Meetings will take place in Shetland in the next couple of days to assess progress on The Promise – the outcome of the Independent Care Review in 2020.
Fiona Duncan, the Independent Strategic Advisor will be in Shetland this week to find out more about how The Promise is being kept in Shetland, including what is working well and what areas are proving harder to achieve.
The Promise, made in 2020, is that all of Scotland’s children and young people will grow up loved, safe and respected – so that they will realise their full potential. This was made following the Independent Care Review, which spoke to over 5,500 children and adults across Scotland with experience of care and members of the paid and unpaid workforce.
The Care Review, which was chaired by Fiona Duncan, set out over 80 recommendations on what must be done to overhaul the ‘care system’. Scotland's then First Minister promised that that the country would implement these recommendations in full by 2030, supported by the Scottish Parliament, Councils, COSLA, corporate parents, charities, and the wider public and private sector.
Following The Promise being made, Fiona became the Independent Strategic Advisor and now chairs The Promise Scotland, setting the strategic direction and culture of all work to keep The Promise. Fiona’s meeting in Shetland is one of 32 that she is having this year with local authorities across Scotland. The meetings will help to ensure that local change informs and contributes to national change.
This week’s meetings in Shetland will be attended by councillors and staff of Shetland Islands Council, as well as representatives of local partners including NHS Shetland and Police Scotland, also responsible for delivering work on The Promise. Topics will include discussions on resources, such as staff and budgets, and some of the challenges for Shetland as an island authority.
Fiona Duncan will in due course produce a series of mini reports, with her reflections and perspectives, linked to Plan 24-30 route maps and progress on the Promise. The aim will be to help overcome the barriers, and ensure that where good practice is happening, it can be replicated.
Davie Sandison, Chair of the Council’s Education and Families Committee said: “We know how important it is to keep The Promise to young people in Shetland who have experienced care. We welcome this opportunity discuss with Fiona Duncan our progress towards the 2030 target date to implement the full recommendations of The Care Review in 2020.”
Fiona Duncan said: “I know that there are thousands of people out there working hard every day to keep The Promise. But I also know that this can be against a difficult backdrop of slow structural and system change. Being able to hear from them, learn from them, and share that is so important.
“We are over halfway to when The Promise must be kept, there is not a minute to waste in creating change, so it’s vital that good practice can be replicated, and barriers can be understood and overcome.”
Plan 24-30 is a shared planning framework for Scotland to keep The Promise by 2030. It is made up of two parts:
- 25 route maps, which turn the vision of the promise into a deliverable plan by creating clear, measurable outcomes with timebound milestones.
- The Promise Story of Progress, which supports understanding of progress and impact, by exploring national change, organisational learning and the impact on the care community.