Trauma Responsive Social Work Services Partnership Delivery Group: minutes: April 2025

Attendees and apologies

Representatives from the following:

• Care Inspectorate (CI)
• Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS)
• Community Justice Scotland (CJS)
• Improvement Service (IS)
• NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
• Resilience Learning Partnership (RLP)
• Scottish Government (SG)
• Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
• Social Work Education Partnership (SWEP) Programme Office
• Social Work Scotland (SWS)
• Social Work Scotland Workforce and Resources Committee

Items and actions

Overview

This was the nineth meeting of the Trauma Responsive Social Work Services (TRSWS) Partnership Delivery Group. The purpose of this meeting was to review progress to date of the Work Plan, discuss future priorities and begin to consider what each partner could deliver to support our joint aim for 2025-2027.

Introductions and apologies

All members in attendance provided brief introductions. The Chair noted apologies from representatives from Higher Education Institutions delivering social work courses, Children and Young Peoples Centre for Justice (CYCJ), Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) and the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum (STAF).

Note of previous meeting

The group approved the meeting note from the eight Partnership Delivery Group meeting on 14 November 2024 via email.

Work Plan stocktake and next steps

As part of a spring review, partners provided a stocktake of work delivered to date to meet the priorities within the Work Plan. Some key activities noted below. A full list can be obtained from the slides. The presentation will be shared with members with this meeting note and can also be requested from the Secretariat.

Trauma Responsive Social Work Services partners

• SSSC launched the revised Codes of Practice in May 2024, which now includes new requirements for employers and social services workforce relating to trauma practice and support for those affected
• SSSC changed Continuous Professional Learning for registered social services workers in June 2024. This adds mandatory skills and knowledge requirements on psychological trauma for all registrants.
• SSSC, in partnership with TRSWS team, developed a survey on reflective practice supervision which was issued to the social work workforce. A report has been developed and is due for publication in the near future
• Social Work Scotland launched a practice educator survey that included specific questions relating to trauma training
• SWEP promoted trauma training resources to known practice educators
• TRSWS team are working with three social work course providers to trial embedding trauma knowledge and skills into their undergraduate programmes. Scheduled to produce a learning summary on this work with trial university sites and will share learning.

National Trauma Transformation Programme partners

• Launched the new National Trauma Transformation Programme website
• NES – Launched the new knowledge and skills framework for those working directly with victims and witnesses
• NES delivering Transforming Connections: a tailored ‘Trauma-Skilled’ level training and coaching package for priority sectors of the Children and Families workforce with a focus on care experienced children and young people.
• Development of resources to support alternative caregivers (kinship, foster, supported lodging carers and adoptive parents) provide trauma-informed care for their children and young people 
• RLP, in collaboration with TRSWS team and working with CYCJ co-designed, developed and delivered training on Power Sharing with Experts by Experience for social work leaders
• Development of the Roadmap for Creating Trauma-Informed and Responsive Change: Guidance for Organisations, Systems and Workforces in Scotland (2023)

TRSWS team

• Working with Edinburgh Napier University to trial delivery of a new supervision package that aligns with the ambitions of the Advanced Practice Framework
• Delivering trauma skilled training to newly qualified social workers while we work with SSSC and NQSW leads to embed training into local NQSW Supported Year Programmes
• Developed a document for NQSWs and their managers on recommended psychological trauma learning
• Developed and delivering a comprehensive programme implementation and learning support to four pilot sites.
  • Includes development of new training products on worker wellbeing, power sharing with lived experience, professional supervision, safety and stabilisation (trauma enhanced)
• Working with SG alternative caregivers team and NES to trial delivery of training for foster, kinship carers and adoptive parents.
• Supporting other policy areas with advice on how to embed trauma responsive approaches into their policy.

