1. Getting it right for every child
Enquire Seminar
16th March 2011
Robin McKendrick
Getting it right for every child

2. Getting it right for every child
Getting it right for every child is a vision led political and societal transformational change programme
Managed using Managing Succesfull Programmes (MSP) principles
Is the national programme that aims to improve outcomes for all children and young people in Scotland.
GIRFEC does so by providing a framework for all agencies working with Children and Families to take a coordinated and streamlined approach to meeting their needs
An approach that is appropriate, proportionate and timely.
The Minister recognised that “There is lot of good practice already, its our task to build on it.”
He also realises that a development of this magnitude requires a long term commitment to change systems and practice & professional cultures
As you will be aware, GIRFEC was implemented in 2006 and at time 2 pathfinders were set up to help shape and test practice and develop training materials to inform the national development on getting it right

3. TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE
Policy Framework
WHAT
HOW
Early Years Framework
Equally Well
Achieving our Potential
Curriculum for Excellence
Support for Learning
More Choices More Chances
Youth justice
LAC
Better Health Better Care
Hall 4
Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland
Road to Recovery
Slide intended to convey that GIRFEC will support the various social frameworks which are the What.
GIRFEC is HOW we should go about achieving our objectives and deliver improved outcomes for children and young people.
It does so by supporting the development of a common language, shared understanding, that lead to trust, confidence between agencies and professionals.
Therefore - We are putting this approach at the heart of all our policies for children, young people and families to ensure the core elements of the approach are embedded in policy and practice and expect all other organisations to do so.
Realise this is easier said than done. Many people will initially think that Getting it rights is not their core business – Perhaps, CfE , ASL or another major programme.
This is not uncommon – Edinburgh – a Learning Partner recognisd that to embd in other areas si was the GEETING IT RIGTH Team who had to first understand and then explain how Getting it right supports the successful implementation of other policies.
Not so much about training – More about Practice Development.
GIRFEC =
TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE

4. Getting it right - The Values and Principles
Promoting the well-being of individual children and young people
Keeping children and young people safe
Putting the child at the centre, promoting opportunities and valuing diversity
Taking a whole child approach- using developmental-ecological theory
Building on strengths and promoting resilience
Providing additional help that is appropriate, proportionate and timely and supporting informed choice
Working in partnership with families
Respecting confidentiality and sharing information
Promoting the same values across professions and making the most of each worker’s expertise
Co-ordinating help and building a competent workforce
Building a competent workforce to promote children and young people’s well-being.
The Getting it right approach is underpinned by these common values and principles.
Stress that these are for everyone with a part to play in promoting the well-being of children and young people.
Apply equally to Getting it right and Support for Learning. As I said, to everyone working to improve outcomes for children and young people.

5. The 10 Core Components
Focus on improving outcomes for young people, based on shared understanding of well-being
Common approach to gaining consent and sharing information where appropriate
Integral role for children, young people and families
Co-ordinated approach to assessing needs, agreeing actions and outcomes, based on the Well-being Indicators
Streamlined planning, assessment and decision making leading to the right help at the right time

6. The 10 Core Components (continued)
High standards of co-operative working and communication
A Named Person for all children and
A Lead Professional to co-ordinate multi-agency activity
8. Maximising the skilled workforce within universal services
9. A confident and competent workforce across all services
10. Capacity to share demographic, assessment, and planning information electronically
Getting it right is founded on 10 Core components that can be applied on any setting and in any circumstance.
They provide a benchmark from which practitioners may apply the approach to their area of work.
NHS Quality Strategy – LEAN approach – We mapped how these components Identifying the value; Creating the flow; Establishing pull and Seeking Perfection.

7. Do the Principles of ASL and GIRFEC fit together?
ASL/GIRFEC
ASL/GIRFEC Interface
Do the Principles of ASL and GIRFEC fit together?
GIRFEC – Principles
Meet the needs of all children in a proportionate and timely way.
ASL
Focus’ on children’s learning in the broadest sense.
Sits within the overall GIRFEC approach
The answers is that the principles, values and practical elements of both ASL and GIRFEC are mutually supportive.
Both also have the objective of improved outcomes for all children and young people and as such converge to provide a wrap around system of available support.

