INTRODUCTION BY THE CHIEF SOCIAL WORK INSPECTOR
This annual report and accounts for the period from 4 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 is our first as an executive agency and my first as Chief Inspector and Chief Executive. At our formal launch on 31 May 2005, we set out challenging plans for an independent, properly resourced and systematic approach to inspection of social work services to ensure that the best possible services are being provided consistently across Scotland and to the highest standard. These plans are well advanced and I am delighted to report that we have exceeded our stated first year's formal work priorities.
The Social Work Inspection Agency's ( SWIA) remit is demanding but clear: our main task is to evaluate the quality of social work services in Scotland through inspection or review and to advise the First Minister of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive about social work services. Our function is to work with others to continually improve social work services by identifying areas for improvement and disseminating best practice.
We are committed to delivering this by:
- completing by the end of 2008 the national inspection programme of 32 local authorities;
- working with other inspection bodies to deliver integrated inspection programmes;
- encouraging self evaluation and improvement by providers of social work services; and
- connecting policy development with practice through a knowledge base derived directly from inspections.
A year into our existence, significant progress has been made. SWIA has been set up, launched and established. The attached annual report and accounts provide more detail on our day-to-day activities.
A robust inspection methodology has been formulated and successfully piloted across 3 local authorities: Angus, Fife and South Lanarkshire. The reports on each inspection have been published. SWIA inspectors will be following up these reports with each council to ensure that the resulting action plans are put into effect. In February, following the pilots and in keeping with our commitment to work in partnership with local authorities, we held an informative and mutually beneficial consultation event at Stirling. Participants from all of Scotland's 32 local authorities learned about the pilots, and our discussions informed refinements to the inspection process.
Experience from the performance inspection programme to date has highlighted a number of fundamental processes that we would expect to see operating effectively in all local authorities. These are:
- performance management with clear links to objectives and targets;
- quality assurance;
- effective staff appraisal;
- systematic use of feedback from people who use services and other stakeholders;
- a strategic approach to commissioning;
- clear and comprehensive case recording; and
- effective arrangements in place for adult and child protection.
We have published our programme of performance inspections for 2006 and 2007 and are now delivering these. We are currently on target to complete inspection of all councils by the end of 2008. I am in no doubt that we are positioned to drive real improvement in the quality of social work across Scotland.
Substantial progress has been achieved on our other responsibilities. We have completed inspections of criminal justice social work services across most local authorities and are on target to complete the programme of inspections by April 2007. We have agreed to develop, from 2007, additional work with HMIP on through care services. Working in partnership with other organisations, we have completed the follow-up joint inspection of services for people with learning disabilities in the Scottish Borders. Multi-agency inspections of services for people with learning disabilities, services for older people and services for people with alcohol and drug problems are scheduled in 2006/07.
In addition to our planned activity, we have delivered a number of pieces of work taken forward mainly at the direct request of Ministers. In particular we:
- published an investigation into the management of the post-release supervision of a sex offender in North Lanarkshire and led the subsequent audit of the management of sex offenders by Scottish local authorities, the police and prison service;
- investigated and reported on the care and protection of children in Eilean Siar;
- with Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, published a review of the management arrangements of Colyn Evans;
- inspected services at Geilsland residential school (jointly with the Care Commission and HMIe); and following on from the Geilsland inspection, an inspection of 3 other residential schools which provide programmes to address sexually harmful behaviour (jointly with the Care Commission and HMIe);
- participated on the Disqualification from Working with Children Panel;
- assessed all inter-country adoptions placements in Scotland; and
- considered reports and provided advice in relation to the deaths of 20 children in local authority care.
Underlining all of this work has been our expanding contribution to social work policy development, using inspection derived knowledge.
Looking ahead
2006/07 will be another busy year. Arrangements for the delivery of the 2007 performance inspections already are well advanced. The process has been refined in light of the pilots and further work is underway to establish an independent evaluation process focusing on outcomes.
We are committed to promoting good practice and placing people who use services at the heart of the inspection process. Our inspection-derived knowledge will increase. This important and valuable resource will be utilised to the full. In addition to publishing reports on the quality of social work services, work is underway to determine innovative ways of using this information to inform and promote good practice.
Recently, we engaged with our stakeholders in an interdisciplinary conference, run jointly with the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education, to consider the key issues to have emerged from 3 recent investigations, and to identify what needs to be done to improve practice in public protection. The event produced an agenda for action built on excellent debate between managers, educators, providers and policy makers across the justice, social work, health, education and community development fields. We will host further opportunities for cross-discipline debate.
I have been heartened by the positive response of local authority staff in social work services and other key stakeholders to our work. The successful delivery of SWIA's responsibilities will depend on their continuing engagement in the process. Above all, SWIA exists to promote improvement in services to make them better for the people who use them. In future years, I expect to be able to make more detailed comments on the state of social work services in Scotland.
Alexis Jay
Chief Social Work Inspector & Chief Executive
12 September 2006