Bairns' Hoose Pathfinder Phase – Research Report

14. Views on the national guidance

This chapter covers the views of professionals who took part in the qualitative research on the content of the Bairns’ Hoose national guidance, which will be developed by the Scottish Government in collaboration with delivery partners, and will articulate the Bairns’ Hoose programme for the Scottish context. In particular, it discusses their views on the balance between flexibility and consistency in the Bairns’ Hoose programme before going on to summarise the advice that professionals would give to those setting up a new Bairns’ Hoose.

Suggestions for inclusion in the national guidance

Advice on early stakeholder engagement

The importance of early stakeholder engagement and buy-in was a strong theme discussed by professionals across the partnership areas. They felt it important that all agencies, partners and stakeholders are engaged from the beginning for a number of reasons. These included ensuring that each aspect of Bairns’ Hoose receives sufficient focus; the creation of a shared vision (which was seen as crucial for achieving buy-in from those with a key role in implementing Bairns’ Hoose); and creating trusted relationships.

“If you leave one [partner] behind, then you risk not driving forwards some of the Standards.”

Guidance on governance arrangements

Linked to stakeholder engagement, professionals felt it important that the national guidance includes advice on establishing governance arrangements for Bairns’ Hoose partnerships. For example, one partner shared that having subgroups where people could contribute their expertise had worked well for them.

“Having the right governance is crucial to getting it off the ground.”

Acknowledgement of logistical challenges and suggested solutions

As discussed in Chapter 6, partners raised logistical challenges that they had faced while working in partnership to implement Bairns’ Hoose. This included issues with determining responsibility for physical resources, such as buildings, and issues with information sharing between agencies. It was felt that the national guidance should consider sustainable approaches for addressing these issues. One partner also suggested that there should be national guidance on handling referrals across local authority borders, for Bairns’ Hoose and the Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM).

Practical tools and resources

Partners discussed various forms of information and resources that they thought should be included in the national guidance. These included case studies of both successes and cases where things had been tried but not worked; photographs of existing Bairns’ Hoose sites and satellite rooms; governance guides for chief officers and child protection committees; practitioner flowcharts; FAQs, hints and tips based on learning from other areas; and information on how partnerships successfully engaged with their local communities.

Acknowledgement of workforce, resource and funding requirements

There was a view that the national guidance should acknowledge the time required from each organisation and agency in implementing Bairns’ Hoose. For example, a partner explained that sitting on the strategic oversight group or subgroups was an additional task on top of an already busy day job. Partners also expressed frustration with the short-term nature of Scottish Government funding and concerns about workforce shortages e.g. in social work and nursing. They felt that these issues should be considered in the national guidance.

Views on balancing consistency and flexibility

Partners had differing opinions on the extent to which the Bairns’ Hoose programme should be flexible. Some felt strongly that the national guidance should avoid being overly prescriptive and should be flexible in order that partnerships can meet their local needs. Specifically, these partners thought there should be flexibility in how different areas operationally deliver Bairns’ Hoose in terms of physical facilities. For example, while some areas may manage to meet CYP’s needs within one building, others may require different models such as a hub-and-spoke approach.

Some partners also felt that there should be flexibility in whether all services need to be delivered within Bairns’ Hoose buildings. One view was that, as long as CYP receive consistent service provision wherever they are seen and that spaces meet certain standards around being child-friendly, it should be acceptable for some services to be provided at other sites. For example, as discussed above, some areas may not be able to provide medical examinations within their Bairns’ Hoose, and live court links are not possible in some facilities. Furthermore, in some cases, accessing several services under one roof may not suit a CYP – for example, due to travel requirements, or if they would prefer not to return to the space in which they had their interview.

“Putting all services under one roof is less important than considering how systems operate and improving how they run.”

Partners who desired more flexibility in the approach tended to feel that the design and environment of a space was more important than the location. They felt that, if needed, the Bairns’ Hoose ethos could be provided outwith a Hoose.

“I appreciate some people may not be able to have it in quite the way we have, but a dedicated area that has, a space that is more child friendly, that has soft furnishings and things like that… a calm and therapeutic kind of environment for a child. It's not ideal to have that within an office, but at least if you had a space that was… dedicated to that, and that had been thought of in terms of its location within a bigger office environment or something, then I think that would be… I mean, it would be a compromise. But I suppose, just practically speaking, those are the aspects that I think we get most from.”

