research report

Report of the case management inquiry

This report outlines the findings of a case management inquiry into the way in which a young man was placed by the Adult Placement Service in a family where he then seriously abused two children. The inquiry considers events in the areas of: response to the need for an emergency placement; care planning; and the Social Services Directorate's policy and procedures. Failure of the Leaving Care Team to carry out a risk assessment or pass on information about previous incidents to the Adult Placement Service are highlighted. Recommendations are included.

SCIE Report 19: Learning together to safeguard children: developing a multi-agency systems approach for case reviews

Children’s safety and welfare are key concerns in all countries, with continual efforts being made to improve child welfare and child protection services. Learning is central to these endeavours so that problems and their solutions can be identified. However, it has been questioned as to whether current learning approaches are adequate for the task. In light of this, SCIE presents a ‘systems’ model of organisational learning that can be used across agencies involved in safeguarding and child protection work.

The educational attainment of looked after children: local authority pilot projects - final research report

A research report identifying interventions that appeared to make the most differences in terms of both the educational experience and the educational outcomes of the looked after children and young people participating in the pilot projects.

The report was produced by Strathclyde University and published by the Scottish Government.

What matters with personal narratives?: an exploration as to how personal narratives are used in the promotion of recovery and social inclusion by mental health service users in Scotland

Paper describing a study which aimed to investigate how personal narratives are used in Scotland to promote recovery and social inclusion by mental health service users.

Children: innocent until proven guilty: a report on the overuse of remand for children in England and Wales and how it can be addressed

In the last seven years the number of children locked up on remand has increased by 41%. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says that imprisonment should only be used as a measure of last resort. This report on the overuse of remand for children is based on information gathered from a number of sources: interviews with senior practitioners and sentencers; a literature review of research and statistics; a survey of bail and remand officers; a national seminar. It discusses why the problem has arisen and presents a series of twelve policy and practice solutions.

For Scotland's children: better integrated children's services (Part 2)

This is the second part of the report of an action team of experts from local government, the NHS and the voluntary sector to look at how better to integrate children’s services.

Their action plan contains a range of ways in which local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary sector can work together to create a single children’s services system, backed up by a number of good practice examples.

For Scotland's children: better integrated children's services (Part 1)

This is the first part of the report of an action team of experts from local government, the NHS and the voluntary sector to look at how better to integrate children’s services.

Their action plan contains a range of ways in which local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary sector can work together to create a single children’s services system, backed up by a number of good practice examples.