Effectiveness of children's services planning guidance: consultation analysis

Discussion

The consultation attracted a strong response from a broad mix of different stakeholders as well as a small number of individuals. Most respondents provided a good level of detail in their open-ended responses, setting out reasons for their agreement or lack of agreement with each of the questions asked.

Overview of Findings

While the majority of respondents gave positive responses with regards to the effectiveness of the guidance in developing plans, advising on consultation and strengthening inter-agency collaboration, fewer than half felt that the guidance, at present, supports staff and practitioners in delivery. This was mainly because respondents felt that it was outwith the scope of statutory strategic guidance to shape operational practice, rather than it being perceived a weakness of the document per se.

Cross-Cutting Themes

A number of cross-cutting themes emerged across the consultation including:

• that the existing statutory guidance is helpful, but could be strengthened by supporting planning partners to effectively engage children, families and communities in the development and delivery of Children's Services Plans;
• throughout, the importance of early intervention and prevention should continue to be stressed as a priority;
• creation of shorter, more succinct guidance that is accessible to all would be welcomed. Similarly, the guidance could be clearer about the need for a Children's Services Plan to be accessible, meaningful and accountable to a broad range of people in the community, including children;
• more guidance on how Plans should reflect the needs of some of the most vulnerable and hard to reach children and young people, including those with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, those living in criminal contexts, in abusive and/or transient households;
• stressing the Rights of service users to be heard in the planning process;
• best practice examples and use of case studies could be used to good effect to enhance the guidance throughout;
• greater recognition may be needed of wider strategic planning frameworks which local authorities are required to adhere to and ways of streamlining planning activities (including consultation activities) could be explored (especially linking the Plans to Local Outcome Improvement Planning);
• scope for improving communication between strategic decision makers and practitioners in how Plans should be implemented, and what issues should be prioritised locally;
• opportunities to show connected purpose in reporting, to minimise duplication in data collection and reporting;
• the guidance could be enhanced by agreeing a suite of national indicators that all partners could work towards across agencies;
• changing the wording of the document may encourage more shared ownership of Plans beyond local authorities and NHS boards alone;
• scope for better involving and utilising third sector partners in the planning process overall (drawing in their unique skills and experience) with the guidance reinforcing this message; and
• better monitoring and evaluation of compliance with the guidance.

The main point, it seems, is that it could be made clearer in the guidance how Children's Services Plans fit alongside other ongoing reviews and planning commitments to ensure that a congruent approach to improving outcomes for children and young people is achieved.

Sector Analysis

Although the numbers of respondents in each 'type' of sector makes analysis of differences unreliable at the quantitative level, some observations were made regarding differences in views expressed by those representing different sectors and/or issues which might differentially effect those working in the public, private or third sector domains.

Overall, respondents supported the principles set out in the guidance that planning should be truly multi-agency, and but felt there was scope for greater clarity of roles and guidance on how to include the full range or partners, and their respective skills and expertise.

How Findings Link to the Earlier Consultation

Many of the findings from the current consultation mirror findings from the earlier consultation^[8], including:

• a need for the guidance to connect with wider policy and legislation;
• further detailed guidance being needed regarding consultation with children and young people as service users, especially the most vulnerable and hard to reach individuals; and
• the need for more accessible guidance to maximise reach.

As with the earlier consultation, most respondents were broadly supportive of the guidance in supporting the development of plans, but felt that the scope should not extend into practice guidance. Although more guidance on implementation is perhaps needed, this was seen as something to be separately addressed.

Next Steps

The findings from the consultation analysis will be published and will be used alongside the learning from the Children's Services Strategic Engagement Scotland-wide programme of visits to Children's Services Strategic Partners local areas, which ran from 5 October 2018 to 10 June 2019.

Conclusions

Overall, the guidance was viewed positively and as being fit for purpose, subject to some minor changes. This involves streamlining the document and making is more accessible, ensuing that it better reflects the current planning and policy landscapes and further strengthening advice around involving partners from the third sector to maximise efficiency of plan production and effectiveness of delivery.

Respondents commented that that they were pleased to have been given an opportunity to respond to the consultation and inform the future refinement of the guidance. Stakeholders also seem keen to share best practice, exchange knowledge and skills and learn from the first round of reporting to ensure the effectiveness of Plans going forward.

All shared the aspirations of the guidance and Children's Services Plans to improve outcomes for children and young people in Scotland.