‘Clear and Connected’. Orkney’s Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2016-2020

‘the right help, at the right time, in the right way’.

IMAGE: The cover includes the Orkney Children and Young People’s Partnership logo, with the text “Orkney Children and Young People’s Partnership”, and the title “‘Clear and Connected’. Orkney’s Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2016-2020.” It also includes the strapline “‘the right help, at the right time, in the right way’.”

Contents

• Services for Children and Young People in Orkney — 3
• Integrated Children’s Services Plan 2014-2016 — 5
• The Voice of Young People in Orkney — 8
• Developing this Plan — 9
• Priorities — 10
• Wellbeing (Practice) — 12
• Poverty and Rural Disadvantage (Systems) — 14
• So what? — 15
• Self-evaluation and Reflection — 15
• Evaluation questions (count and/or comment) — 15

Services for Children and Young People in Orkney

Welcome to Orkney’s Children’s Services Strategic Plan 2016 – 2020.

The ambition for all of Scotland’s children is that they are ‘successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens’. To achieve this every child and young person needs to be safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. For Orkney’s children and young people this means service providers and community must work together, so, as children and young people grow up, they get the right help, at the right time, in the right way.

Scottish Government policy is challenging children’s services to contribute to long term changes in Scotland’s historic legacies of poverty, poor health and unemployment. It proposes a programme of transformational change in children’s services and embraces an agenda which involves building community capacity, early intervention and preventative action. Ensuring all young people feel part of a community that listens, that respects their views and right to participate, and values the contributions they make, is a key part of how, by working together, Orkney can build personal resilience.

However, as we enter a period of unprecedented financial constraint for the public sector, and ever increasing expectation on other sectors to provide and develop services, tough choices may have to be made. It is all the more important therefore the vision and aims for our children and young people are clear and there is a coherent strategy, development is connected and, work and effort is not duplicated.

The origins of this plan lie in the hands and voices of the young people of Orkney.

This plan

• Sets out what we want to achieve, by working together for children, young people and their families.
• Will be supported by annual reviews and action plans which will allow us to regularly assess context and resources to ensure plans are appropriate and deliverable.
• Links to a range of plans and strategies which provide more detailed information to specific outcomes.
• Is set in the context of developing and strengthening partnerships as part of the wider agenda of building community capacity, early intervention and preventative spend.
• Takes account of the statutory requirements of the Children and Young Peoples (Scotland) Act 2014 in relation to the preparation and evaluation of plans for children’s services.
• Places a focus on ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’ and the Corporate Parent responsibilities of partner agencies across Orkney.
• Embraces the principles of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, recognising children’s rights and responsibilities.
• Articulates with the aims and actions that relate to recognising the risk of radicalisation of vulnerable young people.

Planning and development for services for children and young people in Orkney is organised using a ‘growing up’ model. In practical terms this means that it is focused on ensuring that:

• Our children and young people have the best start in life and are ready to succeed.
• Our children and young people are successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.
• Our children and young people are better educated, more skilled and more successful.
• Our community has improved the life chances for children and young families at risk.

Priorities and actions within the plan reflect those ambitions and projects where collaboration between agencies and services is essential for success.

For each priority we will work to promote good communications so that those with an interest (as well as the wider community) feel well informed about success, issues and actions.

Integrated Children’s Services Plan 2014-2016

The previous plan contained 14 priority actions as set out below:

Key successes of the plan include:

• Introducing 600 hours of early learning and childcare.
• Participation in The National Third Sector Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) Project.
• Collaboration with the Fostering Network as part of it Head Heart and Hands Project.
• Preparation for the introduction of a Named Person Service for children and young people in Orkney.

IMAGE: A table presents the previous plan’s priority actions under Universal and Targeted Services, the Early Years, Growing Up, Moving On (16-25), and Improving Life Chances. The table text is transcribed above.

The priority actions were supported by some 72 individual activities or work streams.

IMAGE: A diagram shows a child at the centre of a continuum of services. The continuum is labelled “universal provision”, “additional support”, “specialist help” and “compulsory intervention”. Text around the child refers to health and well-being, compulsory intervention, disadvantage, early intervention, preventative action, universal provision, additional support, specialist help, family and community, and improved outcomes. Some of the small surrounding text is not fully legible.

At the end of the planning period:

• Sixty were ‘complete’.
• Four were removed (this usually happens when a target specified ceases to be relevant as new and emerging priorities overtake it).
• Eight (approximately 10%) were noted to carry forward to the new plan (and/or relevant partner delivery plan).

These related to:

• Implantation of aspects of the Children and Young People’s Act.
• Information sharing.
• Developing the ‘children’s service forum’.
• Commissioning of provision (to improve life chances).

This children’s services strategic plan is supported by the actions and activities of a number of partners and partner organisations who are individually and collaboratively offering universal provision, additional support, specialist help or compulsory intervention.

This includes (illustratively and not exclusively):

• The local authority’s plan to raise attainment ‘Raising the Bar, Closing the Gap’.
• The systemic practice programme commissioned by Orkney Health and Care for a range of practitioners across different services.
• The Orkney Child Protection Committee Work Plan.

The range of services and provision in Orkney is set out in the Service Directory for Children and Young People in Orkney.

