Trauma Responsive Social Work Services Expert Advisory Group: minutes: February 2024

Attendees and apologies

Attendees

• individuals providing social work services across Scotland from various practice areas
• Resilience Learning Partnership (RLP)
• Scottish Government (SG)

Items and actions

Overview

This was the eighth meeting of the Trauma Responsive Social Work Services (TRSWS) Expert Advisory Group. The purpose of this meeting was to inform the group of what is happening nationally and locally and to seek views of members.

Introductions, welcome and apologies

The meeting began by the Chair noting apologies from members.  All members gave brief introductions.

Note of previous meeting

The group approved the meeting note from 12 December 2023.

Website update

SG colleague provided a brief walkthrough of the new website for the National Trauma Transformation Programme.

TRSWS update

Programme Lead and Policy Lead for TRSWS delivered a short presentation on the progress made so far on the programme. The presentation will be shared with members with this meeting note and can also be requested from the Secretariat.

Reflections and feedback from members following presentation include:

• RLP colleague enquired as to whether the TRSWS team have engaged in any discussions with elected members regarding implementation support
  • TRSWS Programme Lead highlighted that an offer to support strategic communications has been made to each of the early implementation sites
• Aberdeenshire Council colleague enquired as to how the TRSWS team intends to break down the data received from the supervision survey
  • TRSWS Programme Lead explained that the team are working closely with colleagues from Scottish Social Services Council to develop this survey, and will ensure data received will be broken down in a useful way, while maintaining anonymity. The team have also reached out to colleagues from the Scottish Association of Social Work and Social Work Scotland for their feedback.
  • colleague from Aberdeenshire Council highlighted recent local work that has taken place to implement wellbeing plans and trauma informed supervision models for managers. Feedback is currently being collated and reviewed and colleague will share learning with TRSWS Programme Lead

TRSWS and RLP Presentation

TRSWS and RLP colleagues delivered a short presentation about the work undertaken to co-produce a training session for social work leaders on power sharing. Key points from presentation:

• considerable work has been done to ensure that the TRSWS team are utilising learning from previous projects that focussed on people with lived experience of statutory social work, including RLP’s on-going partnership with Authentic Voice
• TRSWS and RLP are working in collaboration with Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice to ensure that the views and experiences of children and young people are embedded into this training session.

Reflections and feedback from the group:

• TRSWS Programme Lead highlighted that Chief Social Work Officers (CSWOs) were transparent in saying that power sharing was an area that required further development and support
• North Lanarkshire Council colleague highlighted how their local area had used a trauma informed lens to approach the recent building merger for the children’s care centre to ensure it was fit for purpose.
• members highlighted that there continues to be a lack of trauma informed awareness within the police

Updates on local activity

Group members provided updates on work which is progressing in their local areas to embed changes within their social work services. 

• Aberdeenshire colleague highlighted the work currently going on in Aberdeenshire regarding Bairns Hoose and the Scottish Child Interview Model
  • TRSWS Programme Lead confirmed that they were part of the Scottish Government’s project team for Bairns Hoose and had worked to include the Roadmap with the tools to be used by Pathfinders. TRSWS and Improvement service are going to deliver some sessions to the pathfinders
• North Lanarkshire Council colleague highlighted local work that is being done to ensure staff that are working with individuals at risk of familial harm do so in a trauma informed way. Their colleague can update more on this work at the next meeting and can share research reports

Membership

The TRSWS team have been considering group feedback about membership from the last meeting.

Summary of responses and reflections:

• TRSWS Programme Lead is keen that this group continues to represent the voices of social work leaders, social workers and those with lived experience

• members are in agreement that more frontline social work representation is required, with particular focus being on newly qualified social workers
• Programme Lead is due to meet with CSWOs next month and will ask if they can identify appropriate frontline staff from across different practice areas
• consider inviting social workers who have experience of working with people from Ukraine into the group
• Programme Lead highlighted other workstreams that the TRSWS team regularly feeds into, including Trauma Champions newsletter, Trauma Lead Officer Group meetings and TPTIC network

• the team intends to share regular updates with key partners via newsletter and will develop a mailing list for those interested

Actions

• Secretariat to share slides from the TRSWS presentation