-agency team around the child arrangements. This activity should be agreed as a core task for the team around the child or family and progressed at the point of the single agency arrangements progressing to a multi-agency approach.
As we refresh our multi-agency and collaborative working arrangements we will evaluate and review progress in respect of chronology building, with a view to improving practice and the use of integrated chronologies as a working tool to be shared with families.
A programme of single and multi-agency case file auditing has begun which has proved beneficial in moderating use of chronologies, and reporting; ensuring shared standards and identifying areas of good practice, support and challenge. This will continue to be a focus of developments post pandemic.
Our joint working with Children's Hearing Scotland will develop our current assessment format with a view to a more accessible and multi-functional tool for use in a range of meetings, including Children's Hearings.
The project team will be informed by the PACE methodology and a will consist of representatives from CHS, SCRA, Social Work, Education, Health, parents, carers, children and young people. We will work together with a view to developing an accessible and current assessment and review report, reflecting the child's plan and ensuring that information is accessible, current and progressive.
Our Multi-agency hubs based in all of our mainstream high schools have worked with more than 400 families since 2016 and led to the formation of a strategic management group involving SLT, community learning senior officers, youth workers and senior education officers which monitor planning of supports to families including intensive 1-1 support to make and attend housing options interviews, support with housing applications to ensure maximum points applicable have been awarded in collaboration with housing operations staff, support to access the local community foodshare projects, emergency food supplies, receipt of gifts and hampers from community groups at key times in the year and in response to COVID-19, support with school uniforms and with household items.
As a result ot increased parental learning opportunities offered through the multi-agency hub, a number o f parents have achieved the following SQA qualifications:
18 parents have achieved SCQF Level 3 Technology
20 parents have achieved SCQF Level 4 Technology
18 parents have achieved 'Introduction to Psychology'
13 parents have achieved 'English as an Additional Language'
As a result, two parents secured employment.
Our Champions Board is a platform for care experienced young people to get to know, and build strong positive relationships with some of their many Corporate Parents.
The ultimate aim of the Champions Board is for those care experienced young people to help to change and develop policies and procedures in relation to their care, and to the care of future young people.
The Champions Board reported that in 2019/2020 61 care experienced young people have engaged in Champions Board-related activities.
The Champions Board also assisted young people in attending Housing interviews, and thereafter securing tenancies, and in some cases helping young people to move tenancies, where relevant.
Alongside secondary schools in West Dunbartonshire and West of Scotland College, the Champions Board continues to offer support to our care experienced young people in education. We have named points of contact in each of the secondary schools and the college, and are in regular contact when relevant.
The Champions Board are working alongside 3rd sector partners, YSortit and also West Dunbartonshire Council’s Working4U in creating the Care Connections programme, aiming to link care experienced pupils with their school, home and social lives.
In total, 5 young people have been employed, over the last 3 years, directly by the Champions Board. 3 of those young people have since moved on to follow different career paths, and we currently have 2 lead young people both employed on a full time basis.
LCTCBEndOfGrantReport Year 3 v2.0.docxChampions Board Report 2019/2020
Initiatives to support improvements in attendance; including the introduction of robust monitoring processes, increased allocation of support for attendance through direct engagement of outreach workers and pupil and family support workers and the increasing provision of breakfast clubs in all of our schools has improved attendance for care experienced learners and narrowed the gap between they and their peers. This system ensures early provision of targeted and proactive support and challenge conversations focused on improvement. As a result potential non-attendance issues have been identified in the early stages and support systems initiated to provide early family help.
Attainment of care experience learners shows an improving trend across early, first, second and third level with a narrowing of the attainment gap of between 2% and 10% in relation to listening and talking , writing and numeracy.
Partnership working between Working For You, YSort-It and Educational Services has resulted in the development and launch of the Care Connections programme.
The Care Connections Programme focuses on young people who are looked after at home, offering these young people an opportunity to access the programme at the stage appropriate to their needs. Led by the delivery partnership of W4U, YSort-It and the Champions Board, Care Connections focuses on three age related areas providing a continuous pathway of support for targeted young people across all phases of school life:
P1 to P3 (prior to & beyond if required) - Out of School Hours Learning/ Homework Clubs - W4U
P4 to S6 (& beyond up to age 18) - Intandem Youth Mentoring - YSort-It
S4 to S6 - Access to the Apprenticeship Pathway - W4U
Recognising the clear and strong correlation between looked after at home young people and young carer responsibilities. a comprehensive programme of mentoring support has been established offering community or school based supports for all care experienced young people. These programmes aim to improve resilience, commitment, confidence and motivation as well as providing a degree of emotional support to young people involved. The school based mentoring has been established in two of our high schools and has supported 26 S1, 28 S2 and 49 S3 learners. in session 2019-'20. Evaluations tell us this is a positive intervention which provides and additional tier of support and guidance and has supported continuing engagement and involvement with education.