Getting It Right for Every Child

Children’s welfare agencies in the Highlands are welcoming the Scottish Government’s support for the Getting it right for every child programme, which is being piloted in the Highlands.

In a motion before the Scottish Parliament tomorrow (Thursday 4th September), heralding the start of the new parliamentary session, the Scottish Government is highlighting its commitment to improved services for children by holding this debate.  The motion that is before parliament will:
 
¨  welcome the continuing support for the Getting it right for every child programme, initiated by the previous Scottish Executive, and
 
¨  acknowledge the significant progress in pathfinder activity both in Highland and for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse, exploring how best agencies can work together to record and share information as necessary to inform effective decision making around children’s needs and to redesign services to reduce overlap and bureaucracy.
 
 
The Highland Council, NHS Highland Northern Constabulary, the Children’s Reporter and local voluntary agencies have all combined to be the main pathfinding site for implementation of this new programme.  Professional leads from each of the Highland agencies are working with local managers and with colleagues from the Scottish Government to improve how children and their families are offered help.  This involves the introduction of new streamlined systems, and reducing bureaucracy, to make sure that children and families more consistently get the right help, when they need it.
 
For example, children and families will have one point of contact in schools and in health services, who can help them access early support.  Where several agencies are involved in a child’s plan, one person, the lead professional, is appointed to co-ordinate the plan and the help to be given.  Children and their families will no longer need to attend lots of different planning meeting with different agencies, and have many different plans.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, said:“Pathfinder projects and their learning partners are beginning to show how we can work more efficiently, getting better quality information which can be shared securely to take the best decision. This is happening not just with the main public services but also with the voluntary sector, which plays such a significant part in providing help and support to children and families.”

Councillor Margaret Davidson, chair of Highland’s Joint Committee on Children & Young People, said:  “We want to make sure that children and their families are assured of the right help at the right time, and that they feel involved in making the decisions that affect them.  We have worked across our agency boundaries, and with Scottish Government colleagues, to ensure that services work better together, and with families, to help better support children.  I am delighted that we are leading the way in Highland, and supporting other authorities to make these changes.”