Scotland's children's services plans 2023-2026 review: improving outcomes for children, young people and families

6. Manageable and measurable strategic priorities

This chapter discusses the strategic priorities identified in Children’s Services Plans.

Strategic priorities (Criterion 5)

The Statutory Guidance requires Children’s Services Plans to identify a manageable number of strategic priorities, which are clearly linked to measurable indicators. The rationale behind chosen priorities must also be made clear through explicit links to findings from the JSNA.

Twelve CSPs fully met Criterion 5, and 17 partially achieved it. Only one CSP was deemed to have not met this criterion. These are similar findings to the previous review (Figure 6.1).

Children’s Services Plans which fully met this criterion were deemed to have satisfied three key criteria:

• Clear identification of a reasonable number of strategic priorities. The Guidance states that “a good plan will have no more than 3 – 5 priorities in total”. With regards to ‘clear identification’ of priorities, good practice was to use terms such as ‘strategic priorities’, ‘priorities’ or ‘priority objectives’. A few CSPs used different terminology, for example ‘areas for development’ or ‘outcomes’, and in these cases, the language could have been clearer to evidence that they were strategic priorities.
• Clear links between the strategic priorities agreed for the Children’s Services Plan and findings from the JSNA evidence base. For example, some CSPs explained that findings from consultation with children and families indicated a demand for improved access to a more comprehensive range of mental health support, which justified the identification of a strategic priority focused on mental health. Others used socio economic data to support the selection of a strategic priority focused on addressing child poverty and economic inequalities.
• A well-defined approach which enables measurement of progress against the priorities. This was often provided through the mapping of monitoring indicators against relevant priorities. More detail on monitoring indicators is provided in Chapter 8.

Children’s Services Plans which partially met this criterion would have benefitted from the inclusion of further information on one or more of the above aspects. The CSP that did not meet this criterion included a number of action plans under different themes but did not identify them as priorities or provide any commentary around the rationale for the focus on these themes.

It was common practice for CSPs to dedicate a specific page or section to each strategic priority, setting out the rationale behind its selection, services provided, activities planned to deliver the priority, and the approach to measuring progress.

CSPs identified an average of six^[5] strategic priorities, ranging between three and 12 priorities. The strategic priorities identified in some CSPs were fairly high level and based on the overarching statutory aims of a Children’s Services Plan, such as promoting, supporting and improving wellbeing. These CSPs would have benefited from more specific priorities and related outcomes and actions.

One CSP used the five themes identified in the Promise Scotland 2021-24 Plan (A Good Childhood, Whole Family Support, Supporting the Workforce, Planning and Building Capacity) as strategic priorities. Given that the scope of Children’s Services Planning legislation and requirements is significantly broader than The Promise Scotland, this CSP would have benefitted from additional commentary on the decision to align priorities these themes, with more integration of findings from the JSNA to support the selection of priorities.

Examples of good practice

Fife: The Children’s Services Plan sets out five strategic priorities: Health & Wellbeing; Children's Rights; Equity & Equality; Supporting Families; Our Most Vulnerable Children & Young People. The rationale behind these priorities is well-defined, with clear links to the findings discussed in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. Each priority has its own dedicated section in the CSP, which sets out: who is leading/involved in delivering the priority, actions being taken under each priority, relevant UNCRC articles, and relevant monitoring outcomes from the Fife Wellbeing Indicator Set.

Aberdeen: The strategic priorities for the Children’s Services Plan are categorised around six stretch outcomes which form part of the wider Local Outcomes Improvement Plan. Outcomes include children reaching developmental milestones, children feeling listened to, and young people sustaining positive post-school destinations. Details of how each priority will be addressed are contained in the Improvement Plan, which is appended to the CSP and sets out key actions, deliverables and measures associated with each of Aberdeen City’s six priorities. The CSP includes the rationale behind each of the strategic priorities and associated improvement activity is set out clearly. For example, p. 34 states: "Our care experienced young people tell us that that they don’t always feel listened to and can’t access the support they need to be successful in school. This will be addressed through two Edge of Care pilots and the introduction of Pathways Advocates in our secondary schools. It is hoped that this approach will help ensure that the curriculum being offered is most likely to realise positive outcomes for individual people and encourage high levels of full-time school attendance in order to achieve at the young highest levels possible. Progress in this area should be monitored by the Children’s Services Board as there may be the need for multi-agency working to address issues."

Orkney: The Children’s Services Plan’s priorities are set out clearly: child protection, mental health and wellbeing, involving young people and reducing poverty and disadvantage. The rationale behind the selection of the priorities is explained, with clear links made to relevant data and the views of local children, young people and wider stakeholders. Tables in the action plan set out actions to address each of the priorities, timescales and outcome measures.