Agenda Document Pack - Learning and Families Committee - 04/02/2026
Perth and Kinross Council · 4 February 2026
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 4 February 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Ambition | Compassion | Integrity Our vision is for a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Council Building 2 High Street Perth PH1 5PH 28/01/2026 A hybrid Meeting of the Learning and Families Committee will be held in the Council Chamber on Wednesday, 04 February 2026 at 09:30. If you have any queries please contact Democratic Services on (01738) 475000 or email Committee@pkc.gov.uk. Thomas Glen Chief Executive Those attending the meeting are requested to ensure that all notifications are silent on their device and other devices are in silent mode. Please note that the meeting will be broadcast online and recorded. The recording will be publicly available on the Council’s website following the meeting. Members: Councillor John Rebbeck (Convener) Councillor Steven Carr (Vice-Convener) Councillor Michelle Frampton (Vice-Convener) Bailie Chris Ahern Councillor Liz Barrett Councillor Dave Cuthbert Councillor John Duff Councillor Neil Freshwater Councillor Noah Khogali Councillor Iain MacPherson Councillor Ian Massie Provost Xander McDade Councillor Caroline Shiers Councillor Grant Stewart Councillor Alan Watt Mr Adrian Ferguson Ms Laura-Jane Grant Ms Amber Laverty Ms Susan MacLagan Ms Miranda Powell Mr Robert Stubbs Page 1 of 202
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Learning and Families Committee Wednesday, 04 February 2026 Agenda Members are reminded of their obligation to declare any financial or non-financial interest which they may have in any item on this agenda in accordance with the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. 1 WELCOME AND APOLOGIES/SUBSTITUTES 2 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 3 MINUTES 3(i) MINUTE OF MEETING OF THE LEARNING AND FAMILIES COMMITTEE OF 12 NOVEMBER 2025 FOR APPROVAL (copy herewith) 5 - 8 3(ii) MINUTE OF MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE SUB-COMMITTEE OF THE LEARNING AND FAMILIES COMMITTEE OF 1 SEPTEMBER 2025 FOR NOTING (copy herewith) 9 - 10 3(iii) MINUTE OF MEETING OF THE JOINT NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR TEACHING STAFF OF 3 SEPTEMBER 2025 FOR NOTING (copy herewith) 11 - 18 3(iv) MINUTE OF MEETING OF THE CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES PARTNERSHIP OF 19 SEPTEMBER 2025 FOR NOTING (copy herewith) 19 - 26 4 SELF-DIRECTED SUPPORT STRATEGY FOR CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES 2025 - 2030 Report by Strategic Lead - Children, Families and Justice (copy herewith 25/32) 27 - 62 5 RAISING ATTAINMENT UPDATE 2024/25 Report by Strategic Lead - Education and Learning (copy herewith 26/33) 63 - 100 6 TAYSIDE PLAN FOR INFANTS, CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES 2023-2026 - ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2024-2025 101 - 202 Page 3 of 202
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Report by Strategic Lead - Education and Learning (copy herewith 26/34) Page 4 of 202
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DRAFT Learning and Families Committee Minute of hybrid meeting of the Learning and Families Committee held in the Council Chambers, 2 High Street, Perth on Wednesday 12 November 2025 at 1.00pm. Present: Councillors J Rebbeck, M Frampton, Bailie C Ahern, H Anderson (substituting for Councillor C Shiers), L Barrett, S Carr, D Cuthbert, J Duff, N Freshwater, I Massie, N Khogali, I MacPherson, C Stewart (substituting for Provost X McDade), G Stewart and A Watt; Ms L-J Grant, Ms A Laverty and Mr R Stubbs. In attendance: D Macluskey, Strategic Lead – Education and Learning; A Singh, Strategic Lead - Children, Families and Justice; B Hutton (Children, Families and Justice); F Mackay, E Moran, K Robertson and S Stephen (all Education and Learning); A McConnachie, S Hendry, A Brown, and M Pasternak (all Legal and Governance). Apologies: Provost X McDade and Councillor C Shiers; Mr A Ferguson. Councillor J Rebbeck, Convener, Presiding. 1. Welcome and Apologies The Convener welcomed all those present to the meeting. Apologies for absence were noted as above. 2. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. 3. Minutes (i) Learning and Families Committee of 27 August 2025 The minute of meeting of the Learning and Families Committee of 27 August 2025 was submitted, approved as a correct record, and authorised for signature with the following update: Mr R Stubbs be recorded as in attendance instead of absent. (ii) Executive Sub-Committee of Learning and Families Committee of 2 June 2025 The minute of meeting of the Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee of 2 June 2025 was submitted and noted. (iii) Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff of 9 June 2025 The minute of meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff of 9 June 2025 was submitted and noted. 3(i) Page 5 of 202
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DRAFT (iv) Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 20 June 2025 The minute of meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 20 June 2025 was submitted and noted. 4. Scottish Attainment Challenge Funding Report 2024/25 There was submitted a report by the Strategic Lead - Education and Learning (25/303) (1) providing an update on progress made in Perth and Kinross in relation to the provision of support for children and young people affected by poverty and those who are care-experienced to achieve their full potential; and (2) outlining the range of measures implemented through Strategic Equity Funding (SEF), Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) and Care Experienced Children and Young People’s Funding (CECYPF) to improve performance and monitor the progress of improvements. Resolved: The contents of Report 25/303 be considered and comments on as appropriate. 5. Youth Strategy 2024 – Annual Update There was submitted a report by the Strategic Lead - Children, Families and Justice (25/304) updating on the progress made on the Youth Strategy 2024. Resolved: (i) the progress made be recognised. (ii) The Strategic Lead - Children, Families and Justice be requested to provide a further annual progress report in a year’s time. (B Hutton left the meeting at this point) 6. Intensive Support Provision Statutory Consultation Report – Kinross High School There was submitted a report by Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (25/305) informing of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to permanently establish a new Intensive Support Provision (ISP) in Kinross High School for children with Additional Support Needs (ASN) with effect from January 2026. Resolved: (i) The findings of the statutory consultation and Education Scotland’s support for the proposal be noted. (ii) The proposal to permanently establish a new ISP at Kinross High School, effective from January 2026, be approved. (iii) Continued stakeholder engagement during implementation be endorsed. 7. Intensive Support Provision Statutory Consultation Report – Perth High School There was submitted a report by Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (25/306) informing of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise Page 6 of 202
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DRAFT undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to permanently establish a new Intensive Support Provision (ISP) in Perth High School for pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN) with effect from January 2026. Resolved: (i) The findings of the statutory consultation and Education Scotland’s support for the proposal be noted. (ii) The proposal to permanently establish a new ISP at Perth High School, effective from January 2026, be approved. (iii) Continued stakeholder engagement during implementation be endorsed. 8. Intensive Support Provision Statutory Consultation Report – Viewlands Primary School There was submitted a report by Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (25/307) informing of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to permanently establish a new Intensive Support Provision (ISP) in Viewlands Primary School for pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN) with effect from January 2026. Resolved: (i) The findings of the statutory consultation and Education Scotland’s support for the proposal be noted. (ii) The proposal to permanently establish a new ISP at Viewlands Primary School, effective from January 2026, be approved. (iii) Continued stakeholder engagement during implementation be endorsed. 9. Statutory Consultation – Formal Closure of Original Site of City of Perth Early Childhood Centre There was submitted a report by Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (25/308) informing of the outcome and findings of the statutory consultation exercise undertaken in respect of the formal proposal to close the original site of City of Perth Early Childhood Centre (CoPECC) and formalise the permanent delivery of the service from the current site at Goodlyburn Primary School from January 2026. Resolved: (i) The contents of the Consultation Report, Appendix A to Report 25/308), be noted. (ii) the formal closure of the original CoPECC site at McCallum Court, as proposed, be approved. (iii) The continuation of delivery of CoPECC from Goodlyburn primary School from January 2026 be approved. (iv) The amendment that consultation continues with stakeholders to consider options that will address the issues raised during the consultation be approved. Page 7 of 202
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DRAFT Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee Minute of Hybrid Meeting of the Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee held on Monday 1 September 2025 at 1.00pm. Present: Councillors J Rebbeck, S Carr, M Frampton, Bailie C Ahern, Councillors L Barrett, D Cuthbert, and C Shiers. In Attendance: D Macluskey, Strategic Lead – Education and Learning; E Moran and N Thomson (both Education and Learning), L Fowler, Headteacher, Blackford Primary School, A Thomson, Headteacher Guildtown Primary School and E Paul, Headteacher, Perth Academy and A McConnachie, A Brown and R Ramsay (all Legal and Governance). Councillor J Rebbeck, Convener, Presiding. 1. Welcome and Apologies The Convener welcomed all those present to the meeting. 2. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. 3. Minute of Previous Meeting The minute of meeting of the Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee of 2 June 2025 was submitted and approved as a correct record. 4. Standards and Quality in Schools, Learning Communities and Pre- School Centres/Day Care of Children There was submitted a report by the Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (25/219) setting out the key findings following inspections of schools and nurseries by Education Scotland/His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and of early learning and childcare (ELC) settings undertaken by the Care Inspectorate in the day care of children. Resolved: The contents of the Report 25/219, be noted. 3(ii) Page 9 of 202
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JOINT NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR TEACHING STAFF Minute of hybrid meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff (JNCT) held in Meeting Room 410, 2 High Street, Perth on Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 2.30pm. Present: Representing Perth and Kinross Council Councillors J Rebbeck and Councillor C Shiers; M Shaw, E Moran, J McNicol (substituting for F MacKay), D Macluskey, P Smith and N Thomson (all Education and Learning); E Bayne (substituting for P Johnstone) (Strategic Planning, People and Performance). Representing Teachers’ Associations J Cook, J Craigon, L Gibb, L J Grant, M Laurie, C Clarke (substituting for J Leslie/M Taylor) and C Weston (all EIS); M Mackie (SSTA); S Topen-Cooper (NASUWT) In Attendance: A McConnachie for Joint Secretary (Management Side). Apologies: Councillor S Carr, F MacKay, P Johnstone, J Leslie and M Taylor. Councillor J Rebbeck, Convener, Presiding. 1. Welcome and Apologies Councillor J Rebbeck welcomed those present to the meeting and apologies for absences were noted as above. 2. Declarations of Interest (Elected Members Only) There were no Declarations of Interest made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. 3. Minute of Meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff of 9 June 2025 for Approval The Minute of meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff of 9 June 2025 was submitted and approved as a correct record. 4. Matters Arising (i) Update on Wellbeing PR8 Post D Macluskey acknowledged delays in fulfilling this post but following conversations with HR they are hopeful someone will be matched in by Monday next week. 3(iii) Page 11 of 202
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(ii) PT Management Time M Shaw is the new Secondary Rep. They advised they only saw the document last week and will need a bit of time to look at scale points, minutes and the implications. L J Grant and C Weston will meet with M Shaw separately to discuss. (iii) New Education and Learning Landing Page on eric D Macluskey shared this on screen. The page has every policy, guidance and framework related to Education and Learning and is actively curated. It will be shown to Headteachers at their next forum and other feedback will be gathered. In response to a question on teaching staff needing time to complete mandatory eLearning units on the Education and Learning Landing Page D Macluskey explained separate to the landing page’s creation there was a corporate decision to move online learning platforms and in the first instance work is being done with corporate colleagues to make sure that what was mandatory for teaching staff on the old system lines up with the new system. D Macluskey further advised in a wider Comms context they are trying to minimise the number of emails that are sent out which was welcomed by M Mackie. There was a suggestion from J Cook that this could be helped by moving from the current system of multiple platforms for communications to one. In response D Macluskey advised we are a Microsoft organisation and probably what is needed is clarity on what the different platforms do and what they should be used for. S Topen-Cooper queried if the problem with the servers at the start of term had been resolved and voiced his frustrations around this. D Macluskey advised the issue has been fixed but the cause has not been identified. The full report will come to SLT, and he is happy to bring that to a future JNCT meeting. 5. Membership Updates The following Membership Updates were agreed: Martin Shaw and Eve Moran to replace John Donnelly and Gillian Knox respectively on the Management Side. Page 12 of 202
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6. Business of Learning and Families Committee of 27 August 2025 for Noting Given the reports that went to the Learning and Families Committee on 27 August 2025 were also being brought to the JNCT today it was agreed to note them as they were discussed. 7. Revised Central Team Structure Presentation D Macluskey gave a brief PowerPoint presentation on recent changes to the Education and Learning Management Team which included the recruitment of Eve Moran and Neil Craik Collins as Quality Improvement Managers, the QIOs working under them and an overview of their areas of responsibility. Resolved: The Committee noted the update. 8. PKC Education Improvement Plan 2025-26 There was submitted a report by the SAC and PEF Project Lead (G/25/213) providing an update on progress against the Education Improvement Plan 2024- 2025, and detail on the priorities set within the new Education Improvement Plan 2025-2026. M Laurie asked how “Stretch Aims” are set and whether the outcome of the preceding year affects the aim for the next. D Macluskey explained Stretch Aims were set using National and PKC data for a 3-year period. Given during this period some aims have been overtaken Education Scotland have been asked if aims can be recalculated but they have said “no”. C Clarke asked about the recording of internal and alternatives to exclusions and if they are not being recorded you could have a situation where the recorded data shows exclusions are down, but it does not show that alternatives to exclusions have increased in the same period. S Topen-Cooper added that he thinks they should be recorded as there are situations particularly in primary schools where there is no choice but to use alternatives to exclusion as there are reasons a child cannot be sent home. There was mention of some of the work being done as alternatives to/diversions from exclusion such as Navigate and Connections. M Shaw shared they have been using a method called “Restore, Reflect, Reengage” sometimes as an alternative to exclusion with some success as a number of pupils only needing to go through the process once and are not excluded in the future. D Macluskey agreed they should be recorded but decisions would need to be made on how we do it and what system they are recorded on. He also shared we already collect a lot of data already and his expectation Head Teachers and Leadership Teams gather and interpret it as part of their role in leading the school with support from the Management Team who will look at the specifics. Page 13 of 202
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In response to C Weston asking if there is scope for using DASH to record the data D Macluskey advised he thinks there is confusion about DASH in general, there’s a conversation to be had about whether it could be and he will report back to JNCT. S Topen-Cooper suggested making it compulsory on Inservice Days to show staff the different electronic platforms, but D Macluskey felt this could be overcommunication and the need to find a balance. In response to J Craigon’s suggestion of putting something on the new landing page about the different electronic platforms D Macluskey said this could be done but his expectation would be this would be included in introductions for new starts/staff with headteachers leading on them and while as a council PKC do headteacher inductions well that is not necessarily the case for other roles. Resolved: (i) D Macluskey to report back to Committee on using DASH to record internal/alternative to exclusion data. (ii) The Committee noted the contents of G/25/213. 9. Standards and Quality in Schools, Learning Communities and Pre- School Centres/Day Care of Children There was submitted a report by James Chiles, Performance & Improvement Officer (G/25/219) setting out the key findings following inspections of schools and nurseries by Education Scotland/His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and of early learning and childcare (ELC) settings undertaken by the Care Inspectorate in the day care of children since the previous Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee on 2 June 2025. C Weston asked if the schools identified as needing as more support are getting it. D Macluskey explained they are. There is a lot of focus from elected members on the Learning and Families Committee on schools. The “self-evaluation” ratings have been included in the report at the request of elected members as previously they were not aware of problems until inspection. He explained the Council’s aim is for every school to be awarded “good” or “very good” in every category which he acknowledged is not necessarily achievable. He went on to explain a risk-based approach is taken to support with universal support provided to all schools and tailored/intensive support provided to schools with “satisfactory” or below ratings or that have a specific issue not identified at inspection. J Cook asked how long the support lasts as the information in the report dates back to 2016/17. D Macluskey explained the support is based on a school’s current self- evaluation ratings. That they report from 2016/17 because they always have done, Page 14 of 202
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and Councillors want to see that information as it shows the “journey” and fosters discussions at their Committee. Councillor Rebbeck added that not a lot of schools are inspected over a 5- year period and by reporting the way they do it enables elected members to focus resources where they are needed. Councillor Shiers agreed adding that Councillors join at different times and might otherwise not have all the information relating to a school. D Macluskey advised he is held accountable by elected members. Resolved: The Committee noted the contents of 25/219. 10. Accessibility Strategy and Action Plan 2025-2028 There was submitted a report by Jennifer McNicol, Quality Improvement Officer and Fiona MacKay, Service Manager, Inclusion and Additional Support (G/25/215) that went to Committee on 27 August 2025 requesting approval of the Accessibility Strategy and Action Plan 2025-2028, which delivers on a duty of the education authority in relation to the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002. With reference to the “How Do We Measure Success?” section C Weston asked if feedback could be given to the Committee to which J McNicol advised it could. Resolved: The Committee noted the contents of G/25/215. 11. Scottish Attainment Challenge Funding Report There was submitted a draft report (G/25/122) that is required to be submitted to Scottish Government summarising the interventions implemented during the course of the year along with evidence of their impact and any qualitative and quantitative data relating to the impact of SEF, CECYPF and PEF funding. In response to C Weston asking if the “Cost of the School Day Policy” is still in draft D Macluskey advised it is and has been included for early sight with a further detailed discussion to take place at a future JNCT. In response to J Cook suggesting that the words do not necessarily match the graphics in terms of the poverty related gap decreasing D Macluskey said they may have overegged the wording as some aspects of the gap are closing while some are not. J Cook asked with poverty in general increasing if there is more scope to working with families. E Moran advised there is recognition of that, and multiagency work is underway in the early piloting stages. Page 15 of 202
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D Macluskey added the Council has a corporate priority to reduce poverty with Councillor Rebbeck adding it is something everyone needs to support and that all on the Learning and Families Committee are on the same page to that regard. Resolved: The Committee noted the contents of G/25/122. 12. Intensive Support Provision J McNicol gave a verbal update stating all 3 ISPs within Phase 1 - the Secondary provisions at Perth and Kinross High and the Primary provision at Viewlands – have all opened and will be signed off permanently at the end of October. Statutory Consultation on Phase 2 – All-Through provisions at Auchterarder and St John’s – has started. L J Grant asked about the role of teachers, specifically as they would be supervising young people with a high level of need when it came to non-class contact time or if an ISP teacher was absent if a non-ISP teacher be expected to take the class. J McNicol advised the ISP model is that non-class contact time is met through a subject specialist class teacher and ISP support staff. Where an ISP teacher is absent and the ISP PT or the DHT Support could not cover the class, and only when this had been exhausted, the natural ask would be a subject specialist teacher who knows the class well. Councillor Rebbeck added he is keenly aware of the importance of ISP and while it should not be detrimental to mainstream schooling it also should not be completely separate. Resolved: The Committee noted the update. 13. Smarter Working E Bayne gave a verbal update. Following the Council’s purchase of Pullar House, to facilitate the renting out of space within it there are office moves taking place within both Pullar House and 2 High Street, some of which have already happened, and to make Committee members aware that their Education and Learning colleagues may have moved. Resolved: The Committee noted the update. 14. Disclosure Scotland E Bayne gave a verbal update. New legislation came into effect in April 2025 and the 3-month window for compliance ended on 30 June 2025. There is some clarification outstanding around other staff within schools that legal colleagues are looking into. Work is also being done to ensure for any colleagues that are off theirs Page 16 of 202
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is in place for their return. There is also no longer lifelong membership to the scheme instead membership will last for 5 years and then it will need renewed. Resolved: The Committee noted the update. 15. Any Other Competent Business (i) C Weston proposed setting up a Working Time Agreement Audit which was accepted. (ii) S Topen-Cooper asked if following the Supreme Court Ruling if the Council have put out anything to schools. D Macluskey advised the Scottish Government are waiting on guidance from the Equalities Commission but in the meantime the law has changed. Property are working with schools to make sure there are single sex spaces, and they are used appropriately. It was thought Perth High would have been compliant, but it was explained M Shaw took further steps to ensure it was. S Topen-Cooper expressed his personal opinion that he thinks Local Authorities are jumping the gun by taking decisions before there is guidance from the Scottish Government. (iii) D Macluskey shared the Employee Survey opens in November with a plea staff are encouraged to complete it. 16. Date of Next Meeting 19 November 2025 Page 17 of 202
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Children, Young People and Families’ Partnership Minute of meeting of the Children, Young People, and Families Partnership held on Friday 19 September 2025 at 9.30am in Council Chambers, 2 High Street, Perth. Present: Councillor L Barrett. Councillor M Frampton A Singh, Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice, PKC D Macluskey, Strategic Lead – Education and Learning, PKC G Boland, Strategic Lead – Strategic Planning, People and Performance, PKC Z Pullar, NHS Tayside E Cruickshank, NHS Tayside S Jeffrey, Tayside & Fife Partnership Coordinator for Children’s Hearings Scotland R Smith, Third Sector Interface Rep G Binnie, Independent Chair of Child and Adult Protection Committees In Attendance: S Fogg, Independent Advocacy Perth & Kinross; B Hutton, S Cooper, S Turner, A McConnachie (all PKC). Apologies: Councillor C Shiers; J Menzies, HSCP; L Sutherland, SCRA; J Baker, Perth and Kinross Council. A Singh in the Chair 1. Welcome and Apologies The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies were noted as above. 2. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest in terms of the relevant Codes of Conduct. 3. Minute of Previous Meeting The minute of the meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership of 20 June 2025 was submitted and noted as a correct record subject to agreed amendments. 3(iv) Page 19 of 202
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The Chair also advised The Partnership is still seeking a Deputy Chair and would welcome any interest. 4. Unknown Activity of Care Leavers Receiving Aftercare Support - Update Following the last meeting, where the issue of unknown economic activity of young people in receipt of After Care services was unknown, Councillor M Frampton provided a verbal update in her role as Chair of the Corporate Parenting Sub-Group. She advised young people who transfer into Through Care and After Care after they turn 16 need tailored support in several areas but as time goes on their confidence in managing themselves increases. Historically cases were kept open until the young person turned 26 even if they were no longer engaging with the service which led to inaccuracies in reporting. Currently the number of cases are being reviewed and so far, it has been found some young people have moved to other areas and others have asked to no longer be contacted so these cases are now being closed. Young people who are no longer engaging are being written to explaining this change in approach and cases can be reopened if the young person needs or wants this. This approach should mean more accurate reporting in future. Resolved: The Partnership noted the update 5. Independent Advocacy and Rights Presentation S Fogg, IAPK Advocacy Manager gave a verbal presentation outlining the work of the service. Highlighting that IAPK are leading the way nationally. IAPK have additional funding for any child open to social work. In line with the Continuing Care Act their Childrens Team supports young people up to the age of 26. Their service is not means tested and a person does not need to be able to speak or have capacity to access it. Statistically she said research has shown every £1 spent on independent advocacy saves Health and Social Care £12. That 96% of 5000 children surveyed would recommend independent advocacy. Last year IAPK had 2000 referrals, and they have a 30% return rate. Their team is made up of 10 advocates with 4 of them full time. The Chair asked how we promote Independent Advocacy to the workforce as they may think they are already carrying out that role. Page 20 of 202
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S Fogg advised that is the biggest barrier and it is not just professionals who think that as family and friends can too. She thinks the only way around it is seeing advocacy in action as it changes minds. The Chair asked about Independent Advocacy and the Children’s Hearing system. S Jeffrey said they are keen to get feedback, both good and bad, from Independent Advocacy. They have Independent Advocacy attending their Childrens Hearing Improvement Partnership meetings and good practice from chairs and panel members that is pointed out is shared as well as bad as it can identify training needs. S Fogg advised Independent Advocacy have been doing Children’s Hearings in Perth and Kinross since before the legislation came in. She said panels in Perth and Independent Advocacy are leading the way with their collaborative approach as in other areas Independent Advocacy are not getting in the room. E Cruickshank asked about young children who cannot speak, and the approach used for example the NHS use talking mats. S Fogg advised irrespective of age Independent Advocates are trained on non-instructive advocacy which involves interpreting non-verbal cues and observations and their code of practice is similar to Social Work. D Macluskey said previously Independent Advocacy Perth & Kinross have spoken to headteachers and since then the perception in schools is that Independent Advocacy is understood to some extent, valued tremendously but could be used more and would be in communication with S Fogg after the meeting. Resolved: The Partnership noted the presentation. 6. Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee Business Activity Report Since 20 June 2025 There was submitted a report by the Independent Chair of Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee (G/25/133) providing a summary of the key business activities of the Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee (CPC) since the last meeting of the Children, Young People and Families Partnership (CYPFP) on 20 June 2025 when the update report was last presented. The Chair welcomed G Binnie to post and to The Partnership. In addition to the report G Binnie said that operationally coming into post he has confidence in the activity going on and confidence in the management of the Child Protection Committee. Strategically he said his job is to look at how we collaborate with public protection areas better with a workshop next week to start that process. Page 21 of 202
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Councillor M Frampton asked in terms of “Areas for development” within the report who would be involved in the close observations of babies and very young children. G Binnie advised it could be anyone such as social workers, police, Independent Advocacy etc. S Fogg added from an Independent Advocacy perspective it is a developing need and there is also a development need. She also mentioned the Scottish Government’s Voice of the Infant pledge but said there was too much to go into detail on. Z Pullar said the Family Nurse Partnership are doing a lot of work on this and a lot of quality improvement work is being done on this area. G Binnie added it is an evolving practice. It is about challenging ourselves to get more information and not accept non-engagement as the end. The Chair said at The Partnership earlier in the year having the voice of children and families heard at the arena was discussed and asked G Binnie how he would ensure this happens. G Binnie said it requires some thought. He is conflicted that the formality of committees is a barrier and that it is an area that needs looked at. He suggested Independent Advocacy could maybe play a part. S Fogg advised that ties in with conversations they have had with adult services as it is often the same families they see. The Chair said they want a broad experience and not just the lens of one person on committee. S Jeffrey said Children’s Hearing Scotland had a group of care experienced young people influencing their redesign and they have an Experts by Experience – also a group of care experienced young people – that they link in with. B Hutton said they have good mechanisms in place for engagement within the Youth Strategy that will be discussed later. Resolved: The Partnership noted and endorsed this update from the CPC 7. Thematic Approach to Performance Reporting There was submitted a report by the Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice (G/25/134) continuing the thematic reporting plan for performance and outcome information focused on children, young people and families and setting out a suite of information around the second of the themes, namely Quality of Life. Page 22 of 202
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The Chair highlighted “Emergency hospital admissions as a result of an unintentional injury” are higher than the Scotland average and wondered if NHS colleagues could shed any light on that. Z Lister said they have had conversations with ambulance colleagues about the threshold they have for taking children and young people to hospital. Occupancy in paediatrics is not higher than other areas and they have no concerns about unintentional injuries. D Macluskey said this would be interesting to explore as it has been a rising trend since 2017 while the rest of Scotland has been falling and if it continues the gap will only widen. The Chair asked B Hutton for his comments on the Scottish Children Reporter’s upward trend, and he advised there has been an increase in undertakings to appear and that he thinks it is a small amount of young people causing the majority of the increase. S Jeffrey said it may be helpful in future to also have a graph showing how many young people are referred to The Reporter on welfare grounds. S Fogg said with the Care and Justice Bill coming in Independent Advocacy have been asked to give the Government a predicted increase in figures and wondered if The Partnership had any predictions. The Chair said he would link her in with S Cooper who has been doing work on that. The Chair recognised that in terms of Housing, Perth and Kinross are sector leading and they will contact Elaine Ritchie to congratulate her team on behalf of The Partnership. B Hutton suggested expanding the congratulations to The Youth Housing Support Group as well. D Macluskey agreed the numbers are extraordinary and should be recognised, celebrated and shared. Resolved: (i) The Partnership considered and commented upon the information set out in Appendix 1. (ii) The Partnership provided guidance to inform the future direction of thematic performance reporting. 8. Annual Report on Suicide Prevention There was submitted a report by the Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (G/25/135) providing an update of the work around suicide prevention and mental health support across education and learning communities. Councillor L Barrett raised the number of schools that had no relationship with the document within the report and asked if this will be picked up with those schools to which S Turner advised it would be. Page 23 of 202
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The Chair acknowledged it was a really good and helpful report. He was concerned about a potential blind spot related to conclusion 4.1 as it only focuses on the school environment and potentially those pupils who do not attend school or are not even leaving their bedrooms are not being captured to which S Turner advised those pupils should still be on a school role, have a Child’s Plan and still be picked up in the data. The Chair also asked about the use of language, how that has changed with particular reference to primary schools and whether there is something about young people in primary schools not understanding the language around suicide and whether the attention we are giving it is disproportionate. S Turner advised there is something to that and it is striking a balance with what is out there in terms of posters etc. It is a complex area that we need to understand better and one a close eye is being kept on. In relation to question 2 within the report The Chair asked how are we impartially assessing the information because is it not a case of teachers marking their own homework to which S Turner advised the starting point had to be the perception of staff and she did not think teachers would see it as marking their own homework as it is a partnership approach. D Macluskey added a lot of work has gone into building capacity and confidence and he can see that has worked. Teachers say their confidence comes from multiagency work as well as quality assurance work carried out in schools. In relation to question 7 in the report The Chair asked about post referral rejection and if the experience for teachers is different now following the changes with the NHS. S Turner advised that the changes with the NHS related to neurodiversity and not mental health. She added there is a gap and a need for something for young people which is a topic for wider partnership discussion. D Macluskey talked of the progress in the link up with CAMHS as now when there are bumps in the road there is dialogue and lessons learned when that was not always the case. S Cooper said that some of the gap is being picked up by Lighthouse who have a creative approach with gyms and football some of the activities they have. They are investing in and building confidence and self-esteem in young people who do not want to sit in a room and talk. The Chair added that generationally there are different mindsets and that it might be helpful for The Partnership to unpick those differences in terms of forward planning. E Cruickshank said children and young persons voice is something to think about while also thanking the author for the report and agreeing with the Page 24 of 202
