Bairns' Hoose Pathfinder Phase – Research Report

15. Conclusions

The Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinder phase represents an opportunity for transformational change in the support provided to children and young people (CYP) who are victims or witnesses of abuse, and children under the age of criminal responsibility whose behaviour may have caused, or risked causing, serious harm or abuse. Change of this nature is a significant undertaking, and this research highlights a great deal of learning from partnerships on the practicalities and challenges associated with this.

That said, the research also shows that there has been a great deal of enthusiasm for Bairns’ Hoose and progress made during the Pathfinder phase. Those operating within the Pathfinder phase have not only brought about change in their own partnerships but have generated significant learning that can be used to inform the development of the national guidance for the Bairns’ Hoose in Scotland.

Particular strides have been made in improving experiences for CYP, especially in relation to interviews. The wider implementation of the Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM) has been a key factor in these improvements, and Bairns’ Hoose has helped drive further progress through its focus on inclusive access and suitable interview spaces. All Bairns’ Hoose partnerships were using SCIM and each had deployed solutions to inclusive access that met the needs of their area. These included hub-and-spoke models, soft borders approaches, as well as the creation of welcoming spaces within Bairns’ Hoose buildings and the flexibility to conduct interviews in other locations should CYP prefer. The involvement of speech and language therapists by partnerships also reflects a commitment to continually develop and further improve the interview process.

The successful implementation of the Bairns’ Hoose approach hinges on effective multi-agency collaboration, with partners working together to jointly overcome challenges that stand in the way of child-centred practice. While it takes time to engage and obtain buy-in from the wide range of partners involved, and to overcome practical challenges associated with working across agencies, substantial progress has been made in this area. A genuine passion to improve the experiences of CYP and a ‘can do’ attitude to change among partners were key drivers of this, alongside operational elements such as the establishment of governance structures at an early stage and co-location of services.

Nonetheless, challenges in multi-agency collaboration remained. There was scope to further develop partnerships, particularly with health. There were also practical issues to address, for example in relation to information sharing and determining which agency takes the lead on certain elements such as building upkeep and commissioning of services.

Reflecting on their experiences and learning to date, partners provided a range of suggestions relating to the future development of Bairns’ Hoose. These covered types of support they would welcome, recommendations for the national guidance and advice for other areas setting up a Bairns’ Hoose. Clear themes emerged in what was considered most important:

• Acknowledgement that change takes time: given the scale of transformational change and the importance of allowing sufficient time to develop multi-agency partnerships and processes, recognise that it will take time for the Bairns’ Hoose vision to be fully implemented was advised.
• Sustainable funding and resourcing: while there was commitment to Bairns’ Hoose, concerns remained about the future sustainability of the approach. This was particularly in relation to funding in the current economic climate and staff resources, given that staff are often doing Bairns’ Hoose work in addition to their ‘day job’. The extent to which systems change is possible without sustainable funding and resource was a point of concern.
• National level support: in addition to funding, support at the national level was desired to overcome some of the wider systems-level challenges that go beyond the immediate scope of Bairns’ Hoose, but impact the experiences of CYP. Examples included influencing changes to the national court system that would reduce delays for CYP and families and considering national approaches to data sharing between agencies. Continued national backing for Bairns’ Hoose was viewed as important in creating buy-in for Bairns’ Hoose more generally.
• Maintaining some degree of flexibility of approach: while views were mixed, there was a desire for some degree of flexibility to be maintained in the Bairns’ Hoose programme. This was particularly in relation to the physical building/s. Caution was exercised in ensuring the essence of Bairns’ Hoose is not lost, but partnerships highlighted a need to adapt approaches to their local needs and contexts.
• Continue the learning culture: the importance of continuing to operate a learning culture where the experiences of CYP, families and those operating on the ground are gathered and used to make improvements was highlighted. Relatedly, while evaluation was valued, gaps were noted in terms of both resources and skills in order to do this effectively. This was suggested as something partnerships may benefit from additional support with.