We have continued to work alongside the four areas that came forward to be part of more detailed work: 

• Aberdeen city 
• Dundee city
• Dumfries and Galloway 
• Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) 

In January we reviewed a sample of children’s social work’s records. Across the four areas we read a total of 117 records. This helped us to better understand the effectiveness of children’s assessments, plans and reviews in ensuring children received the help they needed at the right time.     

Between February and March, we visited each of the four areas and met with children, young people, their families, carers and the staff who help them. We had the privilege of hearing directly from people who receive services about the difference these made to their lives and what could be improved. We also reviewed feedback provided by children and young people through our electronic survey. We visited social work teams, social care services and schools to hear from social work staff and other professionals who support disabled children and young people. During these visits we learned more about what was working well for children and young people and what was more challenging. 

We held five focus groups involving representatives from the four areas. This helped practitioners to reflect together about the areas of strengths and for improvement across the country.   

We are very grateful to everyone who took the time to speak with us or complete our surveys. We would also like to extend our thanks to everyone who facilitated our interactions with children and young people. We saw how important it was to the children and young people to receive support from people they knew well and who cared for them.   

In May, we met with representatives from the four areas individually to provide verbal feedback and share our reflections on our time spent in their area. We also shared their individual results for their record reading review and staff survey with them.    

Next steps 

We are now working on our national overview report, which we plan to publish in August 2024. We are working alongside colleagues within our organisation to provide accessible formats, including a short video animation to highlight our key messages. 

If you have any questions for the review team, they can be contacted via email on: 

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