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comments made in particular D Macluskey’s about the link up with CAMHS saying any bumps now are less significant. G Boland asked about the reduction in the return rate and if there was a reason for that. S Turner replied advising there was no particular reason. The focus was on getting responses from all secondary schools and the primary schools that did respond represented a broad range with primary schools also having other mechanisms for identifying problems. Resolved: (i) The Partnership reviewed and agreed the proposed work, including the whole school community approach to mental health work, in two school communities for the school session 2025/26 (ii) The Partnership requested the Strategic Lead – Education and Learning continues to report on this work to the Partnership on an annual basis. 9. Youth Strategy 2024 - Annual Update There was submitted a report by the Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice (G/25/136) providing the first annual update following the strategy’s approval by the Learning and Families Committee in October 2024. G Binnie asked in relation to the young persons voice with it being a complex environment where every week could have something new how is it decided what to ask, how much steering takes place and how are safeguarding and child protection conversations instigated. B Hutton advised they have a relationship-based approach and they use the mechanisms that are already there to start discussions. Sometimes they find out those discussions are already happening. Sometimes it is a case of asking the young people what agencies they want to come along. D Macluskey scaling conversations are taking place around a policy concerning the voice of young people with the working title of Young Voice of Perth which will feed into The Youth Strategy and vice versa. B Hutton said they have asked for a pilot and working group in relation to a Youth Forum which ideally would have young people from all over Perth and Kinross coming together in the centre. D Macluskey said from experience of Pupil Councils they tend to get bogged down in their limitations and that Education could help with the limitlessness of the Youth Forum. R Smith added in terms of funding activities the Gannochy Funding Panel is really undersubscribed. Page 25 of 202
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Resolved: (i) The Partnership recognised the progress that has been made. (ii) The Partnership requested the Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice provides a further update report in a year’s time. 10. Perth and Kinross Integrated Children's Services Plan There was submitted a report by the Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice (G/25/140) providing progress in the development of the Perth and Kinross Integrated Children’s Service Plan 2026-2029 and an update on the Strategic Leads Network for Children’s Services and Planning. S Cooper advised a lot of work has been done already, particularly with data. The data they have is currently being analysed and if there are gaps an email is going out today which needs responded to by 7 October with either the missing data or where to find it. She added Strategic Leads are identifying where this report is going to go and that as well as a toolkit for families being developed a number of consultation events are planned as well. Councillor L Barrett did not think Free School Meals were the only reason behind the decrease in child poverty to which S Cooper agreed adding that other interventions were identified in one of the reports. B Hutton added Welfare Rights have played a huge part which was also agreed. The Chair said they intend to have a first draft of The Plan by the end of the year with it coming into force in April 2026. Consequently, The Partnership may need to look at its governance structure as for now its subgroups report to the current plan and that might need changed. E Cruickshank said from a health point of view NHS Tayside will likely be retaining focus on what currently sits in The Tayside Plan with the addition of dental health concerns. Resolved: (i) The Partnership considered and commented upon the information detailed in this report and as set out in Appendix 1. (ii) The Partnership provided guidance to inform the future direction and further development of the Perth and Kinross Integrated Children’s Service Plan 2026-2029. Page 26 of 202
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequalities ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Learning and Families Committee Date of Meeting: 4 February 2026 Report Title: Self-Directed Support Strategy for Children, Young People and Families 2025 - 2030 Report Number: 26/32 Report Authors: Sheila Wilson, Operational Manager; Sharon Cooper, Senior Service Manager (FBSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk) Organisational Lead: Arun Singh, Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 This report seeks approval for the refreshed Self-directed Support (SDS) Strategy 2025 - 2030 for Children and Families Social Work (Appendix 1). The Strategy outlines the legislative background, the key issues in relation to SDS, and the delivery plan for SDS over the next 5 years. This follows on from the SDS Strategy 2021 - 2024, which outlined the core SDS principles, priorities and strategic plan over that period. 1.2 Perth and Kinross Council remain committed to increasing the choice and control that children, young people and families have when receiving social care support. The Strategy supports this ethos and aims to further embed the personalisation agenda to promote meaningful paricipation with children, young people and their families. 1.3 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendation 3. Background/Main Issues 4. Current Situation and Recent Issues 5. Proposals 6. SDS Strategy for Children, Young People and Families 2025 - 2030 7. Conclusion 8. Impact and Value Assessment 9. Appendices 4 Page 27 of 202
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2. Recommendation It is recommended that the Committee: 2.1 Approves the refreshed SDS Strategy for Children, Young People and Families 2025 - 2030. 3. Background/Main Issues 3.1 Implementation of SDS has been ongoing since 2010, following the introduction of the National SDS Strategy 2010-2020 which was a joint Scottish Government and COSLA 10-year plan. The Scottish Government introduced the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013, which came into force on 1 April 2014. This Act places a duty on local authorities to offer people who are eligible, following assessment, a range of choices over how they receive their SDS. 3.2 The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 reinforces the commitment that people have a right to direct their own social care support and that they should be involved in all decisions about their care. The Act places emphasis on local authorities to be transparent in their planning and promotes that families and individuals can determine the type of support they need. 3.3 The provision of SDS reinforces the principles that underpin work with children in need and their families under Section 22 and Section 23 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. Principally, this ensures the promotion of participation and dignity, meaningful involvement and the ability to make decisions about support services. SDS can be described as the range of support a person is able to purchase or arrange to meet assessed and agreed personal health/social care outcomes. 3.4 In July 2019, the Scottish Government launched the Self-directed support strategy 2010-2020: implementation plan 2019-2021, the aim of which was to promote a culture of choice and control, empower people, strengthen leadership and support workforce development, drive systemic change and ensure accountability for continuous improvement. 3.5 In 2022, the Scottish Government updated the SDS statutory guidance which clarified that SDS is for everyone who is assessed as having a social care need in Scotland. The guidance also emphasised the need for local authorities to promote a rights-based delivery of care ensuring dignity, choice and community participation. In addition, the guidance reinforces the duty of the local authority to offer all options impartially and explain these clearly (see section 4.1 below for further details). 3.6 In June 2023, the Scottish Government published the Self-directed support: improvement plan 2023 to 2027 which sets out the priorities for work to improve the delivery of SDS in Scotland. These priorities underpin our new SDS Strategy 2025 - 2030 (see section 6.2 below for further details). Page 28 of 202
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3.7 In May 2024, the twelve standards of practice in SDS (initially published in 2021 as part of the Scottish Governments SDS Framework of Standards) were updated. These Standards outline the need for early help, family support and community support, which aligns with The Promise recommendations for early intervention and accessible family support. These Standards promote a strengths-based approach, building on existing strengths in a child, young person and families’ network. The twelve standards encourage creativity, transparency, accountability and equity of service provision to combat discrimination. 4. Current Situation and Recent Issues 4.1 SDS can be provided in different ways to suit the person and family’s needs. These options are set out on the SDS Scotland website. The four options available when receiving SDS are: Option 1 – Allocated funds taken as a direct payment (a cash payment). Option 2 – Allocated funds are given to the provider that the supported person chooses. Option 3 – The Council can arrange and provide a service for the supported person. Option 4 – The supported person can choose a mix of these options for different types of support. 4.2 Whilst the concept of offering choice in care and self-determination, in relation to service provision, is at the heart of SDS principles, this is dependent on the variety of resource provision available and its capacity. From the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 through to the current date, the availability of service of provision for respite and personal care for children, young people and their families has vastly reduced. Due to this, demand often outweighs supply, and many children, young people and their families have not been able to access the level of SDS package that they are assessed as needing. At times, this has required families and workers to think creatively about how SDS is provided. 4.3 In line with The Promise, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) principles, and the twelve SDS standards, a consultation with parents/carers took place in February 2025 (Appendix 2) to establish where the gaps were and to ascertain the main issues with parent/carers accessing their SDS. The findings from this consultation are forming the basis of future service provision, and this is being progressed with support and guidance from In-Control Scotland who are a small Scottish charity that focuses on improving the social care system, by making SDS more accessible and addressing inequalities for people with support needs in a way that prioritises their rights. Page 29 of 202
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5. Proposals 5.1 In-Control Scotland have provided support to embed SDS within current practice and to develop a Resource Allocation System (RAS) to ensure equity of service provision when making decisions about the provision of support and services using SDS. It is proposed that this work continues, and a RAS system is introduced to provide guidance and clarity for workers and people who access SDS. 5.2 In line with providing clear information, easy read documents and child-friendly versions of all leaflets and paperwork in relation to SDS will be produced. 5.3 There will be a focus on SDS training across Children and Families Social Work and this will include involvement in national SDS events and communities of practice. In addition, SDS will be on the agenda for social work students and the Newly Qualified Social Worker forum to upskill workers in relation to SDS. 5.4 Consultation with children, young people parents and carers, in relation to SDS, will continue to ensure that their voices are represented and heard. This will include direct consultation, as well as questionnaires and audits. 5.5 Procurement of services to meet the needs of a supported person will be based on consultations with children, young people, parents and carers. This aims to ensure that early help is provided when it is needed. 6. SDS Strategy for Children, Young People and Families 2025 - 2030 6.1 This Strategy builds upon the previous SDS Strategy 2021 - 2024 and aims to promote increased choice and control over how eligible children, young people and families are supported to meet their identified needs. 6.2 The Strategy is based around the twelve standards for practice which are linked to the four improvement areas identified within the Scottish Government’s SDS Improvement Plan 2023 – 2027. These are: Supported person and carer’s choice over their support. Enhanced worker skills, practice and autonomy. Systems and culture. Leaders understand and help staff realise SDS principles and values. The Perth and Kinross SDS Delivery Plan 2025 – 2030, included and detailed within the Strategy (Appendix 1), sets out the actions that will be taken to deliver on the identified areas for improvement. 6.3 Work has been undertaken with In-Control Scotland in relation to the development of the Strategy, and good practice examples from other local authority areas have also been shared. In addition, In-Control Scotland has assisted with the SDS consultation process to ensure that consultation is as Page 30 of 202
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inclusive and far-reaching as possible. Support and guidance from In-Control Scotland will be ongoing in relation to the outcomes of the Strategy. 6.4 This Strategy aims to work with people eligible for SDS to have more choice and control over the support they receive. This will be done by ensuring workers are skilled and knowledgeable so they can involve children, young people, parents and carers in creative SDS conversations. The Strategy has been developed in an easy read version to ensure that it can be accessed more easily by all. 6.5 This Strategy aims to improve outcomes for children, young people and families eligible for SDS by providing the support identified by them at the right time to prevent crisis. 6.6 Community involvement and partnership working with other universal and third sector services is essential for building capacity to meet need. Opportunities for procuring and developing services that will make a difference to children, young people and their family’s lives will be reviewed and explored throughout the life of this Strategy. 7. Conclusion 7.1 This SDS Strategy provides a framework of how children, young people and families can be supported in Perth and Kinross to take control and make choices about how their assessed needs can be met. The Strategy promotes the rights of the child and is compliant with the UNCRC and The Promise. 7.2 The Strategy intends to improve transparency and consistency, by encouraging choice and control for those assessed as in need of support, to help them to achieve their goals and life potential. 8. Impact and Value Assessment 8.1 The Impact Value Assessment (IVA) undertaken in relation to this report can be viewed on the Perth and Kinross Council website via the link: SDS Strategy 2025-2030 8.2 The Equality and Fairness Impact Assessment (EFIA) undertaken in relation to this report can be viewed in the Equality and Fairness Impact Assessments area of the Perth and Kinross Council website. 9. Appendices 9.1 Appendix 1 – Children, Families and Justice SDS Strategy 2025 - 2030 9.2 Appendix 2 – SDS Consultation Page 31 of 202
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1 | P a g e SDS Strategy Children, Families and Justice 2025-2030 Children, Families & Justice (Children and Families Social Work) Self-Directed Support Strategy 2025 - 2030 Appendix 1 4 Page 33 of 202
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2 | P a g e Contents Introduction 3 National Context 5 Self-Directed Support Framework of Standards 6 Self-Directed Support Improvement Plan 6 What is Self-Directed Support? 8 SDS Options 8 SDS Principles and Values 11 Local Context 12 What can the people of Perth and Kinross expect? 14 Our Guiding Principles 14 Pathways of Support 15 Case Studies 16 Perth and Kinross SDS Delivery Plan 2025-2030 18 Appendix 1: Legislative and Policy Framework 24 3 Page 34 of 202
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3 | P a g e Mission Statement We want all children, young people and their families in Perth and Kinross who are affected by disability to have choice in relation to the resources and services they need, to ensure they have the right support, at the right time and for as long as they need. This strategy aims to focus on 4 key areas for improvement: • Child, Young Person, Parent and Carer engagement, involvement, consultation and advocacy in relation to SDS • Increasing worker’s knowledge and skills in relation to the SDS journey • Person-centered systems • Leadership support to embed the ethos and culture of SDS into everyday practice Introduction Welcome to the Self-Directed Support (SDS) Strategy 2025-2030 for Children and Families Social Work. This Strategy will consolidate and embed the positive work already carried out from the previous SDS strategy 2021-2024. The strategy links recent research, National Policy and Guidance, with local experience in Perth and Kinross and supports the continued implementation and development of SDS across services in partnership with parents/carers and children/ young people. In developing this strategy, we recognise that across services and communities, we are facing serious challenges in terms of what is affordable. 3 Page 35 of 202
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4 | P a g e This strategy sets the local long term aims for improvement in relation to the provision of SDS and is underpinned by the Scottish Government SDS Implementation plan and GIRFEC frameworks. Alongside the strategy, we have developed a Delivery Plan. The outcomes in the Delivery Plan are directly aligned with the priorities shared by local partners and outlined in National SDS guidance and contribute to the Perth and Kinross Council Corporate Plan 2022-2027, relevant priorities detailed below. Perth and Kinross Corporate Priorities • Enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential • Protecting and caring for our most vulnerable people • Promoting and supporting physical and mental well-being Page 36 of 202
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5 | P a g e National Context In 2010 the National Self-Directed Support Strategy 2010-2020 was introduced. This 10-year plan was designed to promote personalisation and flexible choice in social care support. The National Strategy was supported by The Social Care (Self-Directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 (hereafter referred to as the SDS Act 2013) which came into effect in April 2014. The SDS Act reinforced the commitment that people, regardless of age or reason or need have a right to direct their own social care support and that they should be involved in all decisions about their care. If a child, young person, or parent/carer needs help with everyday living because of health condition, disability, or personal circumstances, they or their carer/s can request that the Local Authority carry out an assessment of need as defined by the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Carer’s Act 2016. The completion of this assessment does not automatically qualify the child or their family/carer to receive support through Self-Directed Support (SDS). If a carer or child’s assessed need can be met using universal services, this information will be provided; such help might include being signposted to a voluntary organisation or locally based services within their area. Access to support via SDS allows the individual to take more control over how they meet agreed care and support needs. It allows parents/carers to achieve their agreed outcomes by being able to make choices about their support based on the things that are important to them. In 2022 the Scottish Government updated the SDS Statutory Guidance and incorporated the following: • An increased focus on human rights and a human rights approach throughout • Updated information about the roles and responsibilities of duty bearers • Budgeting, charging commission and procurement guidance • An updated framework of 12 Standards published in 2024 Page 37 of 202
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6 | P a g e Self-Directed Support Framework of Standards The Scottish Government's Self-Directed Support Framework of Standards published in 2021 and updated in 2024, outlines 12 standards to guide the implementation of SDS across Scotland, ensuring consistency and improved outcomes for service users and carers. The SDS Framework is for all people and organisations. This includes children, young people, supported people, families, carers, including young carers and relevant organisations including Local Authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships, NHS organisations or Integration Joint Board staff. Details of the relevant themes and standards are provided in the table below: Supported people’s experience Workforce competency Organisational systems Leadership Standard 1 Independent Support, Community Brokerage and Advocacy Standard 2 Early Help, Family Support and Community Support Standard 10 Early Planning for Transitions Standard 3 Strengths-and asset- based assessment, planning, and review Standard 8 Worker Autonomy Standard 11 Consistency of Practice Standard 4 Meaningful and measurable recording practices Standard 7 Flexible and Outcome Focused Commissioning Standard 12 Access to Budgets and Flexibility of Spend Standard 5 Accountability Standard 6 Risk Enablement Standard 9 Transparency Self-Directed Support Improvement Plan 2023-2027 In June 2023 the Scottish Government published the Self-Directed Support Improvement Plan 2023-27 setting out priorities for work that will improve the delivery of SDS and underpin this strategy. The improvement plan was created following consultation across Scotland with a wide range of stakeholders involved in delivering SDS, and groups and organisations representing people who access – or could access- SDS such as children, people with mental health issues, autism, and sensory loss amongst others. Page 38 of 202
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7 | P a g e The SDS Improvement Plan identified four main outcome areas where improvements in how SDS are delivered most need to be made. These are: • supported person and carer’s choice over their support, where success means access to information, advice and advocacy, access to quality support, and control and involvement for supported people over how it is delivered. • enhanced worker skills, practice, and autonomy, where success means workers across all aspects of social care support are better able to practice in line with SDS values and with statutory duties (where applicable), standards, skills, and knowledge. • systems and culture, where success means national and local SDS system and planning design is more person-centered and person-led, including through involving supported people and carers. • leaders understand and help staff realise SDS principles and values, where success means duty-bearers and senior staff supporting their workforce and creating the culture and conditions for supported people to have choice and control over their social care support. The plan sets out a national direction of travel by identifying the strategic areas for focused improvement underpinned by the overall shared ambition of improving the experience of accessing SDS and improving the outcomes of people and carers. Organisations and delivery partners are encouraged to use this plan to consider how outcomes and themes can be advanced nationally and/or locally. The Perth and Kinross SDS Delivery Plan is based around the four improvement areas detailed above and aligned to the SDS standards framework. Page 39 of 202
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8 | P a g e What is Self-Directed Support? Self-directed Support (SDS) was developed as a way of empowering people, to have more choice and control over the services they receive and is for everyone in Scotland who needs social care services or support. This includes children, adults, and unpaid carers. The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 introduced the language and terminology of SDS into statute and placed a range of legal duties on local authorities. Self-directed Support is designed to enable people to have as much choice, control and responsibility as they want to have over their own care and support. People are offered 4 different options for how they want to manage their support; these options are detailed in below. The SDS Act 2013 introduced the four options: Page 40 of 202
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9 | P a g e The chart below provides a breakdown of Self-Directed Options from 2020 to 2024 for Children, Young People and Families in Perth and Kinross In 2023/4 44% of families in Perth and Kinross chose to have their own budget, which they used to buy in their own support (Option 1). A further 33% received Option 3, which is predominantly SHIP and/or Woodlea short break service. A further 24% received a mix of support, which is Option 4, for example they are receiving a direct payment and time at SHIP Holiday Club. SDS Options Option 1 Direct Payment Only Option 2 Identified by service user and arranged by social work Option 3 Identified and arranged by social work Option 4 Mix of options (predominantly Option 1 and 3) Page 41 of 202
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10 | P a g e Looking at the data for 2024/5, there has been an increase in families choosing to have their own budget, with 54% choosing Option 1. There has also been a steep rise in families choosing to have a mix of options, increasing from 24% to 42% from the previous year. 54% 1% 3% 42% SDS Options 2024/5 Option 1 (54%) Option 2 (1%) Option 3 (3%) Option 4 (42%) Page 42 of 202
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11 | P a g e Principles and Values of SDS The principles and values of SDS focus on informed choice and control and our practice in developing services will mean involvement and collaboration with service users and their families where need has been assessed and agreed. For further information on Self Directed Support, please click on the link below: What is Self- directed Support? - The SDS Handbook Involvement Children/ families / carers must have as much involvement as they wish in the assessment and in the decisions about needs and support associated with their personal outcomes. Collaboration Practitioners and the person should work together in the completion of the assessment, the support plan and where agreed, the provision of any support. Informed Choice The person should receive the assistance they need to help make informed choices based on their eligibility for support. Dignity and Control The person’s right to dignity is respected. Local Authorities should facilitate this by ensuring that the help needed to participate in and be part of life in the community and wider society is available. Page 43 of 202
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12 | P a g e Local Context: Children, Families and Justice update Over the last four years there have been significant and ongoing challenges, which have impacted nationally across the care sector; the Covid 19 pandemic, workforce demands in recruitment and retention of staff, and the cost-of-living crisis. To achieve, where possible, the goals identified in the previous strategy, Perth & Kinross Council worked with colleagues from In Control (Scotland), to consult with staff and parent/carers about their understanding of SDS and how it worked for them. A list of activities are detailed below: What People Told Us • In August 2020, we consulted with parent/carers who told us that they struggled to find information on SDS, that our systems and processes needed to be clearer, more transparent, and less complex. Our staff also told us in a survey undertaken in June 2020 that they understood the principles behind SDS and that the service promoted creativity when supporting the needs of children, young people, and families to achieve their identified outcomes. However, they also told us that our processes needed to be clearer and more transparent. In response to the identified needs several online training events were held in January 2021 for both parent/carers and staff. • In 2022 a Parent/Carer survey highlighted the need for support for parent/carers and different approaches to how we deliver, listen, and ensure we move forward to give the best service. This led us to working with several local partners including Perth and Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS), Perth Autism Support (PAS), Support Help and Integration in Perthshire (SHIP) and Parent to Parent. • In the summer of 2022, a successful application by PKAVS to the Shared Care initiative, Promoting Variety, led to the creation of a Parent Carer Support group in 2023 and the development of accessible online information for parents/carers. Due to the ongoing crisis nationally in the provision of care, it has become increasingly challenging to provide choice and support to families. Despite being eligible, some families have not been able to get the support they need in the way that they would like. Page 44 of 202
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13 | P a g e • In February 2025 we consulted with children, young people, and parent/carers currently eligible for, or in receipt of SDS, to identify the gaps and begin to co-produce creative solutions, and to inform the development of Perth and Kinross SDS Delivery plan. (see appendix 1) Some of the themes identified through this consultation process is the need for increased provision of overnight respite, longer daytime respite sessions and respite for the cared for person not always being provided within the family home. Parents/carers told us that sometimes they did not feel that they had a break if respite was only for a few hours long or if it was within their home as this limited their ability to spend their respite time in their own home. They told us that finding Personal Assistants to allow them to have a break had become increasingly difficult and this caused them much frustration and stress. They also told us that the process of managing their SDS package under Option 1 was time consuming and, at times, confusing. This feedback is being used to inform and shape future support options and service delivery as part of the SDS Delivery Plan. Page 45 of 202
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14 | P a g e What can the people of Perth and Kinross expect? Our Guiding Principles We will listen to and work with parents/carers and children/young people in accordance with our Guiding Principles: - • Rights based – this means that there is evidence that children’s rights are considered in everything we do and that rights are promoted or enhanced by what we are doing. • Easily understood and accessible – we will make sure that we clearly say what we are doing and what difference it will make. We won’t use confusing or stigmatising language, acronyms or jargon to ensure everyone has the same understanding of what we want to do. • Based on what people with lived experience tell us – this means asking, listening, and acting on the voice and experience of people who use services and have lived experience. • Linked clearly to evidence – it will be clear what our evidence base shows and we will measure the difference we are making. This will include use of data measures and the views of those accessing services, staff working with families, national impact reports and local research etc. • Making the best use of resources – the benefits of working together and across different agencies/services will be clearly stated. Page 46 of 202
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15 | P a g e Pathways of Support The diagram below shows the key stages in a person’s pathway to accessing Self Directed Support. We have provided case studies to demonstrate SDS in practice and how it enables people to have as much choice, control and responsibility as they want over their own care and support. Page 47 of 202
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16 | P a g e Case Study 1: Huma Huma is a 14-year-old Autistic girl with physical health issues. Due to the complexities of her difficulties and poor health she has missed a significant amount of school. Unable to access the local community and attending a school outside the local area Huma became very socially isolated which impacted on her emotional and mental health. Huma’s parents were doing everything they could to support her but also feeling down and socially isolated and not sure how to help her. Huma’s guidance teacher referred her to social work. Huma identified that she would like to attend Boccia (a fast-growing paralympic sport) in the local community centre but was worried that no one would be able to support her personal care and was keen to have some independence from her parents. Following a discussion and an assessment of need of Huma, and a separate assessment of her parents as carers, as a family, they identified that SDS would provide them with a package of support where Huma could be in control of who she got support from. The social worker suggested to Huma’s parents that they might benefit from meeting with other parent carers and referred them to PKAVS for support. The outcomes are that Huma now has a personal assistant, who she interviewed and chose, who supports her to attend Boccia and other activities which has increased Huma’s confidence and wellbeing, and she is making friends. Huma’s parents are also feeling more positive about the future and are getting some time to spend together themselves getting a break from their caring responsibilities. Page 48 of 202
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17 | P a g e Case Study 2: Keith Keith is 8 years old and lives with his mother Moira and sister Louise, aged 10. Keith is a happy and bright boy who enjoys school and playing with his sister. Keith had a difficult birth which led to him being profoundly physically disabled with complex health needs. Keith’s granny and grandad look after him sometimes, but as he and the equipment he needs gets bigger, they are not able to provide the support that they did when he was younger. Moira contacted social work as she was worried that Louise was missing out on social activities due to Moira not being able to take her due to Keith’s complex needs. Moira had heard about SDS from another parent, and she asked if she could access SDS support. Following a social work assessment and conversation with Moira, it was identified that Keith would benefit from attending an Out of School club set up specifically for disabled children, during the school holidays and one day a week after school. Social work also suggested that Louise might find Young Carers a good support as she would meet other children who had disabled siblings. The outcomes are that Keith is having fun with his friends and Louise could also go to out of school activities with her friends and is being Supported in her role as a Young Carer. Page 49 of 202
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18 | P a g e Perth and Kinross SDS Delivery Plan 2025-2030 The outcomes in the Delivery plan detailed in this section reflects the priorities we have identified and outlines the actions we will undertake to ensure that we are making a positive difference. The plan is based around the four identified improvement areas, our strategic outcomes, and links to relevant SDS standards (as detailed in the diagram below). To ensure there is effective monitoring and evaluation, the plan also includes an overview of the measures we will use to assess our progress in achieving our stated outcomes. National Outcome Improvement Areas Perth and Kinross SDS Strategic Outcomes Self-Directed Support Standards Supported person and carer’s choice over their support • Clear reliable information about local and national support • Access to independent information and advocacy • Specific consideration of rural needs Standard 1 Independent Support, Community Brokerage and Advocacy Standard 2 Early Help, Family Support and Community Support Standard 10 Early Planning for Transitions Enhanced workers skills, practice, and autonomy • An informed and confident workforce • Improved partnership working with third sector organisations Standard 3 Strengths-and asset-based assessment, planning, and review Standard 8 Worker Autonomy Standard 11 Consistency of Practice Systems and culture • Transparent and easy to understand systems. • Consultation and involvement identifying and designing services Standard 4 Meaningful and measurable recording practices Standard 7 Flexible and Outcome Focused Commissioning Standard 12 Access to Budgets and Flexibility of Spend Leaders understand and help staff realise SDS principles and values • Supportive and innovative leadership Standard 5 Accountability Standard 6 Risk Enablement Standard 9 Transparency Page 50 of 202
