Chapter 8: Capacity for improvement
We judged the social work department to be weak in this domain. We found some effective practice that was making a real difference to people's lives but have pinpointed areas where practice must improve. Some of these are critical for the wellbeing and safety of some children, families and adults receiving social work services. The inspection found that important tasks had not been progressed over extended periods. Arrangements for quality assurance were rudimentary.
A strengthened senior management team is required to work more effectively together to deliver the necessary improvements. To help achieve this we think a formal structured 'pairing' arrangement with another council's social work services is needed. The team will also be assisted by a surrounding corporate culture that drives change and performance improvement forward.
Contextual issues
The capacity to improve is a function of a number of factors. Chapter 2 identifies some contextual issues, including scale and geographical remoteness, that make providing and managing a full range of services difficult.
With regard to quality and performance management the Council itself identified the need for improvement across departments. It had also been reviewing its organisational structures for some time. This lack of a Council wide structure for performance management and continuing uncertainties about organisational arrangements for delivering services are relevant to any consideration of the performance of the social work department and its capacity to improve.
Current management capacity
We found that social work services in CnES had a strong identity within the local authority and the wider community. This was in no small way due to the high profile of the director who represented the department in a wide range of forums. The converse of this was that the capacity of other management team members was under-used. We found that decisions were being referred to the director where they could and should have been taken by members of his team. We do not contest the view that the overall CnES management capacity is 'light' but we do not think this wholly explains what had been happening. Senior managers were not working together sufficiently well as a team to develop strategy and set priorities.
Current improvements in services
Some improvements have been made to child protection services and to wider services for looked after children, but more needs to be done. There is also positive and steady development in the fields of residential and day care. In other service areas however the department has been treading water. Chapter 5 provides a number of examples of areas of practice requiring management impetus that have not been taken forward. Some extensive management effort has produced only limited returns through no fault of the staff involved (for example work on the joint future agenda). Some management effort has been insufficiently well focused. Some management responsibilities have not received sufficient attention.
Policy review and development responsibilities have sometimes been abrogated to external organisations and it has then proved difficult for managers to progress the findings of this work. There has been little systematic attention to quality improvement.
Looking to the future
We have recommended that overall management capacity is increased. This is needed in particular in the field of community care. It should also be looked at in managing services in the Uists, Benbecula and Barra.
We also think that the management team would benefit from access to some formal structured support from another council's social work services. Such support could, amongst other things, provide:
- access to specialist expertise
- back up staffing by negotiation
- advice on change processes and best value
- secondment opportunities for CnES staff
- opportunities for shared training.
CnES has recently appointed a new chief executive who is committed to driving change forward. His review of organisational structures will soon be completed. The social work department has been successful in recruiting new staff. The director has drafted a development plan. Although some staff expressed some concerns about aspects of their work, we encountered a well motivated staff group. These are all positives to build on. The department now needs a clear vision and a set of strategic objectives and priorities to progress its work.
Recommendation 20
The social work management team would benefit from some formal, structured support through a 'pairing arrangement' with another council's social work services to enhance management capacity through a critical period of change.