While there was generally a desire for flexibility, some partners voiced concerns that the essence of Bairns’ Hoose may be compromised. These partners tended to be of the view that, although the concept and ethos of Bairns’ Hoose is important, the physical building is also fundamental to the programme.

“For me it's [about] the four rooms. It's the idea that actually a child is taken to a Bairns’ Hoose and all of the things that are required to support that child, to participate in disclosing, giving evidence and then recovering from their abuse are available there. When we can do that, that's when we will have a Bairns’ Hoose…. My view is it's better if it's in one building.”

There was concern that, with too much scope for flexibility, the Bairns’ Hoose model could become “diluted”. This was linked to worries that service provision, and CYP’s experiences, might become inconsistent across Scotland. While these partners recognised that there would be some circumstances in which delivering services is not possible, they felt it was the ideal to work towards.

“I think there would have to be very set criteria about what that would have to be if they're not under one roof.”

Other aspects of Bairns’ Hoose that partners felt should be consistent included the standard quality of court live link, compliance with SCIM, and CYP being at the heart of all decisions.

“The bottom line is that it needs to be child-focused. When you work with big organisations e.g. council, NHS, police, expectation can be that families meet the shape of the service rather than vice versa. That's something that everyone needs to be mindful of. Principles should be there to serve the needs of children and families, not to make the life of staff easier.”

Advice for new partnerships

Professionals shared advice for anyone setting up a Bairns’ Hoose in future. Key messages were aligned with suggestions for the national guidance and included:

Spend time at the outset engaging stakeholders, developing working relationships and establishing governance arrangements. As discussed in previous chapters, effective partnership working across agencies is key to the successful implementation of Bairns’ Hoose. Partners advised that it can take time for stakeholders to understand the ethos of Bairns’ Hoose and that early engagement is therefore important in getting buy-in from senior leaders and other partners. Partners also advised that, in their experience, specific individuals who are passionate can make a big difference.

“Try to find people who really care and will drive Bairns’ Hoose forward.”

Developing trusting relationships, with open communication, and fostering a solutions-focused approach, was seen as crucial for effective collaboration and to overcome challenges that could occur due to working across agencies with differing procedures and institutional lenses.

Establishing governance arrangements early on, for example, a steering group with clear roles and responsibilities, and clear leadership was seen as a key element of successful partnership working. Partners also recommended creating structures that are resilient in unexpected circumstances, e.g. if key leaders are off work.

“Get everyone involved, have an implementation group, have a steering group. Start there and then get good engagement and involvement, and you will come up with something that fits your particular area. Have good leadership and make it as resilient as possible.”

Recognise that it will take significant time and resource to implement Bairns’ Hoose, and set realistic expectations. Professionals flagged that things take more time and consideration than expected, such as: establishing governance arrangements; organising data sharing agreements; installing Wi-Fi in facilities; installing live court link equipment; organising who is responsible for maintaining a shared building; planning agreements; and consultation with local community. They advised others not to have too high expectations around speed of progress.

“It takes time to get these things set up and to get everybody working together, because everyone has their own different systems and ways of working. So can't expect everything to be ready, hit the ground running straight away.”

One partner advised that getting “quick wins” early on helped with motivation.

"If you get those kind of very early, quick, wins, it does make you feel like you can put your shoulder against, and push against, the boulders a little bit.”

Retain focus on the vision. Professionals emphasised that, although it can be frustrating at times and easy to become “bogged down” by processes and procedures, it is important to remember the purpose of Bairns’ Hoose.

“I think it's a really worthwhile endeavour and ultimately it's for the betterment of the community and the children that live within it, and also the families that are potentially supported through it as well.”

Learn from others’ experiences, but focus on examples that are most relevant to you. Professionals advised others to reach out to existing Bairns’ Hoose partnerships for insights and advice (e.g. viewing their space), but to keep in mind the very different contexts in which different partnerships are operating.

Gather, and action, feedback from CYP and families. Professionals emphasised the importance of gathering and incorporating CYP and families’ views when designing services.

“Getting that feedback [from CYP and families] early on is important to find out what is working and what is not working.”