An interim report from the Care Inspectorate into support services for children and young people at risk of harm in West Dunbartonshire has recognised significant challenges.

The regulator highlighted issues faced by the partnership in terms of managing the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the resources needed to do so. 

While inspectors noted that the partnership responded effectively when concerns about children and young people were first identified, the quality of later processes was inconsistent.

In particular, there were issues around the quality of assessments, planning and reviews.

There were also discrepancies in how staff evaluated the effectiveness of their practice and what inspectors saw while examining evidence from children and young people’s records.

The approach leaders and managers were taking to monitoring practice standards and quality assurance was also described as “underdeveloped”.

Along with scrutiny partners Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and Education Scotland, the Care Inspectorate will lead a series of quality improvement sessions with a range of staff to support the partnership with the key areas for development.

These sessions, held between May and June this year, will help to focus the direction of improvement activity. Thereafter the regulator will monitor and evaluate the partnership’s progress and report on the improvements it has made.

Edith Macintosh, interim Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “Following this inspection, the Care Inspectorate and scrutiny partners decided the most appropriate course of action would be to support the partnership to undertake improvements in the key areas we have identified.  While we are reassured that the partnership now knows where changes need to be made in order to improve, we feel that they need external support to take all the necessary actions. The partnership has agreed with this approach and has recognised the need for improvement.” 

At the request of Scottish Ministers, the regulator is leading joint inspections to consider the effectiveness of services for children and young people up to the age of 18 at risk of harm.

The inspection of services for children at risk of harm in the West Dunbartonshire community planning partnership area took place between October 2021 and March 2022.

The full report can be read here here.