The Voice of Young People in Orkney

In December 2015 a group of young people gathered in the Orkney Islands Council Chamber for the biennial ‘Orkney Youth Chamber Debate’. One of three topics discussed was ‘Orkney has been voted as the best place in Scotland to raise children – would young people agree?’.

IMAGE: A photograph shows young people and adults seated around tables in the Orkney Islands Council Chamber during the Orkney Youth Chamber Debate.

The main points suggested in support of this view were:

• Surveys show Orkney is the best for health, good life expectancy, low crime rate, weather and personal wellbeing.
• Orkney has low unemployment and there are lots of opportunities.
• There is a strong sense of community – people are willing to help, are happy and kind.
• There are good resources – good schools with low class size, good sports facilities and a new hospital is being built.
• Orkney offers a nice environment, it’s good for children.
• Orkney is a ‘safe’ community and there is a low crime rate.

However, in challenging this view, an alternative perspective of the ‘lived experience’ for young people, was put forward. The young people argued Orkney seems great but it is not without its problems; in particular there are issues relating to: drugs; alcohol and alcohol related crime; alcohol related hospital admissions; obesity; domestic abuse; anti-social behaviour; and the mental health/wellbeing of young people.

In addition, it was pointed out that young people’s lives are adversely affected by:

• Fuel poverty.
• High cost of living.
• Poor/high cost ferry services.
• Limited opportunity (in remote and island communities).
• Activities/clubs that discriminate or lead to discrimination.

When put to the vote, the idea that Orkney is the best place in Scotland to grow up was defeated 12 votes to 8. Clearly, working with young people and communities, there is much that needs to be done and things that need to change.

Developing this Plan

Taking the outcome of the Chamber Debate as a starting point a series of engagement events took place. Providers of services to children were invited to attend and consider the view of Orkney (as a place to grow up) which had been proposed by the young people.

Alongside these events, a community (online) survey was launched. This asked contributors to consider the issues raised by young people and relate these to their experience of being a parent, a community member, a service provider or (indeed) a young person in Orkney.

This analysis does not weight or prioritise the challenges (or describe the consequence and outcome of the challenge). It simply tries to indicate some of the things that young people deal with, every day, while growing up in Orkney. The consultation feedback was then considered alongside the views expressed during the Chamber debate and new/revised statutory duties that impact on how services are delivered. This ‘triangulation’ was the basis for establishing the final priorities and actions, as set out in the following section.

Challenges nearly all young people have to navigate:

• Alcohol and alcohol related crime.
• Limited opportunities (remote and island communities).
• Poor/high cost ferry services.
• Mental health/well-being.

Challenges many young people have to navigate:

• Alcohol related hospital admissions.
• High cost of living.
• Drugs.
• Obesity.
• Fuel poverty.

Challenges some young people have to navigate:

• Domestic abuse.
• Anti-social behaviour.
• Discrimination (activities and clubs).

Priorities

This plan supports and develops the shared mission (set out in the Orkney Community Plan and Local Outcomes Improvement Plan 2015-2018) of:

Working together for a better Orkney.

This plan includes the following priorities:

Key Priority 1 - Practice

Wellbeing: working together to ensure children and young people have the opportunity to experience activities that will help them to be: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included.

Key Priority 2 - Culture

Relationships: working together to ensure there is a consistent approach to recognising that children are rich in potential, strong, powerful, and competent; realising the best outcomes are achieved when we pay attention to relationships and ‘how’ we work together.

Key Priority 3 - Systems

Poverty and Rural Disadvantage: working together to ensure Orkney’s potential (through connecting people, community, activity and services) is maximised to limit negative outcomes and ensure equality of opportunity for children and young people.

Across all priorities, it is important to ensure we make a difference to our most vulnerable children and young people (for example those who are Looked After, those in Kinship Care, those who have been Looked After). Reflection and evaluation will include questions relating to these groups specifically.

Wellbeing (Practice)

IMAGE: A table sets out the wellbeing outcome, collaborative actions for preventative action, early intervention, targeted support and Clear and Connected, and completion dates of June 2018 and June 2020. The table text is transcribed above.

Relationships (Culture)

IMAGE: A table sets out the Relationships (Culture) outcome, practitioner learning and development opportunities, the Clear and Connected action, and completion dates of June 2018 and June 2020. The table text is transcribed above.

Poverty and Rural Disadvantage (Systems)

IMAGE: A table sets out the Poverty and Rural Disadvantage (Systems) outcome, actions concerning support for children, young people and families, scoping the challenge, and Clear and Connected, with completion dates of June 2018 and June 2020. The table text is transcribed above.

So what?

Self-evaluation and Reflection

• Have we asked the people we are working with: What are we doing well? What could we do differently?
• Are we aware our services may be all a child or young person has and therefore we need to remain committed and genuinely invested in meeting their needs? When services refuse/ cannot /won’t support young people this can present more risks. Services need to work together to manage this.

Evaluation questions (count and/or comment)

• How has this project/activity helped children and/or young people experience being ‘safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included’?
• In what way has this project/activity helped to develop relationships, and ‘how’ we (children, young people, families, colleagues) work together?
• How has this project helped to mitigate the impact of poverty and create equality of opportunity for children and young people in Orkney?