A transformational plan for children and young people requiring support from allied health professionals (AHPs)

1. Background and context

The policy and legislative landscape in Scotland is an exciting one for children and young people, representing possibilities for delivering real change for them, their parents, carers, families, stakeholders and communities. The Scottish Government's strategy for making Scotland the best place in which to grow up has the potential to truly transform the lives of children and young people. 

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014^[6] establishes a legal framework within which services will create new and dynamic partnerships to support children, young people and families to achieve meaningful well-being outcomes. These outcomes include what has come to be known as the SHANARRI indicators of well-being^[7] - that is, ensuring that children and young people are Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included. AHPs play a key role in children and young people achieving well-being outcomes through developing their resilience and creating protective environments to enable participation and self-reliance.

The Act also places in statute key elements of Getting it Right for Every Child^[8] - known as GIRFEC - which is a major ongoing change management approach that is familiar to all leaders and practitioners working in children and young people's services in Scotland. The GIRFEC focus is on promoting, supporting and safeguarding well-being and reporting on well-being outcomes.

The need to have well-being as a central focus of this plan is self-evident. The duties in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 require significant shifts in mindsets towards a focus on early intervention and prevention, and highlight the need to develop and deliver accessible services in communities for all children and young people. 

Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland^[9] set out strategies for infants' and children and young people's mental health, clearly articulating new ways of working that are closely aligned to the ambitions outlined in this proposed plan. 

A practice shift towards resourcing and developing early and preventative interventions and service delivery across AHP services for children and young people was implicit in the findings of the Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services in Scotland,^[10] which called for a radical change in the design and delivery of services, with child-centred service provision, effective partnerships and early intervention and prevention.

The Early Years Collaborative^[11] has committed to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up by reducing inequalities. The ambitions in this proposed plan must have this aim at their foundation and enable practitioners to make the changes required locally to ensure its achievement.

Significant progress has been made in developing innovative services at universal, targeted and specialist levels (see Box below), with a commitment to partnership working in delivering training and education and developing nurturing environmental change for children and young people at home, nursery, in education settings and the community. 

Universal, targeted and specialist levels

Universal level 

This is for all children and young people. It recognises that a preventative approach and promoting well-being for parents and children and young people is an essential role for AHPs. AHPs working at universal level will provide information and literature, direct parents, carers, families and others to the best evidence-based information available, input to activities and programmes organised by others to improve skills and confidence, work with partners to increase participation, and support the development of nurturing environments.

Targeted level

Services and provision at this level are for children and young people (and their parents, families, carers and other stakeholders) who are more likely to be identified as having well-being needs. Services would include specific advice, programmes, workshops and learning, and support to improve well-being.

Specialist level

This level is for those children and young people whose well-being needs cannot be met through universal or targeted provision. It would usually involve episodes of direct or indirect intervention involving parents, carers, families and others with the ultimate outcome of promoting self-reliance and resilience through an assets-based approach.

AHPs in services for children and young people currently provide evidence-informed interventions across all ages and in different locations. The main aims of these services are to support:

• children, young people and their families to self-manage their concern and needs 
• other individuals involved with the child or young person to promote, support and safeguard well-being.

This proposed plan builds on this strong foundation to support AHPs in children and young people' services to transform their practice by taking different actions from those they would have taken in the past. 

Transformed AHP services for children and young people are needed to support the policy and legislative foundation described earlier. This plan proposes to achieve this through ambitious action and commitment to ensure AHPs are sufficiently skilled and supported to deliver quality services. A radical agenda of reviewing and shifting practice across AHP services for children and young people is required, involving collaboration with community planning partnerships, social care and third-sector partners. Policy-driven changes will be supported locally by lead AHPs and AHP board directors linking to local children's services planning.