Chapter 1 Summary, evaluations and recommendations
Summary
The social work service was achieving good outcomes for people using services and their carers. From the assessment stage staff were seeking person centred and outcome focused interventions. We met a few people who used services and carers who had reservations about personalised services and preferred previous more traditional and institutional models of care and support. However, most were positive about their experiences which had resulted in significant improvements in the quality of their lives.
Staff told us they liked working in North Lanarkshire and we found them to be highly motivated. At all levels, they owned, understood and could articulate the council's vision for social work services. They felt supported by their managers and acknowledged good opportunities for professional and career development. Where particular services were under review a few staff were uncertain about the future. However, staff were consulted on proposed changes in services and felt involved in these processes.
The council was genuinely seeking to engage with its communities and community capacity building was a particular strength. Public information was good and accessible. Partners and stakeholders felt involved and both understood and valued what the social work service was trying to achieve. The council needed to continue to build community capacity to enable people who use services to engage and be supported in their communities.
We found key processes were being delivered well and saw numerous examples of people being enabled to access personalised services. Assessment and care management was good and there had been investment in staff training.
The relatively recent restructuring of the organisation had strengthened operational and partnership planning and had made services more community facing. The new localities were at different stages of development. There were long established arrangements in place for monitoring performance and a culture of continuous improvement.
Management of staff was good and the social work service was engaging with staff at all levels to develop a workforce that could support its vision and deliver its objectives. There were good policies to support staff welfare and a commitment to occupational health. Training opportunities were good and focused on improving outcomes. The service needed to develop staff appraisal.
We found that the council managed its resources well and thought that financial management was very good. The service had individualised its entire budget.
Leadership and direction was very effective and was supporting the delivery of improved frontline services. There were excellent partnerships with the NHS and other key partners and stakeholders. They, and also corporate colleagues, expressed great confidence in the social work service's senior management team. Elected members were committed to the council's vision for social work services and worked hard to support and promote it.
We thought the social work service's capacity for improvement was also very good. We found major strengths upon which the service could build to continue to improve outcomes for people and their carers.
Evaluations
Areas for evaluation | Evaluation |
|---|
Outcomes for people who use services | Good |
Impact on people who use services and other stakeholders | Good |
Impact on staff | Good |
Impact on the community | Good |
Delivery of key processes | Good |
Policy and service development, planning and performance Management | Good |
Management and support of staff | Good |
Resources and capacity building | Very Good |
Leadership and direction | Very Good |
Capacity for improvement | Very Good |
Recommendations
Key outcomes
Recommendation 1 The council should review its arrangements to monitor and improve the educational attainment of looked after children.
Recommendation 2 The social work service should review the infrastructure in place to support staff and people using services to access information and guidance on direct payments.
Impact on the community
Recommendation 3 The social work service should ensure consistency of staff involvement with people using services wherever possible. When personnel are changed service users should be given clear explanations, in advance wherever possible, as to the reasons. Managers should satisfy themselves that the generic rotation of staff in the trainee scheme is not exacerbating this issue.
Delivery of key processes
Recommendation 4 Scottish Government guidance says that child care reviews should be independently chaired 1. The social work service should consider the benefits of independently chairing child care reviews
Policy and service development, planning and performance management
Recommendation 5 Given its commitment to achieving family solutions for children in need or at risk, the social work service should review its arrangements to meet the needs of children in kinship care. The service should take steps to evaluate the outcomes for children placed in kinship care, including placement breakdowns. They should also develop policy and guidance for staff, focusing in particular on reviews, financial support and assessment of the suitability of prospective carers.
Recommendation 6 The social work service should review the capacity of the Disability Partnership to deliver on all three fronts of planning, implementation and effective stakeholder involvement.
Management and support of staff
Recommendation 7 In order to complete a comprehensive approach to professional development and supervision the social work service should implement a staff appraisal system and evaluate its impact.
Resources and capacity building
Recommendation 8 The council should ensure that full partnership joint financial management information is further developed and that appropriate financial monitoring data for all partnership arrangements is regularly submitted to elected members for scrutiny.