Chamber and committees

Under Section 122(5) of the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011, Scottish Ministers have the power to enter into arrangements (contractual or otherwise) with any person other than a Local Authority, Children's Hearings Scotland or the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration for the provision of the advocacy service. It is therefore likely that when we introduce our delivery model, any national scheme funding will be delineated from Local Authorities in order to ensure independence and integrity.

I refer you to the answer to question S5W-11419 on 2 October 2017, describing a number of workstreams in place providing a wide range of support to young people with experience of care. These provisions look at the whole life experience of the child and young person, supporting every aspect of their health – including their physical and mental health – and wellbeing. Evidence-based policy making requires time for these supports to take effect. We will therefore consider the evidence, when available, and decide how best to continue seeking the necessary improvements in outcomes for our looked after and care experienced young people. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

A number of organisations provide services to young people leaving custody to support their transition back to the community. These services are not restricted to care-experienced people. Instead, they seek to identify and respond to each person’s own needs in order to support their rehabilitation, their reintegration to the community following release, and their ongoing desistance from crime.

A range of projects deliver such services. For young people leaving HM/YOI Polmont the Wise Group’s ‘Get the life you want’, the Moving On PSP and Access to Industry’s “Passport” provide specialised support. The national “New Routes” mentoring service for 18-25 year old males leaving prison after short sentences, and the “Shine” monitoring service for women leaving prison, on remand or on community sentences, both provide flexible one-to-one support. The Scottish Prison Service’s Throughcare Support Service also provide support to those completing short prison sentences, where they are not already engaged with another service.

These services are voluntary in nature, and differ widely in scale and scope. Take up rates will therefore vary. Projects seeking to engage with smaller groups of eligible people have commonly secured take up of around 75%. Other services serving the wider prison population are tasked with ensuring all eligible individuals are offered the opportunity to take up the offer of support, and where the Scottish Government funds projects, agreement will be reached on the target number of individuals expected to participate in the project.

There are currently a number of measures in place and in development which monitor and review child deaths, including deaths of looked after young people, in Scotland.

Significant Case Reviews

A Significant Case Review is a multi-agency process for establishing the facts of, and learning lessons from, a situation where a child has died or been significantly harmed. Child Protection Committees, on behalf of Local Authority Chief Officers Groups, are responsible for deciding whether a Significant Case Review (SCR) or Initial Case Review (ICR) is warranted and for agreeing how the review is conducted, in cases where a child has died within their area. The National Guidance for Child Protection Committees for Conducting a Significant Case Review makes clear that SCRs should seek to establish the full circumstances of the death or serious harm of the child, establish whether there are lessons to be learned from the case, or good practice to be shared, identify areas for development and establish the findings which will allow the Child Protection Committee to consider what recommendations need to be made to improve the quality of services.

Child Death Review System

The Scottish Government also plans to establish a preventing child deaths system, referred to in the response to question S5W-11422 on 2 October 2017, to ensure the deaths of all children and young people are reviewed with the aim of learning lessons to reduce the numbers of deaths in Scotland. Reviews should be carried out on the deaths of all live born children up to the date of their 18th birthday, including care-experienced young people who were in receipt of aftercare or continuing care at the time of their death, up to the date of their 26th birthday. This will work alongside Significant Case Reviews and ensure, where possible, that the deaths of looked-after young people have been reviewed and learned from.

The Care Inspectorate Reporting and Monitoring Procedure

Local authorities have a duty to notify the Care Inspectorate of the death of a looked after child, and are required to submit a report and supporting documentation following notification of a death. The Care Inspectorate works with colleagues from Education Scotland to review the local authority’s report on behalf of Ministers. In so doing, they examine the arrangements made for the child’s welfare during the time he/she was looked after; assess whether action taken or not taken by the local authority may have contributed to the child’s death; identify lessons which need to be drawn to the attention of the local authority that had responsibility for the child and/or other local authorities or statutory agencies; and draw attention to the potential need for reviewing legislation, policy, guidance, advice or practice in the light of a particular case, or trends emerging from the deaths of looked after children.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

It is anticipated that the Queensferry Crossing will be fully operational by the end of the year. We opened the bridge in August 2017 to deliver the benefits as early as possible and, as is normal for a project of this scale and complexity, final testing and commissioning will run into 2018.

A number of organisations provide services to young men leaving custody to support successful transition and rehabilitation back in to their communities. Tailored support is provided on an individual needs-led and trauma-informed basis. It will typically include support around accommodation, education, training and employment, health, substance misuse and finances.

Education authorities and other agencies have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. An additional support need can arise for any reason and be of short or long term duration. Additional support may be required to overcome needs arising from learning environment; health or disability; family circumstances or social and emotional factors. Looked After Children and Young People are deemed to have additional support needs until they are assessed otherwise. As part of this assessment education authorities must also consider whether a co-ordinated support plan is required. However, education authorities must provide and review their support for looked after children and young people whilst they are deemed and it is established that they have additional support needs. The information on the number of assessments which have been carried out is not known by the Scottish Government as this information would be held by local authorities.

Education Outcomes for Looked After Children 2015-16 statistics published on 20 June 2017 show that for young people who were looked after from August 2015 to July 2016 and those who left school during 2015-16,

• The proportion of looked after leavers with one or more qualification at level 5 or better has more than doubled (from 15% to 40%) since 2009-10 – indicating the attainment gap is narrowing for some of our most vulnerable young people.

• 71% of looked after children were in positive follow up destinations compared to 40% in 2009-10.

The independent Care Review is expected to last 2-3 years. The timescales and the method by which the Review reports its findings to the Scottish Government is a matter for the independent Care Review. For further information, please contact the Chair of the Review, Fiona Duncan via [email protected]

Exclusion should be used as a last resort, and should only be used as a proportionate response where there is no alternative, with the wellbeing of the child or young person being the key consideration. Local Authorities remain responsible for the provision of education for the child or young person during any period of exclusion.

The Scottish Government is the primary funder of the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS). CELCIS is promoting and supporting self-evaluation activity within Scotland’s schools and local authorities, to steer practitioners towards systems and practice which is proven to have a positive impact on looked after children’s education.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with local authorities, Education Scotland and other agencies, has invested significantly in a wide range of approaches which focus on improving positive relationships and behaviour and promoting community safety. There are a range of strategies and programmes which schools can and do use to improve relationships and behaviour and prevent the need for exclusion. These include the use of behaviour support teams; the development of whole school solution oriented approaches, restorative approaches and nurture approaches; and programmes to help develop social, emotional and behavioural skills.

The Scottish Government have also set up the Independent care review being led by Fiona Duncan to identify what changes might be required to the current care system to put children and young people's needs at its heart.

'Our Hearings Our Voice' is aimed at recruiting around 30 young people who have had, or continue to have, experience of the children's hearings system. These positions will not be permanent employment opportunities. They will be appointments which will provide opportunities for the young people to develop a range of skills and experience, and to support the children's hearings system to better serve young people in the future.