Change is needed to support the vital role of social work services, according to a new report from the Care Inspectorate.
Social work and social care services play a crucial role in protecting and supporting some of the most vulnerable people and communities in Scotland. Effective leadership and robust governance of these services are essential to ensuring that social workers and other staff can carry out their duties safely, ethically, and with the necessary support.
The review of services carried out by the Care Inspectorate found that overall, social work leaders and managers in Scotland worked effectively within often complicated governance arrangements. In most cases these arrangements were well understood by staff.
Social work assurance was mostly effective and overall staff felt supported to deliver effective services.
However, inspectors also found that Scotland’s social work services were finding it challenging to match supply with demand and this was exacerbated by increased levels of complexity of need and risk. This meant that social work was at risk of being unable to fulfil its statutory duties in some service areas.
Social work staff were also concerned that traditional relationship-based practice was being replaced by ‘transactional’ or ‘episodic’ engagement with people and children who use services. This was particularly the case within adult social work.
The review stated that a national approach is required to tackle the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in social work. Inspectors also found that sustainability is particularly impacted by the enduring challenging financial position.
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “The context that social work is operating in is extremely challenging. The statutory framework for social work services is contained in many different pieces of legislation, policy and guidance, and the demands facing social work nationally are highly complex and have developed over a long period of time.
“Although social work governance arrangements were complex, they were mostly effective and social work leaders were making these work. Throughout our work on the review we were impressed by a workforce at all levels that was highly committed to providing the right support to the most vulnerable people in Scotland. There were consistently high levels of integrity and a commitment to ethical principles. However, social work was not always seen as an equal partner with social care within partnership arrangements in a number of areas, and was not consistently and robustly represented in some partnerships.
“To combat this, Scottish Government ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to the National Social Work Agency to bring sustainable reforms that futureproof social work services in Scotland for generations to come. This will allow for a renewed opportunity to find a different way to meaningfully address these challenges and make services resilient and sustainable.”
The full report can be read here.