YOUNG INSPECTORS WERE AT HEART OF INSPECTION TEAMS
The first in a series of reports examining how well services for children and young people are performing was published today.
The Care Inspectorate was asked by Scottish Ministers to lead a new approach to inspecting services for children and young people, bringing together specialist teams from different inspection bodies.
The first report , looking at the City of Edinburgh, is published today. The next report, covering the Orkney Islands, is due shortly. The specialist inspection team brings together professionals from the care, social work, health, police and education regulators. They provide public assurance about the quality of services aimed at giving children and young people the best start in life, and make recommendations about what needs to improve. Each inspection team also includes specially-trained "young inspectors" who can speak to children and young people about their experiences.
Inspectors in Edinburgh found that services for children were "good" or "very good" in all areas examined. They praised the strong leadership in the city and the way young people and their families are involved in key decisions. The inspectors also identified areas for improvement, including the need for better early intervention, so families get the help they need before difficulties get worse. They identified the need to reduce the gap in life chances for the most vulnerable children, and asked for an action plan to show how these improvements will be met.
Annette Bruton, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said:
"The Care Inspectorate is very pleased to be working with other organisations to develop this new inspection methodology. An approach which only looks at individual services - not how they all fit together - doesn't go far enough. These joint inspections reflect how families use services and are very much focused on the needs of children and young people across all areas.
"Our young inspectors have played a huge role in this. They bring genuine perspectives and great ideas as to how we test the quality of services offered.
"We publish all our inspection reports online at www.careinspectorate.com for all to see.
"The Edinburgh report is the first of two pilots, and we will use our findings to further refine our methodology in other parts of Scotland."
"It is everybody’s responsibility to support children and young people. These reports will help drive improvement where necessary, and will provide assurance for families everywhere.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The joint inspection report is available here
The joint inspection team comprised professionals from the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Education Scotland, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland, and specially-trained young inspectors.
The Edinburgh report, published today, and a forthcoming Orkney report, are the results of pilot inspections. Further inspections are now being undertaken in North Ayrshire and Argyll & Bute.