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19 | P a g e Perth and Kinross Self Directed Support Delivery Plan 2025-2030 National Outcome Improvement Area 1: Supported person and carer’s choice over their support – access to information, advice and advocacy, access to quality support, and control and involvement for supported people over how it is delivered. Perth and Kinross Strategic Outcomes: • Clear reliable information about local and national support • Access to independent information and advocacy • Specific consideration of rural needs Standards Supports the following SDS Standards: What will we do? What will it look like? How will we get there? Responsibilities and timescales How will we measure how well we are doing? We will ensure that parent/carers and Children and Young People will continue to have choice and independent advice in relation to how they make decisions about their support. Children, young people, and their parents/carers will have timely, equitable access to clear, accessible, and personalised information, support, advice, and independent advocacy. Support will be tailored to reflect individual circumstances, communication preferences, and cultural needs—ensuring fairness and consistency regardless of location or background. Parents/carers and Children and Young People will have control and involvement over how SDS is delivered, through co-produced care plans, supported decision making tools) Early planning will ensure smooth transitions from children’s to adult’s services. We will ensure ongoing availability of independent advocacy and support Improvement Officer SW Teams 6 monthly Review We will monitor activity using a variety of methods and a range of measures, for example: - Number of people accessing independent advocacy, Support Choices and PKAVS for self- directed support advice. - Record data in relation to time from criteria for SDS support being met to SDS information/advice being provided. - Conduct annual consultation with children/young people/parents/carers who are eligible for SDS. - Provide accessible feedback forms to children/young people and parents/carers at the point of SDS packages being implemented and at 12-month review. We will work with partners to ensure that there is relevant accessible information about support for all parents/carers, children, and young people. We will improve our data collection to provide evidence and seek feedback from parents/carers. We will continue to work with local communities and partners to ensure that all parent/carers are aware of their rights in accessible formats including easy read. Improvement Officer Carers Centre Manager SW Teams Target Date June 2026 1 2 10 Page 51 of 202
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20 | P a g e We will ensure that children and young people are consulted about what they want in relation to the services they receive. Children and young people will feel valued, respected, and listened to through a commitment to actively seek, consider, and act upon their views. Their voices will inform decisions that affect them, ensuring meaningful participation and promoting a culture of inclusion and respect. Ongoing provision of staff training and development of ways of getting children’s views including Talking Mats, Makaton and through the use of technology. Improvement Officer 6 monthly review - PKC Carer Support Worker will attend PKAVS parent peer connect sessions for ongoing informal feedback opportunities. - Reviews of SDS packages will provide data in relation to how SDS is meeting agreed outcomes for children/young people. - Monitoring the percentage of SDS options which are being used and conduct analysis in response to changes which will provide us with information to inform future planning. Page 52 of 202
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21 | P a g e National Outcome Improvement Area 2: Enhanced worker skills, practice, and autonomy - workers across all aspects of social care support are better able to practice in line with SDS values and with statutory duties (where appliable), standards, skills, and knowledge. Perth and Kinross Strategic Outcomes: • An informed and confident workforce • Improved partnership working with third sector organisations Supports the following SDS Standards: What will we do? What will it look like? How will we get there? Responsibilities and timescales How will we measure how well we are doing? We will ensure that newly qualified social workers will receive a comprehensive introduction to SDS outlining their role and responsibilities. Targeted SDS training, aligned to the SDS Standards and core values, will be embedded in the NQSW programme. Evaluation of learning outcomes will ensure workers are confident in applying SDS principles in practice. We will work with our colleagues in Learning and Development to ensure SDS training is included in the NQSW programme. Learning and Development 6 monthly review We will monitor activity using a variety of methods, staff survey and a range of measures, for example: - % of staff completing targeted SDS training aligned to SDS Standards and core values, including those in the NQSW programme. - staff demonstrating improved understanding of SDS principles through post-training evaluation. - Staff reporting confidence in applying SDS principles in practice. - Staff who feel supported by their organisation to implement SDS effectively. - % of third sector and care provider staff participating in joint SDS learning opportunities. We will develop a confident and knowledgeable workforce by providing a range of development opportunities. Workers will demonstrate increased understanding of SDS values—choice, control, dignity, and participation—through training and reflective practice. They will confidently support families with accurate, accessible information to enable informed decision-making. We will provide a training programme for the workforce in relation to the provision of SDS. Learning and Development Target Date October 2026 We will involve the third sector and care providers in SDS training. Third sector colleagues and care providers will engage in joint learning opportunities to deepen their understanding of SDS values and implementation. This will support consistent, person-led service delivery across sectors. Consult and involve third sector and care providers in training. Learning and Development Target Date October 2027 3 8 11 Page 53 of 202
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22 | P a g e National Outcome Improvement Area 3: Systems and culture - national and local SDS system and planning design is more person-centred and person-led, including through involving supported people and carers. Perth and Kinross Strategic Outcomes • Transparent and easy to understand systems • Consultation and involvement identifying and designing services Supports the following SDS Standards: What will we do? What will it look like? How will we get there? Responsibilities and timescales How will we measure how well we are doing? We will ensure people receiving services are consulted and involved in the planning of future resource provision. Local SDS systems and resources will be co-designed with supported people and parents/carers through structured engagement activities. Feedback will be transparently incorporated into planning and service development. The Parent/Carer User Group will be actively supported through dedicated resources and facilitation, enabling members to contribute to SDS system improvement and provide peer support. Consultation including face to face events. Development of a user group. Range of Online Focus Groups Including • People receiving social care services. • Providers • Social work staff • Personal assistants Improvement Officer Social Work Team PKAVS 6 monthly review We will monitor activity using a variety of methods and a range of measures, for example: - Number of engagement activities held with supported people and parent/carers annually. - Availability and utilisation of dedicated resources (e.g., staff time, funding, materials) to support the Parent/Carer User Group. - % of Parent/Carer User Group members actively contributing to SDS system improvement initiatives. - SDS recipients reporting that systems and processes are clearer (via surveys or feedback tools) - % of people receiving the SDS Option of their choice. We will ensure that SDS systems, policies and processes are easier to understand and implement for those in receipt of SDS. Children, young people, parents, and carers will have access to clear, accessible SDS information and support through multiple formats and channels. People in receipt of SDS will experience improved understanding and confidence in navigating SDS systems. We will develop clearer information with parent/carer input, which explains the SDS Processes and how decisions are made. We will ensure that a range of easy-to-read SDS information is available. Improvement Officer, Social Work Team SALT Target Date April 2026 4 7 12 Page 54 of 202
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23 | P a g e National Outcome Improvement Area 4: Leaders understand and help staff realise SDS principles and values - duty-bearers and senior staff supporting their workforce and creating the culture and conditions for supported people to have choice and control over their social care support. Perth and Kinross Strategic Outcomes • Supportive and innovative leadership Supports the following SDS Standards: What will we do? What will it look like? How will we get there? Responsibilities and timescales How will we measure how well we are doing? We will ensure that leaders subscribe to the values and principles of SDS. Senior Managers and Leaders will promote the values and principles of SDS and take part in local and national SDS discussions. Leaders and Senior Managers will actively develop their understanding of SDS principles and values through targeted learning and reflective practice. They will champion choice and control for children, young people, parents and carers, and support staff to embed SDS in everyday practice. SDS will be considered and included in broader service plans. The SDS Strategy will be shared with leaders at all levels. Development of an SDS strategy steering group to support reviewing and monitoring of progress. This group will provide updates for Leaders and Senior Managers as requested. Leaders and Senior Management Teams 6 monthly review Target Date June 2026 We will monitor activity using a variety of methods, staff survey and a range of measures, for example: - National SDS events attended. - Evidence of SDS embedded in strategic plans and policies. - % of staff reporting improved understanding of SDS values through internal communications and the promotion of training. - % of staff reporting they feel supported by leadership to embed SDS in their daily practice. - Reduction in complaints or concerns related to SDS delivery We will ensure all services and stakeholders are informed and supported to understand and apply the principles and values underpinning SDS through targeted communication, training, and collaborative engagement. There will be strengthened communication between services through regular updates, shared learning platforms, and collaborative forums. Key messages about SDS values will be embedded in internal communications and training materials. This will ensure staff are informed about national and local SDS developments and can apply them to improve outcomes for supported people. We will establish a joint service leadership group, representing key stakeholders, to co-design and oversee SDS communication, learning, and development activities. The group will meet regularly to contribute to strategic planning and evaluate progress against agreed outcomes. Leaders and Senior Management Teams Target Date June 2026 5 6 9 Page 55 of 202
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24 | P a g e Appendix 1: Legislative and Policy Framework The SDS strategy is underpinned by the following legislation: • The Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013; Statutory Guidance updated 2022 • The legal basis for support to children: Sections 22 and 23 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995; Children and Young People (Scotland) 2014 • United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 • GIRFEC and The Promise including Early Help and Family Support work • Carers (Scotland) Act 2016. This legislation gives carers a right to be offered, or to request, an Adult Carer Support Plan or Young Carer Statement, which supports the carer to identify the advice and support that is needed to reduce the impact of caring on their health and wellbeing and other aspects of their lives. • Section 12A of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 • Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 • Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 • Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 • Equality Act 2010 Page 56 of 202
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Appendix 2 SDS Consultation February 2025 People told us that the main barriers to successfully using SDS Option 1 included; difficulties with finding and retaining PAs, the pressure of managing the relevant administrative aspects of the employer role, and a lack of privacy when support took place in their own homes. There was increased difficulty in recruiting PAs in rural areas which resulted in an inequitable service dependent on geography. People talked about PAs not having clear career paths and that having short blocks of work and a lack of job security made it difficult to retain staff. It was felt that having PAs available through an agency would help to improve retention and increase access to training and development opportunities. It was recognised that finding PAs can become more difficult as children move into adolescence and as the complexity of their needs increases. We asked people what they currently use their SDS package for ‘To provide respite for parents and sibling to spend quality time together. At least that is in theory, in practice we have paused our SDS because we can’t find staff who are both reliable and interested’ ‘A PA to take our son to some clubs to increase social opportunities and promote his independence. Without support these clubs would nor be accessible to him’ ‘SHIP holiday clubs’ ‘I am a carer for my two disabled daughters. I use it for support in the summer holidays or to support with their activities or physio. I am always present’ People told us that they sometimes used SDS funding for other things when they were unable to recruit PAs. ‘SHIP, a cleaner once a month, a family break away and redecorating of child’s bedroom which is required due to his disability. PAs when I am able to employ them’ We asked people what their SDS support would look like if there were no barriers. People told us that there would be more options in rural areas and that some suggested a financial incentive to assist with rural PA recruitment. Parents and carers told us that they find it intrusive to have support provided in their homes and that to have a meaningful break they would need to leave their home while 4 Page 59 of 202
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support is being provided. For most families this is inconvenient and cost prohibitive. Having access to support outside of the family home was noted as something that would be beneficial. ‘I would like to a have a respite service where my daughter could stay over’ ‘overnight short breaks’ People told us that they would like support to be available at weekends and during the school holidays. ‘Every Saturday or Sunday morning, our daughter would be taken our for activities and fun for four hours, to allow us (her parents) time to do something together’ ‘More Summer clubs where they could go and SDS could pay for this’ Some people said that a pool of PAs would be beneficial rather than having to recruit on an individual basis through Option 1. ‘It would help if the council employed the carers in a similar way to the HART team so that there was a pool of carers for children and young adults with additional needs available to all families’ Whilst the consultation focused on SDS it is important to acknowledge that Woodlea was recognised as providing vital overnight short breaks support to families and that several people spoke about the wish for increased time at Woodlea. We asked people to outline any difficulties they have experienced with SDS People spoke highly of the support offered by SHIP however it was noted that this was not always a suitable service for older teenagers. People told us that the process of becoming an Option 1 employer was time consuming and confusing and some people said that they would prefer for the council to arrange support for them. Parents/carers told us that it can be difficult to find and retain PAs and that there was no contingency if PAs were unwell or on holiday. Managing PA recruitment, timesheets and payments was reported to be a complicated process for already time poor parent carers. ‘The biggest difficulty is availability of our daughter’s PA. We live semi-rurally so not a huge amount of choice. Her PA is fabulous, therefore is in great demand. The main times we want support for our daughter is over the weekend and naturally the busy full-time PA doesn’t want her weekends taken up too often. I find it just another thing to keep on top of’ ‘As a parent carer I am responsible for the PA and I have to manage her, personally I find that very hard. I also find having someone in my home very hard, the carer is respectful of my privacy but it is still very stressful’ Page 60 of 202
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‘The perceived and realised benefits probably don’t align due to the admin work which comes with it. I have employer responsibilities, monthly payroll etc and the administration is complex and time consuming’ Some parents/carers felt that the demand for PAs meant that they were less likely to find someone if their child’s care needs were more complex. ‘It is very hard to find staff to spend the funds on. In the past two years we have not found a single one who has the capacity to reliably care for our child on a weekly basis. People who are good can pick and choose their postings, and we struggle due to geography and the fact that our child is non verbal which requires carers to learn how else they communicate, we are not anybody’s first choice’ We asked people if they felt that they had unmet needs in relation to SDS People told us that they would benefit from increased access to overnight short breaks and support at the weekends. ‘With regards to the amount of funding we receive, I think it’s enough… It’s just how to use the funding to benefit our daughter and us a family regularly. More overnight respite especially at the weekend would be helpful’ ‘With SDS you can’t completely switch off, if you are employing someone you have to ensure their wellbeing. There is a huge difference in the value between SDS hours and our Woodlea allocation. Woodlea helps me so much, it means I get a chance to properly rest. I would love more Woodlea dates, especially in the summer holidays’ ‘We are grateful for the funding but we have struggled to spend it on PAs so our quality time is restricted’ ‘We desperately need respite and this is unmet, in our case we would need two workers for this to happen in our home and that isn’t in our package’ We asked people to list the factors that they would want to be considered if PKC were to buy in a PA service The prospect of having access to PA support from an agency and without being responsible for recruitment and employment, was welcome to many of the people who took part in the consultation. ‘less hoops needing jumped through, and less responsibility placed on the family to arrange it all as it’s yet another thing to try to sort out when most parent carers are already struggling’ People told us that they would like to be able to access support at the weekends and overnight and to have access to increased support during periods of crisis. Page 61 of 202
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It was important that staff would be consistent and able to build positive and ongoing relationships with children, young people and their families. ‘Flexibility, local access to support, crisis support and reducing changes of carers are the most important factors to me’ ‘A chance to check people will meet your child’s needs, you get on with them and an opportunity to build up trust’ ‘Reliability, familiarity and a crisis response would all be important to us. We would not want an ever revolving cast of people who didn’t know our child or our home’ Page 62 of 202
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequalities ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Learning and Families Committee Date of Meeting: 4 February 2026 Report Title: Raising Attainment Update 2024/25 Report Number: 26/33 Report Author: Rhona Munro, SAC and PEF Project Lead, (FBSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk) Organisational Lead: David Macluskey, Strategic Lead – Education and Learning ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide an update on progress on the Raising Attainment Strategy 2024-2027 (Report No. 24/82 refers). Specifically, it provides information on a range of performance measures across the Scottish Governments National Improvement Framework (NIF) for Education priorities. 1.2 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendation 3. Background/Context 4. Main Issues 5. Conclusion 6. Impact and Value Assessment 7. Appendices 2. Recommendation It is recommended that the Committee: 2.1 Considers and comments as appropriate on the contents of the report. 5 Page 63 of 202
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3. Background/Context 3.1 A new Raising Attainment Strategy 2024-2027 was approved by Learning and Families Committee in March 2024, building upon the previous version for the period 2020-2023. 3.2 The Education Improvement Plan 2025-2026 (Report No. 25/213 refers) was approved by the Learning and Families Committee in August 2025 and was subsequently submitted to the Scottish Government. This annual plan meets the requirement set out by the Scottish Government on planning and reporting progress on the priorities set out in the NIF. 3.2.1 It provides an update on key achievements for the academic session 2024/25 on the progress against this framework. This supplementary report provides more detailed reporting on the attainment data pertinent to the Raising Attainment Strategy 2024-2027. 3.3 The Raising Attainment Strategy 2024-2027 outlines the approach within Perth and Kinross Council’s Education and Learning service in the pursuance of the current relevant priorities of the NIF which are: Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy; Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged; Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing; and Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people. 3.4 These priorities guide the reporting of progress using a range of measures describing both excellence, performance for all; and equity, focusing on poverty-related and other gaps in outcomes. 4. Main Issues 4.1 The Raising Attainment Report 2024/25 (Appendix 1) provides information on progress made in academic session 2024/25 towards each of the four NIF priorities. Key performance measures reported include: 4.2 Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy 78% of primary 1 children have met all of their expected developmental milestones prior to starting school. For primary pupils, achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels has improved when compared to 2023/24 data. Page 64 of 202
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For secondary pupils in S3 (third year), achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels at Level 3 have improved from 91% to 92% and at Level 4 from 68% to 72%. Our National 5 pass rate is higher than the Scottish average and the Higher and Advanced Higher pass rate is just below the Scottish average. 4.3 Closing the attainment gap between the most and least deprived The poverty-related gap (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) Quintile1 vs SIMD Quintile 5) for children who have met all of their expected developmental milestones prior to starting school has reduced by 8% since 2023/24. The poverty related attainment gap for those who have achieved the expected levels in literacy in primary 1, 4 and 7 has widened in 2024/25 to 25%. In numeracy, the gap has closed slightly to 20%. However, attainment in both Literacy and Numeracy is on a steady upward trend in both SIMD Quintile 1 and Quintile 5 although the rates of change over time may differ. The poverty-related attainment gap in terms of pass rates is better than the Scottish average for National 5 and Higher qualifications. 4.4 Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing Primary school attendance has improved slightly in 2024/25. However, it still remains slightly lower than pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. There has also been a slight improvement in secondary school attendance levels. This remains a key priority in our effort to return to and exceed pre- COVID-19 pandemic attendance levels. Exclusion levels in 2024/25 have increased slightly from session 2023/24. 4.5 Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people The proportion of young people (16-19-year-olds) who are in education, training or employment has improved on 2023/24 data and sits positively within a Scottish national context. Effective partnership takes place between schools, colleges, universities, employers and the Developing the Young Workforce Board. 5. Conclusion 5.1 The report outlines, in detail, a range of measures describing progress in raising attainment and related outcomes for children and young people across Perth and Kinross. Page 65 of 202
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5.2 Notable improvements are seen in many key measures. There are some positive indications of narrowing the poverty-related gaps in many outcomes, to which, a sustained focus will be maintained to reduce these further. 6. Impact and Value Assessment 6.1 This report has been classified as being an operational report and as such does not require a full Impact and Value Assessment. 7. Appendices 7.1 Appendix 1 - Raising Attainment Report 2024/25 Page 66 of 202
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Enabling children and young people achieve full potential Raising Attainment Report 2024/25 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Appendix 1 5 Page 67 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 2 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Contents Executive Summary...........................................................................................................................3 Introduction........................................................................................................................................3 Excellence and Equity....................................................................................................................4 Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Assessment Models 2020-2025......................................5 NIF Priority 1: Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy. ............................6 Pre-School Development: Proportion of P1 children meeting all developmental milestones prior to starting school............................................................................................................................6 Case Study: Using Data to Improve Speech, Language and Communication in Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Settings.........................................................................................................7 Broad General Education...............................................................................................................8 Case Study: National Improving Writing Programme...................................................................10 Secondary S3 Literacy and Numeracy.........................................................................................11 Senior Phase................................................................................................................................12 Insight - Improving Attainment for All...........................................................................................13 Case Study: Raising Attainment at Bertha Park High School – 2025..........................................16 Case Study: Improving S4 Attainment in Perth Academy............................................................17 NIF Priority 2: Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged.................18 Pre-School Development Milestones: Gap between SIMD Quintile 1 and Quintile 5 children meeting all milestones..................................................................................................................18 Case Study: Tackling Inequalities at Westbank...........................................................................19 Broad General Education.............................................................................................................20 NIF Priority 3: Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing.........................23 Attendance...................................................................................................................................23 Case Study: Perth Grammar School - Attendance and Family Engagement Officer...................24 Case Study: Changes in Approach to Attendance Monitoring at Perth High School...................25 Exclusion......................................................................................................................................26 Case Study – Lowering Exclusions at the Community School of Auchterarder (Secondary)......27 NIF Priority 4: Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people.....................................................................................................28 Proportion of Young People (aged 16-19) in education, training or employment........................28 Key Developments in 2024-25.....................................................................................................28 Case study: From Work Experience to Employment, a Young Person’s Journey.......................30 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................31 Appendix 1 – Glossary of Acronyms ...............................................................................................32 Page 68 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 3 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality The Education Service Improvement Plan 2025-2026 was produced and submitted to the Scottish Government in September 2025. This annual plan meets the requirements set out by the Scottish Government on planning and reporting progress on the priorities set out in the National Improvement Framework (NIF) for education. This supplementary report provides more detail on the attainment data and provides an update on key achievements for the academic session 2024/25. It is helpful to consider this report alongside the Education Service Improvement Plan 2025-2026 which considers the full breadth of services provided in the area, including those supporting children and families in a range of ways which may not relate directly to school-based attainment and achievement but act to support children and young people to achieve their fullest potential. The Scottish Government document ‘Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress’ has been developed to support the next phase of the Scottish Attainment Challenge. It aims to set high expectations, including annual, ambitious, locally identified stretch aims. The objective is to help ensure significant progress is made in recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in achieving the mission of the Scottish Attainment Challenge. The PKC Raising Attainment Strategy 2024-27 is the foundation of attainment focus. The report outlines progress towards each of the relevant priorities identified in the NIF and provides some exemplification of activity outlined in the Education Service Improvement Plan 2024-2025 against each of these priorities: Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged. Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing. Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people. Placing the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education The additional priority is not addressed in this report due to a lack of attainment data around this priority. However, it remains a priority in our Education Improvement Plan and in each of our schools. The Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress (the Framework) has been developed to support the next phase of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC). It aims to set high expectations, including annual stretch aims, developed across all 32 education authorities, to help Executive Summary Introduction Page 69 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 4 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality ensure significant progress is made in recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and in achieving the mission of the SAC. These stretch aims in PKC last session were: Achievement of literacy and numeracy levels for stages P1, P4, P7 and S3. Achievement of literacy and numeracy levels looked after children in P1, P4 and P7. Proportion of school leavers attaining one or more passes at Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) level 5. Proportion of school leavers attaining one or more passes at SCQF level 6. Participation measure: proportion of 16-19 years olds participating in education, employment or training based on Annual Participation Measure (APM) produced by Skills Development Scotland (SDS). Attendance and Exclusion measures in primary and secondary schools. Average Insight tariff points for school leavers. Average Insight tariff points for looked after school leavers. Excellence and Equity In order to identify if the actions taken to improve our priorities have been effective, measures are aligned to the strategy’s two overall objectives. Excellence – we strive to improve performance across the board. In simple terms we aim to increase the combined ‘average’ of all individuals and raise the line. Equity – we strive to reduce the “gaps” between those disadvantaged in different ways because of their circumstances. In simple terms, we aim to flatten the line across groups of different advantage/deprivation. These principles are shown simply above but progress will likely be a complex combination of these two factors. In showing progress, we aim to draw upon a broad range of evidence rather than relying on single, narrow measures. Changes are likely to be seen reliably over several years and year-by-year comparison should be undertaken with care. Page 70 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 5 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality At local authority level, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is used where necessary to understand the effects of poverty, in line with national level approaches. However, for many schools in PKC, SIMD is considered weak for differentiating pupil background or statistical analysis, and the ACORN classification is used preferentially. However, due to a change in the data gathering methodology for ACORN, it is not possible to compare data from 2024 onwards with data gathered prior to this date. Therefore, SIMD quintiles are used throughout this report. Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Assessment Models 2020-2025 In 2020 qualifications were delivered purely as a result of teacher professional judgement over a shortened school year; in 2021 we followed an “Alternative Certification Model” (ACM) allowing young people more opportunity to evidence their learning than a one off examination; in 2022 there were mitigations and alterations to the assessment and examination landscape with SQA stating that evidence would be marked “generously” and in 2023 these alterations remained but rather than generously these scripts would now be marked “sensitively”. Each session since 2020 where the pass rate nationally was at a record high this has resulted in a year-on-year decline in national pass rates. In 2024 pass rates fell nationally by up to 4%. 