A joint inspection of services in the Angus community planning partnership has found clear strengths in ensuring children and young people at risk of harm are safe, protected and supported. Some areas for improvement were also identified.
Inspectors found that preventative work and early identification of risks was positively impacting in the lives of children and young people.
A confident and skilled workforce was effectively recognising and responding to protection concerns and reducing risk for children and young people.
Most children and young people had trusting, positive relationships with staff, helping to keep them safe and get support when needed.
Children and young people were able to participate meaningfully in decisions that affect their lives.
Staff also worked hard to build positive relationships with parents and carers, and this helped them to be involved and heard.
To support the improvement of services, leaders listened well to the views and experiences of children and young people and took these seriously.
The partnership was collaborating effectively to evaluate, plan and deliver services for keeping children and young people safe.
Leaders were well sighted on the breadth and impact of child protection activity, and were promoting a clear vision for services and taking action to embed meaningful involvement, effective collaboration and self-evaluation.
A learning culture was enabled by support for staff which prioritised reflection and the effective coordination of single and multi-agency training.
However, despite a range of services, the emotional and mental wellbeing needs of children and young people were not always being met timeously.
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “We evaluated the impact of services on the lives of children and young people as very good. There were major strengths in the work of the partnership in Angus, and we are confident that they have the capacity to make changes to service delivery in the areas that require improvement.
“The Care Inspectorate will request a joint action plan that clearly details how the partnership will make improvements in the key areas identified by inspectors. We will continue to offer support for improvement and monitor progress through our linking arrangements.”
The full report can be read here.
You can watch a video with our key messages from the inspection here.