We have published our joint inspection report on the protection of children and young people in the Argyll & Bute council area.
The inspection included services provided by health agencies, the police, the local authority and Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, as well as those provided by voluntary and independent organisations. Joint inspection reports give an evaluation of the effectiveness of services using a published quality indicator framework focusing on 6 key areas:
- how well children and young people are listened to, understood and respected;
- how children and young people benefit from strategies to minimize harm;
- how children and young people are helped by the actions taken in immediate response to concerns;
- how well children’s and young people’s needs are met;
- service improvements through self-evaluation; and
- improvements in performance.
Services in the Argyll & Bute council area were given, 3 evaluations of good, 2 evaluations of satisfactory, and 1 evaluation of weak.
Inspectors found the following key strengths in how well children were protected and their needs met in the Argyll & Bute council area.
- Helping vulnerable children learn how to keep themselves safe.
- Staff persistence in building relationships with families and helping them understand what they need to do to reduce risks for their children.
- High quality support in schools to help children learn and develop well.
Inspectors agreed with services in the council area the following points for improvement.
- Improve the initial response of staff to children in need of protection and the impact of immediate actions to keep children safe.
- Continue to develop approaches to self-evaluation, ensuring it is based on robust evidence.
- Identify key priorities for improvement and ensure that staff have sufficient direction, support and challenge to take these forward.
We will carry out a follow-through visit within one year of the publication of this report and report publicly on the extent to which services have improved.