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Inspectors find lack of early intervention has ‘significant impact’ on Highland children at risk of harm

Highland Council says it's acting quickly following a series of concerning inspection reports into children's services. Image: Shutterstock
Highland Council says it's acting quickly following a series of concerning inspection reports into children's services. Image: Shutterstock

A lack of early intervention has a ‘significant impact’ on Highland children and young people at risk of harm, according to a care report.

The inspection also found that Highland Council is better at responding to concerns over younger children than their older peers.

And frontline staff said they don’t always feel that their concerns are heard by managers.

These are part of a range of weaknesses identified by the Care Inspectorate, which assessed how Highland Council supports children and young people at risk of harm.

Overall, inspectors said performance was ‘adequate’ but there are improvements to be made. In a report for health and social care committee, council bosses say they’ve already started working on an action plan.

Council responds quickly, but services can’t always keep up

The Care Inspectorate spoke to hundreds of children, carers and council staff between April and September last year. They also looked at policy documents and records for 60 young people at risk of harm.

Highland Council’s report says inspectors found a number of strengths. Staff responded quickly to safety concerns, and there was effective collaboration and information sharing.

However, inspectors also highlighted some important weaknesses. In particular:

“A lack of early intervention and mental health and wellbeing resources was having a significant impact on children and young people at risk of harm, as well as on the capacity of frontline staff to meet their needs.”

Highland Council staff say their concerns aren’t always picked up by senior leaders. Image: Sandy McCook/ DC Thomson

They also highlighted an imbalance in the system. Highland Council’s processes were found to be more effective for younger children than they are for older children and young adults.

Inspectors held meetings with 175 frontline staff and gathered 727 responses to a staff survey. These responses suggested that senior leaders aren’t always effective at communicating their vision, and some frontline staff feel their concerns are not heard.

The inspection also revealed that the council could do better in terms of how to gather and analyse data.

Child protection committee to focus on drugs, alcohol and mental health

The findings of the inspection are set out in a wider report for the health and social care committee, which meets on Thursday 9 February.

Ian Kyle, who leads performance and improvement in children’s services, says the council started work on an action plan before the inspection report came out in December.

Highland’s child protection committee will focus on drugs, alcohol, mental health and older children’s services to try to get performance back on track.

The council is working to improve outcomes for children and young people at risk of harm. Its child protection committee is prioritising work in youth justice, drugs and alcohol and mental health services. The committee is also looking at how young people of 16 and over transition into adult services.

Inspectors said the council needs to improve how it gathers the views of young people in its care. To that end, it’s working on a framework process to capture their voices. And a business improvement officer has been recruited to improve data analysis.

Council urged to rapidly improve services for children in care

This inspection is the latest in a range of concerning reports for Highland Council children’s services.

On 9 December, the Care Inspectorate published three reviews of fostering, adult placement and adoption in the Highlands.

The inspection rated Highland Council services as ‘weak’ in all three reports.

In particular, inspectors feared that “children and young people’s
safety and wellbeing may have on occasion been compromised by a failure to
identify and respond to some concerns.”

They also said it wasn’t always possible to track a young person’s growth and progress.

Before that, there was an independent review of residential childcare, which was shared with councillors in August. The report’s author, Fred McBride, said Highland sends twice as many children into residential care than the national average. He said the council should take “urgent action” to improve community services.

Health and social care chairman David Fraser will lead discussions of the inspection reports at a meeting of the committee on Thursday 9 February. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

Again, Highland Council says it’s already started making improvements. In fostering and adoption, the council is reviewing its procedures and assessments, as well as providing training and support to caregivers.

And for residential care, its ‘Your Voice Matters’ review aims to capture children’s experiences. It’s also working to improve safeguarding and trauma-informed practice.

Mr Kyle’s report concludes that while there are clear priorities for improvement, the inspectors’ comments show the council is “on the right track”.

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