2025 is the first year since that there has been a return to normal assessment and marking. Page 71 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 6 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Pre-School Development: Proportion of P1 children meeting all developmental milestones prior to starting school The proportion of P1s meeting all of their expected developmental milestones increased in 2025 to 78% (969 of 1240 P1s), from 75.6% in 2024 (954 of 1262 P1s). Although this cohort of children were born in 2020/21, when early supports were not available to families due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now seeing a slight increase in the number of children meeting their milestones due to increased practitioner knowledge, consistent practice and approaches and the use of interventions which are planned and targeted following robust analysis of a range of data. 19% of children (235) within the cohort have additional support needs (ASN), of which 141 children (60%) are reported to not be meeting one or more milestone. This cohort has 26% (169) of boys who are not meeting one or more milestone (compared with 34% (230) last year). This demonstrates the impact of the work which has been undertaken to ensure children across Perth and Kinross are supported with improved practitioner understanding of the gender gap and sharing of up-to-date research. The gender gap has decreased to 8% which is 7% lower than 2024. The number of children meeting their attention, behaviour, emotional, fine and gross motor skills, social, speech and language developmental milestones has increased since 2024. Developmental Milestone 2024 2025 % Change Attention 87% 88% +1% Emotional development 85% 88% +3% Fine motor skills 88% 92% +4% Gross motor skills 84% 85% +1% Hearing 99% 99% NC Social development 87% 89% +2% Speech and language 87% 89% +2% Vision 99% 99% NC All milestones met 76% 78% +2% Through the embedded work of the leadership at all levels within every setting, staff plan and model daily high-quality play and learning experiences, with a focus on early intervention to support development. NIF Priority 1: Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Page 72 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 7 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study: Using Data to Improve Speech, Language and Communication in Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Settings Over the last two years, we have been using Improvement Methodology and data-informed approaches to improve speech, language and communication in ELC settings across Perth and Kinross. Background and Rationale At the outset, we were keen to understand why children were not meeting their early language and communication outcomes. At the outset, we were keen to understand why children were not meeting their early language and communication outcomes. We knew that data was being collected in all settings however, not consistently. We wanted to use the data we had to inform local authority improvement priorities and for individual settings to use their own data to make informed changes and improvements which would impact positively on the quality of speech and language learning experiences in their setting. Approach We had already established Communication Champion leadership roles in almost all ELC settings focussing on speech, language and professional learning around communication. Our initial ambitious improvement aim was that by June 2024 all children in ELC would experience language rich environments daily which would improve their talking and listening. We identified settings to be involved based on speech and language data and them having speech and language on their improvement plan. 13 early years support teachers and the early years Communication Champions in the identified settings tested the approach. The teachers supported and demonstrated the benefit by using PDSA (plan, do, study, act) example that showed how improvement methodology can be used. We met together to moderate assessments and learn from each other. ELC staff could see it was helping them do their job and the impact on the children involved. Impact We have increased settings’ knowledge of how to use data to analyse what aspects most need to be improved with regards to speech, language and communication across almost all ELC settings. This has resulted in an improvement in the proportion of pupils starting primary 1 who have met all of their developmental milestones. Benefits and next steps We know we need to continue to have a focus on early language and communication, as this continues to be an area of concern both locally and nationally. The Communication Champion Leadership role will continue to as part of our core work with ELC settings. We have also identified that we needed to work more closely with families, and our practitioners working with our Strong Start 2-year-olds who will learn from a refreshed Story Safari programme which is taking place as a test of change with 7 ELC settings. This programme allows us to use measurable data to identify impact of the programme. This will be built on in 2025/26 with the aim of supporting all our ELC settings who are working with our most vulnerable families. Page 73 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 8 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Broad General Education There has been steady and continuing progress over time in P1,4 and 7 Achievement of a Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Level (ACEL) across Perth and Kinross. In both Literacy and Numeracy, our Stretch Aim for 2024/25 has been exceeded with steady positive progress demonstrated each year since 2021/22. However, despite this improvement, PKC remains slightly below the national average. Challenges remain in addressing the poverty-related attainment gap in both measures and this is a particular area of focus for all primary schools. Primary Literacy over Time Primary Numeracy over Time 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 % of P1, 4 and 7 pupils achieving expected level in numeracy 77% 77% 79% 81% 80% 81% Poverty-related attainment Gap (Gap between SIMD Q1 and Q5) 18% 19% 22% 20% 16% 15% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 % of P1, 4 and 7 pupils achieving expected level in literacy 69% 70% 73% 75% 73% 75% Poverty-related attainment Gap (Gap between SIMD Q1 and Q5) 22% 26% 22% 25% 21% 18% 22% 26% 22% 25% 21% 18% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Poverty-related Attainment Gap in Pupils Achieving Expected Level in Literacy 69% 70% 73% 75% 73% 75% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 76% 75% 74% 73% 72% 71% 70% 69% 68% 67% 66% 65% % of P1, 4 and 7 Pupils Achieving Expected Level in Literacy Page 74 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 9 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality 77% 77% 79% 81% 80% 81% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 82% 81% 80% 79% 78% 77% 76% 75% % of P1, 4 and 7 Pupils Achieving Expected Level in Numeracy 18% 19% 22% 20% 16% 15% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Poverty-related Attainment Gap in Pupils Achieving Expected Level in Numeracy Page 75 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 10 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study: National Improving Writing Programme Hyperlink to Sway - National Improving Writing 2024-25 During the 2024/25 session, 18 primary schools across Perth and Kinross participated in the National Improving Writing Programme. The programme, available to schools since 2022/23, aims to raise attainment in writing, with a particular focus on achieving First Level by Primary 4. Practitioners engaged in professional learning receiving ongoing support to implement improvement methodologies to enhance learning and teaching practices, resulting in positive outcomes for learners. The programme involved over 30 practitioners, supported by central PKC officers and the Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative (CYPIC). The baseline, i.e. the percentage of pupils achieving expected levels in writing in the participating schools, was 70%. The writing bundle involves: writing for 15 minutes 3-5 times per week, with 5 minutes for self-checking. explicitly sharing Learning Intentions and Success Criteria providing assessment and feedback against Success Criteria involving children in the process – for example sharing data so they can see the progress made. All schools reported a significant improvement in learners’ writing with increased motivation and engagement in writing. Teachers reported feeling positive about increasing writing outcomes and welcomed the emphasis on involving the children in all of the writing and assessment process. By the end of 2024/25 the proportion of pupils in Perth and Kinross achieving first level writing had increased to 75.2% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 76% 74% 72% 70% 68% 66% 64% % of children achieving First Level Writing in P4 Page 76 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 11 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Secondary S3 Literacy and Numeracy In S3 there has been steady improvement over time in the percentage of young people achieving Literacy and Numeracy at third level. Schools are using data analysis to ensure that interventions to support the achievement of literacy and numeracy are focussed on those most at risk of not achieving. Whilst the gap between the achievement of our most and least deprived has widened, it should be noted that only 8% of young people out of a cohort of almost 1500 did not achieve this expected level. BGE – S3 Third Level Attainment 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 % of young people attaining Literacy and Numeracy at third level in S3 90% 91% 91% 92% 92% 93% Poverty-related attainment Gap (Gap between SIMD Q1 and Q5) 10% 11% 15% 17% 8% 7% 91% 90% 91% 92% 92% 93% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 94% 93% 92% 91% 90% 89% 88% BGE - S3 Third Level Attainment 10% 11% 15% 17% 8% 7% 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2024/25 Stretch Aim 2025/26 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% Poverty-related Attainment Gap in S3 Third Level Attainment Page 77 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 12 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Although not a measure included within our Stretch Aims, fourth level attainment data for Literacy and Numeracy in S3 demonstrates good evidence of improvement over time. Senior Phase SQA data for 2025 indicates that there were increases in the number of A-C passes at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher when compared with 2024. A-C Pass rates at National 5 remain at 80%. Our pass rate for Higher has fallen slightly from 76% in 2024 to 75% in 2025 whilst the Advanced Higher pass rate has increased from 74% in 2024 to 76% in 2025. Comparatively, PKC exceeds the national pass rate at National 5 (79.7% vs 78.4%) and is just below the national average at Higher (75.1% vs 75.9%) and Advanced Higher (76.5% vs 76.7%) The table below represents our 2025 performance in terms of A-C pass rates in relation to the national average and our comparator authorities. 2019 2023 2024 2025 82% 81% 80% 79% 78% 77% 76% 75% National 5 Pass Rate 2019-2025 PKC Scotland 2019 2023 2024 2025 78% 77% 77% 76% 76% 75% 75% 74% 74% Higher Pass Rate 2019-2025 PKC Scotland 40% 47% 48% 61% 62% 66% 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% BGE - S3 Fourth Level Attainment in Numeracy 21% 43% 49% 64% 67% 71% 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% BGE - S3 Fourth Level Attainment in Literacy Page 78 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 13 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Nat 5, Higher and AH Pass rates (A to C) PKC, National and Comparator Authorities For our breadth and depth measures: The percentage of S4 pupils achieving 5 qualifications at National 5 has increased to 48% from 46% in 2024. The percentage of S5 pupils achieving 3 qualifications at Higher has also increased to 35% from 33% in 2024. However, the percentage of S6 pupils achieving 1 qualification at Advanced Higher has decreased to 23% from 24% in 2024. Insight - Improving Attainment for All Data from the Insight Benchmarking Tool, which is managed by the Scottish Government, enables schools and local authorities to benchmark achievement in the Senior Phase against a Virtual Comparator (VC) and the national average. Insight is updated twice annually; in September for attainment data and February for school leavers’ data. Comparisons using data from the September update are detailed on the following pages. The VC is made up of learners from schools in other local authorities who have similar characteristics to learners in Perth and Kinross. This enables the performance of PKC learners to be compared with a similar “virtual” group of learners from across Scotland. S4 Tariff Points The Insight tariff scale places a notional point value to attainment so that schools and local authorities can compare attainment between the VC, schools, local authorities or other breakdowns of cohorts in the Senior Phase (ready reckoner below). Tariff measures are designed to evaluate the average performance of cohorts. SCQF Level Grade Tariff Score SCQF Level Grade Tariff Score A 480 A 84 B 440 B 74 C 400 C 647 D 380 5 D 59 A 204 Course Pass 33 B 182 Added value 15 C 1606 D 149 4 PKC Scotland Argyll and Bute Aberdeenshire Highland Scottish Borders Stirling Nat 5 79.7% 78.4% 77.4% 81.3% 76.6% 77.9% 82.2% Higher 75.1% 75.9% 73.7% 77.3% 74.6% 76.7% 81.3% AH 76.5% 76.7% 74.5% 72.3% 72.8% 71.5% 77.7% Page 79 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 14 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality In S4, PKC performs ahead of the national picture in all but the highest 20%, but slightly behind the VC. The gap between PKC and the VC widens when considering the achievement of the highest 20% of learners. However, Insight analysis states that the difference is not statistically significant. S5 Tariff Points Relative performance is similar in S5, with PKC performing ahead of the national picture in all but the highest 20%. Insight analysis confirms that statistically, performance in the middle 60% and highest 20% is lower than the Virtual Comparator. Lowest 20% Middle 60% Highest 20% 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 S4 Attainment 2025 - PKC vs VC and National Perth & Kinross Virtual Comparator The National Establishment Lowest 20% Middle 60% Highest 20% 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 S5 Attainment 2025 - PKC vs VC and National Perth & Kinross Virtual Comparator The National Establishment Page 80 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 15 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality S6 Tariff Points For the S6 cohort, Insight analysis states that there is no statistically significant difference between PKC and the VC. Senior leaders in schools have access to data at school level. Training has been provided to ensure that they understand and are able to use the data effectively to identify gaps, trends and areas for improvement. This is also being used to inform curriculum development to maximise the attainment opportunities for young people in Perth and Kinross. Lowest 20% Middle 60% Highest 20% 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 S6 Attainment 2025 - PKC vs VC vs National Perth & Kinross Virtual Comparator The National Establishment Page 81 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 16 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study: Raising Attainment at Bertha Park High School – 2025 Highlights - Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): S4: 5@5, 5@4, 5@3 S5: 5 Highers, 3 Highers, 1 Higher All measures have either remained consistent or improved from last year. All indicators show positive trends. All measures are closing the gap against the Virtual Comparator (VC), with some surpassing it. What Did We Do? Our improved attainment is the result of several strategic initiatives, with the most significant factor being the implementation of robust systems and processes. This begins with course choice, where we are committed to being data-informed. Data-Informed Course Choice Guidance Teachers receive attainment data prior to the course choice process to ensure pupils are on a trajectory that maximises their potential. For example, in previous years, we identified pupils capable of achieving 5 Highers who were only opting for 4. This is now proactively challenged. Principal Teachers (PTs) must approve course choices to ensure pupils are entered at the appropriate level. Importantly, PTs are not permitted to drop pupils from their subject without securing an alternative pathway. Tracking and Monitoring Tracking data is collected and shared via a centralised spreadsheet accessible to all staff. This tool enables detailed analysis of performance by pupil, house, subject, and SCQF level. Tracking points occur in September, December, February, and March. Accountability and Intervention Accountability is embedded in our processes. The tracking spreadsheet is reviewed during Depute Head Teacher (DHT)/PT link meetings to ensure timely interventions. Strategic Departmental Meetings, held monthly, also include data scrutiny. Support staff provide targeted interventions for pupils identified during house meetings. The PT ASN oversees pupils at risk, particularly supporting those working towards achieving 5 qualifications at SCQF Level 3. Pupil and Staff Engagement Progress on KPIs is regularly analysed and shared with both pupils and staff throughout the session. Following prelims, attainment meetings are held with the Headteacher and link DHT. Pupils can only be entered for a lower-level qualification if this has been agreed upon during these meetings. The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) monitors the impact of interventions on KPIs, ensuring all possible supports have been explored. Evaluation and Reflection Final exam results are added to the tracking spreadsheet in August, allowing for a comprehensive comparison between target and actual grades. This provides valuable evaluation data for departments and individual teachers, supporting continuous improvement. Page 82 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 17 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study: Improving S4 Attainment in Perth Academy Following a review of Insight Senior Phase Data, it was identified that S4 attainment at Perth Academy had dipped in 2 key measures – the proportion of S4 pupils attaining 5 SCQF qualifications at Level 4 (National 4) and at Level 5 (National 5). Evidence suggested that levels of attendance had impacted significantly on attainment. It was agreed that targeted interventions which had been successful at improving attainment at National 3 should be widened. Planning involved a range of staff across the school to ensure consistency and reinforce everyone’s role in improvement. This planning included: Review of Presentation Policy and consideration of the timing of prelims Outreach planning Mentoring set up for 5@5 pupils at risk of not achieving Increased focus on attendance monitoring Improving learning and teaching The resulting actions included: moving prelim exams and S4 reports to before Christmas enabling tracking analysis early in term 3 using more robust data effective use of a range of data enabling evidence-based intervention. improved communication between staff and regular attainment discussions at house meetings use of PSE time to discuss reports and set targets with young people changes of levels approved in accordance with presentation policy outreach approach in partnership with Letham Hub mentoring projects supporting attainment attendance monitoring supported by Pupil Care and Welfare Officers. The combination of all of these approaches has led to significant improvements: 5@3 – 89% (highest recorded and 2% improvement from previous session) 5@4 – 82% (highest since 2017 and 8% improvement from previous session) 5@5 – 55% (highest recorded apart from COVID 2020 year and 7% improvement since previous session) Page 83 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 18 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Pre-School Development Milestones: Gap between SIMD Quintile 1 and Quintile 5 children meeting all milestones The poverty-related gap for this measure has improved significantly in 2024/25. For children meeting all milestones when entering P1, the gap between SIMD Quintile 1 (74.5%) and 5 (82.5%) shows a positive reduction to 8% from 35.6% in 2023/24. This reflects improvements in data analysis in ELC settings and a more consistent approach to identifying children for targeted support and intervention. Analysis of data indicates several variables that are influencing the data. In 2024/25 the gender balance between the number of boys and girls continues to show a higher percentage of boys transitioning to Primary 1 than girls. Research and previous data indicate that boys tend to meet their developmental milestones later than girls. Indeed, in 2024/25 there is a higher percentage of boys (25.7%) than girls (17.5%) not meeting their milestones. There is an increased number of children who have additional support needs not meeting one or multiple milestones due to increases in early identification of ASN. Our data shows that social and emotional development and gross motor skills are areas which require further support. Improvement continues across all ELC settings, with the aim of removing barriers to learning using a staged intervention approach. Further work will continue, increasing practitioners' knowledge and understanding of how children develop and learn, with a focus through Science, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning to meet individual needs. Children moving to school this year were born in 2020/21. Families at that time still had limited opportunities for social interactions at a crucial early developmental stage in a baby`s development. National Early Language and Communication (NELC) highlights Speech and Language as an area of particular concern and as a result additional focused work is being undertaken in collaboration with Strong Start 2s children and families, ELC settings and family learning practitioners. NIF Priority 2: Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged Page 84 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 19 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study: Tackling Inequalities – Westbank Project The Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Westbank Project provides valuable and enriching outdoor learning opportunities for children aged 3-5 living within North Perth. The project, which aims to close the poverty related attainment gap, is led with a passion and desire to provide equity of access to natural and wooded spaces and to promote children’s physical and mental good health. The project aims to improve learning and health outcomes for nursery aged children living in some of the most deprived areas of Perth and Kinross by addressing limited access to the outdoors, an inequity of particular note in a local authority with such contrasting geographical locations impacting children’s access to learning in the outdoors. Limited access to learning outdoors is identified as a contributing factor leading to the opening of the attainment gap whilst access to high quality outdoor learning is research backed to serve as a tool to close this gap. ELC Westbank allows for access to nature without barriers. Children, staff and families report that the environment has had a direct and positive impact on children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Children attending ELC Westbank have demonstrated improved achievement in their gross motor skills, language development and social and emotional wellbeing. Children have become resilient, confident explorers of nature, taking ownership of the landscape and in turn their potential to flourish as individuals and learners. ELC Westbank strives to deliver excellence through a multi-faceted approach to addressing inequality and improving health. Children attend the setting as part of their ELC entitlement, families are engaged through peep family learning on site and poverty is tackled through school holiday sessions that are free at the point of access and provide meals as part of the food insecurity during holiday periods fund. Page 85 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 20 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Broad General Education When considering ACEL data at P1, 4 and 7, the poverty related attainment gap between SIMD Q1 and SIMD Q5 in literacy has widened in 2024/25 to 25 percentage points. In numeracy, the gap has closed slightly to 20 percentage points. Year-on-year comparison does need to be undertaken with care due to variations in the cohorts being compared and changes are likely to be seen reliably over several years. Our data shows that Literacy and Numeracy attainment is on a steady upward trend in both Q1 and Q5 although the rates of change over time may differ. There remains considerable focus in closing the poverty related attainment gap through a range of interventions, many of which are made possible by Scottish Attainment Challenge funding. BGE – Care Experienced Children and Young People (CECYP) The percentage of care-experienced primary school pupils at P1 achieving expected levels in literacy and numeracy has increased in 2024/25 and there has been a steady upward trend since 2020/21. There are also increases in both P4 and P7. This continues a sustained upward trend in attainment for this group, although year-on-year comparison is statistically challenging due to the very small number of pupils involved. P1 Achievement of CfE Levels for CECYP 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Literacy 31.3% 40% 22.2% 41.7% 42.1% Numeracy 62.5% 60% 44.4% 58.3% 68.4% 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 90 80 70 60 50 40 Numeracy Attainment Q1 vs Q5 over time SIMD Q1 SIMD Q5 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 90 80 70 60 50 40 Literacy Attainment Q1 vs Q5 over time SIMD Q1 SIMD Q5 Page 86 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 21 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality P4 Achievement of CfE Levels for CECYP 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Literacy 18.8% 25% 54.5% 38.2% 53.6% Numeracy 18.8% 25% 63.6% 41.2% 60.7% P7 Achievement of CfE Levels for CECYP 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Literacy 26.7% 44.4% 66.7% 35.4% 46.9% Numeracy 26.7% 50% 83.3% 35.4% 59.4% The proportion of care-experienced young people in S3 who achieve the national benchmark of third level improved every session from 36% in 2016/17 to 70% in session 2022/23 as a result of focussed intervention work in schools. This has fallen slightly in the last 2 years; however, the cohort size is very small (just 18 pupils in 2024/25) and the number varies from year to year, so direct comparisons need to be undertaken with caution. S3 Achievement of CfE Levels for CECYP 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Literacy and Numeracy Data not collected 56.3% 69.6% 65.1% 61.2% Senior Phase In the Senior Phase there has been good progress overall in closing the poverty-related attainment gap particularly when viewed against the national picture. For National 5 and Higher this has reduced when compared with 2024 and is significantly better than the national picture. However, there is work to be done at Advanced Higher level. Qualification PKC PRAG 2024 SIMD Q1 2025 SIMD Q5 2025 PKC PRAG 2025 National PRAG 2025 National 5 9.1% 75.7% 83% 7.3% 16.6% Higher 9.9% 71.5% 79.6% 8.1% 17.1% Adv Higher 20.1% 59.3% 81.7% 22.4% 12.8% Page 87 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 22 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Over time since 2019 we can see a sustained trend of improvement for this measure at National 5 and Higher level as seen in the following graphs. Senior Phase – Care Experienced Children and Young People Again, due to small cohorts, it is statistically challenging to make year-on-year comparisons and in this instance the percentages in the graphs above do not accurately reflect the improvements made in these measures. In 2024, there were only 39 entries for CECYP for National 5, with 29 A-C passes (74.4%). In 2025, however, there were 110 entries with 73 A-C passes (66.4%) so while the percentage has fallen, the number of passes has actually increased significantly. For Higher, there were 30 entries in 2024, with 13 A-C passes. In 2025, this increased to 43 entries with 31 A-C passes. 2019 2023 2024 2025 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Percentage Point Gap between SIMD Q1 and SIMD Q5 at National 5 PKC Scotland 2019 2023 2024 2025 80.00% 75.00% 70.00% 65.00% 60.00% National 5 % Pass Rate for Care Experenced Children and Young People PKC 2019 2023 2024 2025 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Higher % Pass Rate for Care Experenced Children and Young People PKC 2019 2023 2024 2025 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Percentage Point Gap between SIMD Q1 and SIMD Q5 at Higher PKC Scotland Page 88 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 23 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality In this section our reported measures are attendance and exclusion. While health and wellbeing are complex and multifaceted areas of school improvement in the context of this report these remain our key measures and indicators. Attendance Primary attendance has improved slightly in 2024/25 to 93.8% from 93.0% in 2023/24. However, it still remains slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels (95% in 2018/19). Secondary attendance has also improved slightly to 87% during academic year 2024/25 from 86.5% in 2023/24. While improvement in attendance is welcomed, this remains a key priority in our effort to return to and exceed pre-pandemic levels (90.5% in 2018/19). Whilst final national data is not yet available, it is anticipated that these figures will be in line with national attendance patterns. Levels of attendance remain lower than the whole population for groups such as children and young people in more deprived areas, those with additional support needs, those that are care experienced and Young Carers. Improving levels in both sectors and for groups most vulnerable to low attendance will continue to be a key improvement focus moving ahead. Over the course of this session a range of supports have been provided to our schools through our Attendance Policy; Staged Intervention Framework for Attendance; Socially and Emotionally Based Absence programme and Connecting Families Project. NIF Priority 3: Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing. 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 96.0% 94.0% 92.0% 90.0% 88.0% 86.0% 84.0% 82.0% Primary and Secondary Attendance over Time Primary Secondary Page 89 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 24 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study: Perth Grammar School - Attendance and Family Engagement Officer The Attendance and Family Engagement Officer plays a vital role in supporting Perth Grammar School’s commitment to improving attendance and engagement among its most vulnerable learners. As identified in the school’s 2024 Quality Improvement Plan, this role is central to achieving the target of increasing attendance rates by at least two percentage points for identified learners within key demographic categories (ACORN 5/6 and SIMD deciles 1/2) by May 2025 and this work continues to further increase attendance rates for future years. Working as part of a whole school triaging system alongside the Pupil Care and Welfare Officer (PCWO), the remit of the role focuses on young people whose attendance is below 70%, particularly those from SIMD 1 and 2 backgrounds. The Attendance and Family Engagement Officer has a caseload of approximately 25 pupils and provides intensive, tailored support to both the young people and their families. This role is designed to address persistent non-attendance and school refusal through long-term, relationship-based work. The Attendance and Family Engagement Officer will identify and tackle underlying barriers to attendance, develop personalised strategies, and foster strong, trusting relationships between families and the school. A significant aspect of the role involves outreach work, including home visits and community engagement, to re-establish connections with pupils and support their return to learning. ACORN 5/6 data for 2024/25 showed an increase when compared against 2023/24 of 2.2% from 80.7% to 82.9%. Page 90 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 25 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study: Changes in Approach to Attendance Monitoring at Perth High School At Perth High School, we are committed to ensuring every young person has the opportunity to thrive through consistent school attendance. While we monitor attendance data closely, we recognise that numbers alone do not always tell the full story. To better understand the challenges some families may face, we developed an attendance questionnaire for parents and carers, as part of our Staged Intervention approach to improving attendance. This questionnaire was sent as an addition to the A2 letter as part of the PKC Attendance Policy and Guidance for Education and ELC Settings, where an A2 letter is sent for attendance, when pupil attendance drops below 92%. It was created reflecting on our context, as our catchment area spans a wide and diverse geographical region, which can present unique barriers to regular attendance. These may include transport difficulties, health concerns, caring responsibilities, or other socio-economic factors that are not always visible through standard reporting mechanisms. The purpose of this questionnaire is to: Identify underlying barriers to attendance that may not be immediately apparent. Strengthen communication between school and home, fostering a collaborative approach to supporting pupils. Inform targeted interventions and support strategies that are sensitive to the needs of our community. Ensure equity of access to education for all pupils, regardless of their location or circumstances. The responses to this questionnaire are shared with the Principal Teachers of Guidance to aid and support planning, along with the identification of interventions that may not currently be being utilised. We value the insights of our families and believe that by working together, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment that promotes regular attendance and engagement in learning. Overall attendance at Perth High School improved from 87.4% in 2023/24 to 88.7% in 2024/25. At the end of term 1 of 2025/26, data shows attendance at 90.2%. Page 91 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 26 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Exclusion 2024/25 exclusion levels have increased slightly from session 2023/24. Schools have continued to share best practice in the provision of alternatives to exclusion to support vulnerable children and young people and central guidance and support has been key to this. There were 48 primary pupils (less than 1% of total primary roll of 9832) excluded in 2024/25 with a total of 60 incidents. Of these, 44 pupils (92%) had additional support needs, accounting for 56 (93%) of the incidents. In secondary, 170 pupils (just over 2% of the total roll of 7881) were excluded with a total of 235 incidents. Of these, 132 pupils (78%) had additional support needs accounting for 187 (80%) of the incidents. With a view to achieving a positive outcome for the children or young people concerned, the decision to exclude would be taken as a last resort to enable the review of any risk assessments; to review planning in place for the child or young person; or to undertake further assessment of any additional support required to meet the identified needs of the child or young person. A range of health and wellbeing interventions support the stretch aims relating to attendance and exclusion. 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 30 20 10 0 Exclusions - per 1000 Pupils Primary Secondary Page 92 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 27 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case Study – Lowering Exclusions at the Community School of Auchterarder (Secondary) Staff at the Community School of Auchterarder (CSoA) take great care to ensure that excluding pupils from school is always a last resort. There have been a number of factors which have contributed towards a reduction in exclusions from of 28 incidents in 2022/23 to zero in 2023/24 and one in 2024/25. In August 2023, CSoA had a less formal Alternative to Exclusion process which was coordinated on a case-by-case basis by Depute Head Teachers. A professional learning visit was arranged to Perth High School to see how their “Reflect, Restore and Re-engage” provision worked, which had demonstrated positive outcomes in 2022/23. The refreshed approach at CSoA, which was launched with staff, pupils and families early in session 2023/24, includes adapted elements of the process from Perth High School. Pupils are supported in an alternative location on the school site, away from distractions during “Alternative to Exclusion”; mobile telephones are handed over at the start of the day; and consideration is given to alternative timings for interval and lunch. Alongside this, the Relationships Policy which supports staff to take a staged approach to the management of dysregulated and challenging behaviour was refreshed and an Anti-Bullying Policy developed. In addition, a wider range of partners are now available in school to provide enhanced levels of pastoral and wellbeing support to pupils. The role of the Pupil Care and Welfare Officer has also been developed to meet local needs. A small number of pupils have been supported to access an alternative education plan. The combination of all of the above innovations has contributed to a calmer and more inclusive school environment and a staff team better equipped to respond well to dysregulated behaviour and young people who are less likely to require to be excluded. 