Catching up on what is happening around Scotland
Over the course of the year, Fiona Duncan, the Independent Strategic Advisor –the promise, will visit all local authorities across Scotland, to hear from people about progress to keep the promise. In this blog, she explains why she is heading out on the road.
Next week, I am having the first of 32 catch ups in every local authority area across Scotland over the course of this year.
On Friday 5th June, I’m off to Airdrie in North Lanarkshire to meet with children, young people, families and care experienced adults, alongside local authority senior teams, elected members, corporate parents and members of the workforce.
I’m excited to be reconnecting with familiar faces from the Independent Care Review, and meeting others to whom the promise was made and those who have been working so hard to keep the promise over the last six years. I’d really like to learn how children and families and care experienced adults feel about the changes.
All of the meetings I will be having all over Scotland are to allow me to listen to help me better understand what is working well, where and why, and what is proving harder, and why.
Scotland’s work to keep the promise is guided by Plan 24-30. So I want to know if the plan reflects what matters most, how it is being used and how it needs to evolve over to reflect the change that are happening, now and over the next four and a half years.
Scotland is over halfway to when the promise must be kept, there is not a minute to waste.
I am hoping that folks will share with me the changes they have made, that they are most proud of as they are making the biggest difference to the lives of children and families and care experience adults. So, these can be shared with other places.
Every day, there are thousands of people working hard to keep the promise.
But I know that this can be against a difficult backdrop of cluttered rules, regulations and reporting, slow structural and system change. So, I hope they will talk to me about the problems they face, what is getting in their way - the barriers. Then, together, we can understand how they can be overcome. And to link local insights to national change efforts to make sure each informs the other.
I am conscious of the worries about the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill and the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill, and want to properly understand these. The Scottish Parliament unanimously passed both Bills before it dissolved ahead of the election and the views of those who will be impacted by these new laws, and those who will be implementing them must shape sequencing and resourcing.
As I make my way around the country, I will be sharing videos on my LinkedIn, and The Promise Scotland’s LinkedIn, on the important things I’m hearing. Then, once all 32 visits have taken place, I will be producing a series of mini reports reflecting what I’ve heard.
The Promise Scotland will also be sharing learning stories , with detail on the different innovative practice happening across the country.
After Airdrie, I will be heading to Shetland on 18 June then Midlothian and Fife before the end of the month.
I’m SO looking forward to get out on the road, rail, bus, boat, maybe even a plane and tram, and most of all really look forward to seeing many of you soon.
About the author
Fiona Duncan
Independent Strategic Advisor
Fiona Duncan is the Independent Strategic Advisor - the promise, and advises Scottish Ministers in this capacity.