Social Work Scotland welcomes the concluding report on Children’s Services Reform study, which highlights what works for families, and the criticality of a strong, well supported workforce.
We are pleased to see our members contributions, and that of the wider workforce, so strongly reflected throughout the report and analysis. Most of all, we hope the profession more widely will feel valued and respected by the emphasis on commitment while acknowledging the exhaustion and crisis being felt – and perhaps feel hopeful for the future.
Whilst the research was commissioned to contribute to the evidence base for inclusion or otherwise of children’s services in the National Care Service, the question the researchers set out to answer was ‘What is needed to ensure that children, young people and families get the help they need, when they need it?”
We believe that this report clearly provides the basis for a constructive national conversation on exactly that topic. Dr Ottaway and her team at Celcis have drawn together an enormous amount of material, across multiple reports, into something accessible and useful. The complexity and nuance is reflected honestly, but the issues are helpfully disentangled and laid out for wider consideration.
We look forward to discussions with partners on those issues, and maintaining a focus on how we can create the conditions which support our workforce, maintain networks and invest in capacity to provide excellent care and support for children and families in Scotland.