8. The first of these diagrams (Observing and Recording) and the final one (Planning , Action and Review) illustrates the Government aspiration that all our children and young people should be:
Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors and Responsible citizens.
As recognised in the Supporting childrens learning code of practice recognises – in this context, a child and young persons well – being should be considered as a set of 8 indicators.
Concerns noted in any of these areas should be seen as a trigger for action and consideration given to a holistic assessment.
The code of practice also identifies that – Effective assessment, planning, action and review, consistent with Curriculum for Excellence, Getting it right and the Early Years Framework, depends on:
Taking a holistic view of children and young people
Seeking, taking account and noting of the views of children, parents and young people and fully involving them in the assessment process

9. Improvement, however, must be able to be measured
Each child
an individual child might be assessed as needing help to improve their safety, their achievement and their inclusion (three of the wellbeing indicators)
The interventions or supports for an individual child will vary and will be dependant on what it is that is getting in the way of those areas of well-being. This will be different for each child.
Improvement, however, must be able to be measured
Getting it right and ASL focus on the child at the individual level – Each Child
Interventions vary:
If respectable and responsible is a key improvement outcome, then the measurable indicators might be:
Reduce offending and substance taking behaviours by delivering increased diversionary opportunities;
Increase involvement of children and their families in the child’s plan;
Improvement, however, must be able to be measured and it is in this area that the use of and the reviewing of the Child’s Plan based on the commonly understood concept of the 8 well-being indicators become even more important.
3rd Point - Ill come back to in a minute

10. One Childs Plan Planning
Do we need a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) and a GIRFEC Plan
CSP is a statutory plan - statutory requirement to prepare one.
Where there is multi agency intervention GIRFEC principles point to having a single planning process.
Question we are often asked and indeed have a duty to explain.
Where a child or young person requires a co-ordinated support plan to be prepared there is a statutory duty on the Education Authority to prepare one. Say more about this in a minute or two.
Point to remember is a parent can request that a CSP is prepared. Must be informed if one is being prepared, and it should be prepared in consultation with the parent or young person, taking the views of the child into account. Equally, disagreements about the CSP can be referred to the ASNT or Court of Session.

11. The Childs Plan – one child, one plan
Co- ordinated Support plan
Supporting children’s learning code of practice – Chapter 5 - Paragraph
Getting it right Practice Briefing 6
In terms of the CSP –
Para It (the CSP) needs to be included along with the child’s plan or be readily extractible from it.
In terms of the CSP and other Children’s Plan – Getting it right Briefing 6.

12. Edinburgh - Children’s Services Delivery Model
Statutory Measures
Complex Needs
Advice from Early Intervention/Social Work re: preventive strategies and/ or appropriateness of
Social Work Services referral
Child’s Plan (Multi-Agency,
managed by Lead Professional)
Stage 3 Plan
Lead Professional
ALL CHILDREN CHILDREN IN NEED AT RISK OF HARM
Stage 2 Plan
Support for children and families from community and universal services e.g. Educational Psychology, Educational Welfare Officer, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and
Voluntary Sector services
Team Around the Cluster
Plan (Single Agency, managed by Named Person)
e.g. Health Plan, Individualised Education Programme
Shared Assessment
Stage 1 Plan
Stage 1 Plan
Named Person
Lead Professional on the left of the slide.
Early Identification/Intervention
Strengthening
Universal Services
e.g. Curriculum for Excellence,
Growing Confidence, Solihull,
Improving Relationships Strategy, Peer Early Education Programme, Parent/Carer Support, Community Learning and Development
and Voluntary Sector services
Team Around the Cluster
v1.1 12

13. Dundee – Hierarchy of Need

14. The role of the central GIRFEC team
Embedding GIRFEC in
relevant National
policies
Embedding GIRFEC
in the new
scrutiny regime
Supporting National
implementation through
CPP engagement
Supporting Practice
Improvement
-including iACT
We have identified 4 projects that we need to take forward from the central team to support implementation of Getting it right across Scotland. BUT PERHAPS IT SHOPULD BE 5!
Talk to each of the 4 slides.