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Exclusion Incidents over Time Community School of Auchterarder Page 93 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 28 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Proportion of Young People (aged 16-19) in education, training or employment To supplement the school leaver information, SDS also reports the APM. This measure reports on participation in education, training or employment for all 16–19-year-olds from across the population rather than focusing specifically on school leavers and is therefore a broader and preferred measure of recording positive outcomes. The measure shows 93.7% of young people are in education, training or employment (92.5% in 2024). The figures are slightly better than the Scottish average (93.3% in August 2025) and the number not participating totals 209 (213 in 2024) individuals, with 156 (213 in 2024) unconfirmed1. Perth and Kinross data shows an improvement on previous years. Participation has increased from 92.5% to 93.7%; Unconfirmed has gone down from 3.7% to 2.7% and those Not Participating has gone down slightly from 3.7% to 3.6%. Key Developments in 2024-25 The delivery of work experience programmes is currently under review alongside the curriculum. The PKC 16+ Framework is now fully embedded in schools’ practice and partners are reporting more consistency in approach and planning across secondary schools. The Framework is currently being updated to reflect changes to the SDS service offer and other developments within PKC. This is being undertaken alongside ASN post-school transitions planning with a view to consolidating both sets of guidance. Increased consistency and engagement across the 16+ network have resulted in changes to the operational group structure. Meetings are now delineated between school and post- school and take place every 8 weeks, rather than fortnightly. This is being kept under review. This aims to improve focus on outcomes at sector level and reduce the number of meetings staff, including partners, are required to attend. Intended Leaver Information (collected from all senior phase young people in schools) completion rates remain significantly above the national average for all measures. This information is being used to plan post-school destinations and inform curriculum design. NIF Priority 4: Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people. 1 Unconfirmed status refers to those 16–19- year-olds who have an individual record within the participation measure but despite multi partner data sharing and attempted tracking by SDS and their partners, it was not possible to identify an up-to-date status for reporting.) Page 94 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 29 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality SDS Participation Portal accounts have been set up for relevant central officers, and 2 members of staff in each school. Central Officers attended training on this new system in October, and further sessions have been scheduled for school staff in November. Staff, including employability, data and performance officers, will now have direct access to up-to- date destination data to inform planning, tracking and reporting. Collaboration between Education and Employability Services staff has resulted in increased opportunities for young people. Education has incorporated a link to PKC financial support into the communications employers receive regarding work experience. Employability Youth Workers are also now all trained to approve work placements for pupils. This has resulted in some pupils accessing employment as a direct result of a placement. Page 95 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 30 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Case study: From Work Experience to Employment, a Young Person’s Journey A young person from Aberfeldy began working with the PKC Youth Employability Team through an employability group as he prepared to take the next step from school into the world of work. A student at Breadalbane Academy, he had always shown a strong passion for hands-on work, particularly in estate and farm settings. Diagnosed with autism, he found the traditional school environment challenging. However, his love for practical learning led him to start working on a local farm at just 15 years old - a place where he could thrive and grow. Mains of Murthly Farm has a long-standing partnership with Breadalbane Academy and had been offering work experience and seasonal employment to young people for over 20 years. Now 16 years old, the young person’s enthusiasm for agriculture had truly blossomed after a year of hands-on experience at the farm. During his placement, he steadily built his skills, confidence, and knowledge. Recognising his potential and dedication, Mains of Murthly Farm were keen to offer him a full-time opportunity. However, they faced uncertainty around the financial feasibility of creating the role. After hearing about funding opportunities from a neighbouring business, the farm contacted the PKC Skills and Employment Support Team to explore the possibility of support. With guidance through the application process, the farm successfully secured £4,000 in funding - helping to cover a portion of the young person’s wages and making this opportunity possible. Through his role as a farm worker, he will gain valuable skills and certifications, including his tractor driving licence, quad bike certificate, and chainsaw course. He’s also developing essential workplace skills such as time management, teamwork, and communication. Now 13 weeks into his employment, he is progressing well with his Rural Skills course at SRUC and has already achieved his tractor driving licence – a fantastic milestone in his journey. With continued support from the farm, he is building a strong foundation for a future career in agriculture. His story highlights the power of meaningful work experience, tailored support, and inclusive opportunities in helping young people to thrive. Page 96 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 31 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality There is evidence that the actions from our Raising Attainment Strategy and the Education Improvement Plan 2024-25 have improved outcomes for children and young people in terms of attainment through the lenses of excellence and equity. The current iteration of our Raising Attainment Strategy 2024-27 will consolidate these successes while addressing areas which require further attention. Our Education Improvement Plan 2025-26 through its three main areas for improvement: improving leadership of change; improving learning teaching and curriculum and transforming our ASN provision will explore these areas where maximum impact can be created for our children and young people. Conclusion Page 97 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 32 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality Acronym Meaning ACEL Achievement of a Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Level ACM Alternative Certification Model APM Annual Participation Measure ASN Additional Support Needs CECYP Care-experienced Children and Young People CfE Curriculum for Excellence CYPIC Children and Young People Improvement Collaborative DYW Developing the Young Workforce ELC Early Learning and Childcare NELC National Early Language and Communication NIF National Improvement Framework PDSA Plan, Do, Study, Act PKC Perth and Kinross Council SAC Scottish Attainment Challenge SCQF Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework SDS Skills Development Scotland SIMD Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation SQA Scottish Qualifications Authority STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics UHI University of the Highlands and Islands Appendix 1 – Glossary of Acronyms Page 98 of 202
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Raising Attainment Report – 2024/25 33 Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality If you or someone you know would like a copy of this document in another language or format, (on occasion, only a summary of the document will be provided in translation), this can be arranged by contacting the Customer Service Centre on 01738 475000. You can also send us a text message on 07824 498145. All Council Services can offer a telephone translation facility. BSL users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the online British Sign Language video relay interpreting service. Find out more on the Contact Scotland BSL website https://contactscotland-bsl.org Page 99 of 202
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequalities ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Learning and Families Committee Date of Meeting: 4 February 2026 Report Title: Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People and Families 2023-2026 - Annual Progress Report 2024- 2025 Report Number: 26/34 Report Author: Sharon Cooper, Service Manager – Children and Families Social Work (FBSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk) Organisational Lead: Arun Singh, Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the progress made in 2024-2025 towards the priorities in the Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People and Families 2023-2026 (Appendix 1), hereafter referred to as the Tayside Plan. The Tayside Plan Report on Progress 2024-2025 (Appendix 2) details progress being made in relation to the five collective commitments outlined in the Tayside Plan. 1.2 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendations 3. Background/Context 4. Impact and Value Assessment 5. Appendices 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: 2.1 Notes the progress detailed within the Tayside Plan Report on Progress 2024-2025 (Appendix 2). 2.2 Notes the decision of the Perth and Kinross Children, Young People and Families Partnership on 5 December 2025 to cease the Tayside Plan for 6 Page 101 of 202
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Infants, Children, Young People and Families and revert to a Perth and Kinross Integrated Children’s Services Plan, from April 2026. 2.3 Requests that the Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice bring back an Annual Progress Report 2025-2026 to the Learning and Families Committee to conclude the reporting against the Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People and Families 2023-2026. 2.4 Notes that the draft PKC Integrated Children’s Services Plan 2026 - 2029 will be presented to the Children, Young People and Families Partnership meeting on 27 February 2026. 2.5 Requests that the Strategic Lead – Children, Families and Justice bring the new Perth and Kinross Integrated Children’s Services Plan 2026-2029 to the Learning and Families Committee in May 2026. 2.6 Notes that the report for the Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative (TRIC) - Report on Regional Children’s Services Partnership Planning will be the final update to the Children, Young People and Families Partnership in June 2026 before the Perth and Kinross Integrated Children’s Services Plan report replaces it. 3. Background/Context 3.1 The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, requires that the local authority and relevant health board must, in respect of each 3-year period, prepare a Children’s Services Plan; and that after the end of each one-year period, they must publish a report on the extent to which children’s services and related services have been provided in accordance with the Tayside Plan. Statutory Guidance for Children’s Services Planning is available to support community planning partnership areas in their preparation, implementation and review of their plans. 3.2 Governance of the progress towards the actions in the Tayside Plan is via the TRIC multi-agency leadership group. 3.3 This progress is regularly reported to the Perth and Kinross Children, Young People and Families Partnership where the Tayside Plan is considered in the context of several local workstreams including leading on The Promise Scotland, Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), Child Poverty, and Mental Health and Wellbeing. 3.4 In November 2023, the Scottish Government announced that it would taper funding allocated to regional collaboratives in the 2024-2025 academic year. The final allocation of funding was received in financial year 2024-2025. 3.5 Appendix 2 provides the detail of our progress towards the five collective commitments: Our children will have the best start in life. Our children and young people will achieve and make positive contributions. Page 102 of 202
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Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health. Our children and young people will have their rights protected and their voices heard. Our children and young people will be safe and feel loved. 3.6 Appendix 3 details the progress of all three local authorities in Tayside (Perth and Kinross Council (PKC), Angus Council and Dundee City Council) with closing the poverty-related attainment gap for the national stretch aims. 3.7 Appendix 4 provides an update on all headline performance indicators reported in the Tayside Plan. 3.8 At the TRIC leadership meeting on 12 June 2025, representatives from each local authority recommended a return to a single Integrated Children’s Services Plan, with a separate plan for PKC, Angus Council and Dundee City Council, and with each retaining some elements of cross Tayside partnership planning and delivery of services. 4. Impact and Value Assessment 4.1 This report has been classified as being an operational report and as such does not require a full Impact and Value Assessment. 5. Appendices 5.1 Appendix 1 - Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People and Families 2023-2026 5.2 Appendix 2 - The Tayside Plan Report on Progress 2024-25 5.3 Appendix 3 - Attainment Gap Data 5.4 Appendix 4 - Headline Measures Page 103 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Foreword As Chair of the Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative Leadership Group, I’m delighted to introduce our ambitious Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People and Families for the period 2023-26. The priorities and actions outlined in this plan are designed to complement activities at a local level. As the revised title suggests, we’ve strengthened our focus on early years whilst continuing to coordinate improvements in support to children and young people. You will see from the content that we remain committed to addressing inequalities in income, health and wellbeing; narrowing the attainment gap; and protecting vulnerable families from harm. As a collaborative, we have been very conscious that certain infants, children, young people and families are more likely to face significant challenges for which they require additional support, at least at certain times in their lives. The Covid-19 pandemic has now ended but has had a disruptive and enduring impact, which has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis. The importance of further enhancing early years support; improving pupil’s presence, participation and performance at primary and secondary school; promoting emotional health and wellbeing; and further strengthening child protection arrangements has been brought into even sharper focus. In the context of such key policies as the Scottish Government Child Poverty Delivery Plan, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Keeping the Promise Implementation Plan, Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and Delivering Excellence and Equity, our new plan incorporates actions on how we will consistently support our workforce and how we will pro-actively target, listen and flexibly respond to vulnerable families. We want to jointly understand their challenges and work with them to build capacity and overcome barriers. We recognise that because this often involves multiple and overlapping needs, it requires a consistent holistic approach from all our services. The Regional Improvement Collaborative has been making good progress in improving support and this plan confirms our commitment to make further improvements over the next 3 years. As a Leadership Group, we will review internal governance arrangements which ensure that actions to address each priority are appropriately aligned and allow us to efficiently implement the plan at pace. We will also provide updates on progress to Scottish Government and within our respective local partnership and organisational governance arrangements at agreed intervals. In doing so, we will, wherever necessary, adapt our approaches and continue to both explore and respond to new opportunities whenever we can. Audrey May Executive Director, Children and Families Service, Dundee City Council 2 Page 106 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Contents Page Key Statutory Drivers 4 Key Policies and Strategies 5 Regional Context 6 Area covered across Tayside 6 Tayside Data 22/23 7 Message to Our Parents/Carers, Infants, Children and Young People 8 Your Rights Are 8 Our Commitments Are 9 Governance including links with local Children’s Service Planning Partnerships 10 What we have been doing and our next steps 11 Priority 1 – Pre-Birth and Early Years 11 Priority 2 – Learning and Attainment 11 Priority 3 – Health and Wellbeing 11 Priority 4 – Care Experienced Children and Young People 12 Priority 5 – Safe-Guarding and Child Protection 12 Looking Forward 13 Delivery Plan and Measures of Success April 2023 – March 2026 14 Glossary for Acronyms 19 3 Page 107 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Key Statutory Drivers Our collaborative is driven by a range of key statutory requirements which share a similar theme of providing support which gives all infants, children, young people and families the best start in life and address inequalities in health, wellbeing, attainment and positive destinations. This includes the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, which outlines requirements relating to families in need of additional support; the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which introduced new requirements relating to care leavers; the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, which includes a focus on 6 priority groups; and the Education (Scotland) Act 2016, which places an emphasis on the importance of addressing inequalities. National Outcomes Our children grow up loved, safe and respected so that they realise their full potential Our children live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe Our children are respected, protected, fulfil their human rights and live free from discrimination We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally Our collaborative work is built on Getting It Right For Every Child The Promise United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Trauma Informed workforce The Infant Pledge Vision Our children and young people will have the best start in life and Tayside will be the best place in Scotland to grow up Our Five Tayside Priorities 1. Our children will have the best start in life 2. Our children, young people and families will achieve and make positive contributions to communities 3. Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health 4. Our children and young people will have their rights protected and their voices heard 5. Our children and young people will be safe and loved Our Guiding Principles Based on what people who know and use our services tell us and taking account of the fundamentals of the Promise our plan is underpinned by the following principles: Rights based – this means that there is evidence that children’s rights are considered in everything we do and that rights are promoted or enhanced by what we are doing. Easily understood and accessible – we will make sure that we clearly say what we are doing and what difference it will make. We won’t use confusing or stigmatising language, acronyms or jargon to ensure everyone has the same understanding of what we want to do. Based on what people with lived experience tell us – this means asking, listening, and acting on the voice and experience of people who use services and have lived experience. Linked clearly to evidence - it will be clear what our evidence base shows and we will measure the difference we are making. This will include use of data measures and the views of those accessing services, staff working with families, national impact reports and local research etc. Making the best use of resources - The benefits of working together on a Tayside basis and across different agencies/services will be clearly stated. 4 Page 108 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Key Policies and Strategies Compliance with our statutory requirements is shaped by a range of national policies and frameworks which promote both universal and targeted support. This includes the all- encompassing UNCRC, which outlines 54 Articles designed to ensure infants, children, young people and families benefit from all their social, political, economic, educational and cultural entitlements and are kept safe from harm. This is complemented by GIRFEC, which includes a focus on Health, Education and Social Work professionals acting as Named Persons and/or Lead Professionals for infants, children and young people with additional support needs and coordinating Child’s Plans. In Early Learning and Childcare settings and Schools, Achieving Excellence and Equity: National Improvement Framework and improvement plan 2023 sets out the vision and priorities for Scottish education. The Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress sets out a refreshed mission to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty, with a focus on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. Other key strategies we need to consider when framing improvement priorities include the Refreshed Narrative for Scotland’s Curriculum, the Additional Support for Learning: Action Plan (updated October 2021). In relation to children and young people at risk of significant harm, all partners within the collaborative play a key role and work in accordance with the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2021). For children and young people on the edge of care or in the formal care system, the Independent Care Review promotes improvements in the 5 foundations of The Promise of Voice, Family, Care, People and Scaffolding and the Promise Oversight Report. As many people in the justice system are also parents or carers, the National Community Justice Strategy, which emphasises the importance of holistic support to address risks and needs, is also relevant. Further guidance to ensure the safeguarding of children is also provided in Early Learning and Childcare national frameworks, Child Protection guidelines and the Promise Oversight report. Each of these policies and strategies, alongside a requirement to make the best use of resources, avoid duplication, promote consistency and both support and challenge each other, encourage us to work as a regional collaborative with our third sector partners with a particular focus on addressing inequalities. This extends to work with other key partners, including Scottish Government, the Scottish Prison Service, Parole Board, Sheriff Courts, Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service, Health and Social Care Partnerships, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, Education Scotland, Care Inspectorate, Scottish Social Services Council, Kinship Carers, Foster Carers and Adopters. Our relationship with the Third Sector is important as we commission or spot purchase a range of services designed to provide extra support to vulnerable families and address inequalities. This includes funding from core budgets and other funding such as Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) and Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) funding. At a local level, each Children’s Service Planning Partnership (CSPP) will also be coordinating the deployment of Scottish Government Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF), which has been allocated to promote innovation and transformational change in the way we deliver preventative support to families. Our Third Sector partners will inform regional and local opportunities. 5 Page 109 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Regional Context Our approach towards leading, managing, delivering and commissioning support to parents/ carers, infants, children and young people must also be informed by an understanding of regional and local demographics. We know that although the nature and extent differ across the 3 local authority areas, there are enough commonalities to encourage a shared approach. Crucially, these issues include children, young people and families experiencing poverty and the various inter-related ways this can impact on life chances. Our plan therefore complements the 3 Local Authority Poverty Delivery Plans or their equivalent. These Delivery Plans set out bold and ambitious actions needed with partners to provide the support families need both immediately and in the medium to longer term, to address the cyclical drivers and impact of poverty, including employability, income, housing, mental health and substance use. This regional plan describes priorities and actions designed to contribute towards addressing each of these factors and give families the opportunity to participate and be economically active. Area covered across Tayside Region 6 Page 110 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Source for Looked After and Child Protection figures: https://www.gov.scot/publications/childrens-social-work- statistics-scotland-2021-22/ 7 Page 111 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Message to Our Parents/Carers, Infants, Children and Young People As a collaborative, we want to assure parents/carers, infants, children and young people that we have taken all available data into account when developing our priorities and actions. In each of the three partnership areas, work has taken place to engage with children, young people, families and communities to understand what matters most. Staff across the multi- agency workforce are committed to representing the voice of children and young people in key decisions affecting their lives, in developing supports and services and setting a strategic direction. The Promise, Children and Young People’s Rights and Participation Strategy and the Infant Pledge have influenced our work on engagement. Our message to parents, cares, children and young people: We are committed to ensuring families have the best possible start; to supporting you to reach your potential; to helping you enjoy good physical and mental health; to keeping you safe; and to listening to your needs and responding flexibly. We believe that having identified these as shared regional priorities, there are opportunities for us to share our resources and use them to enhance support in some key areas. Your rights are: have your rights protected be ambitious You have the right to the best start in life be healthy feel safe, secure and loved be successful 8 Page 112 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Our commitments are: listen to you support your independence support your relationships We will help you be healthy and active support your learning provide the right support 9 Page 113 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Governance including links with local Children’s Service Planning Partnerships The collaborative operates on a regional basis and its priorities and delivery plan complement activities at a local level. Our regional and local governance arrangements, in terms of how respective plans are developed, implemented and monitored, are therefore fully aligned and mutually informed. The links between respective partnership forums and regional and local plans are illustrated in the graphic below. Further details on Community Planning Partnerships and local strategic plans, including relevant connections with partnerships which are focused on specific themes such as child protection, healthy weight or substance use, can be found in the links towards the end of this plan. 10 Page 114 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 What we have been doing and our next steps Progress of work led by the priority groups is detailed in the 2022-2023 annual report and is summarised below to demonstrate the connection between the previous plan and the next 3 years. Priority 1 – Pre-birth and Early Years There has been a key focus on improving transitions to Early Learning and Childcare (ELC), starting with a general mapping of support available for children with emerging developmental or additional support needs moving into ELC settings. During 2022-23, process maps were used to identify gaps in transition processes, identify Tayside-wide solutions and create a Pan- Tayside pathway. Also, in 2022-23, an Early Years tracking tool developed to monitor the progress of children aged 3-5 years, was refined by each local authority in response to evaluative feedback and is being used across Tayside by ELC staff to provide timely, targeted support for children in their learning and development, including onward transitions to P1. Following some refinements, this tool will be used across Tayside in session 2023/24 and will inform further developments. The transitions survey will also be repeated in 2023-24 to measure the impact of the new pathways and similarly inform next steps. Priority 2 - Learning and Attainment There has been a particular focus on building capacity to promote UNCRC, providing targeted support to specific groups and creatively enhancing digital learning opportunities. Professional learning sessions on Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) continued to be offered to all schools to help increase understanding of UNCRC and were attended by over 500 members of staff. The Tayside Virtual Campus was expanded to offer support to 35 learners engaging with 6 Advanced Higher subjects. The campus offers a blend of self-study, live delivery, webinars and tutorials. For session 2023-24, 180 young people are enrolled to study 7 Advanced Higher subjects and 1 Higher subject. National 1-3 resources have been developed and collated for learners in the Senior Phase in all STEM subject areas. A new website, Open Tay Learning, has been created to house these resources and has many accessibility functions to enhance learning for our young people with additional support needs and barriers to learning. Each local authority is now utilising the Digital Schools Award Scotland self-evaluation framework to develop their digital pedagogy. Our Tayside Leadership, Development and Induction programme continued in 2022/23 with participation of another 15 Head Teachers from across Tayside. Following COVID-19 and recovery, reciprocal visits resumed in this session to support local authority central teams and build the capacity of school leaders across Tayside. Priority 3 – Health and Wellbeing Following extensive consultation and engagement ‘Helping Tayside’s Children & Young People Feel Great and Ready to Learn’ Tayside’s Child Healthy Weight Strategy (CHWS) was co-produced and subsequently launched in 2021. Pressures relating to the cost-of-living crisis and increasing numbers of families living with food insecurity sets a clear and ongoing need for implementation and spread of a Whole Systems Approach to Child Healthy Weight across Tayside. 11 Page 115 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 This work will be informed by the early adopter work in Dundee and the need to advance the realisation of the vision of the CHWS ‘for every child in Tayside to grow up in a community and environment that supports them to feel great and ready to learn so that they can achieve optimum health and flourish to their best of abilities’. Following the launch of ‘Connected Tayside: An Emotional Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Children and Young People’ in November 2021, an implementation plan was similarly developed. The Children and Young People’s Charter and a padlet of resources have been developed, including links to e-learning modules, the previously developed Emotional Health and Wellbeing Toolkit and a variety of useful links to support teachers, parents and carers. Additional supports have been provided through CAMHS and ‘Living Life Well’, the overarching population-wide mental health strategy for Tayside. Alongside the above, and in line with national strategies, work on both suicide prevention and the voice of the infant has been actively developed. Priority 4 – Care Experienced Children and Young People The focus for PG4 changed to key aspects of the 5 foundations of The Promise, including the coordination of some regional activity and some shared learning about local initiatives which could be transferred between areas. This included work with Strathclyde University Centre of Youth and Criminal Justice, the 3 Local Authorities and NHS Tayside to carry out a regional self-evaluation of practice against new national Secure Care Standards. The group also reviewed data pertaining to the school attendance of care experienced children and young people. Actions to develop better support for these cohorts of young people were identified and have included work on transitions and additional support at home, school and the community. A focus on maintaining relationships with brothers and sisters was taken forward in Angus, with a view to scaling this up to a Tayside-wide model. This will inform action plans on how to maximise opportunities to maintain relationships, including in respect of brother/sister informed assessments, obtaining the views of brothers and sisters and placement capacity. It is also helping to confirm some constraints and complexities, such as children being placed into adoption well before much younger brothers or sisters are born, either with the same or a different father, all with parental rights and responsibilities. Priority 5 – Safeguarding and Child Protection Founded upon research carried out for Tayside by Dr Sharon Vincent from Northumbria University, PG5 has focused on the inter-related themes of workforce development, practitioner guidance and peer learning. This has, in turn, informed local Child Protection Committee Improvement Plans, including additional learning from case reviews and further workforce development. Tayside Practitioner Guidance on Chronologies, Concern for Unborn Babies and Inter-Agency Referral Discussions (IRDs) were all reviewed and refreshed, ensuring compliance with the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2021). Following the publication of National Guidance for Child Protection Committees Undertaking Learning Reviews, local arrangements have been updated and Significant Case Reviews (SCRs) and Initial Case Reviews (ICRs) replaced with multi-agency Learning Reviews. Angus and Dundee Child Protection Committees have jointly commissioned a consultant to review and develop local learning review guidance for all Protecting People arrangements. 12 Page 116 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Looking forward Having reviewed the work undertaken previously through the annual report and after analysis of local data and national policy developments, we have agreed the priorities and actions as a focus for collaboration and joint learning and these are set out in the plan below. The 2023-26 Tayside plan is an ambitious 3 year plan with some work to be carried out on refining our performance framework. We will continue to work to this plan in partnership with other key strategic partnerships including Child Poverty, Alcohol and Drug Partnership, Child and Adult Protection Committees and Community Planning Partnerships more widely. Additionally, each of the respective local authorities and their partners have established robust Whole Family Wellbeing Plans to support early and effective help for families. This will further enhance the collaborative commitment of partners across Tayside to deliver on the strategic priorities specified in this plan. Our overall thematic priorities have been refreshed as collective commitments to infants, children, young people and families across Tayside as follows: · Our Children will have the best start in life. · Our children and young people will achieve and make positive contributions. · Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health. · Our children and young people will have their rights protected and their voices heard. · Our children and young people will be safe and feel loved. Please refer to the Delivery Plan below for further detailed actions and measures. 13 Page 117 of 202
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Our children will have the best start in life Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Delivery Plan and measures of success April 2023 – March 2026 What We Want to Achieve How We Will Achieve It We will …. What will success look like? Baseline Data Ensure clear pathways are in place for early identification of need in children pre-birth to age 3 with specific attention to: · Pre-birth support pathways · Transition pathways into early years settings for children with significant early concerns in relation to their development or emerging additional support needs Families with identified needs are matched with support at an early stage. Reduced number of concerns identified at 27- 30mth review compared to 13–15 month review (showing success of early intervention). Increased % of children aged 3-5 newly enrolled at LA ELC where significant early concerns were raised with the ELC prior to child starting (indicating good information sharing). Infant mental health is understood and promoted. Unborn baby referrals per quarter (data for Feb- Apr’23) – no audit data yet Angus: 40 Dundee: 46 Perth & Kinross: 27 % of children with concerns identified at 13- 15mth & 27-30mth Angus: 13.4% (16.0%) Dundee: 16.6% (17.5%) Perth & Kinross: 15.0% (16.6%) Tayside: 14.9 (16.8 %) (figure in brackets is 27- 30mth; both figures 2021- 22) 93 children or 51% of children newly enrolled at LA ELC aged 3-5 with significant early concerns raised prior to starting nursery Provide accessible, responsive, and flexible parenting support Increased availability of Solihull programme delivered in local areas. Increased range and uptake of supports and services available to families in local communities. Evidence of engagement and involvement of fathers/ those in a fathering role in children’s health, education, and child’s plans Solihull staff training data - figures show 2022-23 (italics and brackets show total trained to date): Angus Council: 52 (737) Dundee CC: 89 (432) Perth &Kinross C: 103 (364) NHS Tayside: 147 (199) Local monitoring of Whole Family Wellbeing Plans – outcome measures. 14 Page 118 of 202
