Education committee hears inspection of services for children at risk of harm rated 'very good'
A joint inspection of services for children and young people at risk of harm in Aberdeenshire has rated the partnership as ‘very good’.
The findings of the inspection were brought before the Education and Children’s Services Committee on Thursday (March 23).
Committee chair Cllr Owen said: “I would like to thank on behalf of the committee, all staff, both within ECS and across our partnerships, who contributed to this inspection and made it such a success.
“Thanks also to the young people and their families for their feedback and input throughout the whole process.
“This gives us a really strong platform to build on for the future and gives us great reassurance around the service services we offer. Many congratulations on behalf of us all.”
The inspection considered the effectiveness of services for children and young people up until the age of 18 who are at risk of harm and looked at the difference community planning partners are making to the lives of children and young people at risk of harm.
Partners include Aberdeenshire Council, NHS Grampian, Police Scotland Northeast, Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service.
The Care Inspectorate found that staff were using well-established child protection processes effectively to keep children and young people safe and that a wide range of targeted and community-led initiatives provided children, young people and families with support that had made a positive difference to their lives.
The report noted that staff worked hard to build strong relationships with children, young people and their families and that children, young people, parents and carers felt listened to, heard and supported by staff.
The partnership was found to have a collective drive and ambition to constantly improve the delivery of services and that partners were encouraging the active involvement of children, young people and families in service planning and improvement.
Chief Social Work Officer and Head of Children’s Services Leigh Jolly told the committee: “The inspection concluded that children and young people's lives improve with high quality planning and support ensuring they experience sustained, loving and nurturing relationships.
“They found that in Aberdeenshire, children and young people and their families are meaningfully and appropriately involved in decisions about their lives and can influence service planning, delivery and improvement.
“And they also found that collaborative strategic leadership planning and operational management ensured high standards of service delivery.”
The committee agreed to acknowledge and support the ongoing work of Aberdeenshire’s Child Protection Committee and GIRFEC Strategic Group in driving forward improved outcomes for children and young people and thanked the children, young people and their families for contributing to the inspection outcome.
Vice chair of the Education and Children’s Services Committee Anne Simpson added: “Improving the outcomes for children and their families is at the heart of everything we do and the aims and the priorities in our children’s services plan ensure we sustain that focus on keeping children and young people safe from harm across the Shire.”