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Support for children

Consultation to ensure services work for families.

A consultation to ensure public services operate in the best interests of children and young people has been launched recently.

It seeks views on proposals to make sure those who work with families provide a consistent support which will make accessing services easier and improve children’s lives.

The ground-breaking Children and Young People (Scotland) Act was endorsed by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014.

The consultation seeks feedback on the draft statutory guidance and secondary legislation that will support key parts of the Act:

  • Every child and young person will have access to a Named Person service - a single point of contact for help, support and advice for families and those working with children
  • Children and young people who need extra support will have a Child’s Plan
  • Children, young people and families can expect services to work together to provide support and help
  • Defining wellbeing for the first time to help make sure everyone uses the same terminology and approach

Acting Minister for Children Fiona McLeod said:

“We want Scotland to be the best possible place in the world to grow up. Our ground-breaking legislation, endorsed by the Scottish Parliament, ensures that, for the first time, children’s services are required by law to work together to put the needs of young people and families at the heart of everything they do.

“We know that mothers, fathers and carers are, with few exceptions, the best people to raise their children. These new provisions support families, providing improved access to services while maintaining parental rights and responsibilities.

“The named person service was developed with extensive input and support from experts. It’s being introduced across the country after parents and children asked for it, as a single point of contact, building on the traditional supportive role of teachers, doctors, nurses and health visitors.

“By encouraging children’s services to work together with the best interests of families at the centre of everything they do we will ensure they make a real difference to the lives of our children and young people.”

Councillor Douglas Chapman, COSLA spokesperson for Education, Children and Young People, said recently:

“COSLA welcomes the launch of this consultation today. This legislation is one of the most significant in recent times, in terms of its impact on children’s services. We agree with the principles of the Act in supporting the wellbeing of children and young people across Scotland. This public consultation provides an opportunity to comment on the proposals for implementation of the legislative provisions on Getting It Right for Every Child, the Named Person Service, and the Child’s Plan. The consultation presents a chance to ensure that the guidance is clear and unambiguous for all public bodies, agencies and the parents and carers of children and young people in Scotland”.

Notes To Editors

The consultation seeks views on:

  • Draft Statutory guidance on Parts 4 (Named Person), 5 (Child’s Plan) and 18 (Section 96 – Wellbeing)
  • Draft Named Persons (Training, Qualifications, Experience and Position) (Scotland) Order
  • Draft Child’s Plan (Scotland) Order

The draft guidance has been developed by working closely with a wide range of organisations. It runs from Friday February 6 until Friday May 1, 2015 and seeks the views of senior managers and executives in children’s services. We will also be speaking to parent representatives. Anyone is welcome to take part in the consultation: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Consultations/Current

Revised guidance will be published a full year before the planned implementation of the getting it right for every child provisions in August 2016.

 

Channel website: http://www.gov.scot/

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