Social work services must be monitored and evaluated on the

delivery of improved outcomes for people who use services, their carers and communities. This requires:

● a performance improvement framework for all social work services, based on outcomes; ● elimination of unnecessary

information gathering;

● development of tools to share learning and support practitioners to improve and evaluate

outcomes;

● an annual performance improvement report, peer

assessed and published by chief social work officers; and

● inspectorates to use performance improvement frameworks as a means of reducing the regulatory burden on services.

Social Work Performance Improvement Framework

One of the reasons the review was set up was that staff, managers and Ministers realised that current inspection processes were not adequate, with a lack of focus on performance improvement. To tackle these concerns a new Social Work Inspection Agency was set up and a sub group of the review was

established to oversee the development of a performance improvement framework for social work. This will provide a clear framework of measurable outcomes against which social work services can be assessed. The framework will be designed to be used by service providers for internal monitoring and self evaluation of progress and for external inspections.

The framework is being developed through an inclusive approach, involving people who use services, their carers, practitioners, inspection agencies and policy makers. The first stage of development of a performance improvement framework, on children and families social work, is nearly complete. This is structured around the Scottish Executive’s vision statement for all children in Scotland. The rest of the framework, including all community care and criminal justice services, will be complete by the end of 2006. The framework will have consistent themes such as the key social work processes

of assessment, action planning and review. However, detailed qualitative and quantitative indicators and high level outcomes will vary according to the different needs of the client group. Developing a culture of self-evaluation and continuous improvement and implementing new quality frameworks will pose a significant challenge and will require determined leadership at all levels. On a practical level the framework aims to minimise any additional requirements for information but we know that much of the data may not be readily available. We also know that IT systems to collect and evaluate information are often inadequate. Without them it will be impossible to know if services are meeting people’s needs effectively and economically. It is clear that social work providers must tackle these issues.

Reducing the regulatory burden

There is a similar imperative on the Scottish Executive and other national organisations to reduce the amount of information collected and make best use of that information. We have been concerned by the increasing regulatory burden placed on services by the different inspection agencies and other organisations. This often has a

disproportionate effect on social work

services which sit at the crossroads of so many policies. It is very encouraging that the performance improvement framework is being developed alongside the Scottish Executive’s Efficient Government Unit’s work on reducing the bureaucratic burden on local authorities. The new framework must be used to streamline demands on service providers and be used whenever possible by the Social Work Inspection Agency and other agencies. All regulatory bodies should look for ways of reducing the burden of inspection, through more effective integration of approaches and information sharing so that no two agencies are inspecting the same aspects of the same services.

Using outcomes to drive performance improvement

This report has emphasised the importance of using an outcomes approach as the best starting point for performance improvement. This is reflected in the increasing number of outcome agreements between the Scottish Executive and service providers. However, achieving those outcomes is rarely a straightforward process. It needs a different approach to developing and evaluating action plans and a stronger link between actions and outcomes. Evidence based practice has

a crucial role to play in this area. Workers will need access to up-to-date research findings, evidence of what works, evaluation tools, methods for carrying out quality audits and

successful ways of involving people who use services in evaluating them.

Websites such as Care Scotland have shown the value of giving social workers easy access to performance information. They encourage workers to share ideas and practice, allowing services and staff to learn from one another and

benchmarking performance. These kinds of tools will play a critical role in

developing practice which is sharply focused on performance improvement.

Developing a performance culture

A performance improvement framework has to be supported by a culture of continuous improvement and owned by staff at all levels. Otherwise it just becomes another burden, rather than providing a real opportunity to

demonstrate good practice, identify and address poor practice and focus on what really matters to the people who use services. Our evidence suggests that there is considerable work to be done in developing that kind of culture. The new social work

governance framework set out in Chapter 6 will play a critical role in this process; so too will bottom up change processes such as the collaborative change networks now being developed. Performance reporting also has a crucial role to play in creating a performance culture and there are useful lessons to learn from the education sector. The introduction under the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act (2000) of public

performance reporting on improvement objectives and success in achieving these has helped to embed a

performance improvement culture in education services. This could be adapted for use in the more complex and diverse context of social work services. The chief social work officer should therefore make an annual public report on the performance of services, improvement objectives and progress made in achieving these.

12. Social work services should