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Our children and young people will achieve and make positive contributions to communities Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 What We Want to Achieve How We Will Achieve It We will …. What will success look like? Baseline Data Implement effective strategies to increase school attendance Increased attendance across all groups. Increased attendance and attainment for children living in SIMD 1 and/or looked after at home. Attendance 2020/21 Angus: 92.8% Dundee: 90.6% Perth & Kinross: 91.9% Attendance gap by SIMD SIMD 1 – most deprived, and in italics SIMD 5- least deprived) Angus – 89.9% (95.0%) Dundee- 88.2% (94.6%) Perth & Kinross: 88.9% (93.7%) - 2020/21 data Attendance gap for looked after children all pupils in normal font, LAC in italics) Angus – 92.8 (86%) Dundee – 90.6% (88%) Perth & Kinross: 91.9% (89%) - 2020/21 data Implement plans focused on raising attainment and meaningful engagement (participation). Reduced attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people. Measures as set out in each of the local authority stretch aims. 15 Page 119 of 202
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Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health. Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 What We Want to Achieve How We Will Achieve It We will …. What will success look like? Baseline Data Ensure full implementation of the Child Healthy Weight Tayside Strategy. Increased proportion of children with a healthy weight Reduced inequality in healthy weight between children living in the most and least deprived areas in Tayside. A revised Child Health Weight outcomes framework is under development. Proportion of Children with Healthy Weight by SIMD quintile (SIMD 1 – most deprived, in italics SIMD 5- least deprived) Angus – 59.2% (89.3%) Dundee - 68.5% (76.5%) Perth & Kinross - 73.2% (74.6%) Tayside 68.2% (78.5%) Work collectively to support uptake of immunisation for children across Tayside. Increased proportion of children receiving all immunisations. First MMR by age 24mths Angus: 91.4% Dundee: 89.7% Perth & Kinross: 92.6% Scotland: 93.4% Implement the Tayside Action Plan to reduce suicide in children and young people Reduced number of children and young people completing suicide Increased number of identified staff trained in suicide intervention. Increased satisfaction with information sharing from child death/suicide review. Tayside Suicide Review Group (TSRG) Data Set Continued implementation of ‘Connected Tayside; an emotional health & wellbeing strategy for children & young people’ (2021-23) Tayside Mental Health pathways are fully implemented and supports are accessible. Health and Wellbeing survey will show an increase in pupils who say they feel positive about their future. % of pupils who feel positive about their future Angus: 70.2% Dundee: 74.6% Perth & Kinross: 78.0% Scotland: 72.8% 16 Page 120 of 202
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Our children and young people will have their rights protected and their voices heard Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 What We Want to Achieve How We Will Achieve It We will …. What will success look like? Baseline Data Support the multi-agency workforce to promote rights, choice and control for children and young people on how their views are heard and represented and how they are involved in decisions that affect them. Children and young people will have access to independent advocacy, informal advocacy and digital tools to support participation. Attending child’s planning meetings will be supported and the environment inclusive. Children with additional needs will have support to share their views and be involved in decisions. Views are well represented at child’s planning meetings. Children’s Hearing decisions are fully informed by the views of children and young people. Staff will have access to training on UNCRC, The Promise, engagement and feel confident in supporting young people. Local performance measures will be shared, and best practice built upon including outcomes from local self-evaluation, audit, feedback from young people, and use of digital tools. Number of schools with Rights Respecting Schools Awards (July 2023): Gold - 16 Silver - 36 Bronze - 87 Registered – 42 Promote and protect relationships that are important to children and young people when children are separated from their families and it is safe to do so. When children are separated from people that are important to them, there are clear plans to maintain and promote safe family time. National Data set for siblings will be implemented and monitored 17 Page 121 of 202
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Our children and young people will be safe and feelloved Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 What We Want to Achieve How We Will Achieve It We will …. What will success look like? Baseline Data Ensure appropriate housing options are in place for vulnerable families including pregnant women and families with children. Children and families are secure in good quality accommodation that meets their needs. Reduction in the number of children growing up in temporary accommodation. Households with children or pregnant women in temporary accommodation on 30.09.2022 (and no. of children in brackets): Tayside: 100 (245) Further develop approaches to identifying, responding, and managing risk to young people aged 12 – 18 including: · Young people at risk of secure care · Young people subject to Care and Risk Management (CARM) planning. · Young people who go missing Young people in our settings feel informed and feel that their rights have been respected. Young people at risk of harm have access to appropriate support and clear plans to address need and risk. Secure care standards will be implemented with evidence of rights-based practice. CARM data set under development. Make progress toward the implementation of Bairns’ Hoose Principles. Provide trauma responsive supports and services to children and young people involved in child protection. To be established following outcome of Pathfinder Bid. Introduce the Scottish Child Interview Model for children and young people. Reduced requirement for children and young people to attend Court. To be established as part of implementation programme. 18 Page 122 of 202
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Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Glossary for acronyms Acronym Full words ASN Additional Support Needs ASL Review Additional Support for Learning Review AVS Angus Virtual School CAMHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service CfE Curriculum for Excellence EBSA Emotionally-based school avoidance ELC / EY Early Learning and Childcare / Early Years ELKLAN Speech, language and communication courses EPS Educational Psychology Service FSM Free School Meals GIRFEC Getting it Right for Every Child IRDs Inter-agency Referral Discussions IEP Individual Education Programme LLW Live Life Well MMR Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccination PIPS Performance in Primary Schools PHS P1 BMI Body Mass Index of Primary 1 children in Scotland PSE Personal and Social Education QAMSO Quality Assurance Moderation Support Officer RRS Rights Respecting Schools RSHP Relationships Sexual Health and Parenthood SAC Scottish Attainment Challenge SBAR Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation SDS Skills Development Scotland SHANARRI Wellbeing indicators – safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active respected, responsible, included SIMD Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation SNSA Scottish National Standardised Assessment SOLAR Science of Language and Reading SRS Sound Reading System STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics SYP Scottish Youth Parliament TLAG Tayside Learning and Attainment Group TMSRG Tayside Multiagency Suicide Review Group TRIC Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative UNCRC United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 19 Page 123 of 202
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1 Appendix 2 Tayside Plan for Infants, Children, Young People & Families 2023-2026 Report on Progress 2024-2025 Introduction The report sets out progress by partners of the Tayside Children’s Services for Infants, Children, Young People and Families 2023-26, towards the outcomes set out in the Plan. Progress updates are provided for outcomes detailed in the ‘What will success look like’ column within the plan and where available, updates are also provided for baseline data. Some updates reflect progress made by individual local authorities, reflecting different practice in each area. The remaining updates are presented for all Tayside, reflecting operational structures of partner agencies. Narrative updates are provided for the time period August 2024 to July 2025. Baseline statistical data is presented against different reporting periods, depending on standard reporting cycles and how the data was articulated in the original plan. In general, all data relating to early years, attainment and attendance is reflective of academic years. Data provided for Children’s Social Work, Housing and NHS measures is presented by financial year. 6 Page 125 of 202
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2 TAYPLAN-2326-001 Our children will have the best start in life Ensure clear pathways are in place for early identification of need in children pre-birth to age 3 With specific attention to: • Pre-birth support pathways • Transition pathways into early years settings for children with significant early concerns in relation to their development or emerging additional support needs Progress Updates (i)Families with identified needs are matched with support at an early stage:- Baseline data – unborn baby referrals per quarter. Data for Feb-April 2023: Angus 40; Dundee 46; Perth and Kinross 27 Data for Feb-April 2024: Angus 49; Dundee 44; Perth and Kinross 23 Data for Feb-April 2025: Angus 23; Dundee 46; Perth and Kinross 29 Each local authority has a well-established multi-agency approach to consider referrals for unborn babies. Angus receives referrals via the Pre-birth Resource Allocation Meeting (PRAM) with 6 monthly reports submitted to our Protecting People Angus Strategic Committee’s (PPASC) Practice and Policy subgroup. Between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025 133 women were referred to PRAM. Page 126 of 202
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3 The overall PRAM referral outcomes were: Direct referral to social work 37% Discussed at PRAM meeting 56% Non continuing/confirmed pregnancy 7% PRAM outcomes from meeting % of women discussed at PRAM % of total referral number Social work assessment 51% 28% Universal services – Midwifery with onward referral to 44% 25% FNP 12% 7% Glen Clova 3% 1.5% Perinatal Mental Health 5% 3% Aberlour 1% <1% AIDARS 1% <1% Page 127 of 202
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4 Dundee City Partners in Dundee implement the Tayside Concern for Unborn Baby Protocol and the Tayside Multi – Agency Practitioners: Concern for Unborn Babies Guidance as a means of identifying vulnerabilities and emerging child protection concerns for unborn babies. Between April 2024 and March 2025, there were 174 Unborn baby referrals submitted to Dundee’s Multi Agency Screening Hub. Following initial screening, 99 resulted in a direct referral to Children and Families Social Work for a full prebirth assessment and support. This support was provided by a New Beginnings Service, Care and Protection Intake Service and Locality Children and Families Teams when there was already an existing social work intervention with a parent and their children. The remaining referrals were supported by Universal Services. Throughout the year 2024-25, 19% of children subject to Child Protection Registration were Unborn Babies and 40% of Child Protection Orders related to infants within 1 week of birth. The reasons include baby being affected by parental mental Ill health, domestic abuse, parental drug abuse, alongside services finding it difficult to engage a parent. Following support, over the last 2 years 64% of unborn babies whose names were placed on the Child Protection Register are now residing in the care of a parent without any ongoing Child Protection Registration or other statutory intervention. Over 80% of children supported by New Beginnings remained with their birth parent or a Kinship Carer. Our partnership continues to support the development of the Voice of the Infant and the implementation of the Infant Pledge. This has included involvement in the production of “Hello in There Wee One”, a universal resource available to all parents to encourage bonding with their baby pre-birth. We are strengthening links / consultancy between our Social Work Teams and NHS Tayside Infant Mental Health Team. This promotes both the development of attachment between parent and child as well as the voice of the infant being better represented in social work assessments and decision making. As support to vulnerable families with babies and infants remains a key priority, the partnership has also allocated Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF) funding to 2 initiatives focused on early years in Alternatives Counselling for Page 128 of 202
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5 women with emotional health concerns and the Birch Project for women who have previously experienced the removal of a child from their care. More details on these and other WFWF funding initiatives are outlined in Appendix 1 and going forward, the partnership will retain a focus on early years via the development of a multi-disciplinary local place-based approach programme, which will include a targeted approach towards the 6 Child Poverty priority groups. Perth & Kinross Early identification of need for unborn babies continues to take place in fortnightly meetings of the Unborn Baby Multi- Agency Screening Group (UBB MASG). Referral discussions in UBB MASG lead to early interventions with expectant parents, where required, to provide support and make safe plans for babies pre-birth. Where there is a need for Social Work intervention, our teams undertake robust assessment of the unborn baby’s needs and the parents’ ability to meet those needs. First Steps continues to be our specialist unborn baby assessment team and works with the majority of unborn baby cases in our service. First Steps has a strong focus on understanding the mental health needs of unborn babies and infants and consults closely with NHS Tayside’s Lead Clinician for Infant Mental Health in this regard. First Steps continues to focus on early intervention and prevention, and to this end the team provides high levels of support to expectant parents pre-birth to prevent escalation of identified risks and support needs. The team continues to work closely with the Integrated Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Treatment Team (IDART) to assess and understand risks in relation to parental substance misuse and the impact of this on babies and infants. A mental health worker continues to be part of the First Steps team, undertaking assessment of parent’s mental health needs and how this may affect their ability to care for their baby. Where risks and concerns for unborn babies are assessed as significant, our teams continue to hold Child Protection Planning meetings as part of usual practice. In less serious cases, multi-agency planning and support can take place in unborn baby planning meetings. For cases where it is assessed that a baby cannot safely be returned to the care of a parent, our teams will hold early discussions with the Kinship Team where there are potential family options for the baby or will refer to our Resource Panel for early identification of a foster placement. For children up the age of 3, our fieldwork teams continue to work closely with colleagues in Health, Education, the Police and others to support the early identification of need. Referrals to our Multi-Agency Screening Hub (MASH) can be made by Named Persons and colleague services for early family support where involvement from Social Work is not necessarily required. This results in families and infants getting the help and support they need at an early stage, hopefully preventing escalation of need and risk. Our third sector colleagues make up a significant part of the Page 129 of 202
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6 membership of MASH, with Barnardo’s and Aberlour being key partners in providing early family support. In more serious situations, early identification of needs and risks takes place in Initial Referral Discussions with the Police and Health, ensuring that there is a timely response where an infant has potentially been harmed. (ii)Reduced number of concerns identified at 27-30 month review compared to 13-15 month review: Baseline data: children identified with concerns at 13-15 and 27-30 months. 2020-2021: Angus 13.4%, 16%; Dundee 16.6%, 17.5%; Perth and Kinross 15%, 16.6% 2021-2022: Angus 12.4%, 16.3%, Dundee 16.3%, 17.3%, Perth and Kinross 15.2%, 17.3% 2022-2023: Angus 13.5%, 17.4%; Dundee 13.2%, 18.2%; Perth and Kinross 14.6%, 17.4% 2023-2024: Angus 15.3%, 17%; Dundee 16.4%, 17.9%; Perth and Kinross 12.17%, 16.7% 2024-2025 data is not yet available. 2024-25 data will be published later in 2025. Please see the updates below for detail regarding the work being progressed across Tayside. (iii)Increase the percentage of children aged 3-5 newly enrolled in LA ELC for whom significant concerns were raised prior to enrolment. Baseline Data: Percentage of children for whom significant concerns were raised prior to enrolment. Tayside 3-5-year-old intake TRIC 2022 2022% 2023 2023% 2024 2024% Newly enrolled 2,392 70% 1,722 39% 1,658 38% Significant early concerns 183 8% 251 15% 238 14% brought to attention prior 93 51% 128 51% 135 57% This is data for the three Tayside local authorities combined. In 2024, the percentage of children with concerns being identified prior to enrolment increased by 6 percentage points (pp). Page 130 of 202
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7 (iv) Infant mental health is understood and promoted This is an outcome of the Solihull training programme; further details are provided below. Our children will have the best start in life We will provide accessible, responsive, and flexible parenting support Progress Updates (i) Increased availability of the Solihull programme. Baseline data: number of staff trained: 2022-2023 Angus 52; Dundee 89; Perth and Kinross 103; NHS Tayside 147. 2023-2024 Angus 93; Dundee 32; Perth & Kinross 38; NHS 39. 2024-2025 Angus 109; Dundee 37; Perth and Kinross 40; NHS Tayside 47 Angus This year five Foundation Level Solihull Approach trainings sessions were delivered with 109 staff trained. Two Solihull in Practice sessions, to embed foundation training, were delivered with 25 staff attending. 28 people from Angus registered as learners on the Solihull Approach Online course. To improve direct parental access to Solihull in Angus, in September 2025 the Family Nurture Support team will be trained to lead Solihull Post Natal and From Toddler to Teenager groups in 2025-26 to increasing access to parental support. Dundee This year 15 staff have completed the Solihull Approach Foundation training. Use of the Approach is revisited when Parent Services Development Officers carry out support visits in addition to regular refresher training. Perth and Kinross Solihull Approach – Foundation 47 staff completed the foundation training. Page 131 of 202
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8 NHS Tayside 47 staff completed the foundation training. (ii) Increased range and uptake of supports and services available to families in local communities. Baseline data - local monitoring of Whole Family Wellbeing Plans Angus The Family Nurture Support (FNST) team deliver ‘Connecting with Parents’ Motivation’ training to staff which supports them to link with parents and support them. This further supports practitioners to extend their knowledge and application of learning through Solihull training. From August 2024-July 2025 3 courses were delivered with 38 staff have trained. The Family Nurture Support team also engage with parents and carers across Angus through a number of programmes. Page 132 of 202
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9 From August 2024- July 2025: Group Number of Groups Number of Parents Carers Outcomes Incredible years 7 55 87% have an improved strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) score at the end of the groups. Incredible Years Autism and Language Delay pilot 3 25 34% improvement in tool to measure parenting self-efficacy (TOPSE) for attendees. Five to Thrive 10 85 Parental knowledge of brain development increased by 36% after attending a Five to Thrive Group. 100% of parents who attended would recommend the group to others. PEEP 14 113 89% of parents reported Peep had helped them support their child’s talking and listening skills. 100% reported the group had helped their child with confidence, singing, speech and focus. EWPW 1 5 75% of parents increased their skills in planning and preparing healthy food for their families. Triple P Online 42 42 7 families have completed all 8 modules with support from the team. Triple P Group 2 12 100% of families have improved in SDQ score following attendance at a group. Holiday Food & Fun Sessions 42 172 Parents enjoyed the opportunity to try new foods with their child and learning how to make foods together. Page 133 of 202
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10 The introduction of the Incredible Years autism and language delay pilots have been welcomed by parents. The team continue to diversify support to meet the identified needs of the parents in communities. In 2024-25, a decision was made to refresh plans for use of the WFWF, with an agreement that the revised focus would include redesigning early support services for pregnant women and families expecting a child. The year began with the continuation of the Enhanced Whole Family Wellbeing Support Project, targeting families with children aged 0–3. A key development was the integration of Aberlour’s perinatal team into the delivery group, ensuring more robust support for expectant families and those with newborns. By May and June, planning was underway for the Synergy Sparks initiative, a collaborative effort involving 17 third sector organisations. The goal was to co-produce transformational solutions to address systemic gaps in family support. This period also saw the design of a new grants programme, with two tiers: Small Grants (up to £25,000) administered by Voluntary Action Angus Large Grants (up to £50,000) managed by Angus Council Optional Start-Up Support of £20,000 for new initiatives In July and August, Synergy Sparks delivered five co-production workshops, generating ideas and identifying barriers to effective service delivery. Simultaneously, the team began developing monitoring and evaluation tools, including referral tracking and qualitative feedback mechanisms. Between October and December, procurement began for a new co-ordinator post to lead multi-agency collaboration and streamline service pathways. The Glen Clova Project stepped in to provide interim support and lead on data collection and evaluation during this transition. As the year closed, enhanced support services continued, including integrated housing and welfare rights assistance. Strategic planning for Year 4 began, informed by lessons learned around procurement delays and data capacity challenges. Page 134 of 202
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11 WFWF spending programme is as follows: Page 135 of 202
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12 Dundee Details on the allocation of WFWF funding and activity are outlined in Appendix 1 and show a range of activity designed to either maximise the impact of existing services or provide new support to priority groups. It includes 6 initiatives which will either build the capacity of and/or reconfigure and/or improve access to services, such as: 1. Out-of-hours Social Work support 2. Development of an Advocacy Strategy 3. Development of a Volunteer Strategy 4. New multi-disciplinary hub for adolescents 5. Together to Thrive focus on enhancing workforce skills to address neurodevelopmental concerns 6. Fast Online Referral Tracking triage system Other projects are focused on early years, children with a disability, transitions from primary to secondary school, healthy eating, employability and family literacy. They are each actively supporting families and showing promise in respect of engagement and improved outcomes. Perth & Kinross The Families Empowering Communities project was awarded funding from the whole family wellbeing fund. This enabled our early intervention, community based family support project to expand the offer of support into 3 new communities across Perth and Kinross. The project is operational in Letham, Crieff, Bertha Park, Muirton & North Muirton, Blairgowrie and Rattray Voice is central to this ensuring that children, young people and adults are heard and have influence and decision- making power empowering them to design the supports they need. The project promotes positive wellbeing through supportive, connected communities. By being place-based and easily accessible support is given at an early intervention stage rather than waiting until crisis point. Our Whole Family Support focusses on supporting families who are on the edge of statutory involvement or who are no longer requiring statutory intervention. Our support also enables parents to be more engaged with their children’s learning through offering SCQF national level 2 & 3 and 4 qualifications, thus reducing the attainment gap and promoting family learning opportunities. Page 136 of 202
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13 Taking a holistic viewpoint highlights the interconnected needs of all family members, thus enabling tailored support, unique to each family and responsive to their changing circumstances. Universal activities enable families to feel connected to their wider community thus promoting a sense of wellbeing, inclusion and purpose. Working in partnership with families, local services and organisations ensures that we are making best use of existing community supports. This further allows communities to be more empowered and able to influence and shape future supports. Our one-to-one parental support is designed to enable parents to feel more confident, capable and supported in their parenting role, and to promote positive outcomes for both parents and children. Our offer has 4 differing support themes, these include, Building parenting skills/strengthening the parent/child relationship Providing emotional support Addressing specific issues Support to access other relevant services Our project also has a commitment to upholding the articles within the UNCRC with a particular emphasis on the following articles.2, 3, 12, 13, 15, 19, 27 and 31 are firmly imbedded in practice. Our one-to-one parental support another of the many ways in which we can ensure children’s rights are upheld. This can be by supporting parents to have a more involved role in their child’s education, health, and other key development needs. The rights of children to play, grow, and prosper as they should with the support of safe, loving caregivers is this project. As a new project how we gather our data has changed and improved. One measure of who we are working with is to use the priority families classification. Page 137 of 202
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14 October 23- March 25 1to 1 support only 3 4 1 10 10 5 20 18 5 3 10 7 Childre n from ethnic minorit y groups Care experience d children and young people Youn g carer s Children supporte d by a Children' s Plan Childre n with ASN Children who have undergon e significan t transitions , for example starting ELC, primary or secondar y Lone pare nt famil y Childre n from other low- incom e families Childre n from families with a disable d adult or child Childre n from families with a young mother (under 25) Childre n from families with a child under 1 year old Childre n from larger families (3+ childre n) April 2025- September 2026 (for All FEC activities) 6 6 9 19 16 11 26 30 23 5 8 23 Childre n from ethnic minorit y groups Care experience d children and young people Youn g carer s Children supporte d by a Children' s Plan Childre n with ASN Children who have undergon e significan t transitions , for example starting Lone pare nt famil y Childre n from other low- incom e families Childre n from families with a disable d adult or child Childre n from families with a young mother (under 25) Childre n from families with a child under 1 year old Childre n from larger families (3+ childre n) Page 138 of 202
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15 ELC, primary or secondar y YEAR October 2023 – March 2024 Families Adults Children Individuals 1 to 1 with Families (targeted) 69 Events ( universal) October Events (all areas) 24 95 December Events (all Areas) 63 170 individuals Groups Goodlyburn PS after school club 11 For 6 weeks Letham PS after school club 15 For 6 weeks Our Lady’s PS after school club 14 For 8 weeks YEAR April 2024 – March 2025 1 to 1 with Families 49 Events Easter (All Areas) 26 84 December Event with Santa (All Areas) 35 110 Groups After school club 15 For 8 weeks Page 139 of 202
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16 Letham Family Group 16 16 30 46 individuals Place Standard in 3 Primary Schools 108 Me Time 132 Instances of participation Beyond Incredible 231 instances of participation (105 being children) CARE Group 135 Instances of participation Family Games Night 2 6 individuals Employability Drop In Tea Time Toasties 4 13 individuals In Stitches 14 Messy Play 3 10 individuals YEAR April 2025 – September 2025 1 to 1 17 Groups Mens Group CAMHS & Coffee 1 Small Steps Big Smiles 13 28 instances of participation over 4 weeks Events Easter Events (all areas) ? Summer Events (all areas) 54 Page 140 of 202
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17 (iii) Evidence of engagement and involvement of fathers/those in a fathering role in children's health, education and child's plans. Angus Angus continues to lead nationally in its multi-agency approach to the Involving Dad’s agenda, with the dedicated group meeting regularly to drive improvements in support for fathers. During the year, two training sessions were delivered using the Roots to Change toolkit, which has helped build capacity and strengthen direct work with men around concerning behaviours. Although a development day was initially planned, it was rescheduled to September 2025 to allow for more strategic planning and alignment of priorities. Scoping work is also underway to explore funding opportunities for gender-specific support, recognising the need for tailored interventions. Despite strong progress, the group faces challenges with inconsistent representation from larger agencies, which has impacted continuity and shared ownership. Looking ahead to 2025–26, key recommendations include securing consistent agency engagement, piloting a gender-specific support model, and using the upcoming development day to finalise an improvement plan and address identified gaps. Angus is encouraged to continue its national engagement, sharing its multi-agency model as a best practice example to influence wider system change. Social work services have been undertaken work to identify the extent to which fathers are being included and contacted about their child’s social work involvement. Case management has been a focus to ensure that each father’s details are known at the point of initial contact with families, allowing involvement from the start of the journey. Focused work has been undertaken with all duty coordinators to ensure consistency. This has allowed more opportunity for fathers to be made aware of, and attend, meetings and discussions about the plans for their child. Where mothers and fathers are unable to participate in meetings about their child together, social work are offering split meetings to ensure their participation and views are heard. NHS partners have had a focus on communication and have put systems in place to ensure fathers who do not reside with their child can opt to receive health information relating to their child. Health are also developing a father’s record for early years services to mirror the information held about mothers. Page 141 of 202
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18 A pilot group (test of change) has been set up in one primary school in Arbroath. Fathers are being supported to actively engage in sports activities around the school, supported by the Active Schools coordinator. Fathers involved in the scheme also have access to additional wrap-around support with appointments, benefits or housing issues and it is hoped that they will be able to participate in a scheme which will see them train and build skills for employment through their volunteering in the schools. This scheme is at an early stage with one father now actively involved in school sports activity delivery. Dundee In Dundee, procedures relating to planning meetings to ensure that both parents are proactively involved in planning for their children have been updated. Data of attendance at meetings is positive. Senior Officers meet with any parent when it is assessed they cannot attend meetings to ensure they are involved in planning processes. Perth & Kinross From 01.04.24 to 31.12.24 there were 28 applications for support from fathers. Page 142 of 202
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19 Our children will have the best start in life We will refine the Early Years tracking tool and embed use across Tayside from 2024-25 Progress Updates Angus All Angus Council and contracted provider ELC settings use the Pupil Tracking tool to track developmental milestones and attainment for funded children aged 2-5. Contracted childminders use a similar format which is accessible to them. This enables all providers to track children’s progress and development. Settings use the data to plan targeted support and challenge for individuals and groups of children. All staff had the opportunity to engage in training, moderation and support to deepen their understanding of assessing children’s developmental milestones; how to deliver high quality interventions; and ensure effective support as they transition into primary one. In response to tracker data in 2025-26 staff will engage in training to deliver effective targeted support with a focus on Early Language and communication. Quads and triads will be established to build on moderation of the tracker data across Angus. Dundee Tools for capturing children’s learning, development and progress for children aged 2 – 3 years and 3 – 5 years are fully implemented and embedded across all Local Authority Early Years settings. All Funded Provider settings have access to both tools, with implementation being optional. Professional dialogue and reference to traces of learning continues to be essential when completing and using these tools. Effective use of the tool is considered within a wider approach to capturing children’s learning, development and progress. Ongoing support and training sessions are available to all settings. As a result, settings are supported to consider the sensitive and meaningful interpretation of information available within the tool and use this to inform planning and improvements as part of a cyclical approach to child centred pedagogy and improvement. It is noteworthy that all ELC setting have been graded as Good or better in inspections. Page 143 of 202
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20 Perth & Kinross All ELC Settings in Perth and Kinross continue to use the 3-5 Tracking tool created following collaborative work with the TRIC Tracking Group. 48 Local Authority and 33 Funded Provider Nurseries completed the excel tool in November 2024. 12 Childminders complete paper copies which are collated centrally to ensure all children taking funded places in PKC are included in the data set. ELC settings have now embedded robust tracking processes and are reporting an increased confidence in completing and using the tool to analyse the data. All ELC settings have clear timelines. Assessment and moderation activity has been a focus for improvement with collegiate activity and ELC Community Networks held in Term 2 across 11 geographical communities. Nursery Teachers and Early Years Support Teachers skills, knowledge and confidence to support and challenge the assessment and moderation in all our ELC settings has been strengthened. The aim this year is that by June 20205 effective tracking processes are in place with accurate data informing the intentional planning for improvements in outcomes for children aged 2-5. Improvements have been made to current excel trackers to allow data to be pulled through from the individual excel documents as one PKC data set. This is allowing for pivot tables to be created to provide more detailed reporting to of the cohort of children in PKC, regarding, gender, level of ASN, school the children will move to in Primary 1 for transition purposes. Improvement work takes place in settings informed by the 3-5 ELC tracker. For example, settings with Maths on their improvement programme have undertaken small tests of change. ELC Communication Champions are currently using the data from the tracker to analyse the Attention and Speech and Language statements identifying aspects for improvement in the learning and teaching. This is work carried forward from CYPIC Improvement programme. Page 144 of 202
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21 Our children will have the best start in life We will repeat the transitions survey in 2024-25 to measure the impact of new pathways and inform next steps Progress Updates The transitions survey was repeated in 2024-25. The combined Tayside data is set out below: New Start Transitions Survey August 2024 Intake Tayside Tayside 3-5-year-old intake TRIC 2022 2022% 2023 2023% 2024 2024% How many enrolled 3,420 4,432 - 4,334 - Newly enrolled 2,392 70% 1,722 39% 1,658 38% Significant early concerns 183 8% 251 15% 238 14% brought to attention prior 93 51% 128 51% 135 57% Support plans in place 38 41% 45 35% 78 58% In 2024, there was a slight decrease of children with identified significant early concerns. In the same year there was an increase of the percentage of early concerns raised with ELCs prior to starting. Significant increase in 2024 in the percentage of support plans in place for those children for whom significant concerns were raised with ELCs prior to starting. The increase in children’s support needs being communicated and planned for corresponds with the increase in the promotion of the transition pathway for children with emerging additional support needs with health visitors, ELC practitioners, and allied health professionals. Page 145 of 202