15. CPP Engagement Now engaging in regional formations Grampian Tayside
Fife
Forth Valley
South East Scotland
West of Scotland (but some way to go)
In an effort to promote GIRFEC implementation across boundaries
Strategic engagement event on

16. Embedding in all relevant policies
Health
Justice
Communities
Housing
Early Years
Education
ASL Act – Revised code of practice
AHP – guidance in education
Safe and Well (Child protection in school)
CfE – Attainment guidance (s2)

17. National statistics, indicators etc
National guidance (GIRFEC implementation, Child protection etc)
Management info for Chief Officers
Self-evaluation, benchmarking improvement at CPP level
Scrutiny
Frequent (e.g. monthly)
Regular (e.g. quarterly)
Less frequent (e.g. bi-annual)
Coherent improvement regime
Scrutiny is dependent on self-evaluation
Self-evaluation is dependent on management information
HMIE – Currently trialling new approaches within inspections and will pilot these after Easter. They also have a specific GIRFEC themed task for the Autumn within the new school inspection model to be introduced after the summer.
In the meantime HMIE(CP), Care Commission and SWIA - SCSWIS.
Then go onto SCSWIS

18. Supporting Practice Improvement
Workforce development – Draft delivery plan for development of Children’s Workforce
Common skills core – consultation exercise commences to run for 5 months
7 Practice papers published December 2010
Also includes iACT!
ASL Act – Revised code of practice
AHP – guidance in education
Safe and Well (Child protection in school)
CfE – Attainment guidance (s2)

19. inter Agency Communication Tool (iACT
Primarily a National System which provides the means for agencies working with children to securely and discreetly share information
Each agency hosts their own instance of iACT
Children the agency are working with are registered on iACT - eCare will match each registration providing identification integrity
If an iACT agency has a concern about a child or require information they can issue an enquiry. iACT will direct the enquiry to any other agency who has the child registered, this is screened from the sender
The receiving agency can assess the request and reply or not, as judged appropriate
The sender has no knowledge of who has been sent the request, there is no read receipt
iACT can also be used to target a known and identified partner or partners and to securely exchange information.
Key messages:
GIRFEC affects all services for children and is about improving outcomes for all children
It involves transformational change and is strongly connected with the Early Years Framework 19

20. iACT – What next?
– Functional requirements re-visited by GIRFEC practitioners from Health, SW, Police and Education
– Data Sharing Partnership Managers consulted and briefed
– Cross sector GIRFEC Practitioners invited to form user group and set terms of reference
April and going forward
iACT Business Design Advisory Group formed with appropriate chair
Functionality revisited and validated re
Key messages:
Clear evidence of need for GIRFEC
Building from recognised and established practice and theory
Building on good practice 20

21. Getting it right for every child Benefits
Highland Pathfinder Benefits
A more holistic assessment of children.
Reduced bureaucracy means staff have more time for direct work with children and families. - Fewer meetings and reports for all agencies; 75% saving in time required for meetings - 50% reduction in SW caseload, and admin reduced to 10% of activity.
Reduction in unnecessary referrals to the Reporter – down by 70%. Reporters and Panels have more time for more serious cases.
Reductions of around 50% in the number of children regarded at risk of significant harm. 21

22. Getting it right for every child
Improved outcomes for a majority of children.
Teachers, Health Visitors, Social Workers etc all having a better understanding and valuing each others roles, and how they support each other
Faster and better quality information sharing
Children's needs identified at an earlier stage
More effective interventions
Less cumbersome processes for children and families
Children and families know what is intended and when it will happen

23. Getting it right for every child
Other areas
With the aim of improving outcomes for children Falkirk and Angus councils have re-engineered their processes in respect of children in residential care
In Falkirk there is a yearly review based on each child’s stated needs and objectives
In Angus the wellbeing indicators are used in ongoing three monthly reviews to measure outcomes
Both have seen a spend reduction of between %!

24. QUESTIONS?