Why is this National Outcome important?
There is a wealth of evidence to show that disadvantages experienced from birth can impact adversely on the life chances of our children. By the time they reach their third birthday, children from deprived backgrounds can be as much as a year behind their peers in cognitive and social development. The impact of this disadvantage can be seen throughout an individual's life, in poor health, employment and social outcomes.
This Government's Purpose is to make Scotland a more successful nation from which all of Scotland's people, both now and in the future, can benefit. To achieve this and enhance our ability to compete, we need to tackle some of the significant inequalities which persist in Scotland. Tackling risks early and building the resilience of children, young people and families will improve the educational, health and employment outcomes of our people.
What will influence this National Outcome?
Success will be defined by improvements in children's lives through services which: support children, young people and families; help families overcome the disadvantages they face; and enable children and young people to achieve the same outcomes as their more advantaged peers. To get it right for children and young people at risk this means being safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. For services this means a unified approach across sectors and locality, making appropriate, proportionate, timely interventions, transfer of resources from back to front end and making best use of resources through evidence-based planning and practice.
Our Early Years Framework focuses attention on the inequalities experienced in the first few years of life and will help to redress the inequalities this causes in later life. By acting swiftly in identifying and dealing with risks to children, young people and families, we can prevent these risks from becoming long-term problems. We are improving health and wellbeing, individual and community resilience, access to decent housing and other services, our response to offending behaviour and supporting the most vulnerable, such as young people leaving care will all help to create the conditions in which we can achieve a Smarter Scotland.
What is the Government's role?
We want Scotland to be the best place for children to grow up and we recognise that supporting parents is key to improving outcomes for children and young people. We will work to ensure that the right support is provided to parents so that they can be, and do, all that they can for their children.
Our child protection responsibilities are paramount. Moreover, when children need to be cared for away from their birth family, we support consistent, secure, high-quality and nurturing care, whether that is provided by the wider family, foster carers or in residential care.
We are ensuring that we have the right legislation and frameworks for improving children's rights and services and reforming the children's hearing system. In addition, children across Scotland will benefit from Government investment in effective universal services and the shift of service delivery to early intervention and greater support for the early years.
We are investing in stronger communities, reducing crime, improving housing, regenerating disadvantaged neighbourhoods and addressing health inequalities. We are also providing more choices and more chances for young people so that their personal circumstances do not prevent them from engaging in learning or work.
Positive outcomes require skilled, committed professionals. We are developing the workforce and leadership of public and voluntary sector bodies. It also requires clear and effective scrutiny and improvement regime across children's services, so we are increasing coherence and alignment between scrutiny, self-evaluation and performance management.
Related Strategic Objectives
Smarter
Healthier
Wealthier and Fairer
Related National Indicators
Increase the proportion of pre-school centres receiving positive inspection reports
Increase the proportion of schools receiving positive inspection reports
Improve levels of educational attainment
Increase the proportion of young people in learning, training or work
Increase the proportion of graduates in positive destinations
Improve Children's Services
Improve children's dental health
Increase the proportion of babies with a healthy birth weight
Increase the proportion of healthy weight children
Increase physical activity
Improve support for people with care needs
Reduce the number of individuals with problem drug use
Improve people's perceptions about the crime rate in their area
Reduce crime victimisation rates
Reduce the proportion of individuals living in poverty
Reduce children's deprivation
Improve access to suitable housing options for those in housing need
Improve people's perceptions of their neighbourhood