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22 TAYPLAN-2326-002 Our children and young people will achieve and make positive contributions to communities We will implement effective strategies to increase school attendance Progress Updates (i) Increased attendance across all groups. (ii) Increased attendance and attainment for children living in SIMD 1 and /or looked after at home Baseline data (Reported in LGBF, data is combined for primary and secondary): Overall attendance 2020-2021 – Angus 92.8%; Dundee 90.6%; Perth and Kinross 91.9% Data not published in 2021-22 Overall attendance 2022-2023 – Angus 90.5%; Dundee 88.6%; Perth and Kinross 90.4% Overall attendance 2023-2024 – Angus 90.7%; Dundee 88.9%; Perth and Kinross 90.2% Data for 2024-25 will be published in December 2025. Attendance gap between SIMD 1 and SIMD 5: 2020-2021 – Angus 5.1pp; Dundee 6.4pp; Perth and Kinross 4.8pp 2022-2023 – Angus 5.9pp; Dundee 6.8pp; Perth and Kinross 5.3pp 2023-2024 - Angus 5.8pp; Dundee 6.8pp; Perth and Kinross 6.6pp Data for 2024-25 will be published in December 2025. Attendance gap for looked after children (Reported in LGBF; data is for all children who are ‘looked after’ by the local authority and is combined for primary and secondary. Children may attend school in a different local authority area): 2020-2021 – Angus 6.6pp; Dundee 2.3pp; Perth and Kinross 2.9pp Data not published in 2021-22 2022-2023 – Angus 7.7pp; Dundee 5.5pp; Perth and Kinross 3.6pp 2023-2024 – Angus 5.1pp; Dundee 6.1pp; Perth and Kinross 4.2pp Data for 2024-25 will be published in summer 2026. Page 146 of 202
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23 Angus In session 2024-25, average attendance at both primary school and secondary school increased compared to 2023-24. Average attendance at both primary and secondary school by children who live in SIMD Q1 increased in 2024-25, compared to the previous year. In 2024-25, average attendance at primary school increased for children looked after at home and decreased for young people at secondary school who are looked after at home. Five engagement officers (EOs) and a resource worker (RW) are funded through Attainment Scotland Funding. Bespoke support is provided to care experienced children and young people, with the intended outcome of increasing attendance, engagement and participation at school. In 2024-25 the EOs worked with a total of 80 children and young people. Of these, 65% (52) improved their attendance during the session. 44 of the children engaging in the service lived in SIMD Q1, and 17 of the children supported were care experienced. There was evidence of improved outcomes for all, including increased attendance, engagement with learning and stronger relationships in school. Dundee The Council has formed a multi-agency strategy group to consider our policy and practice. Our overarching improvement strategy of Every Dundee Learner Matters focuses on improving our 3Ps - presence, participation and progress. Each school was tasked with forming an inquiry question around attendance. In addition, five schools have participated in Cohort 1 of Education Scotland's National Improving Attendance Programme and a further seven are participating in Cohort 2. Provisional local data evidences that almost all stretch aims for attendance have improved for session 2024/25. Improving attendance remains a key priority for Dundee schools. The group referenced above have produced revised attendance procedures and guidelines and these will be launched in a planned Attendance Summit in November 2025. Page 147 of 202
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24 Perth & Kinross There have been a number of interventions aimed at improving attendance across Perth & Kinross. Three “forum” events were held, focussing on attendance through local, national and international perspectives. These well-attended events, with delegates including school staff: PKC elected members; representatives from other local authorities; and representatives from Education Scotland, provided an opportunity to discuss and share good practice and consider evidence-based approaches to support improving attendance. School staff made public promises to implement approaches which would improve attendance. These included parental engagement to raise awareness of the impact of non-attendance on outcomes; monitoring and analysis of attendance data; and targeting interventions to effect improvement. A literature review of attendance interventions, undertaken by the Educational Psychology Service provided an evidence base for the Staged Intervention Framework for Attendance as well as informing and enabling the delivery of specific projects to support families and staff in schools with addressing non-attendance. One of these involved the use of Strategic Equity Funding to provide support for a few families whose children and young people are struggling with attendance. A poster campaign with the strapline “Miss School, Miss Out” was also undertaken. Page 148 of 202
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25 Our children and young people will achieve and make positive contributions to communities We will implement plans focused on raising attainment and meaningful engagement (participation). Progress Updates (i)Reduced attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people. Angus Baseline data - local authority stretch aims: In 2023-24, the annual trajectory targets for achievement of 1 or more award at SCQF Level 5 were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure decreased. In 2023-24, the annual trajectory targets for achievement of 1 or more award at SCFQ Level 6 were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure decreased. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory target for the achievement of literacy in P1,4,7 combined for children in SIMD 5 was achieved. The targets relating to all learners, those living in SIMD 1 and the attainment gap were not achieved. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory target for the achievement of numeracy in P1,4,7 combined for children in SIMD 5 was achieved. The targets relating to all learners, those living in SIMD 1 and the attainment gap were not achieved. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory targets for primary school attendance by all children, and those who live in SIMD Q1 and 5 were achieved. The target for the primary school attendance gap was not achieved. The targets for secondary school attendance by all young people, and those who live in SIMD Q1 and 5 were achieved. The target for the secondary school attendance gap was also achieved. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory targets for the annual participation measure were achieved for 16–19-year-olds living in SIMD 1, and for the overall attainment gap. Targets relating to all 16–19-year-olds and those living in SIMD 5 were not achieved. 2024-25 stretch aims data for the senior phase indicators will be available in February 2026. Page 149 of 202
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26 Dundee Baseline data - local authority stretch aim: In 2024-25, the annual trajectory targets for achievement of 1 or more award at SCQF Level 5 by all pupils and those living in SIMD quintile 1 were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure increased. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory targets for achievement of 1 or more award at SCFQ Level 6 were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure decreased. In 2024-25 the annual trajectory targets for achievement of literacy in P1,4,7 were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure decreased. In 2024-25 the annual trajectory targets for achievement of numeracy in P1,4,7 were, mostly, not achieved. The exception was the poverty related attainment gap for this measure which decreased and met its annual trajectory target. In 2024-25 attendance improved but did not achieve its annual trajectory target. The poverty related attainment gap decreased. The poverty related attainment gap met its annual trajectory target in primary schools. The gap between Care experienced children and young people looked after at home, and other pupils also met its annual trajectory target. In 2024-25 overall participation by 16-19 yr olds improved but did not achieve it annual trajectory target. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure increased. Perth & Kinross In 2023-24, the annual trajectory targets for achievement of 1 or more award at SCQF Level 5 were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure decreased and the stretch aim was exceeded. In 2023-24, the annual trajectory targets for achievement of 1 or more award at SCFQ Level 6 were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure decreased and the stretch aim was exceeded. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory target for the achievement of literacy in P1,4,7 combined was achieved. The poverty related attainment gap for this measure increased and the stretch aim was not achieved. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory target for the achievement of numeracy in P1,4,7 combined for was achieved. The poverty related attainment gap decreased, but the stretch aim was not achieved. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory target for primary school attendance was not met. The target for the primary school attendance gap was not achieved. Both were 1% adrift from stretch aims. In 2024-25, the annual trajectory target for secondary school attendance was not met. The target for the secondary school attendance gap was also not achieved. Page 150 of 202
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27 In 2024-25, the annual trajectory targets for the annual participation measure were not achieved. The poverty related attainment gap decreased but the stretch aim was not achieved. 2024-25 stretch aims data for the senior phase indicators will be available in February 2026. Page 151 of 202
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28 TAYPLAN-2326-003 Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health. We will ensure full implementation of the Child Healthy Weight Tayside Strategy. Progress Updates (i)Increased proportion of children with a healthy weight Baseline data: Percentage of primary 1 children classified as being of a healthy weight. 2021-22 – Angus Council 70.9%; Dundee 72.0%; Perth & Kinross 73.4%; Tayside 72.1% 2022-23 – Angus Council, 76.8%; Dundee 74.6%; Perth & Kinross 79.4%; Tayside 76.8% 2023-24 - Angus Council 71.7%; Dundee 74.3%; Perth & Kinross 75.6%; Tayside 74.0% 2024-25 data will be published in December 2025 (ii) Reduced inequality in healthy weight between children living in the most and least deprived areas in Tayside. Baseline data: gap between children living in SIMD 1 and children living in SIMD 5 2021-22: Angus 28.0pp; Dundee 8.7pp; Perth and Kinross 2.0pp; Tayside 10.3pp 2022-23: Angus 10.8pp; Dundee 10.7pp; Perth and Kinross -1.1pp; Tayside 9.2pp 2023-24: Angus 7.2pp; Dundee 1.5pp; Perth and Kinross 8.5pp; Tayside 4.1pp 2024-25 data will be published in December 2025 Work has continued over the last 12 months to help realise the five ambitions and associated calls to action of the Child Healthy Weight Strategy. This has included: In alignment with Ambition 2 ‘Children have the best start in life’ of the Child Healthy Weight Strategy, NHS Tayside Public Health Directorate have developed and launched a Tayside Infant Food Insecurity Pathway that aims to provide a supportive resource to ensure parents and carers can access timely, sustainable support if they face food insecurity for their infant. The pathway upholds the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which affirms every child’s right to the best possible health (Article 24) and an adequate standard of living (Article 27). Page 152 of 202
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29 The NHS Tayside Nutrition and Dietetics Community Food and Health Team’s ‘Community Cooking Padlet’ has been created to support community cooking groups through the provision of cooking skills information and resources. This has been accessed more than 500 times since its launch. Angus Continued activity in Angus with a whole systems approach to addressing child poverty and health inequalities in infants, children and young people. This remains embedded within the Best Start Bright Futures Group and seeks to support a co-ordinated approach to action planning and strategic alignment with a focus on child poverty and related health inequalities including healthy weight. Nine multi agency colleagues in Angus have been supported to complete a systems practice training course, the aim for this is to build capacity for whole system working in Angus by developing a clearer understanding of how systems thinking and systems tools can be used to address many of the complex and shared issues we all grapple with and to help embed systems thinking as the prevailing approach in addressing public health issues. Dundee In Local Authority Early Years Settings, a Food and Nutrition Policy developed by a short life working group, is now in place and has been implemented from August 2025. A partnership between the Soil Association, NHS Tayside and the Council was established to support schools to implement a whole setting approach to Food and Health. Five schools obtained funding and a Food and Health Padlet resource for schools and early years settings was developed to support delivery of the food and health curriculum. This includes guidance on the updated ‘Setting the Table Guidance. Nutritional Standards and Practical Guidance for Early Learning and Childcare Providers in Scotland’. A short life working group has now been established to develop a Food & Nurture policy for children and young people in Primary and Secondary school settings, building on the work in Early Years. Page 153 of 202
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30 Perth & Kinross The Best Foot Forward Programme is delivered across Tayside in schools and communities in partnership with local sports groups, clubs and services. The most recent cohort of programmes delivered in Perth & Kinross has been supported by P&K Active Schools, Live Active Football and Cricket development team and Sustrans Scotland. Page 154 of 202
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31 Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health. We will work collectively to support uptake of immunisation for children across Tayside. Progress Updates (i) Increased proportion of children receiving immunisations. Baseline data: percentage of children receiving immunisations (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) 2022-23 Angus 91.4%; Dundee 89.7%; Perth and Kinross 92.6%. 2023-24 Angus 93.2%, Dundee 88.0%; Perth and Kinross 92.5% 2024-25 Angus 93.2%, Dundee 89.1%, Perth and Kinross 91.7% NHS Tayside Immunisation Steering Group continues, with contribution from the NHS Tayside Childhood (CH) immunisation Leadership Group. The CH Immunisation Leadership Group has now been embedded in practice and meets regularly to provide operational and leadership direction to the CH Immunisation service. It continues to focus on the optimisation of the childhood immunisation service to ultimately improve immunisation uptake. Partner colleagues are invited to attend to discuss issues or feedback as information and planning is required. Activity continues to ensure systems and processes are in place to support the schedule changes expected in 2025-2026 which includes the roll out of Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella (MMRV). A number of working groups have been established to focus on: Schedule changes: Improving update: Accessibility including translation and interpretation support. The working group for improving immunisation uptake has been established. The group will establish and works in collaboration with Public Health, Childhood Immunisation Team and Education colleagues. The CH Immunisation team continue to work closely with Health visitors, FNP and school nurses to encourage the promotion of immunisations at each contact with families. Challenges for the Childhood Immunisation service remain around access to suitable accommodation in community care settings, clinic space, secure fridges and storage. The introduction of the new Child Health System, due to go live in mid-October 2025, is also presenting some challenge around transition of systems. There are various implementation groups in place both locally and nationally to take this forward. Page 155 of 202
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32 Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health. We will implement the Tayside Action Plan to reduce suicide in children and young people Progress Updates (i) Reduced number of children and young people completing suicide. Baseline data: number of young people under the age of 20 completing suicide 2017-2021: 12 (of which, 6 were under the age of 18) 2019-2023: 8 (of which, 6 were under the age of 18) Note: The numbers are small so no interpretation can be placed on these figures. (ii) Increased number of staff trained in suicide intervention. Across Tayside there has been a co-ordinated approach to increasing provision of suicide prevention training in professionals and members of the public. This is co-ordinated in each Local Authority area by the Suicide Prevention Co-ordinator with additional training support provided from NHS Tayside Public Health and the third sector. There has been specific work undertaken to develop appropriate training for those working with children and young people and training delivered to staff working in this area. (iii) Increased satisfaction with information sharing from child death/suicide review An information sharing pathway between Child and Adolescent Mental Health services and the Named Person has been in place for over a year. This is used to alert the Named Person when there has been a crisis presentation to CAMHS within 1 working day. The system has continued to improve based on ongoing evaluation that has highlighted operational issues. It is valued by all in terms of improved partnership working and risk management. Named Person staff greatly value the new protocol as it makes such a difference to them feeling valued, safer in their practice knowing the risk is being shared and managed as part of a professional multi agency response. Page 156 of 202
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33 Our children and young people will enjoy good physical and mental health. We will continue implementation of ‘Connected Tayside; an emotional health & wellbeing strategy for children & young people’ (2021-23) Progress Updates (i) Tayside mental health pathways are fully implemented, and supports are accessible. Neurodevelopmental Update: A Tayside Neurodevelopmental (ND) Pathway Improvement Programme is being established to strengthen multi-agency collaboration across health, education, and social care partners, as well as the third/voluntary sector, ensuring clear accountability and shared decision-making. The aim is to ensure that all key partners are fully engaged and share ownership in developing a new Neurodevelopmental (ND) pathway for children and young people across Tayside. GAP Analysis - ND Needs Assessment Plan The needs assessment and mapping of services and supports across the three local authorities and within NHS Tayside is now nearly complete. A report will be collated over September that will help outline the opportunities and gaps that currently exist within services. The aim is to better understand how to meet the needs of the ND population across Tayside. We continue to gather insights from Scottish Government funded tests of change in other health boards to inform positive learning and also opportunities for improvement in developing a future ND pathway in Tayside. This will help ensure that the pathway is both needs-led and appropriate, while also being sustainable. Review of current CAMHS ND Waiting List Learning from review of the current ND waiting list has highlighted the need to redesign the pre-assessment pathway in collaboration with multi-agency partners so children are directed to the most appropriate services from the outset. Page 157 of 202
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34 (ii) The Health and Wellbeing survey will show an increase in pupils who say they feel positive about the future Baseline data: The percentage of pupils who agreed or strongly agreed that the feel positive about their future. 2021-22: Angus, 70.2%; Dundee 74.6% and Perth & Kinross 71.9% The Health and Wellbeing Census took place in 2022. 16 local authorities participated, including Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross. Data was published as ‘experimental’ in May 2023. In June 2025, the Scottish Government published a Background Report reflecting on the development of the census and lessons learned. No future date has been communicated for this census to be rerun. Page 158 of 202
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35 TAYPLAN-2326-004 Our children and young people will have their rights protected and their voices heard We will support the multi-agency workforce to promote rights, choice and control for children and young people on how their views are heard and represented and how they are involved in decisions that affect them. Progress Updates Baseline data: number of Tayside schools with Rights Respecting Schools accreditation As at 23 October 2025: 10 registered; 70 Bronze; 64 Silver; 25 Gold; Reaccreditation 5 (i) Children and young people will have access to independent advocacy, informal advocacy, and digital tools to support participation. Angus Over the course of the year, Angus successfully met its target to increase advocacy provision by 10%, with advocacy partners reporting an average of 70 young people receiving support—up from 50 the previous year. In total, there were 78 new individual referrals and 29 referrals for family advocacy. It’s important to note that these figures exclude referrals directed by the Children’s Hearing system, meaning the actual number of young people supported is even higher. The recent inspection highlighted Angus’s strong partnership approach to independent advocacy, praising the seamless pathways that enable children to maintain consistent advocacy relationships as they navigate multiple agencies and processes. However, challenges remain. There has been a noticeable rise in referrals related to education, and Who Cares has reported ongoing difficulties for children placed out of area in maintaining relationships with separated family members. Looking ahead to 2025–2026, Angus will align its advocacy work with the proposed Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill, currently under consultation. The focus will be on ensuring that every child involved in child protection or the care system—regardless of age or ability—has their voice heard and access to an independent advocate. Plans are in place to increase advocacy engagement by a further 10% and to review current Page 159 of 202
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36 funding arrangements to enhance system capacity. Angus will also continue to share its multi-agency model nationally as an example of best practice. Dundee In Dundee, children and young people are increasingly having their voices heard in more systematic and meaningful ways. For younger children, the New Beginnings Team has been trained in using a Mental Health Observational Indicator Set to make observations of children with their main care giver and inform support. To help drive measurable improvements, the service has started to gather quality assurance data on the proportion of 0-5’s who either attend or, more frequently, have their views represented at key decision-making meetings. The first audit completed in June 2025 established a 50% baseline for this age group compared with 65% overall and this informs an action plan, which includes the development of resources to enable their views to be heard. For older children, Mind of My Own (MOMO) forms one of several ways of obtaining children and young people’s views to inform support. It provides an alternative option to 1:1 methods and Champions Boards have commented positively this year on its use. Where they need additional support to be heard, a Who Cares? advocacy service engaged with 83 children and young people. It retains a strong presence in all Children’s Houses and advocated for 11 young people in external Foster Care and residential care. The audit of views provided at key meetings showed that 81% of children over 6 years attended or had their views represented. The WFWF also contributes towards the delivery and evaluation of What Matters to You, which the Council continues to coordinate with the Hunter Foundation, BBC Children in Need and local communities. Increasingly, the approach involves the use of Cafe Conversations to pro-actively listen and respond to the needs of local communities, including how they might lead or contribute towards developments. Communities play a central role in the allocation of a Make it Happen Fund to enhance support. Perth & Kinross Through attendance at the local School Champions Boards (a group for CE Young people during school time) the Children’s Rights Officer has engaged with and built relationships with young people across Perth and Kinross. Through engagement with Local Youth Forums and council wide participation events Perth and Kinross now has a Youth Strategy which was adopted by the Learning Families Committee in October 2024. An operational governance Page 160 of 202
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37 group attended by a variety of partners will ensure that the voice and participation of young people remains paramount throughout its delivery. Rights respecting ambassadors sees peer and collective advocacy empowering children and young people to participate actively, understanding their rights and responsibilities. (ii) Attending child's planning meetings will be supported and the environment will be inclusive. Angus Data showed that 51% of children and young people had their voices heard within their meetings. It also highlighted that 44% did not attend their meetings preferring to share their views other ways. There is currently a degree of flexibility, but it is unclear if we are getting it right for young people. From 1 April 2024, Angus began formally reporting on child and young person participation in child planning meetings, with a total of 551 meetings recorded over the year. Data showed that 51% of children and young people had their voices heard within their meetings. It also highlighted that 44% did not attend their meetings preferring to share their views other ways. This marked a significant step forward in capturing participation data and understanding how children engage in decisions that affect their lives. To support children in attending planning meetings and ensure the environment is inclusive, Angus practitioners use the PREpare model, which helps children understand the purpose of the meeting, what will be discussed, and how their views will be represented. This approach encourages children to feel more confident and informed before participating. Inclusive environments are created by offering flexible formats for engagement, such as informal settings, visual aids, and opportunities for children to contribute in ways that suit their communication style—whether verbal, written, or creative. These efforts aim to make participation meaningful and ensure every child feels safe, respected, and heard. However, several challenges emerged. Staffing changes impacted consistency and capacity, and there remained uncertainty about the effectiveness of current engagement methods. Practitioners highlighted the need for better tools Page 161 of 202
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38 and training to interpret non-verbal cues and alternative forms of communication, as well as the importance of adapting approaches to suit individual preferences. Despite these challenges, meaningful progress was made. New tools were developed, and participation data began to inform practice more directly. Looking ahead to 2025–2026, the focus will be on improving engagement strategies tailored to individual children, enhancing staff training to recognise both verbal and non-verbal expressions, and listening closely to feedback from children and professionals to refine approaches. To reflect this evolving focus, the improvement aim will be updated to: “We will improve the quality of data recorded in respect of participation and develop our participation strategy.” This will help ensure that children and young people are not only given opportunities to participate but also feel genuinely heard in the decisions that shape their lives. Dundee Out of 2,452 Team Around the Child Meetings during academic year 2024-25, 1,381 (56.3%) had child’s views recorded. Perth & Kinross Perth and Kinross use several different environments to ensure that meetings take place in child/youth friendly premises. This variety ensures the participants active participation making them valued and heard. Our CASA and TCAC Young people’s reviews take place within our Youth base increasing a welcoming and age-appropriate venue. Page 162 of 202
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39 (iii) Children with additional needs will share their views and be involved in decisions. Angus A variety of approaches are used in Angus to gather learner voice. In line with our GIRFEC approach, the wellbeing web is used to capture children and young people’s views using the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators. The wellbeing web includes a symbolised version for learners who require visual support. For learners who are non-speaking or who have communication difficulties a range of supports are available including photographic, Boardmaker visuals, Makaton, and Talking Mats. Capturing pupil voice is also done through the use of sensory stories and face-to-face and online surveys. Interpreters and online translators are used for children and young people who have English as an additional language and BSL for children and young people who are deaf. Over session 2024/25, 4 sessions of multiagency training on the GIRFEC refresh have included advice for professionals delivering the Named Person role on how to use a variety of methods, including the Wellbeing Web, to capture the voices of children and young people with a range of needs to support them in co-creating Child Plans. These sessions also offered advice on how to support the meaningful inclusion and participation of children and young people in meetings. Parents and carers are offered support to engage with third sector organisations who may provide advocacy services for children with ASN through our Connecting Parents Angus portal. Dundee Children with additional needs are supported to share their views and participate. Translators are used for children where English is not their first language. Page 163 of 202
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40 Perth & Kinross Staff within Children, Young people, families and justice are trained in the use of Talking Mats, Boardmaker and Makaton to capture the thoughts and feelings of young people with communication difficulties. This tool allows young people to visually organise their responses to a variety of topics. The tool can be used both physically and digitally, making it versatile in capturing the views of young people for different settings. For those who are profoundly disabled and unable to engage with these tools we make use of observations and speak to a wide range of people who are close to the young person such as teachers, parents and personal assistants. The Children’s Rights Officer continues to engage with both statutory agencies and third sector groups who support those young people with disabilities ensuring the voice of young people is included in their developments and evaluations of their services. Special attention to children with additional needs will ensure their views are heard and considered in decision-making. “Using non-instructed advocacy, where a person is unable to give clear indication of their views or wishes in a specific situation. The non-instructed advocate seeks to uphold the person’s rights; ensuing fair and equal treatment and access to services; and make certain that decisions are taken with due consideration for their unique preferences and perspectives.” (SIAA Guidelines, 2009) Where English is not a young person first language translators are used to capture their views and explain their rights. Perth and Kinross continue to work in partnership with Independent Advocacy Perth and Kinross to support young people within a variety of meetings to ensure that their voice and feelings are taken into consideration when any outcomes are agreed. Page 164 of 202
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41 (iv) Views are well represented at child's planning meetings Angus The update for this outcome is detailed above in “(ii) Attending child's planning meetings will be supported and the environment will be inclusive.” Dundee As above Perth & Kinross With the introduction of Mosaic, PKC has implemented Pathway Assessments and plans which shall be completed for compulsorily supported young people within Throughcare and Aftercare. These assessments and plans have the young person’s views at the forefront, concentrating on areas such as accommodation, health and wellbeing, relationships, personal support, education/employment and financial management. Our reviewing officers and fieldworkers ensure that preparation for planning meetings is as important as the participation within them. Children/Young people are well supported to have their voice heard and their views considered. If a child/young person does not want to attend their meeting, consideration is given to how to obtain and represent their views, such as by letter or email. Strategies are implemented to make the meetings child friendly and language appropriate. Page 165 of 202
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42 (v) Children's hearing decisions are fully informed by the views of children and young people Angus The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) continues to advance its commitment to children's rights and participation, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). A series of developments are being implemented to ensure that children’s voices are central to decision-making throughout the Hearing process. SCRA now seeks the views of children prior to a Hearing being convened. This ensures that every decision made by a Reporter is informed by the child’s perspective. Children who are deemed capable are invited to share their views in any format they choose, including written, verbal, visual, or digital methods. Where appropriate, face-to- face meetings may be arranged to support this process. Children’s views continue to be recorded in social work Hearing reports. Panel Members have a procedural obligation to verify the accuracy of these views during Hearings. The growing presence of Independent Advocates has significantly enhanced the ability of children to express their views confidently and independently. SCRA works in partnership with social work teams and other professionals to deliver this. Developments planned for 2025-26 onwards include the roll-out of Child Friendly Scheduling and a training programme to enable all SCRA staff to engage effectively with children and young people from the outset. Dundee As above with Angus and SCRA. Perth & Kinross A variety of methods are used to gather the view of young people throughout their Hearing Journey. This is broken down to the 3 stages of a Hearing - Pre- Hearing they have the “Hearing about me form,” the offer of an advocate from Perth and Kinross Independent Advocacy, Chair greeting the Child and pre-Hearing visits. The Hearing endeavours to use language that families and young people understand and have Hearing centres that are more child friendly with age-appropriate equipment. Post Hearing- the Hearing outcome letter has a QR code asking for feedback from young people. Page 166 of 202
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43 (vi) Staff will have access to training on UNCRC, The promise, engagement and feel confident in supporting young people. Angus In response to The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, Angus Council has made e-Learning available to support employee knowledge of this area. ‘How we protect children’s rights with the UN convention on the rights of the child’ has been made available on Always Learning. This e-Learning is mandatory for all employees to complete. UNCRC is included in Angus Council’s Equality Impact Assessment process. Advocacy services have been embedded into practice to ensure all young people have access to this service, with training opportunities being made available to staff. Advocacy has been a focus of input within the Children Families & Justice practitioner development forum and all children now attending children’s hearings in Angus are afforded the opportunity to have an independent advocate. Training has been provided to staff and organisations that fall within the remit and responsibilities of being corporate parents. This training has been embedded into our online learning system in Angus Council. The training explains and helps promote understanding of our duties and responsibilities as corporate parents. Training now includes UNCRC which staff are required to undertake and is included as part of induction for new staff joining the council. Work is underway to ensure that Angus Council has a system in place which is child friendly, accessible to anyone under 18 years of age enabling them to raise a complaint in the same way as adults do respecting Article 12, Right to be heard. Youth engagement guidance has been developed by our Vibrant Communities team in partnership with young people. Dundee Page 167 of 202
