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Paper

Getting it right for every child - a national approach to enhancing services to vulnerable children and youth in the context of improving outcomes for all children in Scotland

abstract

Background. The paper describes a major policy initiative by the Scottish Government, Getting it right for every child, to which the authors have been contributing since 2005. It is fundamental to one of the key conference themes of building an effective organizational infrastructure for services for troubled and troublesome children and youth. Getting it right for every child aims to improve outcomes for all children in every local area in Scotland and then target children with additional needs to provide early and proportionate help to them and their families through co-ordinated and integrated services.

There are many vulnerable children in Scotland who are finding it hard to do well and whose outcomes are poor. Getting it right for every child aims to identify additional needs as early as possible, so that appropriate help can be provided. Doing this in an integrated and co-ordinated way is demanding radical change in organisational practices and infrastructure across children's services.

Purpose. The Scottish Government is concerned with improving outcomes for children by creating the conditions in which Scotland's children can become 'confident individuals, effective contributors, successful learners, and responsible citizens'. To achieve these outcomes, the Scottish Government has the ambitious aim of ensuring that all children in Scotland are helped throughout their childhood journey to reach their full potential against the seven well-being indicators of being:

  • Safe
  • Healthy
  • Achieving
  • Nurtured
  • Active
  • Respected and responsible, and
  • Included.

The paper will outline the evidence base for the Getting it right for every child initiative, which is founded on theory about children's ecology, well-being and the building of resilience as well as the value of children's and families' participation. It will show how the theory translates into a multi-agency model of practice. The new initiative emphasises the inclusion and participation of child and family. Finally, the paper will draw examples from the implementation of a Pathfinder in the Highland region of Scotland, a diverse geographical area in the north of Scotland, the size of Belgium, consisting of urban and rural communities. The paper will show how changes to working practices in Highland have been underpinned by organizational and structural changes.

Getting it right for every child is rooted in the theories of how children develop. It takes the view that different parts of a child's ecology will interact to provide protective or adverse factors. It also is premised on the view that children and their families are active players in children's development. It recognises that the universal services of health and education in Scotland provide a firm foundation for achieving good outcomes for children, alongside the care provided by parents and carers. It also reinforces Scotland's culture of the role of local communities being engaged in promoting children's well-being.

Embedding services for children who have additional needs in Scotland's established, universal services of health and education aims to ensure that any gaps in children's well-being will be identified and reinforced by health and education services right from birth. There will be early identification of any difficulties requiring additional services followed by provision of services that are timely and appropriate. This approach is demanding organizational change in the attitudes and roles of practitioners and in collaborative financial arrangements across all children's services.

The unique feature of this government initiative is that services are accessible to, and inclusive of, children and families. Children and families are being fully consulted in the development of the initiative. Children and parents should know who to go to and how to get help at any point in children's journey of growing up. They will be involved at every stage and, in future, they should experience a seamless and less bureaucratic service from different agencies. This is particularly important at key transition points in a child's life.

Another fundamental change is the introduction of a nationally developed, well-evidenced model of assessment, planning, action and review for all agencies. Each child who needs multi-agency services will have a Child's Plan. These plans will be proportionate to the issues involved. Progress will be reviewed against the seven well-being indicators.

The Highland Council is acting as a Pathfinder for initial implementation of Getting it right for every child. The authors have been closely involved with the Pathfinder development, including the production of comprehensive practice guidance. The last part of the paper explores the challenges of achieving real changes in Highland by building on the best professional and multi-agency practice already in place.

Key references

Aldgate, J., Jones, D. P. H., Rose, W. & Jeffery, C. (2006). The Developing World of the Child. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Daniel, B. & Wassell, S. (2002). The Early Years - Assessing and Promoting Resilience in Vulnerable Children (Vol. 1). London: Jessica Kingsley.

Scottish Executive (2007). UNCRC, Report on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.

Stradling, B. & MacNeil, M. M. (2007). Delivering Integrated Children's Services for Children in Highland: an overview of challenges, developments and outcomes. Highland, University of the Highlands and Islands Millenium Institute.

Contacts: Jane Aldgate, OBE, Professor of Social Care, The Open University, Faculty of Health and Social Care, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom, Email: P.J.Aldgate@open.ac.uk, Phone 07790979923.

 

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