Programme of action for child protection announced
Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, today announced a new programme of work for child protection. CELCIS welcomes the opportunity to support this programme and is delighted to begin developing and delivering new child protection improvement work with partners across the sector.
The success of CELCIS to date is in its ability to work side by side with local authorities and multiple agencies to effect real change for children and families. Collaboration and partnership is critical and this new programme will be no different.
The new programme will draw on CELCIS expertise in working alongside partners to deliver organisational and system change for children and young people living in and on the edges of care. What's more it will lead the way in applying tried and tested approaches, including active implementation, and in using the best available evidence to effect real, sustainable change in children's services.
Planning for this new and exciting programme will begin very soon with stakeholders, with anticipated delivery starting in October 2016.
Commenting on the programme, Jennifer Davidson, Director at CELCIS, said:
'The evidence tells us we can all do much more to address the needs of our most vulnerable children and their families. Children who are neglected deserve to receive the best possible support and intervention. And in the context of increasing cuts, it's critical that we align our work to ensure we achieve the greatest impact for children and families.
'There is such wonderful work being done by the many professionals who work tirelessly to protect our children every day. These practitioners engage with many of the same children and families that we currently support. As the programme develops, I look forward to working collaboratively to build on the good work, good practice and expertise that already exists.
'What we bring is our experience of working hand in hand with partners, effecting change in systems that work with children and their families and working closely with those at strategic, operational and practice levels.
'I am confident that bringing child protection, looked after children and implementation expertise together will bring about greater benefits in the wellbeing of Scotland's most vulnerable children and families. Together we can all deliver more for children and families.'
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For further information or for press enquiries, please contact Lesley Sneddon, Communications and Marketing Officer: 0141 444 8544 or celcis.comms@strath.ac.uk.
Notes to editors
Our goal is simple and ambitious. We want to make a difference. We are totally committed to making positive and lasting improvements in the experiences, life chances, aspirations and outcomes for Scotland's looked after children, young people, and care leavers. We take a multi-agency, collaborative approach towards making lasting change at government, strategic and practice levels. We promote and share good practice, and help break down barriers and forge new paths to change and challenge thinking and ways of working, with everyone whose work touches the lives of our most vulnerable children and their families.
CELCIS works side by side with all 32 local authorities and more than 250 organisations across the country and the globe to bring about real improvements at strategic, operational, practice levels in organisations and across whole systems too. CELCIS Making a Difference report showcases and celebrates examples of multi-agency partnership projects that are improving children's services.
Knowing what works in theory and from the best available evidence is one thing. Having the access, opportunity and ability to use this evidence to make the changes necessary to improve outcomes for children and families is another. This deficit of what is known and what is done is called the 'implementation gap'. CELCIS applies active implementation methods to reduce this gap, using the best available evidence to make positive and sustainable changes for the most vulnerable children and their families.