Children’s services in crisis and urgent action needed, report warns

The Covid pandemic has had a “significant and enduring impact” on the lives of children in Scotland, but support services for them are in “crisis” and urgent action is needed now, a report has warned.

The final report of the children’s services reform research from Celcis – the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection – said while those working in children’s services are “passionate” and “highly committed” to supporting families in need, it is a “workforce in crisis”.

The report said services are “under-staffed, under-resourced, and facing unmanageable pressure”.

It added: “Increased levels of stress, poor mental health and wellbeing, and poor work-life balance were all found to be contributing to high levels of staff sickness, absence, turnover and vacancies.”

Celcis made clear “the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting public health restrictions have had a significant and enduring impact on the lives of Scotland’s children, young people and families”.

It said the pandemic “had a statistically significant impact on a number of children’s outcomes”, noting the needs of children, young people and their families had become more complex and diverse.

Meanwhile, it said changes to children’s services introducing during Covid – such as more flexible funding, reduced bureaucracy and more flexible working arrangements – had “already begun to be lost”, leaving workers frustrated.

Highlighting the pressure on the sector, the report noted: “This crisis has built up over several years but has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with an exhausted workforce now responding to an increasing demand for services.”

The report stressed this “is not a crisis that is specific to Scotland, as recruitment and retention difficulties were widely reported”.

Adding that “urgent action needs to be taken to address the systemic issues” impacting those working in the sector, the report went on to state that “given the depth of the workforce crisis in Scotland, and the resources it will take to address this crisis, the solutions will require long-term commitment and investment”.

Longer term, Celcis said “consideration should be given to increasing the size of the workforce”, but in the short to medium-term it suggested work be done to improve people’s perceptions of children’s services, so more people regard it as a “career of choice”.

It also called for pay to be looked at “so that there is less differential between pay rates in different services and between different local authorities”, with the report also saying tackling the short-term funding for children services could help the sector better retain staff.

Heather Ottaway, head of evidence and innovation at Celcis, said: “Scotland has the fullest picture yet of what is needed to ensure that all our children are supported when they and their families need support, no matter where they live, what type of support they need or for how long they need it.

“The evidence tells us time and time again what it is that decision-makers need to pay attention to and take action on if we are to improve the lives of Scotland’s children: investment in a skilled workforce, collaborative leadership and the development of change expertise and capacity, partnership working between public and third sector services, reducing poverty and mitigating its effects, and ways of working that prioritise and enable strong and supportive relationships between the people providing support and anyone who needs support.

“While there are no off-the-shelf solutions that can be quickly replicated, there is overwhelming evidence of what gets in the way of making real, meaningful and effective change.

“These barriers can be overcome if, and only if, Scotland’s desire to deliver change is matched by the investment of leadership, time, and funding in the design, delivery and reform of services.”

Local government body Cosla welcomed the report, with children and young people spokesman Tony Buchanan thanking the chair of the independent steering group, Professor Brigid Daniel, for “this important work”.

Mr Buchanan said: the report “emphasises further the importance” of work by both local government and the Scottish Government to tackle child poverty.

He added: “We are confident that we can work together with Scottish Government and key partners in the public and third sector to act on the implications for Scotland noted in the report, without the need for structural change at a national level for children’s services.”

Minister for children and young people Natalie Don said: “The Celcis research is clear about the challenges facing children, young people and families and those supporting them across Scotland, including factors such as deprivation and the impacts of Covid.

“We look forward to working with Cosla and other key partners to take forward vital work to make the difference for children, improve outcomes, and deliver The Promise.”