Council praised for efforts in keeping children safe

Oct 9 2008 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

NORTH Lanarkshire Council were this week praised for providing a good service to protect children.

An HMIe report, which is one of the best so far in Scotland, stated that they were “confident that children in North Lanarkshire received the help they needed to keep them safe.”

Inspectors also evaluated the effectiveness of services and scored nine 'very good', seven 'good' and two 'satisfactory'.

Key areas singled out for very positive comment included good partnership working and highly professional staff delivering child protection services.

During the three weeks the inspectors spent in North Lanarkshire they interviewed children, young people, families and professionals.

They also met with staff from a range of agencies.

The key agencies involved in delivering child protection services include North Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire, Strathclyde Police and the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration.

The Child Protection Committee (CPC) led on the inspection and will oversee the implementation of the interagency action plan.

Mary Fegan, Chair of North Lanarkshire Child Protection said: “Not all harm to children can be avoided, but I'm pleased that the hard work of the CPC, in helping reduce the threat of harm to children, has been recognised by the inspectors."

Areas evaluated as 'good' were: children helped by the actions taken in response to immediate concerns; children's needs being met and information-sharing and recording.

SNP MSP for Central Scotland, Alex Neil, said: “I am very pleased to see so many aspects of the service to protect children and young people being either very good or good in North Lanarkshire.

“I congratulate staff on their hard work attaining these levels.

"There are a few areas which are classed as satisfactory, however, and it is important that particular attention is drawn to these areas for their improvement. Planning to meet needs and recognising and assessing risks and needs, need to be improved to make sure the children and young people of North Lanarkshire get the best possible service.”