Reflections to the presentation:

• Care Inspectorate representative reflected on the well rounded approach that the group has taken in terms of implementation, embedding knowledge and skills and promoting sustainability
• Representative from SWS Workforce and Resources Committee shared that it was great to see the breadth of work completed so far. They enquired about the plan for TRSWS team to support further implementation sites, and ongoing work around professional supervision
  • TRSWS Programme Lead highlighted that work is progressing with the 4 pilots sites and the team are hopeful to support a further site later this year.
  • Regarding supervision, the team have spent time developing and trialling an approach to supervision for social workers which recognises differences in supervision in social work and the requirements for enhanced level experience and skills for supervisors. The team will evaluate this learning following delivery
  • Representative from SWS enquired as to how the TRSWS team envisage creating capacity for this work amid other organisational demands
  • TRSWS Programme Lead highlighted that through our pilot sites, staff are already taking learning from this course into supervision with their colleagues, and the team will continue to support them to embed this further. There has also been a real commitment from psychology colleagues to provide the necessary governance and scaffolding to support social work leaders embed  trauma enhanced learning into practice across all 4 sites

Reflections from Trauma Responsive Social Work Services Expert Advisory Group (EAG)

At the last meeting of the EAG, members were asked three questions to help identify any gaps to embedding trauma responsive practice that should be prioritised. A summary of key responses can be seen below:

• Acknowledged that a whole organisation approach is required to embed transformational change
• Reflected that organisations need further support on how embedding trauma responsive approaches helps to achieve other key policy priorities such as the Promise etc
• Highlighted difficulty getting access to trauma enhanced practice training for staff
• No national approach to training for trainers for the social work workforce
• Further support required on how to utilise the Roadmap to make improvements
• Further involvement of third sector colleagues in the Programme
• Greater lived experience representation
• Developing of reporting mechanisms to help provide accountability
• Continue to share learning and best practice

Breakout rooms feedback

Following some initial discussion, partners were put into breakout rooms to answer three questions to help identify next steps and future priority areas of work.

• What is the role of your organisation in supporting our shared aim and delivering on our shared priorities?
• Are there any specific gaps you see in delivering this ambition that the Partnership Delivery Group need to focus on more?
• What can your organisation do across 25-27 to help support our ambition and to deliver progress against our aim?

A summary of reflections on the organisations role in this work is below:

• RLP highlighted their role in ensuring lived experience is embedded across this work, and helping services to understand
• SWS highlighted their role in the Scottish Social Work Partnership, and the potential having a national voice for social work may bring to this programme
• CJS highlighted their role in monitoring and promoting improvement. Their role in accessing and promoting resources and helping to build sustainability
• SWEP highlighted their role in supporting universities with social work student placements. Highlighted their development of a toolkit for practice educators, and how embedding trauma resources on this will help further this agenda
• Improvement Service highlighted their role in building trauma informed approaches across whole organisations, helping social work to embed
• NES highlighted their role in linking in with psychology, supporting alignment of resources, and their role in helping the public have a shared understanding of what the NTTP is
• Care Inspectorate highlighted their organisation on path to become a trauma informed organisation, utilising the Roadmap, thinking about how scrutiny and inspection affects services, and their own staff
• CELCIS highlighted their role in connecting across workstreams.

A summary of potential gaps below:

• Need to consider developing learning pathways for staff as there is currently no national approach to training for trainers programmes for the social work workforce

• Reflected that organisations needed further support on how embedding trauma responsive approaches helps to achieve other key policy priorities
• Work with practice educators should be extended to link workers

Further consideration and support needs to be given to social work students that have care experience

Next steps and actions

• TRSWS secretariat to share slides from this meetings presentation, and share meeting note from the last Expert Advisory Group meeting
• Partners to provide any key work/ activity that has not been included in the slides via email
• Partners to provide any further thoughts and reflections in regards to the 3 questions
• TRSWS to link in with SWEP Programme Officer regarding inclusion of trauma resources on the practice educator toolkit
• SSSC to link in with HEI representative from Edinburgh University to discuss arranging a potential shared learning event on trauma with social work course provider