1. Looked After Children Early Implementation Dumfries and Galloway Council In-House Management Information System

2. Looked After Child Information Spreadsheet (LACIS) Dumfries & Galloway currently hold their information on looked after children on an Excel spreadsheet affectionately named – LACIS LACIS was introduced to provide the detailed information required by both Senior Managers and the Scottish Government that our in-house system was unable to provide LACIS holds both the personal information of the child/young person e.g. name, dob, gender, ethnic origin, etc and statutory information e.g. placement details, legal status, care plan information etc.

3. LACIS

4. LACIS

5. Decision to Become An Early Adopter Dumfries & Galloway took the decision to become an early adopter because we were confident with the quality of our data and that we had the correct data structure required Dumfries & Galloway took the decision to become an early adopter because we were confident with the quality of our data and that we had the correct data structure required We believed it would be beneficial to come on board early and receive as much support as possible We believed it would be beneficial to come on board early and receive as much support as possible Available Funding – D & G were just starting the implementation process of moving from an in-house system to Frameworki. Part of this process was to purchase an interim system (Softbox) to pull together all LAC data to make the transfer to frameworki easier Available Funding – D & G were just starting the implementation process of moving from an in-house system to Frameworki. Part of this process was to purchase an interim system (Softbox) to pull together all LAC data to make the transfer to frameworki easier

6. Funding BSDT (Business System Development Team): In discussion with the Manager of BSDT a proposal on funding was presented to Senior Management who gave their full support and backing In discussion with the Manager of BSDT a proposal on funding was presented to Senior Management who gave their full support and backing Funding was used for the following areas: Funding was used for the following areas: Software Development / Licences - purchase of Softbox Software Development / Licences - purchase of Softbox Consultancy and Training – in both Softbox and Business Objects Consultancy and Training – in both Softbox and Business Objects Data Conversion / preparation – tidy up of data in line with the Data Specification published by ScotXed Data Conversion / preparation – tidy up of data in line with the Data Specification published by ScotXed

7. Data Tidy UP Work started immediately on cleansing the data held on LACIS to make sure it was robust and accurate Current looked after children were identified Child details, placement histories and legal status were doubled checked against information sources both in-house and external e.g. reports from the Childrens Reporter One issue was with those children who had been looked after for several years, information was not always held electronically so it meant trawling paper files Another issue was the consistency of electronic recording, although the information was recorded it was not always in the same area of the childs file or recorded consistently on LACIS

8. Data Tidy UP Additional code Columns were added to LACIS next to current description columns e.g. Ethnic Origin within LACIS detailed white but Procxed required the code 01 When the data preparation was finalised and the data deemed as accurate meetings were arranged with Business Managers to explain the importance of accurate, up-to-date and consistent recording throughout the Council Following these meetings a process was set up for Looked After Admin to follow when recording change of placement or legal status on LACIS to ensure consistency During the early adopter process the importance of good information was acknowledged by all involved in the looked after children process. This resulted in a change of culture in terms of recording data within Dumfries & Galloway

9. End of Year Processes Management Information Officer (MIO) informed when LACIS spreadsheet up-to-date as of 31 March Copy of live LACIS spreadsheet taken Information on those children who had left care was sent to the Leaving Care Team Manager using the Procxed spreadsheet Leaving Care Team Manager asked to identify those eligible for aftercare and to complete the required fields within the spreadsheet ready for upload to Procxed Information was cut and pasted from LACIS to STP and LAC spreadsheets for upload to ProcXed Cutting and pasting from LACIS to the ScotXed spreadsheet templates was a simple process and no different from that used within any excel spreadsheet There were a couple of issues with the data format – e.g. within LACIS we use dd/mm/yyyy but ProcXed using yyyy/mm/dd this was easily rectified within the spreadsheet by highlighting the entire column and changing the cell format – not an individual entry fix but a single fix

10. Data Submission Uploading the files themselves was simple - once the correct naming format for the file had been used! First time success – not quite First time success – not quite Although none of my files uploaded first time without error these Although none of my files uploaded first time without error these were soon resolved by the excellent support given by Michael Barnes at were soon resolved by the excellent support given by Michael Barnes at ScotXed (Michael manages the ProxXed SW development) ScotXed (Michael manages the ProxXed SW development) Procxed Assistance – excellent Beyond a doubt. Support was speedy and resolutions easy to Beyond a doubt. Support was speedy and resolutions easy to understand, not technical!! understand, not technical!!

11. Data Quality: Before: Dumfries & Galloways current data was reliable and robust but historical data was questionable Dumfries & Galloways current data was reliable and robust but historical data was questionable Recording of data descriptions was inconsistent Recording of data descriptions was inconsistentAfter: Both current and historical data is now reliable and robust Both current and historical data is now reliable and robust Processes for recording data are consistent Processes for recording data are consistent Staff have been given training in Softbox (interim solution) which will replace LACIS spreadsheet Staff have been given training in Softbox (interim solution) which will replace LACIS spreadsheet Transfer of data from LACIS to Softbox has been made easier due to the fact the information is up-to-date and complete Transfer of data from LACIS to Softbox has been made easier due to the fact the information is up-to-date and complete

12. Communication: Within Dumfries & Galloway: Senior Managers gave their full support to Dumfries & Galloway becoming an Early Adopter Senior Managers gave their full support to Dumfries & Galloway becoming an Early Adopter Close links were forged with BSDT and a member of BSDT attended the LASWS IT Sub-group along with MIO Close links were forged with BSDT and a member of BSDT attended the LASWS IT Sub-group along with MIO Regular updates were given at Team Meetings Regular updates were given at Team Meetings With ScotXed All LAs were encouraged to produce a project plan. The plan did not have to be overlay complicated or detailed a simple timeline format was acceptable. This allowed both us and ScotXed to monitor progress and identify any issues early All LAs were encouraged to produce a project plan. The plan did not have to be overlay complicated or detailed a simple timeline format was acceptable. This allowed both us and ScotXed to monitor progress and identify any issues early Raymond and his team kept in touch on a regular basis Raymond and his team kept in touch on a regular basis They were available when required and always responded quickly to any query They were available when required and always responded quickly to any query

13. In General Data is more detailed, accurate, robust and readily available Data is more detailed, accurate, robust and readily available Staff are more informed and aware of the importance of accurate looked after data Staff are more informed and aware of the importance of accurate looked after data Best practice is being used consistently Best practice is being used consistently Although this has been a time consuming project the outcomes achieved far out-weigh the input Although this has been a time consuming project the outcomes achieved far out-weigh the input