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44 A UNCRC self-evaluation and improvement plan is currently being developed and will be finalised in the autumn of 2025. The plan will then form a key part of the next Children’s Services Plan 2026-29. The self-evaluation highlights existing good practice in relation, for instance, to: 1. Children’s rights considered as part of Integrated Impact Assessments 2. Child Protection training including reference to UNCRS 3. School Improvement Plans including reference to UNCRC 4. Our Promise 2023-26 including a clear focus on Voice 5. Listening mechanisms such as What Matters to You, MOMO, Planet Youth and Youth Leadership 6. Infant Pledge 7. Implementation of Child Friendly Complaints Procedure 8. All schools registered for the Rights Respecting Schools Accreditation Programme In addition, Dundee work in partnership with UNICEF to support the Rights Respecting Schools programme and there are two staff currently undertaking training to become accreditors of this programme. There is an action plan for this work and all schools are registered for the programme with a target of all having the Bronze award by the end of this academic session. A number of schools already have the Silver award and some have achieved Gold. The Citywide Pupil Voice group are also integral to ensuring the young person’s voice is considered in developing policy and practice in line with the UNCRC and the Promise. Perth & Kinross A variety of training inputs have taken place covering the Promise and UNCRC. The Children’s Rights officer has presented to the Professional Development Award for Youthwork (6-month course for trainee youth workers from partner agencies); team development days for Services for Young People and Justice fieldworkers; full service inputs; and child protection inter- agency input. Digital development through the P&K Essential Learning Modules has seen the introduction of the Corporate Parenting e-module. Development is underway with a scheduled launch of July 2025 of the UNCRC Essential Module for P&K employees. Page 168 of 202
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45 To further promote the UNCRC our Children’s Rights Officer has developed and promoted an online learning module for council staff, partners and young people. Page 169 of 202
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46 Our children and young people will have their rights protected and their voices heard We will promote and protect relationships that are important to children and young people when children are separated from their families and it is safe to do so. Progress Updates (i) When children are separated from people who are important to them, there are clear plans to maintain and promote safe family time. (National dataset for siblings will be implemented and monitored) Angus Angus has made progress in implementing the National Definition of Brothers and Sisters, embedding practices that support siblings to remain together or maintain meaningful relationships. This includes recognising and planning for non- biological sibling-type relationships formed in care settings, reflecting a broader understanding of sibling bonds beyond biological ties. Practice now aligns with national guidance and promotes continuity of relationships even after placement changes. Despite these improvements, supporting non-related sibling relationships presents challenges, particularly in tailoring care arrangements to meet individual needs. To strengthen this area in 2025–26, Angus will formalise guidance on supporting non-biological sibling relationships, monitor outcomes for children affected by sibling separation or placement changes, and continue staff development to embed the national definition into assessments and planning. In parallel, Angus has also progressed in implementing National Data Reporting Requirements. As of May 2025, 44.6% of looked-after children with looked-after siblings were living with at least one sibling. Data is now regularly collated and reported to TRIC, and fostering criteria have been reviewed to reduce barriers and increase local capacity to support sibling groups. Page 170 of 202
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47 However, sibling separation remains a concern for a significant proportion of children, and data tracking on sibling placements and changes due to LAC status requires refinement. For 2025–26, Angus will enhance data systems to better track sibling placements over time, monitor the impact of revised fostering criteria, and develop targeted recruitment of foster carers who can accommodate sibling groups locally. These efforts aim to ensure that sibling relationships are protected and prioritised throughout the care journey. Angus supports children to have good quality time with parents and siblings they cannot live with by ensuring that contact is thoughtfully planned and tailored to each child’s needs. This includes using technology such as video calls and messaging platforms to maintain regular and meaningful connections, especially when in-person contact is not possible due to distance or placement arrangements. These interactions are designed to be child-centred, with flexibility around timing, format, and content to ensure they feel safe and supported. We have spent time and resources enhancing our spaces for children and their families. We have a dedicated building due to be completed in 2025 for this purpose. Oversight of these arrangements is maintained through child’s planning meetings, where practitioners review the effectiveness of contact and make adjustments based on the child’s feedback and wellbeing. Dundee In 2024/25 we implemented a Staying Connected procedure. We held training and development sessions for staff to ensure this was embedded. When children are separated from their families, we seek care arrangements where siblings can be together if possible and safe. Assessments are undertaken for all children who are Looked After and include the need to promote and protect relationships that are important to them. Plans are put in place to ensure this and reviewed at scheduled meetings. The Family Time Procedure was also reviewed and refreshed during this period. Our data shows for 2023-24: Overall - 47.2% of children live with at least one sibling At home with parents – 80% Kinship Care – 55% Foster Care – 31.3% Children’s Houses – 11% External residential care – 0% Page 171 of 202
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48 This is a key reason why the service prioritises local family-based care, where children are more likely to live with or near their brothers/sisters. It also reinforces the importance of building local Foster Care capacity so they can be together or remain close. Some children and young people with more complex needs are cared for in care external residential settings, where it is not appropriate and/or possible for their brother or sister to stay. In these circumstances, regular contact is supported It should also be noted that ‘having a sibling’ includes half-siblings living with the other birth parent and adult brothers and sisters, where it is often not appropriate and/or possible for a care experienced child to stay. For CSO home and kinship care, there was an increase of children living together, involving slightly more reunifications than separations. Conversely, foster and residential placements more frequently led to siblings being separated. In this context, when children or young people require alternative care, teams identify and assess potential Kinship Carers. The service has an established Kinship Care Team and a range of supports have been developed, including 2 Clinical Psychologists funded by Corra to help promote attachments, capacity and resilience within families. Perth & Kinross The CREST team along with the support of social work colleagues and speech and language specialists have developed a Connections Toolkit which they are now piloting and developing. The toolkit will support the work of CREST, but also the service as a whole, to support children and young people who are separated from their families to stay connected with those that are important to them, where it is safe to do so, including brother and sisters who are not able to live together. The toolkit supports children and young people to map out important relationships, led by the child, ensuring they are listened to and their rights are being upheld. The process supports professionals to create a connections plan, helping to maintain these important relationships where safe to do so. It supports engagement with children and young people, understanding their world, the value of their relationships, and how they change over time. It also supports children, young people, and their families to utilise resources within their identified network, where safe to do so, in the hope of saving on resources, and having ongoing support and connections post social work intervention. Page 172 of 202
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49 We know that grandparents, other family members, and important people within the child or young person’s community can play a significant part in offering ongoing love and support. Review Team: The role of the Review Officer is central to ensuring that when children and young people are separated from their loved and important family members, that, where it is safe do so, their relationships are maintained, promoted and supported. At the review meeting which takes place within 6 weeks of a child becoming ‘looked after’ either at home or away from home, the Review Officer will ensure that a Connections Plan/Toolkit has been undertaken, or is scheduled to be completed. Review Officers record data on all children and young people who cannot stay with their primary care givers and who become looked after away from home either in kinship, foster or residential care. We aim to map and record the reasons why a child may be separated from their brothers and sisters and what endeavours are being made to ensure that they can live together, where it is assessed that this is safe and in their best interests, and if not, ensure that their relationships with their brothers and sisters is prioritised and promoted. We are also recording information about children and young people who have initially been living together in foster care or kinship care and who have to move for any reason, or if one of the children has had to move. Emphasis is placed on brothers and sisters living together and where this is not possible ensuring that they are closely connected to one another and their wider family network. For some children and young people it is not only important to consider their relationships with their own brothers and sisters, but also those children who they have grown up with in foster care. We refer to these relationships as “sibling-like relationships”. The Review Officer will also highlight this within the review forum. At review there is discussion about the responsibilities of the Foster Carers, Residential Workers, Social Worker and family members to ensure that the child’s connection with their family is prioritised. A Family Time agreement may be used. Family Based Care and Adoption Teams: Page 173 of 202
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50 When the decision has been made that children or young people can no longer live at home with their parents, kinship options will be assessed as a first option to maintain important family and friends links where safe. If there is a need to be accommodated with foster carers, we will always try to place brothers and sisters together where it is safe to do so. Where brothers and sisters cannot be placed together due to risk assessments, or resources, then kinship carers and foster carers will be supported to promote and enable safe family time and sibling contact (either formally or informally). If children are placed for adoption, we have discussions with the adopters as early as possible about their willingness to consider any future siblings being placed with them at a later date. Where this is not an option, we ensure adopters are aware of the understanding that sibling contact may be something they need to consider in the future. We are currently in the early process of developing a private outdoor space that can be used for sibling contact when brothers and sisters have been unable to live together. This will be somewhere that will accommodate all ages of siblings in a safe and fun environment. The development of this space is in consultation with foster carers, kinship carers, workers and young people. TAYPLAN-2326-005 Page 174 of 202
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51 Our children and young people will be safe and feel loved We will ensure appropriate housing options are in place for vulnerable families including pregnant women and families with children Progress Updates (i) Children and families are secure in good quality accommodation that meets their needs. (ii) Reduction in the number of children growing up in temporary accommodation. Baseline data: households including children or pregnant women in temporary accommodation Published September 2022: 100 households with a total of 245 children Published September 2023: 115 households with a total of 255 children Published September 2024: 90 households with a total of 190 children. 2024-25 Mid-year update as at 30.09.24: 105 households with a total of 245 children. Full year data will be published in February 2026. Angus Many care leavers face independence alone and feel isolated as many lack a ‘safety net’ of family and friends. A trauma informed approach is therefore essential when supporting care leavers, with relationships at the heart of good practice. In Angus, a person-centred decision making with support approach is taken to ensure the most appropriate accommodations options are made available to our care leavers. This is to increase the likelihood of the young person sustaining the accommodation in the longer term. Housing and the Horizon team (TCAC) worked in partnership to develop a join housing protocol in 2013 to support their corporate parenting responsibilities by jointly addressing the diverse accommodation and support needs of care leavers and other young people engaged with the Horizon team. The joint housing protocol recognises that living independently does not always work out for some individuals, services need to be more responsive to individual need with a return to care being an option where appropriate. This year the Housing protocol was reviewed and updated. Since the protocol was introduced the number of care experienced young people (looked after less than 5 years ago) applying as homeless has reduced by 62%. The joint protocol ensures services work together to be responsive to the individual needs of young people. Page 175 of 202
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52 Dundee In Dundee, there were 25 households with pregnant women or dependent children in temporary accommodation at 31 December 2024 compared to 105 on 31 December 2023. There were 227 children contained within these households in 2024 compared to 245 in 2023 (7% decrease). All temporary accommodation for families in Dundee is provided in the form of network flats. These are our mainstream Council properties that are used as temporary accommodation for families. There are no families staying in shared accommodation or hostel type accommodation. In total 852 cases have secured permanent accommodation as an outcome during the first 3 quarters of 2024/2025. This is an increase of 325 cases or 62% compared to the same period in 2023/2024. The percentage of cases securing permanent accommodation is 81% compared to 73% in 2023/2024. Overall, good progress is being made in this area however we acknowledge that homelessness pressures across the country is presenting challenges and as a result B&B use continues. Where possible, we will always look to accommodate families in a network flat. The Council has also stipulated that no 16–17-year-olds will be placed in homeless accommodation when presenting to homelessness services. They will be prioritised for tenancies and/or referred to the Multi Agency Screening Hub to coordinate support. Perth and Kinross Page 176 of 202
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53 In Perth and Kinross our ‘Home First’ approach has resulted in the lowest prevalence of people requiring temporary accommodation in Scotland in the last 5 years (by population). There has been particular success in enabling families with children to directly access secure tenancies, avoiding the need for temporary accommodation. When this is not possible, a furnished temporary flat in the community is provided on the basis that this could subsequently be transferred to a secure tenancy. There is a strong partnership with Perthshire Women’s Aid who provide refuge accommodation using properties leased from the Council which again can be transferred to a secure tenancy if appropriate. A Common Housing Register provides a single route into approximately 97% of social-rented accommodation in Perth and Kinross provided by the Council and 3 Housing Association partners. The Common Housing Register is underpinned by a Common Allocations Policy, reviewed in early 2025. This includes a Strategic Need pathway, enabling the prioritisation of care experienced young people and families with children in certain circumstances. Our children and young people will be safe and feel loved We will further develop approaches to identifying, responding, and managing risk to young people aged 12–18 This will include: Page 177 of 202
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54 • Young people at risk of secure care • Young people subject to Care and Risk Management (CARM) planning. • Young people who go missing Progress Updates (i) Young people in our settings feel informed that their rights have been respected. Angus In October 2024, Angus launched a new website designed to be accessible and engaging for children, young people, and families. The content was tailored to a 12-year-old reading age and shaped by direct feedback from children and young people, who requested simpler language, more colour, and interactive video content. To promote the site, QR code posters and cards were distributed across Angus and Dundee, helping to drive traffic. Between January and March 2025, the site recorded 624 visits and 1,362 page views for children and families, and 162 visits with 513 page views for justice-related content. The website has received positive feedback from young people, particularly around its accessibility and relevance. A multi-agency promotion and feedback loop has been established, allowing for ongoing updates based on user input. The platform plays a key role in helping children understand their rights by presenting information in a child-centred format and offering clear pathways to support. However, sustaining engagement and keeping content current remain ongoing challenges, alongside the need for clearer access to support and complaints processes. Looking ahead to 2025–26, the focus will be on broadening promotion, monitoring usage, and enhancing the site’s functionality. This includes adding a child-friendly complaints procedure, developing a dedicated Support Services page, and continuing quarterly IT reviews and feedback collection. These improvements will ensure the website remains a trusted and informative resource that empowers children and young people to understand and exercise their rights. Dundee Please see the updates above and below on vulnerable adolescents. Page 178 of 202
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55 Perth & Kinross Young People’s right to participate in decisions that affect their lives and to have their voices heard is promoted in daily practice by practitioners in Perth and Kinross. Meetings such as Looked After Reviews and Child Protection Planning Meetings can be adjusted as required to make it comfortable for the young person to participate. We work closely with Independent Advocacy Perth and Kinross (IAPK) to ensure that young people have access to an Independent Advocate as needed. Microsoft Teams is utilised to give young people the option of being able to participate in their meetings online. Within our REACH team, a dedicated Speech and Language Therapist has been available to undertake speech and language assessments of young people in order to better understand their communication needs and promote inclusive communication for these young people. This has enabled appropriate adjustments to be made in how we communicate and share information with these young people, thereby upholding their right to participate and have their views heard. Independent Advocacy is offered to young people within the children’s hearing system to ensure that their right to participate and have their views heard within hearings is respected. The Perth and Kinross Children’s Hearings Improvement Partnership (CHIP) was established in November 2024 and consists of representatives from Social Work, IAPK, SCRA and Children’s Hearings Scotland. A key improvement priority for the partnership is improving children’s participation in the hearing system. Since December 2023, young people have not only had access to Independent Advocacy Perth and Kinross, but also to our Children’s Rights Officer. This is a full-time permanent post within Services for Young people. This role will work alongside IAPK at a more strategic level, ensuring that the voice of young people is – where appropriate - included within both strategic and operational guidance for Perth and Kinross. (ii) Young people at risk of harm have access to appropriate support and clear plans to address need and risk. Angus Page 179 of 202
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56 The Care and Risk Management (CARM) framework in Angus has played a pivotal role in supporting young people aged 12–17 who are at risk of harm to themselves or others. Recognising that these young people were often not represented in traditional child protection processes, the CARM project broadened its criteria to include those at risk of self-harm and focused on developing the capacity of the multi-agency workforce to respond in a trauma-informed and proportionate way. Through regular multi-agency training, reflective discussions, and the introduction of a practitioner forum, professionals have become more confident in identifying and managing risk-taking behaviours at an earlier stage. The project’s quality improvement approach, including the use of Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles and a tiered training framework, led to a 10% increase in the number of young people considered for CARM by April 2024. Notably, there has been a reduction in the number of young people entering secure care, indicating earlier and more effective intervention. The involvement of young people in designing resources, such as the CARM logo and information cards, and the development of accessible materials (including a short film), has further enhanced engagement and understanding for both young people and their families. Ongoing data collection and reflective practice have ensured that the approach remains responsive to emerging needs, while the focus on co-production with third sector partners aims to embed lived experience into future developments. Overall, CARM has fostered a more coordinated, rights-based, and relationship-focused response to supporting young people at risk in Angus, with clear evidence of improved workforce confidence and better outcomes for those involved. Dundee Please see update below. Perth & Kinross Page 180 of 202
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57 Young people at risk of harm in Perth and Kinross continue to have their needs supported through multi-agency Young Person’s Plan meetings. Statutory and third sector supports are identified to address risk and need for individual young people. Youth Services play a significant early intervention and prevention role by allocation of targeted youth work to young people who are at risk of harm in their communities. Our REACH team continues to provide intensive support to many young people who are at risk of harm and for whom family breakdown is a real possibility. The REACH team employs a range of supports and specialisms to address risk and need. These include START AV risk assessments and AIMS 3 assessments. All young people at risk of harm in Perth and Kinross who require to be joint interviewed under the IRD process are interviewed using the Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM). This is a trauma-informed and child-centred model which takes account of the young person’s individual needs before, during and after the interview itself. This is consistent with the Bairns Hoose approach, which is being implemented in Perth and Kinross and across Tayside, which has been chosen as a Pathfinder area. As part of Bairns Hoose in Perth and Kinross, all young people who are considered under the IRD process have access to therapeutic support from Includem, Mindspace and Relationship Scotland. In late 2024, we implemented our Care and Risk Management (CARM) process. Young People whose behaviour has caused, or may cause, serious harm to themselves may be considered under CARM. CARM provides a framework for assessing and managing risk to the young person, as well as ensuring that supports are provided to meet the young person’s care and well-being needs. Initial planning takes place in a multi-agency CARM Referral Discussion, followed by an Initial CARM meeting if it is deemed that a more substantive care and risk management plan is required for the young person. Our Throughcare and Aftercare Team continues to offer support to care-experienced young people at risk of harm as they transition to independent living post-16. And our CASA Team (Children Alone Seeking Asylum) provide specialist help and support to young people who are unaccompanied Asylum Seekers, and who may have been victims of human trafficking. (iii) Secure care standards will be implemented with evidence of rights-based practice. Baseline data (CARM data set under development) Page 181 of 202
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58 Angus March - August 25 CARM Tiered Training Framework to be incorporated into the Assessment Strategy Dundee (i) Young people in our settings feel informed that their rights have been respected. (ii) Young people at risk of harm have access to appropriate support and clear plans to address risk need and risk. (iii) Secure care standards will be implemented with evidence of rights-based practice. The Vulnerable Adolescent Partnership has been reviewed and renewed its Terms of Reference and membership with a new Action Plan for 2025-2026. The strategic group has been rebranded as Dundee’s Young People’s Strategic Group with the aim of more positive framing and to capture the age group who are targeted through our approaches. The priorities for the group include establishing The Hub, a new multi-agency facility for young people to ensure more streamlined and specialist approaches for this age group and improve multi-agency practice pathways for 16-17 yr olds who are at risk and have the need for safeguarding in relation to harmful behaviours towards or from them. The group will be a formally constituted subgroup of the Protecting People Partnership with regular reporting into both the Children and Adults at Risk committees. The Hub is due to go live by early 2026 but partnership practice and approaches are already being developed in advance of this, including: Joint triage of SCRA referrals Interface between MASH and the Hub for new referrals Development of Contextual safeguarding approaches, including Missing Persons. Over the last 12 months, there has been 5 Secure Care admissions on either welfare or offending grounds via CSWO or Court decisions. The Care and Justice (Scotland) Act 2024 has increased the number placed in Secure Care as an alternative to a custodial remand and the service continues to work with the Sheriff Court to promote alternatives. Page 182 of 202
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59 The Hub will include Community Justice Service staff and a new Pre-Court Team is being established to provide a single locus for Bail Supervision and the provision of Court Reports for both young people and adults. The Secure Care Policy will be reviewed and updated by Autumn 2025. A case file audit focused specifically on support to vulnerable adolescents rated over 80% of cases as Good or better overall and work continues to support teams to make further improvements in the quality of assessments, plans and chronologies. For 2024/25, 3 young people were subject to CARM, all for sexual offending. They had and initial CARM meeting and a review CARM but no further reviews, noting that risk could be managed within the TATC process. All meetings were multi-agency, including attendance by Police Scotland, NHS, Social Work, Education and third sector. So far this year, there have been 7 young people subject to CARM process. Two are for violent offending and 5 are for sexual offending. Two had an initial meeting with no requirement for review and the other 5 had at least 1 review meeting. The CARM protocol is being reviewed in the context of an anticipated Scottish Government review. Other services provided in response to the specific needs of young people include Bairns Hoose and SCIM interviews; Includem; AFC Supported Accommodation; two bespoke DCC Supported Accommodation facilities; and Hillcrest Substance Use support. In 2025-26, the local partnership took a key decision to stipulate that all 16–17-year-olds needs to be viewed as young people and where there are concerns about risk of harm, supported in the context of Child Protection arrangements. In addition, no 16–17-year-old will access homeless accommodation. Perth & Kinross Page 183 of 202
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60 We have clear guidance on secure care in Perth and Kinross, which outlines the requirements we must follow in relation to seeking the views of the young person and their parents and keeping them informed of decisions. Secure authorisations are kept under regular review as per statutory requirements, and Looked After Reviews for young people in secure care are chaired by Service Managers rather than Review Officers. This helps to ensure that a young person’s liberty is not deprived for any longer than necessary and provides direct oversight of the plan by senior management. Our service’s visiting guidance asks practitioners to undertake placement visits to young people in secure care no less than every two weeks. The ensures that there are regular opportunities for the allocated worker to meet with the young person to check on their well-being, to seek their views, to keep them informed, and to remind them of their rights. Secure care is only used in Perth and Kinross when the secure criteria is met and all other options to keep a young person/others safe from the young person’s high-risk behaviours have been unsuccessful. Where secure care is required, planning immediately becomes focused on putting supports and plans in place to reduce risk in order that the young person can be removed from the secure setting at the earliest opportunity. Young People in secure care have access to the IAPK service and to our dedicated Children’s Rights Officer. Our children and young people will be safe and feel loved We will make progress toward the implementation of Bairns’ Hoose Principles Progress Updates (i) Provide trauma responsive supports and services to children and young people involved in child protection. The Tayside Bairns Hoose stakeholders continue to work towards implementation of the Bairns Hoose Standards. The Operational Delivery Group continues to meet to plan and monitor activity across the 3 LA’s, Police and NHS. Funding secured for 2025/2026 to continue to support the implementation of the Bairns Hoose, extended timeline of the pathfinder has been agreed up to March 2027. Page 184 of 202
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61 Improvement work will continue with the majority of the capital expenditure for physical improvement to the 3 sites across Tayside having been completed. In the last year: ‘Includem’ have been contracted to provide additional support to families impacted by Child Protection issues WRASAC have been contracted to provide specialist support for younger children who have been victims of sexual abuse. Speech and Language Therapists are now in place across Tayside following a successful test of change in Dundee. A range of health services delivered at the Corner in Dundee have now been expanded to include children and young people across Tayside. Our children and young people will be safe and feel loved We will introduce the Scottish Child Interview Model for children and young people. Progress Updates (i) Reduce the requirement for children and young people to attend court. Baseline data: to be established as part of the implementation programme. The Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM) went live in Tayside in May 2024. Page 185 of 202
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62 The national SCIM Implementation Group continues to provide local support to practitioners and maintains oversight of progress and quality assurance. The Perth and Kinross Bairns Hoose site is now fully set up as a Category A site with all IT working well. The Dundee Bairns Hoose site is now fully set up, with Category A and Category B site capability. The Angus Bairns Hoose site was already set up as a Category A site; new cameras are to be installed in the next few months (financed from funds secured for 2025/2026). The target for the 1st year of SCIM was to conduct a minimum of 70% of child interviews under SCIM across Tayside. We are currently at 78%. The other 22% of interviews have been conducted using the previous 5-day model by the Investigation teams. From May 2024 to April 2025 SCIM interviewers have conducted 238 child interviews across Tayside. 86% resulted in disclosures and subsequent Police investigation. On average the interview takes place within 6 days of the initial referral discussion (IRD). Training and resilience across Tayside continues to be monitored to ensure we can protect and support children and young people who have been exposed to harm. We continue to operate a ‘soft border approach’ across the 3 LA areas to ensure we continue to be responsive to the needs of children across Tayside. Our children and young people will be safe and feel loved We will jointly commission the development of local learning review guidance for all Protecting People arrangements Progress Updates Angus and Dundee Local shared guidance between Angus and Dundee has been prepared and is in use, although has not been shared publicly. Angus have a learning review group established who have oversight of all learning review referrals. This reports to Protecting People Angus Strategic Committee. Page 186 of 202
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We will implement plans focused on raising attainment and meaningful engagement (participation). (i)Reduced attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people. The Scottish Government has identified five core stretch measures of attainment and participation. Local authorities are required on progress towards closing the poverty- related attainment gap for these measures. Progress for the three Tayside councils is set out below. Chart 1 – Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Level – Literacy (P1,4, 7 combined) (LGBF) The finalised 2024-25 data for this measure will be published in the LGBF in December 2025. The indication from locally held data is that the poverty-related attainment gap for literacy decreased in Dundee City and increased in Angus and Perth & Kinross. 6 Page 189 of 202
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Chart 2 – Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Level – Numeracy (P1,4, 7 combined) (LGBF) The finalised 2024-25 data for this measure will be published in the LGBF in December 2025. The indication from locally held data is that the poverty-related attainment gap for numeracy decreased in all three local authority areas. Chart 3 – Proportion of school leavers achieving 1 or more pass at SCQF Level 5 (Insight) In 2023-24, the poverty-related attainment gap for school leavers achieving one or ore passes at SCQF level 5 increased by 1.0pp in Angus, by 4.1pp in Dundee, and by 2.4pp in Perth & Kinross. Leavers data for 2024-25 will be published in February 2026. Page 190 of 202
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Chart 4 – Proportion of school leavers achieving 1 or more pass at SCQF Level 6 (Insight) In 2023-24, the poverty-related attainment gap for school leavers achieving one or ore passes at SCQF level 6 decreased by 1.4pp in Angus, and by 1.2pp in Perth & Kinross. The gap increased by 2.8pp in Dundee City. Leavers data for 2024-25 will be published in February 2026. Chart 5 – Proportion of 16-19 year olds participating in education, employment or training. In 2024-25, the poverty-related attainment gap for the annual participation measure increased by 1.54pp in Angus, and 1.9pp in Dundee. The gap decreased by 3.9pp in Perth & Kinross. Page 191 of 202
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1 Appendix 4 – Headline Measures The Appendix sets out the latest published data for measures identified in the Tayside Plan. Most indicators are taken from the Local Government Benchmarking Framework, which is updated throughout the year as data becomes available. Data can be reviewed at any time through this link: https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/benchmarking/explore-the-data 6 Page 193 of 202
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7 Please note that staying rates for the 2024/25 academic year are not yet published. Page 199 of 202
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