National framework established to monitor Scotland’s progress on children’s social care
The first iteration of The Promise Progress Framework, created by The Promise Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), has been published today (18 December).
Aimed at building an understanding of how Scotland is doing in its progress towards keeping The Promise of the Independent Care Review, the Framework sets out national indicators and a set of outcomes under ten vision statements taken directly from The Promise.
Introducing the Framework, Claire Stuart, Head of Insights at The Promise Scotland, said:
“The Promise Progress Framework is a way to better understand and organise national level data that relates to care experienced children and young people. It allows any individual or organisation to use it in a way that works for them, or to highlight where more work and evidence is needed.
“However, national data can’t tell the whole story. The most important next step is knowing if care experienced children and young people are feeling the impact of the promise being kept. For example, the indicator on the number and rate of children in the ‘care system’ in Scotland during the year cannot tell you what life is like for the children who are in care, or those who are on the edges of care.
“The Framework also highlights where there are gaps in the data specifically relating to care experienced children and young people. But by bringing the data together in one place for the first time, there is now a clearer national picture than ever before on what we know, what we don't know and what we need to know.
“It means that all those who care about creating change, and those have the power to act in making change happen, can look in one place and get an idea of where action is needed most urgently.”
Welcoming the publication of the Framework, Dr Heather Ottaway, Head of Evidence and Innovation at CELCIS, said:
"Bringing together into one place all the current national quantitative data we have on the experiences of Scotland's children and young people in need of support, care and protection, is an important step as we all work to improve outcomes.
"CELCIS continues to explore and raise both the opportunities and challenges concerning national and local data collection and analysis, through our research and as part of The Promise Collective.
"We look forward to seeing how the Framework develops further, not least the ways in which Scotland can resource, add to and enhance the use of the data collected so that we can all meaningfully understand what children, young people and families tell us matters most as Scotland strives to keep The Promise."